A orphan and former borstal inmate sent on a rehabilitation programme, assisting an archaeology professor in his excavation of a system of caves and who subsequently is compelled to fight a plan to build a nuclear waste disposal plant on the site. The man-made cave system is underneath an ancient stone circle, and contains 5th-century rock carvings which may be connected to the legend of King Arthur and Arthurian lore.[3] The professor believes that "Arthur" may not have been a single individual but an inherited office and he emphasises the notion of Arthur and his knights slumbering below the West Country landscape awaiting the call to return to action in a time of peril, more as an idea than a physical reality.[3] The programme consistently featured the sign of Pluto (referencing Plutonium as a by-product of a nuclear reactions), a symbol for Raven's quest.
The core of the story is the central sage/apprentice hero relationship between Professor Young and Raven, representing the legend of Merlin and King Arthur, both characters having avian projections: Young as a merlin (a bird which often accompanies Raven throughout the story), and Raven (protected by his namesake bird raven at birth when abandoned by his parents).[3]
Television historians Alistair McGown and Mark Docherty praised Burnham and Ray's script for Raven, adding that although the story was fantasy, "it is the realist elements of the drama that continue to surprise".[2] They also compared Raven with other fantasy TV programs of the era, including Sky, The Changes and King of the Castle.[2]
Novelisationedit
A novelisation of Raven by Burnham and Ray was published by Carousel Books (an imprint of Corgi Books) in 1977.[2] The novelisation was republished by Fantom Publishing in 2014.[5]
Releaseedit
An episode of this series is available to view at the National Media Museum in Bradford, UK.
The whole series of six parts was long been believed to be incomplete in the archives, until Network DVD, an independent DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television, unearthed the original 2" VT tapes. Network released the series on DVD in 2010.[6]
^"BFI Screenonline: Children of the Stones (1977)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
^ abcdMcGown, Alistair D. & Docherty, Mark J. (2003) The Hill and Beyond: Children's Television Drama - An Encyclopedia, BFI Publishing, ISBN978-0-85170-879-9, p. 111
raven, 1977, series, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, raven, 1977, series, news, newspapers, books, s. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Raven 1977 TV series news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Raven is a British children s television drama series made for ITV by ATV in 1977 1 2 The series starred Phil Daniels in the title role RavenWritten byTrevor RayJeremy BurnhamDirected byMichael HartStarringPhil DanielsMichael AldridgeShirley CheritonPatsy RowlandsCountry of originUnited KingdomOriginal languageEnglishNo of series1No of episodes6ProductionProducerColin ShindlerRunning time25 minutesProduction companyATVOriginal releaseNetworkITVRelease19 September 1977 09 19 24 October 1977 1977 10 24 Contents 1 Story 2 Production 3 Reception 4 Novelisation 5 Release 6 External links 7 ReferencesStory editA orphan and former borstal inmate sent on a rehabilitation programme assisting an archaeology professor in his excavation of a system of caves and who subsequently is compelled to fight a plan to build a nuclear waste disposal plant on the site The man made cave system is underneath an ancient stone circle and contains 5th century rock carvings which may be connected to the legend of King Arthur and Arthurian lore 3 The professor believes that Arthur may not have been a single individual but an inherited office and he emphasises the notion of Arthur and his knights slumbering below the West Country landscape awaiting the call to return to action in a time of peril more as an idea than a physical reality 3 The programme consistently featured the sign of Pluto referencing Plutonium as a by product of a nuclear reactions a symbol for Raven s quest The core of the story is the central sage apprentice hero relationship between Professor Young and Raven representing the legend of Merlin and King Arthur both characters having avian projections Young as a merlin a bird which often accompanies Raven throughout the story and Raven protected by his namesake bird raven at birth when abandoned by his parents 3 Production editOther cast members in the serial included Michael Aldridge Patsy Rowlands James Kerry Shirley Cheriton and Tenniel Evans 4 Reception editTelevision historians Alistair McGown and Mark Docherty praised Burnham and Ray s script for Raven adding that although the story was fantasy it is the realist elements of the drama that continue to surprise 2 They also compared Raven with other fantasy TV programs of the era including Sky The Changes and King of the Castle 2 Novelisation editA novelisation of Raven by Burnham and Ray was published by Carousel Books an imprint of Corgi Books in 1977 2 The novelisation was republished by Fantom Publishing in 2014 5 Release editAn episode of this series is available to view at the National Media Museum in Bradford UK The whole series of six parts was long been believed to be incomplete in the archives until Network DVD an independent DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television unearthed the original 2 VT tapes Network released the series on DVD in 2010 6 External links editRaven at IMDb nbsp References edit BFI Screenonline Children of the Stones 1977 www screenonline org uk a b c d McGown Alistair D amp Docherty Mark J 2003 The Hill and Beyond Children s Television Drama An Encyclopedia BFI Publishing ISBN 978 0 85170 879 9 p 111 a b c Raven Review Retrieved 21 June 2020 Episode Two 1977 BFI Archived from the original on 5 January 2019 Cult Classics Vortex Magazine April 2015 p 4 RAVEN The Complete Series Review Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Raven 1977 TV series amp oldid 1204023987, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
