The Genie from Down Under is a children's comedy television series. It was a co-production between the ACTF, the BBC and the ABC from 1996 to 1998. The Genie from Down Under is based on an idea from Steve J Spears which was developed into a series concept with a 'Round The Twist' flavour. Esben Storm, Steve Spears and a team of writers work-shopped the storylines. Patricia Edgar was looking for a new idea for a comedy series which would capture the debate about Australia becoming a Republic - a significant issue in Australia at the time. She invited a few writers to submit original ideas then chose the concept submitted by Steve Spears to workshop its potential. She asked Esben Storm, who had been the co-author and Director of the successful Round the Twist series to lead the development workshop.
Following the success of Round the Twist on the BBC, the head of children's television Anna Home agreed to put up half the $4.1 million budget for a co-production. This was half the budget which was the highest level of finance the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) had ever seen from an overseas co-production partner. The program met the BBC requirements for a UK production and was also able to meet the objectives for programming produced by the Foundation in Australia. Even though the entire series was shot in Australia, the story was set in both Australia and the UK and one of the lead cast and one of the directors was British. Produced by Patricia Edgar and Phil Jones and directed by Esben Storm, Jeremy Swan (of the BBC) and Brendan Maher, the series is a comedy with distinctive Australian humour. With this project, the ACTF broke new ground with a production financing structure.
The first series went to air in the UK in 1996 on BBCI in the critical 4.30 to 5pm timeslot. It won two and a half million viewers – 40 per cent of its audience. The success story was repeated in over 20 countries. In Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand and The Netherlands, children – and adults – loved the Australian humour.
The Genie from Down Under is one of Australia's favourite comedy series for children and adults alike. Broadcast Magazine recorded The Genie from Down Under (series 2) as the 10th highest rating children's series in the United Kingdom during its broadcast by the BBC.
Plot
The honourable Penelope Townes is a 13-year old aristocrat from England who lives with her widowed mother, Lady Diana, with their housekeeper Miss Mossop at Townes Hall. Townes is a stately but crumbling mansion in Wilshire, England.
Penelope comes into possession of an opal pendant when she explores the dusty attic of her family's decaying mansion. The opal contains two Australian genies, Bruce and his son Baz, who have been living inside the opal for 130 years since Penelope's great, great-grandfather, Sir Claude, brought them to England. This is the setting for a battle of wits and a clash of class and culture. Penelope is a selfish snob who sees the Genie as her property and has the power. Bruce, the Genie is an ocker and has the magic.
So when Penelope – in an ungarded moment – wishes she were somewhere else, Bruce whisks her overseas, to her inheritance, Townes Downs, a rundown property in the middle of 800 square kilometres of Australian outback. Penelope hates Australia and is constantly trying to get back to Townes Hall in Wiltshire. Bruce thinks Townes Downs is heaven on earth and Townes Hall is hell.
Typically, an episode revolved around the consequences of one of Penelope's flippant wishes, or the efforts of an outside party to steal the opal (and thus, the genies).
When Penelope inherits a property in Australia (Townes Downs), Bruce and Baz are very happy because it means that they can spend more time in their own country. When they go to inspect the property, they meet Otto von Meister, who runs tours of outback Australia. His forefather stole the opal from the Aboriginal peoples and then lost it in a card game to Penelope's ancestor, Sir Claude. Otto is determined to return the opal to its rightful owner – him! When he finds out that Penelope has the opal, he tries to steal it from her. He often enlists his nephew, Conrad, to help him. Penelope falls in love with Conrad, which gives Otto far more opportunity to steal the opal. The battle for possession of the opal sees Otto become King of England and Bubbles lead his band of Merry Chaps in green to plot the end to King Otto's reign.