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Another smooth and glossy presentation from the BBC,
although unfortunately this wasn't one of their productions. It was
independently made, part of the twenty-five per cent of independent
programming required by Government meddling from the BBC's output by 1995.
Unlike the classic children's series of the seventies, this was all show
and not much content. There was a minimum of dialogue in the first episode
and a fair amount of unproductive noise and distraction, plus a synthetic
and uninspiring soundtrack. Not the best output by a long way.
When four children stumble upon the Kingdom of Elidor,
they take on an awesome task - to rescue this dying world from the forces
of evil. Based on the fantasy novel by Alan Garner, with spectacular
visual effects, Elidor was a six-part drama series starring
13-year-old Damian Zuk as Roland.
Roland and his brothers and sister, David, Nicholas and
Helen, are called upon to help Malebron, the defeated king of Elidor,
played by Steven Rimkus. The business of saving the kingdom is apparently
open to the children because the adults around them don't notice very
much, kids being more open-minded concerning things that are out of the
ordinary. It's a shame this series couldn't be counted as anything but
ordinary. Its Wednesday showing was followed by a repeat each Sunday on
BBC2.
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Writer: Alan Garner
Adapted by: Don Webb
Producers: Paul Madden
and Mairede Thomas
Associate Producer: Christopher Sutton
Director: John Reardon
Music: Ilona Sekacz
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A Screen First Production for the BBC
6 colour 25-minute episodes
4th January - 8th February 1995
(BBC1)
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