Animal Farm (1954)

Animal Farm (1954)

Dirs. John Halas + Joy Batchelor

Mr. Jones is abusive towards his animals, causing them to revolt and take over the running of Manor Farm. The animals agree that they must work together in order to prosper, but deep down not all of them believe in the 'Animalism' ideal. The political allegory, satire and hard-hitting subtext are easy to pick out, but they each keep their place, allowing Aristotle's ingredients for persuasion as evoked by some of the animals to really stand out when needed.

The animation and voices are excellent; the latter performed entirely by Maurice Denham. Also, the music by Mátyás Seiber does its job perfectly, upfront and powerful, and at times even becoming the primary narrative voice.

All in all, even if it was secretly part-funded by the CIA in the hopes of helping to promote their secret Cold War agenda — unbeknownst to the film's directors — the animated adaptation of George Orwell's novella still manages to do its source proud, for creatures great and small.

The Owl Service (1969-70)

The Owl Service (1969-70)

Dir. Peter Plummer | 8 episodes, approx 24 mins each.

Adapted from Alan Garner's 1967 novel of the same name, The Owl Service is a story that draws from Britain's pagan past in order to comment on present day social situations (c. late 1960s).

At its core are three youths in their late teens, not blood relations but through circumstance living in the same country house in a remote Welsh valley.

Firstly there's Alison (Gillian Hills), whose mother Margaret is newly married to a man named Clive.

The second youth is Roger (Francis Wallis), Clive's privileged son who over the course of the eight short episodes begins to lust after his step-sister.

The final corner of the triangle is Gwyn (Michael Holden), the son of cranky housekeeper Nancy and the only one of the trio that's working class.

Kinvig (1981)

Kinvig (1981)

Dir. Les Chatfield | 7 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

I expected more from Kinvig, given that it's written by Nigel Kneale, the creator and author of the Quatermass films, but, sadly, it's a weak sci-fi comedy with mostly forgettable characters.

The titular Kinvig (Tony Haygarth) is owner of a corner repair shop in a typical British town. A man with a self-proclaimed "flair" for fixing things, he is in fact a lazy and largely useless sod who wings it most of the time. His life is unstimulating and routine, and because his shop doesn't generate much income he struggles to pay the rates.

Kinvig's best friend is Jim Piper (Colin Jeavons), a man with an unhealthy interest in aliens and unexplained phenomena. If Jim dropped his toast and it landed butter side up, he'd probably think it was the work of extra-terrestrials. But in Kinvig's life Jim is the foremost authority on such things.

The Prisoner (1967–68)

The Prisoner (1967–68)

17 episodes, approx 50 mins each.

In the opening credits of The Prisoner we witness a man driving to what we will soon presume to be his place of work. It's a building somewhere in London. The man enters through the OUT door, storms purposefully into an office and slams on a desk an envelope upon which hand-written text can be seen. He then leaves the building via the same route, drives home and hurriedly packs a suitcase.

Sometime thereafter the unnamed man reawakens in a furnished house in a populated village and the series begins proper.

The credits are the viewer's back-story, and everything that follows is the man's here and now. We come to know him as Number 6.

If asked to compile a list of perfect castings in TV history, alongside the likes of Mr. T as B.A. Baracus (The A-Team), Brent Spiner as Data (Star Trek TNG), Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar (Babylon 5), and Ian McShane as Al Swearengen (Deadwood) my list would definitely have Patrick McGoohan as The Prisoner's Number 6.

Warrior Queen (1978)

Warrior Queen (1978)

Dirs. Michael Custance / Neville Green | 6 episodes, approx 25 minutes each

A British TV series about Queen Boudicca of the Celtic Iceni tribe, played here by the striking actress Siân Phillips. It tells of the determined queen's campaign to unite the native tribes in order to drive from their homeland the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in the year 61 AD.

Aiding Boudicca in her struggle is druid priest Volthan (Michael Gothard), a man who hates the Romans more than most because of the slaughter they wrought upon his fellow druid practitioners, even going so far as to outlaw their sacred beliefs.

Volthan's personal agenda sometimes overrides rational judgements, making him something of a dangerous ally. Gothard sometimes overacts the part, but there's no denying his good intentions for breathing dramatic life into the driven character.

Sapphire and Steel (1979-82)

Sapphire and Steel (1979-82)

Dirs. Shaun O'Riordan (Assignments 1, 3, 5)  /  David Foster (Assignments 2, 4, 6)
34 episodes, approx 25 minutes each.

"All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life. Medium atomic weights are available: Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver and Steel. Sapphire and Steel have been assigned."

I saw Sapphire and Steel first when I was a kid. I don't remember what age exactly, but it blew my young mind. I saw some of it again in my twenties. It blew my mind once more. You can guess where this is going... yup, and again in my thirties: mind blown.

In all that time I've not encountered anything else quite like it, so in my experience it's unique. It's so unique that I could easily skip the introduction (and indeed the middle section) and go direct to the recommendation, but I won't. Instead, I'll try to give an overview of just what the hell it's all about.

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.

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Dir. Terry Marcel

A cheesy Sword and Sorcery flick that I loved as a kid. I'd a recorded-off-TV VHS copy back in the day, but times have changed and I no longer have a VHS player, so I bought it on Blu-ray and treated my memories to a rewatch in 1080p.

It borrows plot from quite a few different sources, including Tolkien, the Western genre, and a well-known sci-fi film that I refuse to name (hint: it rhymes with bar wars).

John Terry is Hawk, a leading man with an impractically-balanced magic sword, but the script doesn't push him to the fore like you might expect. If you were to add up his screen time, it's probably not much more than some of the other heroes. He's too phlegmatic to be considered charismatic, so it's not much of a loss.

Escape Into Night (1972)

Escape Into Night (1972)

Dir. Richard Bramall | 6 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

Adapted from British novelist Catherine Storr's Marianne Dreams (1958), Escape is the story of what happens when a young girl's dreams become a kind of second reality for the incapacitated youth.

Marianne (Vikki Chambers) is confined to bed by the family doctor, on account of a cracked leg bone obtained in a riding accident. She's told it may take up to six weeks to heal. The news displeases Marianne, who's normally a very physically active child, so to pass the time she picks up a drawing pad and an old pencil and exercises her imagination.

When she dreams her drawings are brought to life in a peculiar way. She's able to walk around inside and around them. But when the young girl's thoughts become troubled in real life her dream place takes on a similarly dark tone, shaped by her adolescent frustrations and troubled, emotional outpourings.

Children of the Stones (1977)

Children of the Stones (1977)

Dir. Peter Graham Scott | 7 episodes, approx 28 mins each.

Young Matthew Brake (Peter Demin) and his astrophysicist father, Adam (Gareth Thomas), arrive in Milbury, an English village built inside a megalithic stone circle. Adam's there to examine the stones, as his job dictates. Matthew begins to carry out his own investigation into the townspeople, who resemble something from a pagan Village of the Damned.

Prior to my most recent viewing of the Children of the Stones series it had been over twenty years since I'd last seen it. It had scared the living hell out of me as a kid, and while watching the opening credits again it was clear that it was going to give me a dose of the wiggins as an adult. It sure did. It's uncomfortably eerie, and bleeds atmosphere from every twist and turn. It's like Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) for children, as wrong as that sounds.

Into The Labyrinth (1981-82)

Into The Labyrinth (1981-82)

Dir. Peter Graham Scott

21 episodes (07 Eps x 03 Series), approx 26 mins each.

Regrettably, I lost the torn out notepad page that I'd taken notes on while watching, so I'm going to have to work solely from memory as best I can. I feel bad about that because my memory is often unreliable and the show deserves a proper, detailed write up.

Three youths, Phil, Helen and Terry (in order pictured) shelter in a nearby cave when a freak storm breaks out. It's there that they find Rothgo, a formidable but weakened soul with the kind of powers we'd normally associate with sorcerers of bygone eras. Rothgo enlists the children's help to retrieve an ancient and powerful artefact.

To attain the Nidas, as it's known, the kids must venture into the Labyrinth, a gateway to other times. It's a perilous journey and like all good children's TV shows it has an antagonist that's truly memorable, but I'll get to her eventually.