A young boy, Kay Harker, is returning home from school to Seekings for the holidays. Little did he know he would find himself drawn into a world of magic and danger when he encounters an old Punch and Judy man, Cole Hawlings. With his shabby little box of powers, Kay is pulled into many fantastic worlds where he will encounter ancient heroes, Romans, wolves, rats, flashing rings, villainous characters and flying ponies. The Box of Delights is a BBC children's classic set during the festive season of Christmas in the 1930s, which takes us on a wild and mystical journey full of wonders. I have watched this show for many years now and I always put it on each December. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without watching this amazing serial, which makes me quite disheartened that it is never repeated on TV at all. The story is most certainly a trippy one. There are quite a lot of crazy, out-of-nowhere moments and sequences that are so random leaving you bewildered, however, they can be in its favour for what makes this so enjoyable. The show in its entirety has a dream-like feel to it with bizarre characters and details that you just have to try not to question. If you accept all of the strange occurrences, you will have a blast. The highlights of this series are undoubtedly the cast. Each one manages to deliver a magnificent performance respectively and makes the whole experience that much better. Devin Stanfield plays our protagonist Kay brilliantly, he is constantly engaging and has a sense of awe at every magical occurrence, which makes the world and story feel so believable. Patrick Troughton plays the kind Mr Cole Hawlings and delivers a great deal of mystery around his character who frequently talks of times long passed and knows things before they happen. You may recognise him from his role in another BBC show: Doctor Who (TV Series 1963-1989) as the Second Doctor. He carries with him his box of such delights, which is one of my favourite aspects of the show with how it looks and operates. It grants its user the ability to go small and it can also make you go swift and fly, alongside that it is full of wonders and powers. The rest of the characters offer so much too like the hilarious henchmen duo: Foxy Faced Charles and Chubby Joe and the police inspector who are so funny and entertaining. Then there are Kay's friends, the Jones family, Peter, Jemima, Maria and Susan who end up helping out on Kay's adventure. The icing on the cake however has to be Robert Stephens's portrayal of Abner Brown. Despite being a children's show, he plays the character like something out of Shakespeare. His acting is phenomenal and gives the character such a presence in every single scene. He can be so calm and collective then in the next scene, he could be screaming and demanding in rage. His facial expressions go hand in hand with his lines and makes him into what I could honestly say is one of the best villains in film history. Joining the fabulous cast and story that makes this series the marvel that it is, are the special effects. They clearly used the entirety of the budget they had to create this and it only shows with the amount of detail and creativity put into every scene they are featured in. My favourites have to be the hand-drawn creatures and landscapes which merge with the live-action aspects. Seeing characters walk into paintings that come to life, or travelling through history displayed by flying through artwork and tapestries of the period. Even seeing Abner's devilish creatures is a chilling experience that will forever stay with me, blending the two media perfectly. Overall, even though it can be extremely trippy and has an unusual story that makes little sense at times, this is a delightful series. Another testament to the 1980s in British television and an extremely entertaining one at that. A great piece of viewing for the seasonal period that can be enjoyed with the whole family.
No comments:
Post a Comment