The Tyrant King (1968)

The Tyrant King (1968)

Dir. Mike Hodges / 6 episodes, approx 24 mins each.

Adapted from a 1967 children's adventure book (The Tyrant King - A London Adventure by Aylmer Hall, a pen name of Norah Eleanor Lyle Cummins), the story follows three bored British teenagers, siblings Charlotte and Bill and their friend Peter, who overhear a shady man's phone conversation while exploring a stranger's house (aka trespassing).

Overcome with curiosity, and partial good intentions, the trio make it their business to solve the cryptic coded words of the mysterious stranger.

The tagline promises 'A Prog Rock Odyssey Through Swinging London', which is glamorous speak for what's essentially a visual tour of the city incorporated into a Children's TV show.

Flip to the blurb on the back of the box and you'll find some intriguing information on how and why the series came to be the unusual entity that it is:

'This six-part mystery thriller was Thames Television's very first production. Shot on location on 16mm film, it was effectively an experiment to assess the feasibility of a small-scale production unit within the company – a subsidiary that would eventually become the legendary Euston Films, responsible for a string of phenomenally successful dramas including The Sweeney and Minder.'    [Text taken from the networkonair website.]

So it was an experiment whose primary function was one of technical and financial assessment (with plot perhaps being a secondary concern?). That explains the peculiar structure of kids sleuthing inside famous buildings and numerous scenes of them travelling to and from tourist-friendly landmarks. It was shown only once on TV, in 1968, in B+W. The episodes on the disc are restored from 'original film materials' and are, for the first time, in beautiful late 60s colour!

The acting from the kids is okay. The best of the trio is Charlotte (Candace Glendenning), who is perhaps the most fashionable teenager in the whole of London. Events takes place over eight days, giving her plenty of opportunities to change clothes and highlight the styles of the era.

The series fulfilled its primary function (as mentioned above) but it's now also an intriguing snapshot of the 'swinging sixties' themselves. As with the famous streets and locations, the lens captures the fashions of passers-by, too, as they really were at the time. From a contemporary perspective, celebrating the era is arguably what The Tyrant King does best.

The opening theme tune is the start of The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack by The Nice. Being truncated, as it is, makes it sound remarkably like Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd, who, incidentally, also feature (Astronomy Domine), as do instrumental sections of songs by Cream (As You Said), The Rolling Stones (She's a Rainbow), and The Moody Blues (Dr. Livingstone, I Presume) in similarly shortened form, all of which are British bands, in-keeping with the series intent.

NOTE: the DVD box is an unusual size. It's as wide and deep as a regular R2 DVD amaray case but about two-thirds the height. On first glance it looks almost like an American Nintendo DS game box. Some folks will grumble that it doesn't fit nicely beside their other DVDs, and that's a fair point, but personally I love how it looks and I wish more DVD boxes were that size.

EDIT: since making this post, the series has been reissued in a standard sized DVD amaray case.