Wednesday 30 December 2009

Look and Read: School TV's Answer to "The Chronicles of Narnia"

Through the Dragon's Eye: Episode 1, part 1



One of Look and Read's most well-known and fantastical of the programme's 10 part extravagant plays was "Through the Dragon's Eye". And here is the full play. However, all "Wordy" sections of the show do not feature here. Those would feature a human presenter and "Wordy", a levitating live-action, alphabet letter decorated orange man with arms, voiced by Charles Collingwood. They would practise the use of sentances, as well as classic "Remember where this letter goes here insertion" songs like the unfairly joked about "Magic E" song, or how about "Build Your Brick Upon A Wall" by a Geordie builder!

This was the most blockbuster School's TV ever got close too. First aired on 19th September 1989, "Through the Dragon's Eye" was perhaps inspired by the BBC's live action dramatised version of "The Chronicles of Narnia", the year earlier. This show has that very rich nostalgic factor, especially if you grew up in the 80's.

3 children by the name of Jenny, Amanda and Scott are transported to the land of Pelamar, encouraged sort of, by a man in a dragon costume named Gorwen. This turns into a classic good vs. evil battle and the quest the pieces of the "Veetacore" which are stolen by the baddie of the name Charn, who looks kind of creepy, a mask covers the face, making it look like a massive conk or beak. What is also vivid about the show, is the 3 Veetacore Keepers, Doris (purple), Boris (orange) and Morris (green). The actors are painted the bracketed colour all over their skin, along with some very fetching and matching clothes. Boris is the star here, being of most help, accompanying the children and Gorwen.

The show can be a little disturbing at times, as well as hallucinagenetic for drunken adults. Morris gets zapped into a green puddle, but everything is OK in the end of course.

There are still songs featured during the play, which are all sang by the legendary Derek Griffiths and Julie Stevens. Obscure thought here, but I used to think the actor who plays Boris, Timothy Lyn, was the same guy that played "Watt" from an obscure CBBC show "Watt on Earth", as it sounded and looked like him, but I was wrong.

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