Howlin' Bob Maddison was all set to enjoy his retirement from a classified military research institute in Aldershot when he was made to look after an alien and a robot from the planet Ogg Vorbis, by order of the Queen.

His biggest challenge, however, would be to adopt his granddaughter, orphaned in a sickening teleportation accident.

A bashful computer chip and talking blue shellfish further complicate matters.