Scorch

1 9 9 2 (USA)
6 (3) x 30 minute episodes

One night while flying through a thunderstorm over New Haven, Connecticut, a 1300-year-old fire-breathing dragon is struck by lightning. He loses his balance and crash-lands in the backyard of the home of aspiring actor and single parent Brian Stevens (Jonathan Walker).

Brian’s 13-year-old daughter Jessica (Rhea Silver-Smith) finds the four-foot-tall dragon – who calls himself Scorch (voiced by the puppet’s creator Ronn Lucas) – and convinces her recently divorced father to let her keep him.

The following day, Brian has an appointment with Jack Fletcher (Todd Susman), the station manager of WWEN-TV, for a possible job as the weatherman for New Haven at Noon.

Brian fails the audition – until Scorch (who Brian is carrying in a tote bag) begins to make noises and Jack assumes Brian is a ventriloquist and Scorch is his dummy. So jack reconsiders and Brian gets the job, with Scorch agreeing to help.

Other regular characters in the short-lived series included Allison King (Brenda Strong) and Howard Gurman (John O’Hurley), the co-anchors of New Haven at Noon, and Brian’s landlady, Mrs Bracken (Rose Marie), who was convinced he was hiding a pet in his apartment and kept barging in trying to find it.

The series only ran from 29 February to 13 March 1992 with just three episodes making it on the air.

Scorch
Ronn Lucas (voice)
Brian Stevens
Jonathan Walker
Jessica Stevens
Rhea Silver-Smith
Jack Fletcher
Todd Susman
Allison King
Brenda Strong
Howard Gurman
John O’Hurley
Mrs Bracken
Rose Marie