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The Incredible Adventures of Prof. Branestawm was based on a popular 1930s British radio series of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the writings of Norman Hunter. A one-time magician, Hunter was fascinated with intricate gadgets and toys, and he passed this fascination along to his fictional alter-ego, Professor Theophilus Branestawm. Capable of developing the most complicated inventions known to mankind, the good Professor nonetheless usually came a-cropper because of his chronic absent-mindedness. Norman Hunter's prose was rife with such colorful turns of phrases as "The inventions went a bit bustable" and with a vast array of daffy definitions ("Abominable," for example, was a word describing "a piece of explosive swallowed by a male cow"). From July 10 to August 28, 1969, a weekly, 25-minute TV version of The Incredible Adventures of Prof. Branestawm was beamed out to the United Kingdom, with scripts adapted by Trevor Preston. Jack Woolgar starred in the title role, with Paul Whitsun-Jones as Branestawm's best friend, Col. Dedshot of the Catapult Cavaliers, and Freda Dowie as the Professor's unflappable housekeeper Mrs. Flittersnoop.