Miraculous Mellops, The

1 9 9 1 – 1 9 9 2 (Australia)
40 x 25 minute episodes

Widowed Bill Mellop (Bill Conn) runs the Lazy Daisy nursery, assisted by his children – Samantha (Sally Warwick), Michael (Troy Beckwith) and Jason (David Walters). Bill’s sister Jocelyn (Julie Godfrey) acts as their housekeeper following the recent death of the children’s mother.

Bill is being pressured to sell his nursery to their villainous neighbour, waste disposal king Bernie Dump (Max Phipps) who needs it to make the 18th hole for his current 17-hole golf course.

On Christmas eve, a shooting star falls from the Moon, enters the Mellops’ house, strikes the punch bowl and reflects off it, with the starbeams hitting various objects around the room and investing them with magical powers. To top it off, Samantha can now hear Ajax, the family dog, talking – voiced by Rampaging Roy Slaven (John Doyle), Michael discovers the power of invisibility and the vacuum cleaner can now be used for time travel.

Two Moonlings – Alpha Ralph 416 (Drew Forsythe) and Commander Gamma Jane 378 (Kim Walsh) – subsequently arrive at the Mellop household searching for a new leader for the Moon as their current ruler – the Grand Baby (Dave Gibson) – is dying. On the Moon, people become less intelligent as they grow older.

One of the Mellops is to be chosen as the replacement.

The series was partly filmed on location at Belrose Nursery, just north of Sydney. There were guest appearances from Abigail (as a one-legged pirate queen), Maggie Kirkpatrick (as society queen, Mrs Kafka), Queenie Ashton, John Hamblin, Jeff Kevin and Jan Adele.

The narrator was former Ol’ 55 singer, Frankie J Holden.

Michael Mellop
Troy Beckwith
Jason Mellop
David Walters
Samantha Mellop
Sally Warwick
Bill Mellop
Bill Conn
Aunt Jocelyn
Julie Godfrey
Bernie Dump
Max Phipps
Harmony Dump
Michela Noonan
Alpha Ralph 416
Drew Forsythe
Commander Gamma Jane 378
Kim Walsh
Grand Baby
Dave Gibson
Ajax (voice)
Roy Slaven (John Doyle)
Narrator
Frankie J Holden

Video