Shadows is a British supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three series, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children.
Staying in a London hotel in 1875, Julia is awoken by the voice of a girl from a nearby room. On entering she discovers a girl who is ill in a 1970s-style room with unusual appliances. While she is in there, a fire breaks out and the room she had been staying in is burned to a shell. The next morning, the landlady is shocked to find Julia alive and well, but insists that no such room exists. Julia surmises that she was saved by a ghost from the future.
Two schoolboys in a Welsh mining village find themselves locked in the school after hours. A series of supernatural events occur and they discover an old skull hidden away. Bringing it out into the open and giving it a resting place, the doors open and they leave.
Arriving at her Uncle's house, Jill becomes obsessed with the story of a witch who was killed there.
Starring: Georgina Kean, Wendy Gifford, Neville Barber and Jasper Jacob
The Waiting Room
Jon Watkins
Stan Woodward
24 September 1975
Sue and Gerry find themselves stranded in an old waiting room at a railway station. They find themselves back in 1925 and witness a train crash. On returning to 1975, they find the same events beginning to play out.
Karen, Dawn and Phil are visiting a Tudor mansion and decide to stay the night. They begin acting strangely as the former occupants of the house begin to take them over.
A man with strange powers named Mr Stabs arrives at a house with his servant. On finding an old bank robber's shoes, he begins to take on his character until the bank robber himself returns from the grave.
A man brings home a distorting lens and places it on the window. One by one his children begin to see visions of the past through it. Claiming it to be impossible, he finally sees it himself and orders the people within to leave them alone. The lens promptly melts.
In 1976 and 1977 Shadows was nominated for the HarlequinBAFTA TV Award under the category of Drama/Light Entertainment. The series missed out on winning on both occasions, to Ballet Shoes and The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop respectively.
A 1979 TV series, The Boy Merlin, was based on the third series episode of the same name.
Home media
"Shadows: The Complete First Series" was released on DVD in the UK on 1 November 2010 by Network, with the sixth episode Dutch Schlitz's Shoes being included on the Ace of Wands DVD boxset as an extra due to it featuring the Mr. Stabs character. Series 2 was released in June 2011.[1]
In other media
Books
A tie-in book, The Best Of Shadows[2] was released by Corgi in 1979. It featured adaptations of seven episodes: The Dark Streets of Kimball's Green, The Inheritance, Eleven O'Clock, And Now For My Next Trick, The Rose of Puddle Fratrum, The Eye and The Man Who Hated Children.
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Shadows is a British supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978 Extending over three series it featured ghost and horror dramas for children ShadowsCountry of originUnited KingdomNo of series3No of episodes20ProductionProducersPamela Lonsdale series 1 amp 3 Ruth Boswell series 2 Running time30 minutesProduction companyThames TelevisionReleaseOriginal networkITVOriginal release3 September 1975 1975 09 03 1 November 1978 1978 11 01 Notable writers for the series included J B Priestley Fay Weldon PJ Hammond Joan Aiken Jacquetta Hawkes and Penelope Lively Contents 1 Cast 2 Episodes 2 1 Series 1 1975 2 2 Series 2 1976 2 3 Series 3 1978 3 Awards 4 Spin offs 5 Home media 6 In other media 6 1 Books 7 References 8 External linksCast EditGuest actors included John Nettleton Gareth Thomas Jenny Agutter Pauline Quirke Brian Glover June Brown Rachel Herbert Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr Stabs Russell Hunter from the TV series Ace of Wands Episodes EditSeries 1 1975 Edit Title Writer Director Original airdateThe Future Ghost Roger Marshall Leon Thau 3 September 1975Staying in a London hotel in 1875 Julia is awoken by the voice of a girl from a nearby room On entering she discovers a girl who is ill in a 1970s style room with unusual appliances While she is in there a fire breaks out and the room she had been staying in is burned to a shell The next morning the landlady is shocked to find Julia alive and well but insists that no such room exists Julia surmises that she was saved by a ghost from the future Starring Jane Wymark Bernadette McKenna Daphne Slater and John NettletonAfter School Ewart Alexander Audrey Starrett 10 September 1975Two schoolboys in a Welsh mining village find themselves locked in the school after hours A series of supernatural events occur and they discover an old skull hidden away Bringing it out into the open and giving it a resting place the doors open and they leave Starring Gareth Thomas Rhys Powys and Lyn JonesThe Witch s Bottle Stewart Farrar Vic Hughes 17 September 1975Arriving at her Uncle s house Jill becomes obsessed with the story of a witch who was killed there Starring Georgina Kean Wendy Gifford Neville Barber and Jasper JacobThe Waiting Room Jon Watkins Stan Woodward 24 September 1975Sue and Gerry find themselves stranded in an old waiting room at a railway station They find themselves back in 1925 and witness a train crash On returning to 1975 they find the same events beginning to play out Starring Jenny Agutter Paul Henley George Innes and Beth HarrisAn Optical Illusion Tom Clarke Peter Webb 1 October 1975Karen Dawn and Phil are visiting a Tudor mansion and decide to stay the night They begin acting strangely as the former occupants of the house begin to take them over Starring Pauline Quirke Richard Willis James Cossins and Susan ParrissDutch Schlitz s Shoes Trevor Preston Stan Woodward 8 October 1975A man with strange powers named Mr Stabs arrives at a house with his servant On finding an old bank robber s shoes he begins to take on his character until the bank robber himself returns from the grave Starring Russell Hunter Barry Stanton Gordon Gostelow Ron Pember Kenneth Caswell John Abineri and Valentine DyallThe Other Window Jacquetta Hawkes J B Priestley Darrol Blake 15 October 1975A man brings home a distorting lens and places it on the window One by one his children begin to see visions of the past through it Claiming it to be impossible he finally sees it himself and orders the people within to leave them alone The lens promptly melts Starring Sophie Ward John Woodvine Roy Jacobs Gwyneth Strong and Aimee DelamainSeries 2 1976 Edit Title Writer Director Original airdateThe Dark Streets of Kimballs Green Joan Aiken Stan Woodward 28 July 1976A girl living unhappily in a foster home seeks magical assistance from a king of Ancient Britons Starring Alex McCrindle Barbara Keogh Hannah Isaacson Joan Scott Karen Archer Pat Beckett Andrew PaulTime Out of Mind Penelope Lively Audrey Starrett 4 August 1976A girl imagines herself as a maid in a Victorian doll s house Starring Coral Atkins Sally Lahee Neville Barber Brenda Cowling Elaine Button Katrina Rose Craig McFarlaneThe Inheritance Josephine Poole Peter Webb 11 August 1976A retired gamekeeper tells his grandson about the horn dance Starring John Barrett Priscilla Morgan Dougal RoseDark Encounter Susan Cooper Leon Thau 18 August 1976A man evacuated from London to the country as a child returns to face his fear Starring Alex Scott Shelagh Fraser Brian Glover Hugh Morton Margot Field Carolyn Courage Graham KennedyPeronik Rosemary Harris Vic Hughes 25 August 1976A schoolboy relives the quest of a Grail knight Starring Paul Aston Zelah Clarke Ann Lynn Tim Barrett Norman Rossington Chris CreganThe Eye Ewart Alexander Neville Green 1 September 1976A house is haunted by a blind Greek man named Stratos Starring John Sanderson Julia Lewis Murray BrownSeries 3 1978 Edit Title Writer Director Original airdateEleven O Clock Ewart Alexander Joe Boyer 20 September 1978A man and his daughter wait for a homing pigeon in a French farmhouse Starring Ronald Hines Tina Heath Anna Korwin Stephen GallowayThe Rose of Puddle Fratrum Joan Aiken Neville Green 27 September 1978A television producer visits a village in Dorset to find an ex ballerina Starring Christopher Lillicrap Joan Greenwood Bryan Pringle June Brown Duncan Lamont Vicky Spencer Noel JohnsonAnd Now For My Next Trick PJ Hammond Michael Custance 4 October 1978An old magician learns a new trick Starring Clive Swift Caroline Embling Jacqueline PearceThe Boy Merlin Stewart Farrar story by Anne Carlton Vic Hughes 11 October 1978Young Merlin is in danger from a Saxon lord Starring Donald Houston Rachel Thomas Archie Tew Margaret John Cassandra Harris Ian RowlandsThe Man Who Hated Children Brian Patten Neville Green 18 October 1978An old man plots to vandalise a park and blame it on children Starring George A Cooper Brian Wilde Paul Watson William Smoker James Ottaway Charles Morgan Niall PaddenThe Silver Apple Roy Russell story by Philip Glassborow Gabrielle Beaumont 25 October 1978Two princes are given a quest for magic to save the kingdom Starring Peter Duncan Prue Clarke Simon Turner Rachel Herbert George Claydon Brian Peck Olaf PooleyHoneyann Fay Weldon Pamela Lonsdale 1 November 1978A girl is employed as a maid in a manor house dominated by a tyrannical nanny Starring Madge Ryan Gwyneth Strong Adrienne Posta Jeanne Watts George Waring Paul Angelis Joshua White Julia Swift Timothy StampAwards EditIn 1976 and 1977 Shadows was nominated for the Harlequin BAFTA TV Award under the category of Drama Light Entertainment The series missed out on winning on both occasions to Ballet Shoes and The Multi Coloured Swap Shop respectively Spin offs EditMain article The Boy Merlin A 1979 TV series The Boy Merlin was based on the third series episode of the same name Home media Edit Shadows The Complete First Series was released on DVD in the UK on 1 November 2010 by Network with the sixth episode Dutch Schlitz s Shoes being included on the Ace of Wands DVD boxset as an extra due to it featuring the Mr Stabs character Series 2 was released in June 2011 1 In other media EditBooks Edit A tie in book The Best Of Shadows 2 was released by Corgi in 1979 It featured adaptations of seven episodes The Dark Streets of Kimball s Green The Inheritance Eleven O Clock And Now For My Next Trick The Rose of Puddle Fratrum The Eye and The Man Who Hated Children References Edit Network DVD website The UK Sci Fi TV Book Guide Shadows The Best of Shadows Archived from the original on 1 September 2009 Retrieved 10 May 2009 External links EditShadows at IMDb Shadows at the BFI s Screenonline Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and TV Shadows The Haunted Television website Shadows Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shadows TV series amp oldid 1113137170, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,