When the Twist kids – Pete, Linda and Bronson – and their Dad leave the city for a quiet life in the coastal town of Port Niranda, they get more than they bargained for.
Round the Twist - Series 1
When the Twist kids - Pete, Linda and Bronson - and their Dad leave the city for a quiet life in the coastal town of Port Niranda, they get more than they bargained for. The lighthouse the Twists have moved into is haunted and Port Niranda is a town where the weird and unexpected regularly occurs. Ghosts, vikings, magical underpants, runaway shadows.
Round the Twist is an international award winning comedy series based on the stories of celebrated children's author, Paul Jennings.
The series follows the adventures of the Twist kids – Pete, Linda, Bronson – who have moved to the coastal town of Port Niranda with their Dad. Living in a haunted lighthouse, they encounter bizarre magical devices, neurotic ghosts, rampaging entrepreneurs and sneering school bullies. Each story is self-contained with an unpredictable twist at the end.
The many episodes in the series come with lesson plans to encourage students to become critical readers and viewers. The Round the Twistseries, tie-in novels and scripts integrate a variety of strategies for interpreting and comparing written and visual texts.
The stories encourage self-exploration and learning to cope with change. What we take for granted is questioned in every episode, raising the important issues of ethics and behaviour.
See Also
Round the Twist - Series 2 (1992)
In Series 2 of Round The Twist, Dad's love for Bronson's teacher, Miss James, has blossomed - and he is very busy wooing her. Miss James is concerned that the Twist kids are not as fond of her as they should be. Mr Gribble is running for Parliament on
Round the Twist - Series 3 (1999)
Round the Twist - Series 4 (2000)
Round The Twist - Series 4 delivers more twists than ever before!
Episodes
Episode 1 Skeleton on the Dunny
When the Twists move from the city to live in an old lighthouse, they discover that the outside dunny is haunted. One stormy night, they decide to have a showdown with a very flushed ghost.
Episode 2 Birdsdo
Nell is committed to hospital for believing in dragons; so Linda, Pete and Bronson set off to prove her sanity. While rogue seagulls imprison Linda and Pete in a shack buried in bird droppings, Bronson finds the dragon's egg and Nell is released.
Episode 3 A Good Tip for Ghosts
To pass a nerve test, Pete has to collect a rotting skull from the pond at the tip, in the middle of the night. But he encounters the resident ghost, who wants something from him.
Episode 4 The Cabbage Patch Fib
Believing that babies grow in the cabbage patch, Bronson actually finds one there. But he soon discovers that the responsibilities of parenthood have their drawbacks.
Episode 5 Spaghetti Pig Out
Chaos reigns after a bolt of lightning hits the video remote control - it works on people! Pause, rewind and fast-forward have amusing consequences -particularly at the spaghetti eating competition.
Episode 6 The Gum Leaf War
Dreaming that she has a huge nose, Linda takes her problems to Aunt Tuneless' shack in the mountains, where a war is in progress. People can inflict their own ailments on others, by playing the gum leaves from a twisted tree.
Episode 7 Santa Claws
Pete's dream comes true when he meets Santa Claws Number 115,302, who grants each member of the Twist family two wishes - something they all end up wishing had never happened.
Episode 8 Wunderpants
When Pete dries his underpants in the microwave, special powers are conveyed - with embarrassing consequences. But when Pete's frog competes in the jumping competition, the wunderpants save the day.
Episode 9 Lucky Lips
Pete becomes irresistible to women with the help of some magic lipstick. Dad wants the lipstick too, but Gribble Junior steals it - much to his regret.
Episode 10 Know All
The Twists find a trunk full of old circus costumes, and dress the scarecrow in a clown's outfit. But the scarecrow comes to life and chases Linda. Fortunately Dad, dressed as a fortune teller, sees and knows all.
Episode 11 The Copy
The Twist children discover old Tom's cloning machine, and use it with some potentially dangerous results.
Episode 12 Without My Pants
Pete is inflicted with a bizarre speech defect. He compulsively adds the words 'without my pants' to the end of every sentence, with hilarious and embarrassing results.
Episode 13 Lighthouse Blues
Gribble and his partner evict the Twists from the Lighthouse, in order to build an amusement park. But with the help of some friendly ghosts, the Twists win the battle to save their home.
Awards
Winner: Australian Film Institute Awards
Winner: Australian Writer’s Guild Awards (AWGIE)
Selected: Banff Television Festival (Canada)
Sales and Distribution
Running Time
13 x 24 mins
Production Company
Australian Children's Television Foundation
Language
English