"Under the Mountain" (1982) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 June 1982 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Two teenage twin siblings, Rachel and Theo, on a summer vacation in Aukland visiting their aunt and uncle...

Cast

Kirsty Wilkinson	...	Rachel (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Lance Warren	...	Theo (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Roy Leywood	...	Mr. Jones (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Bill Johnson	...	Mr. Wilberforce (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
William Ewens	...	Uncle Ricky (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Glynis McNicoll	...	Aunt Noeline (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Noel Trevarthen	...	Uncle Clarry (8 episodes, 1981-1982)
Roy Billing	...	Wilberforce Family (5 episodes, 1981)
Rodney Newman	...	Wilberforce Family (5 episodes, 1981)
Paul Owen-Lowe	...	Wilberforce Family (5 episodes, 1981)
Richard von Sturmer	...	Wilberforce Family (5 episodes, 1981)
David Weatherley	...	Wilberforce Family (5 episodes, 1981)

Runtime:

29 min (8 episodes)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Trivia:

Rebroadcast in the United States as part of "The Third Eye" series on the children's network Nickelodeon.

Quotes:

Rachel Matheson: Well, when all you have to look forward to is being nothing, maybe oblivion is the only thing we can offer them.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Under the Mountain (2009)

Saving the World

Under the Mountain is a science fiction adventure, based on the novel by Maurice Gee. Set in Auckland, New Zealand, two red haired twins called Rachel and Theo are staying with their Uncle and Aunt for a holiday.

> An old man called Mr Jones is interested in the twins for a special reason. Mr Jones is the last surviving member of an alien civilization. His people were at war with another race of creatures who go from planet to planet, turning worlds into mud and stone. The Earth will be next unless the twins can stop them. The invading aliens are shapeless, tentacled creatures who can assume human form. They are known only as the Wilberforces...

This was a very good show. The first time I saw Under the Mountain I was actually living in New Zealnd. I recognized a lot of the places Rachel and Theo went to because I was born in Auckland: the familiar volcanoes Rangitoto and Mt Eden, the district Takapuna, even the library. When I saw it again some years later I actually felt home sick. The story was also good because it wasn't too predictable. You actually wonder if Earth really has a chance when the future depends on two young twins.