Mr. Microchip

Mr. Microchip is a live action children's television series that focused on the world of computer technology and the (then) relatively new home computer trend of the early 1980s. Several 8 bit home computers of the era were seen in the show, including the Apple II, Commodore, Atari and Tandy series. It was originally broadcast in Canada on the CBC, between 1983 and 1985, and later shown in the U. K., Australia and South Africa.

The show was produced by Canadian animation company, Nelvana, whom at the time had also produced some of its first television series: Inspector Gadget, 20 Minute Workout and The Edison Twins. A total of thirteen episodes were produced. The original scripts were later re used to produce the same thirteen episodes in French, using different actors, as a show titled M. Micropuce. All twenty six episodes were produced during the summer of 1982 through the fall of 1984. The series was created by Skip Lumley and Michael Hirsh, Nelvana and Ventura Pictures, produced by Michael Hirsh and directed by Peter Jennings. Most of the computer hardware, software and electronics in the show were donated by various companies, looking to promote their products at the time. To date, the show has not been released on home video or DVD.

Aimed at school students aged nine to fifteen, and designed to teach children basic knowledge about computers. It featured Skip Lumley, an adult computer consultant, and his two neighbours, twelve year old Stevie Grosfield and his ten year old sister Dayna Simon. Visiting Skip's workshop, Stevie and Dayna learned about computers through hands on demonstrations and clear, analogy filled explanations. The trio were accompanied by an artificial intelligence fantasy computer named Lumley and a robot called Hero.