The Mad Dog Gang Spooks Wilkie, Wink Wink and the Wobbler (TV movie)

Bet you can't hit the bell.

– Pickle (David Kennelly) issues Harvey (Buddy Ruruku) with a slingshot challenge

Mad Dog Gang's a bunch of sissies!

– Pickle (David Kennelly) picks a fight with the Mad Dog gang

Anyway, Shanghais are dumb.

– Suey (Julie Wilson) on the boys' 'Shanghai' (slingshot) challenge

Well you won't find many Russian spies round here, there's nothing for them to spy on. Anyway, they're probably all up in Wellington.

– Uncle Eric (Brion Beresford) brushes off the kids' talk of spies

A big fat man, no face, very thick glasses and... a sore hand.

– A policeman (Peter Dennett) taking notes on an intruder from Suey (Julie Wilson)

Come on! Show those pumpkins how to play football!

– Wink Wink (Bruno Lawrence) heckles at the school footy match

Please Sir, we think he's a spy, Sir!

– Tony (Ian Templeton) is concerned about the mysterious Wobbler (Ian Watkin)

Yeah well how would you like it? You've always got Harvey and Suey to stick up for ya. You've always got your dumb gang.

– Pickle (David Kennelly) defends himself after being teased by Tony (Ian Templeton)

Dumb, dumb headquarters.

– Suey (Julie Wilson) after she's assigned another boring 'job' by the gang

So you stay there, and you shut up, and no more monkey business!

– The Wobbler (Ian Watkin) is rattled by the Mad Dog gang closing in on him

 The Mad Dog Gang, Under the Mountain, The Fire-Raiser. There was a time when New Zealand led the world — or at least rivalled Canada — as the kidult television capital of the world.

– Opening sentence of an article discussing classic kids' TV drama by James Croot, The Post, 5 March 2025

All the actors I knew worked on stage, and if a bit of TV came up that was terrific, you got much better money. A movie, that was a real rarity — but if you got a bit of work in a movie, that was even better.

– Sir Ian Mune on the realities of being an actor and writer in the 1970s, RNZ, 30 December 2023