Look and Read/Dark Towers

From LookingAndSeeing.co.uk - a website about schools broadcasting

An excellent and much-loved programme with a story that's comic, atmospheric and occasionally very scary ("Who comes to the Tall Knight's folly?") involving a young girl called Tracy who chases her dog into the gardens of a strange old house, Dark Towers. She meets the residents, Lord Dark and his son Edward, and becomes involved in a race to find the hidden treasure of Dark Towers. This race also involves three self-styled antique experts who're really searching for the treasure, and the house's two ghosts - the recently deceased Friendly Ghost and the more scary Tall Knight.

Wordy did the in-between bits from a children's library with the help of the librarian, Jenny Jackson, and many of the educational songs involved three more ghosts: Ghostly, Ghastly and Ghoulish.

[edit] Episodes

Episode descriptions from the Radio Times.

1. Dark Towers in Danger!
   • Tracy and her dog Towser meet the owners of Dark Towers, a strange old house, and receive a mysterious, ghostly message.
2. The Man in the Picture
   • Is there something suspicious about the two 'experts' looking over the contents of Dark Towers? Then Tracy and Edward meet a friendly ghost!
3. The Old Legend
   • The Friendly Ghost gives a warning and tells of the legend of Dark Towers. He gives the first clue to the whereabouts of the Tall Knight's treasure.
4. The Clue in the Book
   • The first clue on the trail of the Golden Book of the Tall Knight leads to a worm-eaten rhyme and a hunt for old wheels.
5. The Old Coach House
   • Tracy solves the clue, but finds out that Benger and Bunce are crooks and overhears their plans.
6. The Tall Knight's Folly
   • Tracy is 'framed' by Benger and Bunce. Edward enlists the help of the Friendly Ghost and finally meets Tall Knight.
7. The Dark Tree
8. Beware of the Bird!
   • The studded chest is found... but where is the treasure? Benger and Bunce turn nasty but the Tall Knight comes to Tracy's rescue.
9. Who Can Help?
   • The secret hiding place of the Golden Book is discovered - by the three villains - so the Friendly Ghost decides to summon up the Tall Knight.
10. The Last Laugh
    • Will the Tall knight arrive in time to save his treasure and the house? Who will have the last laugh?

[edit] Credits

Narrated by	Sean Barrett
Starring	David Collings as Lord Dark and the Friendly Ghost Juliet Waley as Tracy Brown Gary Russell as Lord Edward Dark Christopher Biggins as Mr Benger Harry Jones as Mr Bunce Juliet Hammond Hill as Miss Hawk Peter Mayhew as the Tall Knight Denise Coffey as Jenny Jackson Charles Collingwood as Wordy Katie Hebb as puppeteer Susan Kodicek as the Little Ghost (Black Theatre of London) and Flak as Towser
Singers	Derek Griffiths Julie Stevens

Written by	Andrew Davies
Producer	Sue Weeks

Juliet Waley was accidentally credited as "Juliet Way" in the credits to episode 4. Nobody knows why this little mistake was made (I have asked!). Normally the exact same credits roller would be re-filmed from one episode to another, unless they needed to make (manual) changes to it. Presumably in this case somebody got a bit distracted while they were doing the letraset and then never noticed the error.

Who was in which episodes:

C A S T   D E T A I L S

starring                     EPISODES
----------------------
SEAN BARRETT          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS     2 3   5 6 7 8 9 10
HARRY JONES             2 3   5 6 7 8 9 10
DAVID COLLINGS        1 2 3 4   6   8 9 10
JULIET HAMMOND HILL       3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PETER MAYHEW                    6 7 8   10
GARY RUSSELL          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SUSAN KODICEK                       8 9 10
JULIET WALEY          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DENISE COFFEY         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CHARLES COLLINGWOOD   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
KATIE HEBB            1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DEREK GRIFFITHS       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
and Flak              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

[edit] Broadcasts

Here is a list of all of the broadcasts of this story on the BBC. Unless your teachers managed to get the video recorder to work, this is when you would have seen it in school. See the Schedules section for precise dates and times.

• Autumn 1981, BBC1
• Autumn 1983, BBC2
• Autumn 1985, BBC2
• Autumn 1987, BBC2

• Summer 2003, CBBC
• Autumn 2003, CBBC
• Spring 2004, CBBC
• Summer 2004, CBBC
• Autumn 2004, CBBC
• Spring 2005, CBBC
• Summer 2005, CBBC
• Spring 2006, CBBC
• Spring 2007, CBBC