The Famous Five

Absolute nonsense.

The only thing that told me this was the famous five was the name of the characters. It was more in the style of a badly written Indiana Jones.

Creepy techno music, poor dialogue, atrocious acting.

Not appropriate for young children, which was a shame as we sat down as a family expecting to enjoy the classic story we all enjoy. I was expecting some adaptation but this was silly and not age appropriate. My children read and love the books. Instead it was a nonsense full of unnecessarily creepy moments bordering on mild horror at points.

I would avoid if you enjoy any part of Enid blyton. Or just like stories to make sense. You won't get that here. Even the kids said it was rubbish.

The acting is hammy, the dog is the only one not miscast. Five couldn't spot a fake priest, we ave ze Allo Allo school of accents and that's just for starters.

Jack Gleeson sporting the worst moustache since a dude called Adolf and a mullet Billy Ray Cyrus has a photo of on his bedroom wall, is wasted here, he struggles on with his mother fixation and bad writing. His wardrobe is from life on mars. He needs some mustard for all the ham during his glorious I am ze baddy scene. Kirrin Island is one feels a health and safety nightmare, dogs falling down holes, skint knees, getting swept out to sea.

George's mother feels more wooden than the boat.

It all falls together like a blancmange of daftness and fun with tongues firmly in cheeks and I had a lot of fun watching.

Hello. I just turned on the tv and saw this programme. As a child I adored these books as did my friends, we even made up our own famous five stories. I remember the books as wonderful, timeless classics, warm and lovely. However this series is the opposite. I was struck immediately by George's converse. Fun fact, converse was popularised in the 1960s. Secondly, the characters were rude, petulant and wooden. None of them convey any realistic human emotions. Also, what is with the music? It's incredibly annoying and unnecessary. The acting is outright hilarious, a complete mockery of these cherished books.

"Yeah right?" Is this a phrase used in the 1930s? This series is a disappointment to anyone who loved these books. In addition, I am writing as a thirteen year old who is warning others to stay away.

One last thing. The start titles. I thought I was watching some kind of experimental perfume ad. CANCEL THE SERIES!

I was really looking forward to this remake. I owned all the books by 10 years old ('70s) and read them many times.

I tried hard to watch it, but it was so awful. The changes to bring it "up to date", while leaving it still in the 40s were just confusing and jarring. I also couldn't watch Jack Gleeson (no, nothing to do with GoT) - his villain was worse than pantomine level.

As others mentioned, the plot/story was nonsensical at times. I also got far too confused trying to work out exactly how the cousins were related, and it took me out of the story.

I've not finished it, but saw enough to give this rating.

The first episode wasn't overly bad and had some nice touches and I hoped it would continuetoimprove. Not sure about the stranger things soundtrack but admired the effort to be bold. However episode 2 rather than getting better got worse.... awful even. I Havnt watched the 3rd... It's such a shame but just doesn't capture the source material for me like it should have and drifts far too far away from it on tangents that don't work and end being very naff. Feel sorry for the wasted cast and opportunity to do something long lasting and breathe new life into, granted dated, but great adventure stories. Nice idea... but for this reviewer, it fails.