Post by Nick Cooper on Feb 4, 2022 14:06:12 GMT
I'm also keen to see a better version, if possible.
I'd never heard of this series until I discovered this thread - I watched it spread out over a few evenings. I really enjoyed it, but the copies on Youtube do leave a lot to be desired (although I'm certainly grateful they exist!)
This series completely passed me by - I was born in 1976 and do remember series like The Tripods, Blake's 7, etc... but not this one. Given that we only had 3 or 4 channels back then, I'm really surprised I never saw it at the time. I guess it also wasn't repeated very much? (again, strange, given that we all remember the BBC being clogged with 'repeats' especially in the 1980s. Ah, how times have changed?!
It was thought at the time that ITV were a bit unsure about what to do with it, hence the two year delay between filming and screening. It does seem possible that, while ostensibly a children's series, it was thought to be a bit too hard-edged. Certainly it was featured in the drama section of the 1987 IBA yearbook, rather than the children's. That said, while it wasn't networked, all the ITV regions screened it on the same Sunday afternoons, mostly in slots between 16:00 and 17:30, which had been occupied immediately previously by Shadow of the Stone.
There was a trailer (on YouTube) for the series shown during the morning kid's programmes the week (the last of the Summer break) before the first episode, but otherwise it doesn't seem to have been publicised much. Also, one of the kid's TV magazines at the time included the series logo on a free sticker sheet.
I did hear a rumour at the time that ITV were considering screening a compilation version around the time of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but it may have been nothing more than wishful thinking. If genuine, I guess they could have gone for the 2 x (approx.) 2-hour VHS version.