This was one of my favourite tv shows as a child and my favourite book series as a child so with the release of the Famous Five The Complete Collection released on DVD I decided to see how the show has stood the test of time.
Production for the series began in 1977, with filming commencing during the Summer of that year.
The series starred Michele Gallagher as George, Marcus Harris as Julian, Gary Russell as Dick and Jenny Thanisch as Anne, while Timmy the dog was played by a Border Collie called Toddy.
The series was very successful at the time but didnt go past series 2 because the Enid Blyton Estate didn;t allow them to create original stories so once they had completed two seasons covering 19 of the 21 books (two of which couldn't be recreated due to The Children's Film Foundation still had the film and TV rights to the books.) the series ended on a high.
The opening story is a double episode and introduces Julian, Dick and Anne to their cousin George and her dog Timmy. We first see Julian, Dick and Anne on their cycling to Kirren Cottage. The children's bags are being picked up and brought by car from the station. This is a great introduction for Julian, Dick and Anne as we see them having fun and cycling from the start of the series which was one of the staple elements of The Famous Five series. Instantly I feel that Jenny Thanisch was the perfect choice to play Anne and is exactly as one would imagine her to be in the books. In fact all the child actors were well chosen and act their roles well.
I notice that George has been dressed during the story in a top that has pink buttons on the shoulders, not a choice that one would imagine for George but other than that the characterisation of George is the best I have seen. Timmy in the books was also a mongrel and as he was capable of scaring criminals one would imagine he would be a mix of large breeds that have some agression to them, definately the pure bred Border Collie that ened up in the series.
The story flows well and is easy to watch. It is well filmed and the first episode doesn't suffer the dark filming issues of some episodes.
The story has the five going to Kirren Island to help save their Uncle Quentin. Very enjoyable just as I remember it. Know wonder the series was one of my favourites.
Five Go to Kirren Island: Part 1 (Original transmission: 3 July 1978)
Five Go to Kirren Island: Part 2 (10 July 1978)
(Note: Kirren is spelt differently from the books)
Production for the series began in 1977, with filming commencing during the Summer of that year.
The series starred Michele Gallagher as George, Marcus Harris as Julian, Gary Russell as Dick and Jenny Thanisch as Anne, while Timmy the dog was played by a Border Collie called Toddy.
The series was very successful at the time but didnt go past series 2 because the Enid Blyton Estate didn;t allow them to create original stories so once they had completed two seasons covering 19 of the 21 books (two of which couldn't be recreated due to The Children's Film Foundation still had the film and TV rights to the books.) the series ended on a high.
The opening story is a double episode and introduces Julian, Dick and Anne to their cousin George and her dog Timmy. We first see Julian, Dick and Anne on their cycling to Kirren Cottage. The children's bags are being picked up and brought by car from the station. This is a great introduction for Julian, Dick and Anne as we see them having fun and cycling from the start of the series which was one of the staple elements of The Famous Five series. Instantly I feel that Jenny Thanisch was the perfect choice to play Anne and is exactly as one would imagine her to be in the books. In fact all the child actors were well chosen and act their roles well.
I notice that George has been dressed during the story in a top that has pink buttons on the shoulders, not a choice that one would imagine for George but other than that the characterisation of George is the best I have seen. Timmy in the books was also a mongrel and as he was capable of scaring criminals one would imagine he would be a mix of large breeds that have some agression to them, definately the pure bred Border Collie that ened up in the series.
The story flows well and is easy to watch. It is well filmed and the first episode doesn't suffer the dark filming issues of some episodes.
The story has the five going to Kirren Island to help save their Uncle Quentin. Very enjoyable just as I remember it. Know wonder the series was one of my favourites.
(Note: Kirren is spelt differently from the books)
I loved these books as a kid. A neibour borrowed me the complete set. One was actually signed by the author. 😀
ReplyDeleteI wish I’d of collected them as a kid. 🤔