Under the Mountain

1 9 8 1 (New Zealand)
8 x 25 minute episodes

Red-haired 11-year-old twin siblings, Rachel (Kirsty Wilkinson) and Theo (Lance Warren) Matheson are on a summer holiday visiting their aunt and uncle (Glynis McNicoll and Noel Trevarthen) in Auckland (New Zealand) when they meet a mysterious man called Mr Jones who helped find them when they got lost in the woods eight years earlier.

Mr Jones (Roy Leywood) turns out to be an alien fighter from a distant planet who wants their help in fighting an alien family of giant slugs – led by a Mr Wilberforce (William Johnson) – who have arrived on Earth and taken on human form with plans for world domination and the destruction of our planet.

Rachel and Theo have psychic abilities which gradually increase in effectiveness and strength.

Based on a novel by Maurice Gee, Under The Mountain was filmed on location in and around Auckland and made extensive use of surrounding mountains, volcanic lakes and panoramic views (long before the Lord of The Rings franchise discovered the picturesque nature of NZ).

The series was sold to the US where it aired on Nickelodeon in 1983 under their The Third Eye banner.

A movie-length remake starring Sam Neill was produced in 2009.

Rachel Matheson
Kirsty Wilkinson
Theo Matheson
Lance Warren
Mr Jones
Roy Leywood
Mr Wilberforce
William Johnson
Ricky
William Ewens
Aunt Noeline
Glynis McNicoll
Uncle Clarry
Noel Trevarthen
Wilberforce Family
Michelle Twigden
Roy Billing
Paul Owen-Lowe
David Weatherley
Richard von Sturmer
Rodney Newman
Timothy Lee
Robert Bruce

Episodes

Maar | Volcano of the Bleeding Skies | Red Force, Blue Force | The Alien World Below | Weapons of the Mind | Any Shape, Any Form | Assault | The Gift of Oblivion

Video