Malory Towers

My partner is a huge fan of the Malory Towers books - being of girl school stock. Assuredly this is full of all the high drama, deep betrayals and personality clashes you might expect from such a setting. The ensemble children are game despite the stiff Blyton dialogue and much like the Potter kids of yore the baddy (in this case Danya Griver's malicious Gwendoline) steals most of the scenes.

It's shot in a mix of Canada and Devon and does feel strangely transatlantic as well as rather cheap - the adult cast being entirely composed of Canadian and British bit-actors adds to this feeling. Surely this manner of thing is ripe for random strange character actor cameos. Even up-and-coming comedy actors would have been good - Laura Checkley as matron anyone? The general mildness of all the adult cast does add even further to its soporific air so perhaps it was intentional.

Despite the sheen of cheapness, it's premature release to chime with children being confined to their houses due to the virus, rather than over the summer holidays will likely lend it a strange nostalgic air for many - and it's enthusiastic reception online is heartening. It was a pleasant, pastel-coloured, old fashioned diversion from the harder drama of reality so fair play to it for that.

Kids and I love it. Good escapism and old fashioned values. More series please

Hello, I first read the entire series of Malory Towers in 1957. I was 7 years old. I was born and raised in a poverty stricken Salford, Near Manchester - times were hard, yet my mother spent money we couldn't really afford to buy me these second hand books. You might think that I read these books and felt envious of the characters - they did, after all, have so much more than I - but no. I was intrigued, captivated and laugh-out-loud entertained by their antics. I've always been a prodigious reader - but some themes', some ideas stay with you a lifetime - in this case it's the 'rose tinted glasses' ideal of an England where the Summers last forever... where friendships never fade and justice is served. The acting was... as has been noted... occasionally poor - but not exceptionally so - and the editing could have been far better. To summarise - this show holds true to the very essence of the books - and I believe that Enid Blyton would have been extremely happy with this outcome.

This was great!!I am hoping for a come back next year or in this case next term!!

I thought this was excellent, and a really good example of how to adapt a much-loved but dated original. Almost everything that happened in the book is preserved, and the Blytonian spirit of optimism is definitely there. But the writers have made some changes that actually improve on the original: focusing on the complicated relationship between impulsive tomboy Darrell and icy drama queen Gwen, working in hints of danger and darkness, and making the moral hinge on forgiveness and second chances.

Given that Enid Blyton was a slightly "problematic" author even at the time, it's a real achievement to make that source material work in 2020.

It is a slow burner - it takes a few episodes to get the hang of who's who and what's going on beneath the surface. But I recommend it for anyone willing to invest their time in the world that's been created, and hope they will get to make a second series.