The Owl Service

This was originally a Sunday evening children's programme. Some people found the plot hard going. However this does not distract from beautifully filmed,mystic quality of the programme. As a video release this would ideal, enabling it to be digested in your own time. Could be Gillian Hills' finest hour?

An 8-part TV series that includes a supernatural theme based on folklore, murder, (hinted, off-screen) sex, and demonic possession.

So perfect Sunday teatime viewing for all the family in 1970, with the first episodes being shown just before Christmas 1969.

No need to go into the story too much. It is retelling/updating/"inspired by" story based on a tale from the Mabinogion by acclaimed children's author Alan Garner, who was heavily involved in this TV version of his novel (and as a result it is a very faithful version). It features three young people (probably meant to be aged around 15-16) in an emotional triangle (to call it a love triangle would be misleading), living in a Welsh manor house in a valley cut off from the outside world (no electricity, phone, etc. - which was entirely plausible for the late 60s/early 70s).

The discovery of a strange dinner service results takes over the young girl - Alison - (played very well by an actress some 10 years older than the part she is playing) who is compelled to trace the pattern on the plates and make paper owls. And so the story begins.

After this it gets quite complex - to the extent that the summary of the previous episode that starts episodes 2-8 is absolutely required viewing, even if you are binging the entire series (its available on YouTube) because you will have missed something!

The three young actors (though they are significantly older than the parts they play) do a great job holding together a tale that basically only has six parts in it (the others being the father of two of the children, a live-in housekeeper and mother of the third, and a strange and apparently a little mad handyman/gardener.

Spread over 8 25-minute episodes the story will seem a little slow to modern viewers, with not a great deal of action (you can literally count the number of spots of blood that are shown), but what is hinted at and what probably happens off camera is another matter entirely.

Perhaps this is where the family viewing comes in because adult viewers will likely get the hints that children will miss, such as - to take one fairly mild example - why is Alison "ill" and in bed at the start, in her red nightdress, despite actually appearing quite perky? Not that hard for an adult to guess.

Each episode pushes the story forward with the last one being quite strong stuff, with what is essentially a form of demonic possession centre screen. A suspect a few viewers choked on the Sunday tea when this was shown.

But it is not just the story that would raise eyebrows - and actually make this unfilmable today (for children anyway) - it is also the style of filming. There may be little blood, but the camera loves Alison's legs in their 1960s short skirts to an extent that would be very worrying if you did not know that the actress was 25.

Overall this is a dark, complex, difficult but brilliant drama that uses folklore and the supernatural in a way that would be utterly impossible for the target audience today.

Having enjoyed Children of the Stones recently I bought this expecting great things of another (supposed) classic of spooky children's (or young adult's) TV drama. I have to report that I was sorely disappointed.

Somehow, despite having a very limited number of locations and cast – or, in fact, anything very much happening for long periods – the story is still extremely difficult to follow. The direction is uneven; plot lines tail off and are never explained or resolved and the acting is often inept sometimes verging on the pantomimic. The decision not to even show one of the main characters (Margaret – I wonder if Mat Lucas and David Walliams were taking notes?) just adds to the general confusion.

This is a real shame because the storyline has great potential and there are odd flashes of brilliance. You just feel the whole thing could have been much more effectively and concisely told in half the time and that the necessity of padding it out over eight episodes left even those involved unsure as to what the hell was going on.

I can only put it down to the inexperience of Peter Plummer and Alan Garner in writing and directing TV drama. Both of them were also probably too close to the material to be able to see what a tangled mess they were creating.

On the plus side, the title sequence is great; Gillian Hills is wonderfully sexy and her relationship with Michael Holden is touching and occasionally quite erotic. Francis Wallis as Roger, on the other hand, is such a moaning prig it's impossible to feel any sympathy for him at all.

View as a weird late '60s TV curio – just don't expect a satisfying dramatic experience.

This is one of the best TV shows ever produced, in the same vein as the "Prisoner". It has an edge that is missing from drama nowadays. The 60's and 70's were a unique time for culture- film, drama and music and this is no exception. Imaginative and eerie at the same time, with solid performances from all the cast- it is well worth buying the DVD. which includes a booklet that gives some insights into the making of the series and the Welsh legend which was the inspiration. A classic and a rare masterpiece of TV.

It's sad and disappointing that some reviews fail utterly to appreciate that this serial was an absolute classic of its time. It was bold in its conception, using real locations instead of studio-based sets which was unusual for its time. Its many years now since I first saw it but I remember it vividly as a very disturbing piece of story-telling thanks to the wonderful writing of the great Alan Garner and the brilliant direction of Peter Plummer.