Look and Read/Through the Dragon's Eye

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

Developing the trend of having more involved stories in Look and Read throughout the 80s, this series finally did away with Wordy, along with the whole concept of separate learning bits. Instead, we get almost the entire programme taken up with telling the story, with just one quick song in the middle.

The story itself was all-out fantasy, with three kids pulled into a mural they'd painted in their playground and asked to help save the dying land of Pelamar by retrieving the missing parts of its mysterious power source, the Veetacore. This involves a lot of trying to read difficult passages, and charging off round the neighbouring country of Widge, inhabited by the horrible furry little Widgets. The children are lead and helped by a flying dragon called Gorwen and a big talking mouse called Rodey (who inherited the arrogance and the voice - Charles Collingwood's - of Wordy). Until they succeed, Pelamar turns increasingly barren and its inhabitants just fade away to nothing. The situation is further complicated by the big baddie Charn, who wants to hijack the Veetacore for his own evil purposes.

The story, by the way, seems to owe a great deal to the Chronicles of Narnia: Gorwen is Aslan, obviously, and Charn was the name of that dead world that Digory and that girl rescued that woman from in The Magician's Nephew. Well I can't really remember much about the book, but that world was definitely called Charn. Also, notice the large number of former Look and Read cast members reunited here: Charles Collingwood, as mentioned above, plus Dark Towers and Fair Ground! narrator Sean Barrett doing Gorwen's voice, and David Collings in his third Look and Read role (following twin appearances in Dark Towers) as Charn.

[edit] Episodes

Episode descriptions from the Radio Times

1. The Dragon From Pelamar
   • Jenny, Scott and Amanda mysteriously pass through a mural they've been painting and find themselves in the magical land of Pelamar. There, Gorwen the dragon has a momentous task for them.
2. Flight to Widge
   • Gorwen the dragon believes that the missing Veetons must have fallen beyond the mountains in the strange land of Widge. A search party is formed, and the quest begins to save the land of Pelamar from certain destruction.
3. The First Veeton
   • The problem with Widge is its inhabitants - the Widgets. These are mischievous little creatures who go out of their way to make life as difficult as possible for the search party as they begin their quest.
4. Word Magic
   • The Widgets have hidden the first Veeton inside a huge book tree. While Boris and Amanda go in search of the Veeton, Scott and the dragon Gorwen search for their missing friend Rodey.
5. Clues in the Snow
   • Doris is frightened, and too scared even to speak to Boris on the videophone. Charn, the evil one, has returned to Pelamar.
6. Jenny's Scarf
   • Amanda has rescued Boris's magic rucksack from the Widgets, but she finds herself lost in the snow. Jenny has persuaded Charn to let Morris knit her a special scarf.
7. The Waterfall of Words
   • 'No-one can face Charn and live. Only Gorwen has a chance... ' As Gorwen prepares for his challenge, word magic again comes to the aid of the search party.
8. The Great Battle
   • The dragon Gorwen has returned to Pelamar to do battle with the evil Charn.
9. Danger on High
   • The veetarod has fallen down a deep chasm in the tunnel. Rocey bravely volunteers to rescue it - it's their only hope.
10. The Final Page
    • The search party are in a race against time to rescue the last Veeton and return it to save Pelamar and Gorwen, who has virtually faded away.

[edit] Credits

Starring	Sean Barrett as Gorwen (voice) David Collings as Charn Simon Fenton as Scott Bates Marlaine Gordon as Amanda Jackson Nicola Stewart as Jenny Carolyn Pickles as Doris Timothy Lyn as Boris Michael Heath as Morris Charles Collingwood as Rodey (voice) Katie Hebb as Rodey (puppeteer) and the Puppet Factory
With	Peter Bonner Chris Burke Samantha Burroughs Willie Coppen Melanie Dixon Raymond Griffiths Peter Mandell Sandra Nicholson Kate Purvis and Nicky Reed as Widgets
Singers	Derek Griffiths Julie Stevens Jeremy Birchall

Written by	Christopher and Christine Russell
Music by	Roger Limb
Design	Kathy Atty Maggie Carroll
Reading consultant	Mary Hoffman
Assistant producers	Sophie Neville Di Millward
Producer	Sue Weeks

Film animation	Tomcat Animations
Graphic designer	Joanna Cheese
Background painting	Ray Rankine
Lighting cameraman	Bill Dudman
Videotape editor	Steve Knattress
Video effects	Dave Jervis
Visual effects designer	Mike Ellis
Camera operator	Chris Kochanowicz
Sound	Ron Keightley Brian Clark
Costume designer	Andrew Rose
Make-up designer	Martha Livesley
Production unit manager	Chris D'Oyly-John
Assistant floor manager	Charles Whaley
Production assistants	Louise E. Kobrak Jane Sprague

[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 1989, BBC2
• Autumn 1991, BBC2
• Autumn 1993, BBC2
• Spring 1997, BBC2
• Spring 2000, BBC2

• Summer 2002, CBBC
• Autumn 2002, CBBC
• Summer 2003, CBBC
• Spring 2004, CBBC
• Summer 2005, CBBC
• Spring 2006, CBBC
• Spring 2007, CBBC
• Spring 2008, CBBC