Children of the Stones

Many years ago, when ITV in the UK was an amalgamation of separate TV companies (like HTV, the makers of this show along with many other great series, serving the west of England and Wales), which used to make their own shows for local consumption, before submitting them to the network for a national screening, they used to come up with gems like this.

It's a bizarre story of a kid and his dad entering a strange place in the west of england (the Dad is a Historian on a research trip, but his son finds out more than his Dad was expecting), only to find that everything is not as it seems. The locals are being drawn into a strange cult which revolves around an ancient stone monument in the locality (actually the ancient monument which still stands in Avebury, Wiltshire, UK)...

I really couldn't tell you any more without spoiling things, but my description of this series would be: If that great cult movie "The Wicker Man" had been made as a children's programme, it might have looked something like this. It's a true hidden gem, which caught the imagination of kids across the UK upon its original transmission in the UK in early 1977.

If any overseas viewers (who like something a bit out of the ordinary) want to check it out, then I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend the UK DVD release by "Second Sight" - and if you ever find yourself in the UK, take the time out to visit the location used in the series... It's a truly mystical place, with a truly strange atmosphere which will stick in your mind long after your trip...

ITV in the UK these days is a very different operation, and they just don't make shows like this anymore. If ITV made a show called "Children Of The Stones" today, it would probably be a reality show starring Jade Jagger and Theodora Richards....

Watch and enjoy what once was, in the days when we Brits were truly proud of the programming we produced, as opposed to these days, when we are frankly embarrassed by 95% of it... :-(

This TV serial aired thirty three years ago and brought back a lot of memories of the originality of UK children's TV in those days. It is probably a little too "talky" for today's audiences and it does require one's whole attention. Back then, there were many TV serials, books and films dealing with the occult or prechristian pagan themes, and like murder mysteries, they were invariably set in picture postcard English villages, where everyone seems to be addicted to afternoon tea with cakes, and which makes one wonder just WHAT is going on in those little villages. Many, if not all, villages date from ancient times, especially if they are near a river or water source, and thanks to the laws which prevented people moving away from the parish or estate that they were tied to, the villagers' ancestry goes back as far as the village. Old customs and practices linger on, which adds to the mystery and folk lore.

Unless you have visited Avebury and the general area, you can have no conception of how huge these monuments are, and how many circles and long barrows (neolithic burial chambers) there are. We know next to nothing about their builders and for what purpose they were built, which leaves room for fanciful imagination. We do know that what remains today is but a fraction of what once stood. Even the Avebury Circle and Stonehenge are mere fragments of what used to be.

As I grew up listening to Journey Into Space and the Quatermass Experiment on radio, the time warp and parallel universe themes were no surprise. Throw in a bit of pagan witchcraft and I was on familiar ground. Without giving away any of the plot (everyone else has done that for me) I cannot help wondering whether the creators of LOST watched this show in their youth, as there are many similarities. So many in fact that I would go so far as to say that the finale of LOST will show that the island was on a circular parallel time where events kept repeating themselves.

I would have given this show a rating of 10 for sheer originality, but the lack of close captions hampered me, being age related hearing impaired, and I could not follow the plot at all. Had it not been for reviews on the Internet I would not have had a clue what was going on. I am surprised how many viewers found it scary, as I did not find it so, but that is perhaps because I could not hear the actors very clearly.

Having recently bought this on DVD from Amazon.co.uk with a fair degree of trepidation - I last saw this on it's original transmission when I was all of twelve(!) - I feared that it would lack it's original punch.

There was no need to worry though!

Although some of the story does not quite live up to memory and other bits are clearly aimed at children, the overall tension of the series is still nicely maintained and the last couple of episodes, as the changes sweep through the children and their parents is still terrifying.

Given it's age (26 years on) it is mostly remarkably undated, mainly helped by the fact that much of the terror is not dependant on flakey special effects but the "Off-scene Lurking Horror"! The sound track is another major tension builder, with the chanting building to a crescendo in keeping with on screen events.

Hendrick's computer system buried in the church vaults provided a(n unintended) momentary laugh for me, surrounded as I am by Micro computers capable of doing everything that cellar full of equipment could :-).

Iain Cuthbertson was wonderfully understated as the evil Hendricks

Scientist Adam and his bright son Matthew move to the small, sleepy, happy village of Milbury. An attractive little place, slap bang on the site of an Ancient Stone circle, it's a village with a secret.

A really enjoyable series for people of all ages, I find it such a shame that series such as this aren't made for today's youngsters, back in the 70's there seemed to be a wealth of programmes made for teens, some pretty memorable, iconic programmes.

I'm sure those that watched this during its transmission remember it fondly, and for good reason, it's a very watchable and enjoyable series. Enough good stuff going on for first time viewers too.

Very 70's in terms of production values, music and clothing, so expect plenty of dodgy ties and haircuts.

8/10 definitely one to watch.

This was a movie that US Nickelodeon channel used to show when I was young (and Nickelodeon channel was new). I loved the movie then because it was so unlike any other movies I had seen. Would definitely recommend it (it is now available on DVD but is fairly expensive for US markets).

When I had a chance to go to England for school, I actually went to Avebury and saw the stone circle (which is older than Stonehenge). The movie itself is a nice blend of factual history, science, science fiction and eerie music.

This is one of those lost gems that might be well worth another look!