Hey Dad..!
| Hey Dad..! | |
|---|---|
Hey Dad..! logo
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by |
Gary Reilly & John Flanagan |
| Starring | Hey Dad..! Cast |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 291 (+2 unaired) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22–23 minutes (per episode) |
| Production company(s) | Gary Reilly Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network |
| Picture format | 4.3 PAL |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 11 February 1987 – 17 August 1994 |
Hey Dad..! is an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network.
Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children: Simon, Debbie, and Jenny. His wife Margaret had died three years before the series' start.
Martin runs his own architectural business from the family home in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood. He employs his wife's cousin Betty Wilson, a good-natured ditz from the New South Wales country town of Walgett, as his secretary.
Many episodes deal with the daily stresses Martin faces as the family patriarch, such as settling arguments amongst his children. He frequently endures Betty's elaborate excuses for tardiness and is constantly frustrated with her delayed productivity at work. Simon's best friend is Gerald "Nudge" Noritas, a neighbour who constantly helps himself to whatever food he can find in the Kellys' kitchen.
In early episodes the show briefly examines how the characters are struggling to deal with the absence of Margaret from their lives. Martin also breaks the fourth wall several times to deliver sarcastic one-liners to camera, although this is discontinued after the first 12 episodes.
As the series progressed the original characters left one by one. Replacement characters were introduced to maintain the balance of the show's cast. The roles of two of Martin Kelly's children—Simon and Jenny—were recast during the show's run after the original actors left the series.
Early in season 5 Debbie Kelly moves to Dunk Island to work as a waitress. She is replaced by new character Sam Kelly, Martin's niece from Hong Kong who moves in. Nudge departs after the conclusion of season 5. No explanation is given in the show's story to explain his disappearance. From season 6 schoolboy Arthur MacArthur is the new neighbour who regularly visits. At the end of season 6 Simon moves out, leaving his friend Ben to move into Simon's room. At the end of season 12 Martin leaves for a $300,000-per-year contract to design and build a deep water port and mini-city in Saudi Arabia. He leaves the house and the business in the care of friend Greg Russell. Sam moves to Adelaide soon after, opening the door for Greg's daughter Tracy to move in.
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Wikipedia