I never read the books, or any of Enid Bouton's books, so I was able to watch Malory Towers without comparing it.
Most of the characters annoyed me. Alicia, Jean, Bill, and Sally were my least favourite. My favourite ended up being... Gwen. I know, she's supposed to be the girl everyone hates because she's selfish and spoiled, but she was the only one who wasn't a goody-two-shoes. Well, she was, but in her own way. She reminded me of how I felt about Ethel Hallow in the Worst Witch. Ethel wants to be the best and is constantly one-upped by Mildred. Gwen isn't clever like Ethel, in fact she's lazy and shallow, but what she wants more than anything is for her family to accept her. And unlike Ethel, she seems to learn from her mistakes and is definitely growing into a slightly better person.
I also really liked Miss Johnson, who was simply a horrendous person- or should I say, I liked the actor. I could listen to her voice all day. Plus, I hated the Bill and her precious horse storyline (probably because I was in the horse-obsessed girls group for a year at school and it was the worst year of my life and brought back a lot of repressed trauma), so I was secretly pleased every time Bill got reprimanded by Miss Johnson about seeing her stupid horse.
In terms of other characters, I adored Mary-Lou, Miss Grayling, and Ron. I also liked Gwen's parents. As other reviewers have said, it's very PC. I'm sure there were POC students and possibly teachers in England in the late 40s, but it seemed like they were trying to be too diverse. The editing was also a bit jarring, but oh gosh, those shots of the Cornish countryside and water were simply stunning.
Malory Towers feels nostalgic to me somehow, and as I watch it I feel a sort of toffee-and-caramel-cream cloud that I can't explain enveloping me. It's worth a watch, at least once.
