Top 12 Round The Twist Episodes.

Top 12 Round The Twist TV Episodes.

Written by JustParodiezMan.

*JPM is in a library reading and laughing a bit, the book he's reading seen as 'Paul Jennings Unreal'. He chuckles on until he sees the camera and puts the book down quickly.*

JPM: Ah sorry about that! You caught me reading! Well not a bad thing I guess. I guess you're wondering what I was reading right? Well this is actually one of the only Australian authors that writes about magical fantasy bizarre things happening. Paul Jennings is one of my favourite authors of all time, up there with the Redwall author and Terry Pratchett. In fact, his stories were so popular and bizarre that there was even a TV series made out of some of his stories.

And that's what we're going to talk about today.

*clips from the show and introduction to the show play through as JPM keeps talking*

Round the Twist was a series that started in 1989 and kept going until 2001, directed by different people for each episodes. Although for the most part, the most common director of the episodes is a man named Esben Storm, and no I don't really know anything about him. However, unlike American TV comedy series like the simpsons, Round the Twist was entirely live action and all based in one place, however with constantly changing actors throughout. Not necessarily a bad thing... in fact I can remember how each actor from each series looked and thought they did pretty good. Sure, not everyone would understand the humour if they weren't Australian or just weren't into the humour from Paul's mind, however I think that a huge amount of Australian spirit and imagination was shown throughout alot of these episodes. And heck, even to this day, some of the episodes can hold up in both humour and imagination.

JPM: which is why, today, I will be going through my list of my top 12 favourite episodes. Now of course this is entirely my opinion and if you have your own I'd love to hear it, and if you havent heard of the show than I'm just going to point out right now you may want to read the books before seeing the show itself first, but having said that I will put up a spoilers alert too. So yeah, Spoilers for any new comers out there to Round The Twist.

Wuth that said, here we go with my list of the top 12 Round the twist episodes.

#12: Skeleton on the Dunny.

The episode that started it all, and based on the short story of the same name, this episode was a good way to a: introduce everyone to the Port Niranda family that now lives in this most bizarre lighthouse, which I have to admit is a unique location for adventures. The storyline is that The Twist Family move in to the seaside town of Port Niranda where they have just bought the lighthouse. Bronson, the youngest son, is busting to go to the toilet and is shocked to find that a ghost is haunting the outhouse. The three Twist children set out to find out what the ghost wants.
And well it goes from there! Like I said, this is the very start of the series, and gives us the idea of just what sort of crazy stuff will happen. It's a good one to start with and the actors for each character does a fairly good job. OK, not brilliant but still, they were just beginning and had a long way to go before they would get to good ones. So yeah a good way to start what would definitely become an interesting and funny and creative series.

#11: The Copy.
like most of the episodes will be, this one is also based on the short story of the same name. Except instead of making the copy turning evil like the original story, they decided to make the copy created be helpful and become a huge funny, creative addition to the storyline. This time, the storyline: A copying machine is a dangerous object, as the Twists soon discover. But none worse than when Linda makes a copy of herself.
She ends up using the copy at the end to win some form of a race that goes up and down the lighthouse stairs. I cant remember exactly why it was a race in the lighthouse, and I think that's why I have this episode so low down on the list. It's easily forgettable. However, it's not the worst episode. It still has such a creative premise, its' incredible actors and very funny humour involving the use of, I think, the mirror trick with the 'twin' of the girl Linda. (IDK how they did this copy trick but it is very creative.) Sure it's not the best episode out there, but it's still worthwhile seeing and very funny and nice and short. Check it out if you can find it.

#10: The Gum Leaf War.
ALthough it's a bit debatable if what happens in this episode actually happens, as the ending kinda gives the idea that it was a dream completely, this was the first time that an episode took place away from Port Niranda, and it was fascinating and bright and creative and a bit sad too. Ahat's the storyline? After an accident, Linda ends up with a broken nose. She dreams of her nose being big, so she escapes to the country with her Aunt Tuneless (who looks like Nell, a woman she knows from back home), where she discovers that anyone who plays The Wild Colonial Boy on a gumleaf from a certain tree can pass illnesses onto others. She discovers this after Aunt Tuneless uses it against Foxy (who looks like Mr Gribble, a sort of villain neighbour from the town), a neighbour with whom Aunt Tuneless has been feuding for years. The feud goes back and forth with illnesses being given to one another character until a situation is resolved. I remember first seeing this episode and thinking to myself 'hey this is really clever and actually is very bright and gives a bit more of an Australian feel. I really like what they did with this.' And yeah, they did a really good job! Sure, it's not perfect and might not have actually happened to Linda Twist, but if you think about it carefully, even if it was a dream it's still very creative and different to most dreams people have. I definitely recommend it, if not for the storyline and imagination, but also for the Australian feel.

#9: Know all
Wow, talk about an almost exact copy of the original storyline. This one, even though it has an inanimate scarecrow come to life at one point, is definitely a good episode. An old trunk of circus clothes creates all kinds of problems when they begin to come to life. Every time the family wears the clothes, they are able to do really impressive circus tricks. Unfortunately, there is one set of clothing that seems to be possessed by an evil circus performer, which ends up causing, like I said, a scarecrow coming to life and trying to attack the family. I guess it was going for a more 'goosebumps' feel for this, which for an australian author is very strange to try. However, to my surprise I find myself really liking this episode. It's well paced, interestingly made, acted well, and very funny. Only the 10th episode into the series, but by now it's clear that the creators know what they are trying to attempt and this was clearly a good thing, as from here on for some time things got better and better. Check it out if you want to unravel a good episode.

#8: Pink Bow Tie.
I remember reading the comic version of this episode before actually seeing it, or even reading the book version. So seeing it as a real episode I kinda knew what to expect. Having said that, it still delivers a great, unique, funny and odd story. What happens? Well The older Twist boy named Pete along with the bully gang have their hair up and (in the comic and book) turned white. Their Principal, a grouchy man that insists on everything being the right way, calls them in for detention and to explain how their hair got that way. Through flashback exposition we find out that the boys along with others in the town are on a boat sailing somewhere, and at one point some thieves come on board with a strange machine that apparently can make the holder younger or older. It comes down to a sort of battle between the boys and the thieves over who should use the machine and ages are mixed, comedy ensues, and some very odd things happen. Probably the best humour in this were some of the side tracked moments. Like there's a scene where the Twist father and the bully gang are trying to make each other seasick. The boys tried first, but the father could counteract it and the boys ending up being sick themselves (no they dont show them actually vomiting but still you get the idea) was really really funny. The age switching got really funny and interesting too, seeing the thieves and I think one of the bullies become young kids and old men in equal amounts during the episode. Of course, when the thieves have their final confrontation, something happens that causes them to keep getting older until they end up actually dying. ALthough you dont see the skin peeling or them actually passing away, the fright of seing their skeletons there was enough to scare the boys so that suddenly they had the spiked white hair. which brings the story to a conclusion back to the school. I won't tell you the actual ending here, but let me just say it's hilarious and very interesting too. Quite a good episode with indeed a good ammount of funny. If you're interested and want to feel young again, feel free to find it if you can.

#7: Nails.
Wow... talk about a fantastic follow up story. This episode comes immediately after Pink bow tie, and it's just.... it's just magical! Absolutely magical. Combining the world of mermaids and the mystery of who the mystery boy really is with the feel of Australia and the lives of The Twist family. So apparently Linda Twist meets this new boy at school, and while visiting him she finds out that he has nails growing along his arms and legs, which actually turn out to be scales. Scales that belong to, you guessed it, a male merman. You see, the boy is the son of a normal man and a mermaid, but has never known his real mother. And it wasnt until now that these scales appeared as he wasnt old enough yet. SO it's up to Linda to get him to the ocean and to live with his rightful family before anyone else finds out about the secret and he becomes a freak of the town. As the next episode after pink bow tie, this one wasn't that funny. However, it makes up for that with just being, like I said, absolutely magical. Sure there's no... magic used in the episode to solve the situation, but the feel and the story just made me want to escape to this place and actually be with these merpeople. It's really good! I only wish that there was a future episode where Linda met the boy again only now he wanted to maybe convince her to join him or something like that, but as is it's a very good episode and reeally worth while seeing. Certainly not the funniest, but heck not all of these on this list have to be. Check it out!

#6: Toy Love.
When I come to think about scary episodes of... anything i loved when I was a kid, strangely enough this episode comes right to my mind as one of the top few that scared me. Probably because of the main 'villain' of the episode. So when you throw things out you think you're not going to see it again right? You don't expect it to come back, haunt your every move, keep calling for you, and generally act quite villianous to you, do you?! Well that's pretty much what happens here. Linda decides to throw some old things away including a doll she used to like but is too old for now. unfortunately, the doll somehow comes to life and decides it doesnt WANT to leave Linda and generally becomes a huge nuisance to her, to the point of scaring her while she tried to sleep.
As a person that has a fear of inanimate objects with faces, this damn doll scared the shit out of me, and I wanted to grab the nearest hammer and smash the thing to bits every time it came on screen. So why do I like this episode? 2 reasons. 1: i dont mind being scared by something so obviously harmless to me like a doll. and 2: this episode is absolutely hilarious at some points. I should make a point that by this time there's the existance of this... book of love that keeps slipping to and from characters and causing very strange and fascinating results. Although I never saw the episode where they got it, it's become a constant problem for them and a big sense of humour for audience. One of the bullies ends up under a spell from the book and falls in love with Linda, and my fav scene is when they are walking together and she has a backpack on that has the doll in it, and it says something, and he thinks it was her saying it to him. That... that was just pitch perfect. I was laughing for ages the first time. There are a few moments similar to this in the episode, so it's not fully scary with the doll. Having said that, the ultimate reason why the doll came back to life in the end... was kinda stupid and felt very forced and too... soft. I wont say exactly what happens, but lets just say there's a reason the episode is called 'toy love'. Still, its a good scary episode to me and I find myself remembering the funny parts even to this day.


#5: Grandad's Gifts.
What is it about me and feeling sad in certain stories/TV shows? No matter the situation, no matter where I am, I end up somehow crying and feeling every sad emotion any human feels just from one thing. Grandad's gifts, both the story and the episode version, did this to me. By the time it was finished I was blubbering and blowing my nose like a little girl... which is stupid cus i'm *shouts bravely* I'm a MAAAHHNN!!!
But honestly, that's not what is wrong with this episode, that's actually what is right about it. I tried to think of which episode made me cry and 'have the feels' as some might put it and this was the best example in the series i could show.'Little black balls' comes kinda close, but it lost me with the whole... collecting sheep poop as the major storyline...
This one however.... wow... I mean WOOOOWW!!! When I read the story version for the first time, I was crying for DAAAAYYYSSS!! And why? Because it was just such a good story! Ok so what happens in this? Well apparently there's a lemon tree growing very well in the Twist family garden, and Linda gets suspiscious. However, things get out of hand when she discovers a fox coat in a cupboard that was shot by someone and left there. She is disgusted, of course, and doesnt want it there. However, she starts feeling sorry for it and seems to find out that it can kinda come to life every now and then, but cant leave its place in the cupboard. It indicates to her that the lemons on the tree might help and when Linda feeds the thing the lemons, the fox coat slowly seems to actually become a real fox once more.
Let me just say that, as a fox lover (in australia... ironic huh?) this story pulled on my heart strings and pulled HAARRRDD!! It was well paced, well thought out, the characters were great, heck even the humour, even some random things with a sort of side plot here and there, was still great. There's not a single bad thing that I can find in this episode, or in the story itself. If you want to see this episode, I would recommend find the original story for it first which is called by the same name in the anthology 'unbearable' However, even if you don't read the story first, I can garuntee you will still enjoy this episode. It's a heartfelt episode and I personally look forward to seeing it every time.

#4: Whirling Derfish.
Now we're back to the funny, creative and sort of rude imagination of the show. This is a really funny and bizarre concept, and you know what's bizarre? This is one of the episodes that isn't based on or written by paul jennings! Bizarre! But it still has his sense of humour and imagination. SO what happens? Apparently there is a strange, almost cute type of fish known as a whirling Derfish. Bronson, the youngest Twist boy, accidentally swallows one and finds out that he can swim INCREDIBLY fast suddenly... among erm OTHER things. Believe me, the less said the better. Still, it's a funny, bizarre and well made episode from beginning to end. And the conclusion is very nice and has quite a fascinating turn of events for Bronson and the fish too. I definitely love this episode, and look forward to seeing it any time I think about the show. Check it out if and when you can.

#3: Monster under the Bed.
This is one of the only episodes in series four I actually liked, and for very good reason. I should mention that by seasons 3 and 4 the creators of the series completely disregarded Paul Jennings as a writer of the episodes and started creating their own ideas, and most of these types were... too strange even for this series. However, this one was actually really nice and funnyand creative, with a fairly simple storyline. The dirt of the house has compiled itself into the Lint Monster and Bronson is heading for a showdown. And that's about it. It's Bronson vs the lint monster created by the dirt and grime around the lighthouse. And it doesnt fail in being both epic and funny at the same time. Not much else to say but... pretty epic.


#2: Brainless.
Yet another one from series three not from the mind of Paul jennings, and yet one I find myself cracking up over EVERY time! It's funny! It's engaging! It's epic! It's just a tiny bit gross! It's the few combinations of everything that I've grown to love about this series altogether. The storyline is that in an experiment gone wrong, Anthony (a scientist friend) and Bronson succeed in separating Pete and Linda from their brains. Now, Gribbs' gang have control of the bodies while the brains create havoc in the town.
Gibbs' group get the 'brainless' twin siblings to do their bidding, among other things, while Anthony and Bronson try figuring out whats happening. All in the meanwhile, one in the bully gang reads from that book I mentioned earlier causing Linda to fall in love with him... while still brainless. So there's two brains literally hopping around town, coming across troubles along the way, trying to get back to their bodies and get the remote control away from the bully gang. It's just as silly and strange and just a bit gross as you might think, however I've come to accept that in this show. It's a great episode that has me laughing and fascinated in its imaginative storyline every time. Check it out, if you still have a brain heh.

and my #1 absolute favourite Round the Twist episode is:
Birdsdo

*record Scratch*

wait huh?

Hehehe yes that's right guys. Only the Second episode ever to be made in the series and the BEST by far! I'm not kidding! This one has to mix two stories from the book series together, and in doing so it creates such a great episode that it ultimately becomes my ultimate all time favorite episode! When I say mixes stories, it mixes one of the same name and another called 'there's no such thing' both from the same anthology 'unbelievable'. Apparently a sort of old captain girl that knows the family is raving about dragons, and one being in a cave near the lighthouse. Because of this, the mayor, Mr. Gribbs, wants to evict her from her home near the beach. To help her pay the mortgage on the house, Pete and Linda go to a shack that's falling apart to find some rubies hidden there. In the meantime, in the 'second story' as it were, Bronson is determined to prove that the dragon exists, and so tries to explore the cave and get evidence. Both stories are fascinating, both have their equal amount of humour, adventure and... odd funny grossness. I wont say much more than that regarding both, other than probably the BEST cameo I've seen in a TV series. Yes that's right, Paul jennings himself actually appears in the hospital as a witness to the baby dragon when it is 'released' thru the hospital.

And that is why, without a doubt, this episode is my most fav episode of all round the twist history.  I definitely recommend it for sure and if you want to have a good time, check out the second series most, as most of my other favs came from there.

*more scenes from the series play as JPM finishes up*.

And there you have it guys! That is my list. Again I'm sure everyone has their own opinion and if you havent heard of it, that's fine I'm sure you can make a judgement on whether you should check it out or not. The music was catchy, the actors were always well played and each story had it's own unique magic or imagination all the way through. Sure there weren't many perfect ones, but I will always remember this series as a true australian magical series full of humour, a bit of grossness, some scary or cute or sad moments and just enough true blue australian feel to keep it going for a long time.

Having said that, it's nothing like that stupid Australian genie series... urgh I dont think I ever wanna see that stupid show again... wow that was bad.

ANyways, I hope you enjoyed this guys, I know I did, and I recommend you try finding episodes on youtube if you can.

I'm Justparodiezman and I'm proud to be an australian !