Uncle Max

Not to be confused with the Genie in the House character.
For the Calvin and Hobbes character, see Secondary characters in Calvin and Hobbes § Uncle Max.

Uncle Max
StarringDavid Schneider (Uncle Max)
William Howe (Luke, Ser. 1)
Jonathan Hanly (Luke, Ser. 2)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducerAndy Rowley Little Bird Pictures
Running time10 minutes
Original release
NetworkCITV
CBBC
Release31 January 2006 (2006-01-31) –
3 October 2008 (2008-10-03)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Uncle Max is a British children's comedy television series originally aired on CITV,[1] and CBBC. It features David Schneider as the title character, Uncle Max, and William Howe as Luke, Max's nine-year-old nephew. However, in the second series Jonathon Hanly took over from William. The show is very similar in style to Mr. Bean, with the basic premise being that Uncle Max is incapable of embarking on any adventure without upsetting another individual or group of individuals in some shape or form.[2]

The first series was filmed in Johannesburg in South Africa[3] and produced by Andy Rowley[4] over a seven-week block in the summer of 2005, the show was written by David Schneider and 13 episodes were made for CITV and screened on the CITV channel in 2006. The second series was filmed in Galway, in Ireland.[5]

Schneider admitted in an interview for The Times that parts of the series are references to Laurel and Hardy; the majority of the footage is a tribute to the cartoons which Schneider grew up with, cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Wacky Races. Scheider also stated that the name of the Uncle is descended from his uncle, Max Ward, who was born in Hastings but now lives in Hackney, London. Of his own Uncle Max, Schneider says that he used to get into all sorts of scrapes and adventures and would take the young David along for the ride.[6]

The programme contains very little spoken audio at all, instead vocal noises (such as gasping, grunting, moaning, panting, banging, sighing and a bit of broken vocal) similar to the type of voice Rowan Atkinson gives Mr. Bean in the animated series and the CITV show aimed for deaf children, ZZZap!. It is made by Little Bird Pictures and marketed as a silent comedy.[7] Many of the acts are exaggerated as in many kids shows and done in slow motion to create some tension.

  1. ^ "Little Bird News February 2008". Little Bird. February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  2. ^ "Shut up and make us laugh". The Times. 11 February 2006. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  3. ^ "Little Bird Feathers Its Nest from Joburg". Gauteng Film Commission. December 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Uncle Max (TV Series 2006– ) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Irish Production Gears up as a Number of Projects get the Green Light". The Irish Film Board. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  6. ^ "Making of…Uncle Max". Broadcast Freelancer. Archived from the original on 23 February 2006.
  7. ^ "Little Bird productions - Uncle Max". Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2008.