A Dragon in the Living Room

"A Dragon in the Living Room" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British children's television programme Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde. The episode was directed by Albert Barber and written by series creator Jim Eldridge. It was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One on 3 November 1995.

In the episode, marketing expert Tim Tok Lim (David Cheung) is invited to the Jekylls' home to test Julia's elixir. However, their evening is hijacked by the rest of the Rocket Academy pupils and staff wanting an evening of Chinese culture, with Harriet Hyde (John Asquith) also in attendance.

Plot
One evening, Jerry receives a letter from Tim Tok Lim - a Chinese businessman specialising in soft drinks. Jerry had written to him regarding Julia's elixir and invited him to their home to taste the drink, with the aim to potentially marketing it. In the kitchen, Julia - transformed into Harriet Hyde - continues working on an antidote for her affliction. Moira worries about inviting Tim Tok Lim over due to Julia's 'little problem' with her elixir, as the door is blown off its hinges by an explosion. Changing back into Julia, Moira and Jerry begin thinking of a way to help her with her elixir.

At the Rocket Academy, Memphis Rocket and his mother Mrs Rocket are emulating the life of eskimos after watching a documentary - replicating an igloo with bedsheets, using a fan to simulate Arctic winds and eating 'blubber'. Memphis wants to enlighten the students by embracing the cultures of other parts of the world, but Mrs Rocket is sceptical after a recent programme about a nudist colony.

The following morning, Julia serves her parents breakfast and leaves a bottle of her antidote on a counter as she heads upstairs to get her homework. Jerry believes that Julia's issue is a lack of confidence, and that she is insecure about the taste. He and Moira pour a glass of the antidote, believing it to be Julia's original elixir, but Julia stops them before they can drink it - claiming it tastes like shoe polish. Wanting something special to show Tim Tok Lim that evening, Julia suggests putting on a Chinese dragon dance as opposed to her elixir and makes plans to build a dragon costume in her art lesson that day.

At school, Mrs Rocket finds Memphis in his office dressed in a bright pink robe, claiming to have been inspired by a travel documentary on China he saw that morning. Memphis plans to become a 'zen headteacher' inspired by ancient Chinese masters, only for him to trip over in the foyer.

Julia and her classmates are busy making the dragon costume in art class. The Blister Sisters plan to ruin the costume and make it look like an accident, but Julia transforms into Harriet Hyde as they try to carry out their plan. Sharon is defenestrated by Harriet, as Nicola is thrown behind her into Memphis as he enters the room. Having turned back into Julia, Memphis is enamoured with the dragon costume. When Julia explains about her parents' Chinese evening, Memphis invites himself and the rest of the school, except for the Blister Sisters whom he bans from attending.

That evening, Julia and her family make their preparations for Tim Tok Lim's arrival. As Julia is about to tell Jerry about the rest of the school coming, the doorbell rings. Assuming it to be Tim Tok Lim, Jerry answers - only for the Rocket Academy pupils, Memphis and Lester Blister to enter and begin eating the food laid out for Tim. Julia reluctantly ushers everyone into the kitchen, anxious about someone tampering with her experiment. Tim Tok Lim arrives and admires the spread, but Jerry tells him of a bigger surprise. In the kitchen Julia prepares to open the door for the dragon, but she turns into Harriet Hyde before she can. She sneaks past the dragon to avoid causing a panic.

Outside, the Blister Sisters hide in some bushes and prepare to get revenge on Memphis for banning them from the party. Nicola prank calls the police, saying that the Jekylls have a dragon in their living room.

Julia's parents and Tim Tok Lim awkwardly wait in the living room for the dragon. In the kitchen, Mr Blister angrily emerges from beneath the costume, then becomes intrigued by Julia's experiment. Memphis warns him about tinkering with Julia's equipment, but Mr Blister begins adding to the concoction. Jerry gets up from his seat to see what's keeping everyone, only for Julia's experiment to explode from Mr Blister's interference. The door falls off its hinges and the startled school members run screaming into the living room in the dragon costume. Mr Blister runs for the front door where two police officers are waiting to investigate the Blister Sisters' phone call, believing it to be nonsense. The police officers are startled by Mr Blister and the 'dragon', while the Blister Sisters head to the back entrance to watch Julia and her parents be scolded by the authorities. However, they are soon chased back by Harriet Hyde and are caught by the police officers, who identify them as the prank callers. As the officers fumble with the handcuffs, the Blister Sisters escape as Harriet, now Julia again, heads back inside.

Tim Tok Lim congratulates the Jekylls on a wonderful evening and was impressed by the speed of the dragon. The doorbell rings again and Julia goes to answer, changing back into Harriet Hyde as she answers. Mrs Rocket arrives late in traditional Chinese attire with her head bowed, but upon seeing Harriet screams in horror as the credits roll.

Cast

 * Julia Jekyll - Olivia Hallinan
 * Moira Jekyll (credited as 'Mum') - Victoria Williams
 * Jerry Jekyll (credited as 'Dad') - Bill Fellows
 * Memphis Rocket - Simon Green
 * Mrs Rocket - Ann Emery
 * Lester Blister - Robert Portal
 * Tim Tok Lim - David Cheung
 * Policeman - Stephen Bent
 * Nicola Blister - Tiffany Griffiths
 * Sharon Blister - Karen Salt
 * Roger - Anthony Tobias
 * Sarah - Emma Barnett
 * Harriet Hyde - John Asquith

Crew
Executives:


 * Director - Albert Barber
 * Writer - Jim Eldridge
 * Producer - Jeremy Swan
 * Executive Producer - Anna Home
 * Musical Director - Jonathan Cohen
 * Casting Directors:
 * Jane Deitch
 * Angela Grosvenor
 * Makeup Designer - Elaine Smith
 * Costume Designer - Rosemary Cheshire
 * Production Designer - George Kyriakides

General production staff:


 * Production Assistant - Jane Jenkins
 * Assistant Floor Manager - Gabrielle Lindemann
 * Production Manager - Oliver Cookson
 * Studio Resource Manager - Andrew Garnett

General post-production staff:


 * Videotape Editor - Damian Raistrick
 * Vision Mixer - Hilary West

Script department:


 * Script Editor - Marilyn Fox

Camera and lighting department:


 * Camera Supervisor - Nigel Saunders
 * Lighting Director - Alan Jeffery

Art department:


 * Production Buyer - Pauline Seager
 * Graphic Designer - Pete Wane
 * Art Director - Nick Harding

Special and visual effects:


 * Visual Effects Designer - Roger Turner
 * Video Effects - Dave Chapman

Sound:


 * Sound Effects - Keith Eldridge
 * Sound Supervisor - Alan Machin

Trivia

 * The events of this episode were set up in the earlier story A Fright For Aunt Cassandra, where Jerry mentions Tim Tok Lim and the potential of marketing Julia's elixir.