I have watched and read an awful lot of Famous Five, so came to this adaptation with fingers crossed, hardly daring to watch at first. How beautiful then to see it open with George all alone on her boat, sailing like a pro, fiercely independent and free, just as Blyton imagined, and the whiff of mystery and adventure evident in the first few minutes.
It's a dream come true really to see new adventures on television re-imagined for today's young ones, so that they might have their chance to feel the same excitement that we 70s kids did when that first 'Whatever awaits behind closed doors ..." played from our little square televisions back in 1978 ...
To understand and enjoy this adaptation, you should come to it without carrying the baggage of your own experiences and expertise, but watch with your inner child in charge, with fresh eyes. The fabulous neon titles will certainly wake your eyes up for that! You will see a talented young cast full of energy bring their interpretations of the characters to life, and be carried along in a wild ride of twists and turns.
Just as the original stories invoked feelings of freedom and invincibility, here we see the kids taking charge, working the mysteries and puzzles out for themselves, pulling together and backing each other to get through the Indiana Jones style perils that befall them. I loved the more thoughtful and composed George, the steady Julian, the bookish, curious bespectacled Dick and the pint sized, red shoe shod and initially bossy Anne, who, like the original in the books, sees some things that the others miss and plays her part. Medieval knights and Latin sit easily against the books, with 'Five go Adventuring Again and its Via Occulta springing to my mind as I watched.
A warm yellow glow suffuses the pictures on screen, the same golden glow I think that surrounds these stories when you stop thinking like an adult who knows everything and start to remember what it was like when you first picked up a Famous Five and got taken along for a marvelous adventure where children reigned supreme. For those who want hyper-reality or stories that retell the books of the 40s and 50s word for word, you've missed the point. This is 2023, and how timely and unexpected to see a fresh and different take on this truly magical premise that is Famous Five.
I literally cannot wait for the next two, and am crossing everything that they'll go again with another series with the same brilliant people on both sides of the camera making more magic for those of us who refuse to grow up.
Search Facebook for Famous Five TV Series 2023 and Famous Five TV Series 1978 1979 to join with other friendly fans and share your love of this great story and its adaptations for the tele.
It's a dream come true really to see new adventures on television re-imagined for today's young ones, so that they might have their chance to feel the same excitement that we 70s kids did when that first 'Whatever awaits behind closed doors ..." played from our little square televisions back in 1978 ...
To understand and enjoy this adaptation, you should come to it without carrying the baggage of your own experiences and expertise, but watch with your inner child in charge, with fresh eyes. The fabulous neon titles will certainly wake your eyes up for that! You will see a talented young cast full of energy bring their interpretations of the characters to life, and be carried along in a wild ride of twists and turns.
Just as the original stories invoked feelings of freedom and invincibility, here we see the kids taking charge, working the mysteries and puzzles out for themselves, pulling together and backing each other to get through the Indiana Jones style perils that befall them. I loved the more thoughtful and composed George, the steady Julian, the bookish, curious bespectacled Dick and the pint sized, red shoe shod and initially bossy Anne, who, like the original in the books, sees some things that the others miss and plays her part. Medieval knights and Latin sit easily against the books, with 'Five go Adventuring Again and its Via Occulta springing to my mind as I watched.
A warm yellow glow suffuses the pictures on screen, the same golden glow I think that surrounds these stories when you stop thinking like an adult who knows everything and start to remember what it was like when you first picked up a Famous Five and got taken along for a marvelous adventure where children reigned supreme. For those who want hyper-reality or stories that retell the books of the 40s and 50s word for word, you've missed the point. This is 2023, and how timely and unexpected to see a fresh and different take on this truly magical premise that is Famous Five.
I literally cannot wait for the next two, and am crossing everything that they'll go again with another series with the same brilliant people on both sides of the camera making more magic for those of us who refuse to grow up.
Search Facebook for Famous Five TV Series 2023 and Famous Five TV Series 1978 1979 to join with other friendly fans and share your love of this great story and its adaptations for the tele.