Bernard's Watch

Did You Know?

• The whole of the first series and the first six episodes of the second series were released on VHS with a U certificate, aimed at children aged 7 to 12.
• Episodes have been available to stream on BritBox and Apple TV over the 2020s.

History

The idea behind Bernard's Watch first appeared in a well-known 1963 Twilight Zone episode, "A Kind of a Stopwatch". Alexander John Howard came up with a series based on that concept in 1991, but it took six years to get the necessary funding. What started as a single 15-minute episode was then considered for a full series. Andrew Norriss, the creator, wrote four more stories and thought that would be the end, but he went on to write six series in total. The original run, produced by Central Television, lasted from 14 November 1997 to 7 December 2001. Norriss also wrote a novelisation covering the first three series, which Puffin published in 1999. Filming happened around Nottingham, and for the first four series, school scenes were shot at South Wilford CofE Primary School. Lewis Rudd produced those series, with David Cobham directing. After a three-year break, the show returned for two more series with a different format, a new cast, and a new filming location. Carlton Television produced the first revival, which aired from 6 January to 30 March 2004. The seventh and final series, now called Bernard, was produced by Granada Yorkshire and aired from 6 January to 31 March 2005, with school scenes filmed at Kerr Mackie Primary School in Leeds.

Synopsis

In the first run, Bernard, played by David Peachey, lives in Oakwood, Nottinghamshire, and is perpetually late until a postman gives him a magic watch that can stop time. The postman possesses magical powers and explains that such watches are given to people who need them. Bernard must not use the watch to commit crimes or harm anyone. Each episode involves Bernard or someone to whom he has lent the watch facing a problem or managing everyday tasks with the watch's help. The second run differs significantly from the original. The opening sequence shows the watch flying through Bernard's window, and the postman character is absent; Bernard appears to be the only person with such a watch. His best friend Nathan knows about it. This series focuses on Bernard's school, Pentup Primary, where he often outwits his bullying teacher Ms Yvonne Savage and his arch rival, a popular girl named Nicolette. The novelisation by Andrew Norriss presents a different backstory: Bernard receives the watch from an elderly aunt, who got it from her husband, who acquired it from an old friend. Using the watch has a side-effect of depleting iron molecules in the blood, causing anaemia in regular users unless they consume iron supplements. Bernard collapses after avoiding the iron-tainted drink his aunt provides because he dislikes the taste and is unaware of the side-effects. In the novel, Bernard lives only with his father, as his mother died before the story begins. The watch is briefly stolen by a former housekeeper of Bernard's aunt, but she is captured when the watch runs down and she threatens Bernard for the key. Bernard's aunt dies in the penultimate chapter, but her spirit appears to him afterward, telling him the watch's true purpose is for learning.