Tag: HTV West

Categories
Sky

Goodchild

SearchArby stops Sky from engaging in battle with the newly arrived figure in the forest, but they are picked up by the police, who press breaking/entering and assault charges against Sky because of his encounter with Roy’s father. Sky uses his ability to influence the mind of others to convince the police sergeant to release him. There is another brief encounter with the shadowy figure from the forest, convincing Sky that not only is he in danger, but Arby, Jane and Roy are in danger due to their contact with him.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Terry Harding
music by Eric Wetherell

SkyCast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Jack Watson (Major Briggs), Frances Cuka (Mrs. Vennor), Thomas Heathcote (Mr. Vennor), Robert Eddison (Goodchild)

Notes: The 2″ master videotape of this episode suffered critical damage in the 1990s, and is Skyrepresented on DVD by a VHS backup copy of noticeably lower quality. David Jackson (1934–2005) would go on to play freedom fighter Gan, a member of the Liberator crew during the first two seasons of the BBC’s space opera Blake’s 7.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Sky

What Dread Hand

SearchThe shadowy man known only as Goodchild has attacked Sky again, rendering the boy feeble and weak; Roy, Arby and Jane take him to the nearest hospital, unsure of what else they can do to help him. In the hospital, Sky continues muttering something about the Juganet, and tries to reach out telepathically to his new friends for help, but otherwise remains in a trancelike state. Goodchild adopts a less medieval outfit to blend in and finish the battle, and Sky’s friends may not be able to save him in time.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Derek Clark
music by Eric Wetherell

SkyCast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Jack Watson (Major Briggs), Frances Cuka (Mrs. Vennor), Thomas Heathcote (Mr. Vennor), Meredith Edwards (Tom), Gerald Hel (Dr. Saul), Ursula Barclay (First Nurse), Monica Lavers (Second Nurse), Barbara Baber (Receptionist), Geoff Serle (Orderly), Robert Eddison (Goodchild)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Sky

Evalake

SearchWith the help of Tommy, the mental patient from the hospital, Sky tries to explain the circular nature of the Juganet to his friends. At the same time, Sky learns about Earth religions, and marvels at the destructiveness of the human race. With the help of Arby and Jane, Sky narrows down the possible site of the Juganet on Earth to a tall, round hill topped by an ancient castle. Sky goes there, intent to activate the Juganet to return to his home dimension, but Goodchild is also there.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Terry Harding
music by Eric Wetherell

SkyCast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Jack Watson (Major Briggs), Meredith Edwards (Tom), Pruella Ransome (Susannah), Sean Lynch (Michael), Gerard Hely (Dr. Saul), Ursula Barclay (First Nurse), Monica Lavers (Second Nurse), Robert Eddison (Goodchild)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Sky

Life Force

SearchAs has happened virtually every time he has left their company, Sky once again comes under psychic attack when he leaves Arby and Jane to go it alone. When they try to help, they are locked into a room in the castle by a man working for Goodchild. Roy, with the police in tow, comes looking for his friends, but no one hears their cries for help. The battle between the elemental forces of nature is joined. At stake: the future of all life on Earth, and the secret of the location of the Juganet.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Leonard White
music by Eric Wetherell

Cast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Trevor Ray (Rex), John Curry (Policeman), Robert Eddison Sky(Goodchild)

Notes: Guest star Trevor Ray is also a writer of some renown, as well as co-creator of two genre series of his own, Children Of The Stones and Raven – both of which were also produced and broadcast by HTV West, and both of which also concern ancient stone circles.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Sky

Chariot Of Fire

SearchThe Juganet is revealed: 20th century civilization knows it as Stonehenge. Sky steps into the stone circle and vanishes; a disbelieving Arby follows him, and finds himself in another time, among what he believes is Sky’s civilization, though they banish him to a “place of darkness” for being evil. Sky explains that these are the descendants of humanity, dedicated to harmony with nature – and that they may achieve more than 20th century civilization ever could. But none of that answers the question of whether or not Arby can safely return to his own time.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
directed by Derek Clark
music by Eric Wetherell

SkyCast: Marc Harrison (Sky), Stuart Lock (Arby Vennor), Cherrald Butterfield (Jane Vennor), Richard Speight (Roy Briggs), Bernard Archard (Haril), Peter Copley (Revil), Robert Eddison (Goodchild)

Notes: The 2″ master videotape of this episode suffered critical damage in the 1990s, and is Skyrepresented on DVD by a VHS backup copy of noticeably lower quality. This is the final episode of the series, and its nature-over-technology message is strikingly similar to a BBC series, The Changes, aired the same year.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Rothgo

Into The LabyrinthTerry and Helen, brother and sister, seek shelter in a cave when their day of playing outside is ruined by a sudden and violent thunderstorm. They’re not alone, either: an older boy named Phil has also sought refuge in the cave…but all of them hear another voice, somewhere deeper in the cave, asking for help. They find a man trapped under an enormous stone, a piece of rock that by all rights should have crushed him to death. With his instruction, they are amazed that they have the power to lift the stone and free him. He introduces himself as the wizard Rothgo, and he has been trapped in the cave by a sorceress named Belor. He seeks something called the Nidus, a magical item that will allow him to concentrate his power and escape his prison…but since he can’t leave the caves, he must trust his three new young friends to enter the labyrinth, and journey through various times in history to find it. They will find him there at various stages of his long, magically-extended life, and will have to seek his help against Belor. Their journey begins…

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker
based on an idea by Bob Baker & Peter Graham Scott
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil)

Notes: Executive producer Peter Dromgoole also worked with series co-creator Bob Baker on his previous series, Sky (1975), along with director (and series co-creator) Peter Graham Scott and composer Sidney Sager, was an integral part of a much-loved Into The Labyrinthprevious HTV children’s fantasy series, Children Of The Stones, in 1977. Like Children Of The Stones, Into The Labyrinth successfully jumped the Atlantic to become part of the “Third Eye” strand of children’s programming on nascent cable channel Nickelodeon, but only the first season was shown to American audiences.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

The Circle

Into The LabyrinthTerry, Phil and Helen arrive at a point in the past that they can only identify as “druidic times”, where a bearded old man in tattered robes singles Phil out as his new champion and hands him a gleaming sword. Phil is to challenge an arrogant ruler named Cynon, who himself seems to have magical powers rivaling Rothgo’s. Phil also thinks he’s spotted the Nidus in the form of a shield, but when he and the others summon Rothgo for help, they may be fatally distracting the wizard from a battle he’s fighting with Belor on the astral plane.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker
based on an idea by Bob Baker & Peter Graham Scott
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Paul Lavers (Cynon), Edwina Ford (Bradwen), Peewee Hunt (Caw)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Robin

Into The LabyrinthStill on the trail of the Nidus, Phil, Terry, and Helen arrive at a new location in the labyrinth, and in a new time. When they are attacked by sword-yielding guards, Helen is separated from the boys, and meets a man named Robin…Robin of Loxley, or Robin Hood, as legend knows him. Still engaged in his struggle against the Sheriff of Nottingham, he believes Helen to be the Sheriff’s niece, and potentially a valuable hostage. Phil and Terry find a dazed magician they believe is Rothgo…but Belor is employing more trickery than usual to throw them off the trail of the Nidus.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker
based on an idea by Bob Baker & Peter Graham Scott
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Tony Wright (Robin of Loxley), Conrad Phillips (Sheriff of Nottingham), Patricia Driscoll (Marian), Suzanne Wright (Rowena), Philip Manikum (Guard Captain)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Masrur

Into The LabyrinthHaving been denied the Nidus by Belor, Phil, Helen and Terry are sent by Rothgo to free the prisoners of someone named Masrur. The wizard also grants them powers to help achieve this goal; they find themselves in an ancient caliphate whose grand vizier is none other than this time period’s Rothgo. He is hot on Belor’s trail and seems to have the upper hand this time around…or does he? Even when the Nidus is within reach, Belor is never far away.

Order the DVDswritten by Andrew Payne
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Derrick Branche (Ali), Adele Saleem (Scharazad), Paul Cresswell (Geni), William Evers (Caliph), David Trevena (Ahmed), Philip Manikum (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Conflict

Into The LabyrinthAnother quest in another time period, and another face of Rothgo…but this time he doesn’t know who he is, or how his powers work, until Phil reminds him. Helen and Terry try to contact the future Rothgo who sent them on their quest for the Nidus, but he is unable to help them, and Belor seems to be able to block their link to the wizard. Revolutionary plotters and schemers surround the three, their plans both distracting and potentially a danger to their quest. And on both the material and astral planes, Rothgo and Belor prepare to engage in battle again.

Order the DVDswritten by Ray Jenkins
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Ewen Solon (Colonel), June Barrie (Nan Ludd), Simeon Andrews (Thomas Coleman), Philip Manikum (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Revolution

Into The LabyrinthRothgo is in trouble. Weakened by his most recent battle with Belor, he is vulnerable to her abilities to twist his mind, and she causes him to forget his three young helpers. Phil, Terry and Helen are sent off-course in their plunge through time and the labyrinth, while Rothgo is convicted as a practitioner of forbidden magic and sentenced to execution. Phil, Helen and Terry find him, but he doesn’t recognize them. Even as he slowly regains his power and his wits, Rothgo is at a disadvantage this time.

Order the DVDswritten by Ray Jenkins
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Tim Bannerman (Pierre), John Abineri (Julien), Philip Manikum (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 1

Minotaur

Into The LabyrinthDenied the Nidus by Belor yet again, Helen, Terry and Phil are brought back to their present, in the cave where they first met Rothgo. His powers and life force fading fast, Rothgo releases them from their obligation to find the Nidus: the fight is lost. But they stubbornly re-enter the labyrinth one last time to try to recover the Nidus. Their destination: the labyrinth of myth, in which Theseus is thought to have fought the minotaur. But in reality, Theseus is doing the bidding of Belor: his sword is the Nidus itself, and Phil is chosen to be Rothgo’s champion in the fight to claim the Nidus. Only if Phil is successful can he, Helen and Terry ever go home again.

Order the DVDswritten by Anthony Read
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Jeremy Arnold (Theseus), Philip Manikum (Guard)

Notes: This concludes Into The Labyrinth’s first series (of three years on the air), but for viewers of the series on the American cable network Nickelodeon, this was the end of the story: Nickelodeon did not air the two later seasons.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Into The Labyrinth Season 2

The Calling

Into The LabyrinthA rotting skull emerges from a sea of mist in the caverns where Rothgo and his young companions once consulted before going on their adventures. The skull is replaced by the visage of Belor, who exclaims “I live!”

Terry and Helen receive a call for help from Rothgo, by way of the crystals he gave them at the end of their previous adventures. With Belor’s return, he needs his champions once more. Phil, Rothgo’s other champion, walks into a stone circle and vanishes, reappearing in Rothgo’s cavern. Rothgo warns Phil that Belor is assembling a force intended to be equal and opposite to the Nidus, called Albedo, and Phil must again wander through the labyrinth into the past, finding a splinter of Rothgo’s former self with whom to ally himself. Helen and Terry follow, finding Phil has been sent back to the time of the Vikings, where Rothgo is fighting a losing battle to keep Belor from harnessing the power of the Albedo.

Order the DVDswritten by Bob Baker
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Into The LabyrinthCast: Ron Moody (Rothgo), Pamela Salem (Belor), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil), Howard Goorney (Loke), David Trevena (Alberick), Stephen Lyons (1st Guard)

Notes: In strict scientific terms, “albedo” refers to a measurement of how much sunlight is reflected by a body such as a planet or moon without being absorbed by an atmosphere or some other phenomenon in the way. High-albedo objects are brighter, and low-albedo objects are dimmer. Stone circles figured prominently in a previous collaboration between director Peter Graham Scott, and HTV executive producer Patrick Dromgoolie, 1977’s Children Of The Stones.

LogBook entry by Earl Green