Category: Chocky

Recovering from his high fever, Matthew is still having conversations with Chocky, a voice that he claims only he can hear. Matthew flies into hysterics when he claims Chocky is calling the new fuel-efficient family car “stupid”, and his math teacher contacts the Gores to ask if Matthew has been receiving outside tutoring, as his schoolwork has improved dramatically. The common thread between both good news and bad is Chocky.

written by Anthony Read
based on the novel by John Wyndham
directed by Christopher Hodson
music not credited

Cast: James Hazeldine (David), Carol Drinkwater (Mary), Andrew Ellams (Matthew), Zoe Hart (Polly), James Greene (Mr. Trimmble), Devin Stanfield (Colin), Lynne Pearson (Miss Blayde), Jonathan Jackson (Mark), Kelita Groom (Jane), Peter John Bickford (Roger), Catherine Elcombe (Susan)

Notes: Fear not, the makers of Chocky didn’t blow up a perfectly good Atari 800 home computer – the panel that bursts open is a hinged cover that must normally be opened to access the dual cartridge slots within. The smoke pouring out of the computer, however, is not standard issue. The game being played with remarkable reflexes by Matthew in this story is the Atari computer port of Space Invaders.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Gores’ concern for Matthew’s mental well-being grows as he continues reporting what strange things he’s heard from Chocky. David contacts a friend who happens to be a forward-thinking psychologist, asking him to talk with Matthew to conduct an initial assessment. It does little to help the Gores’ nerves when they hear his conclusion: Matthew may well be in contact with the extraterrestrial intelligence that he has claimed existed all along.

written by Anthony Read
based on the novel by John Wyndham
directed by Vic Hughes
music not credited

Cast: Carol Drinkwater (Mary), James Hazeldine (David), Andrew Ellams (Matthew), Zoe Hart (Polly), Jeremy Bulloch (Landis), James Greene (Mr. Trimmble), Devin Stanfield (Colin), Patrick Blackwell (Boatman), Gary Raynsford (Policeman), Glynis Brooks (Chocky’s voice)

Notes: Boba Fett, child psychologist! Less than a year after Return Of The Jedi hit theaters, Jeremy Bulloch was, like most working actors, pursuing roles other than the one which had briefly made him famous even without showing his face. Odds are that he still gets asked about Star Wars more often than he does about Chocky.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Matthew’s parents quiz him about a series of drawings they find in his room, some of them surprisingly realistic and some very impressionistic, and after some prodding he admits that he drew them under Chocky’s influence. Chocky now appears to Matthew as an ethereal blue floating mass of energy, and speaks aloud to him. With a family vacation just around the corner, Matthew asks Chocky to stay away from him…but he doesn’t expect to be taken quite so literally. The family vacation proceeds with no sign of anything unusual…until a boat with no one in it barrels toward the wooden dock where Matthew and his younger sister are fishing.

written by Anthony Read
based on the novel by John Wyndham
directed by Vic Hughes
music not credited

Cast: James Hazeldine (David), Carol Drinkwater (Mary), Andrew Ellams (Matthew), Zoe Hart (Polly), Colin McCormack (Alan), Penny Brownjohn (Phyl), Devin Stanfield (Colin), Kathleen Cotty (Emma), Glynis Brooks (Chocky’s voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Matthew manages to save his younger sister and gets her to dry land, to the astonishment of his father, who points out that Matthew has never learned how to swim. It quickly becomes apparent that Chocky has returned, and is responsible for Matthew suddenly being able to swim proficiently. BBC Radio interviews Matthew, who opens up – to his parents’ alarm – about hearing a voice that told him how to swim; the story also makes the papers. More reporters, and self-proclaimed psychics and witches, descend upon the Gore household, to his mother’s alarm. Dr. Landis arranges for Matthew to spend time with a hypnotist; after this session, Chocky abruptly leaves Matthew, instructing him to forget her.

written by Anthony Read
based on the novel by John Wyndham
directed by Vic Hughes and Christopher Hodson
music not credited

Cast: Carol Drinkwater (Mary), James Hazeldine (David), Andrew Ellams (Matthew), Zoe Hart (Polly), John Grillo (Sir William Thorbe), Devin Stanfield (Colin), Colin McCormack (Alan), Penny Brownjohn (Phyl), Leo Dolan (Postman), Deborah Fairfax (Girl Reporter), Janet Henfrey (Cranky Woman), Brian Redhead (Interviewer), Gary Watson (Radio Reporter), Glynis Brooks (Chocky’s voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green