Huckleberry Finn and His Friends

I saw this back in the early 80's on Showtime's "Mark Twain Theater". Since it was a series, there was enough time to capture details in the book very accurately. In fact, it was quite true to the book. It was enjoyable to watch, for young children and adults as well. The young actors were all very good, especially Ian Tracey as Huck Finn. I wish it would be on again so I could show it to my children. As far as I know, it is not available on video.

That's saying a bit seeing as adaptations of both books have been hit-and-miss in quality, especially with Huckleberry Finn. Both have very good adaptations(Tom Sawyer with the 1938 film, Huckleberry Finn with the Mickey Rooney film) but none outstanding. Until this 26-part 11-hour show, which is very close to perfect(apart from occasional lapses in dubbing and lip-synching particularly with Aunt Polly). Huckleberry Finn and His Friends is beautifully and authentically filmed with very appropriately chosen locations. The music is lilting and haunting in equal measures depending on the tone of each scene, with a theme tune that will leave you humming for days. The dialogue has the spirit of Mark Twain's way with words and phrasing with some light-hearted humour and some very touching and dark moments. The story is incredibly compelling from the get go and captures the details and spirit of the storytelling of both books, even with the odd omission here and there. It is also one of the few adaptations of either book that not just captures the lighter nostalgic charm as seen in the friendship between Tom and Huck(Becky and particularly Jim also) but also the grimmer, darker aspects, like with Injun Joe(his leap from the court-room is not one to forget) and Pap, doing that while balancing them adeptly. The acting is very, very good especially from a superb Ian Tracey as Huck, and he is supported wonderfully by in particular a spirited Tom, a creepy Injun Joe, the roguish Duke and Dauphin, a brutish Pap, a kindly Aunt Polly and a very dignified Jim. All in all, a wonderful show and the best version of either book, if you haven't read either yet do, Huckleberry Finn is a little hard to get into at first but they're both excellent. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I used to come home from school on my lunch hour just to watch that show. It brings back memories just thinking about that time... I hope they show it again soon on tv. The only flaw would probably be that it didn't run long enough.

I've watched the series 6 times throughout the years. First in the Netherlands and Belgian TV then the German dubbed version. Hopefully the DVD will also be distributed in the Netherlands. I still have the scrapbook with newspaper and TV-guide cuttings that I started in 1980 and it was useful for my book reports at school. All the girls fell in love with Ian Tracey, no kidding. I remained to follow Ian's acting career, but being over here in The Netherlands,we get to miss most of the news. But hooray for Internet, it's a great help to find articles and photo's. I'm sure that there are a lot of Dutch fans waiting to enjoy the series once more. I know certainly will!

This is top TV viewing. When I grew up in the 70s, this came on almost every summer. It is well made, each episode is short and therefore easy to get through. Now, 40 years later, I'm watching it with my 7 year old who is completely addicted.

The show is well made, remains reasonably true to the books and contains good animated acting from children which isn't normal for these types of shows.

Thoroughly recommend that you give this a try.