Famous Five, TV comeback?

[Fiona1986]

That's odd. I read that article from your facebook link fine, but clicking on it here I get a box in front of it saying I must be a subscriber at £225. I'm getting it from the facebook link now too. Might have been a limited free option to read the article? Shame as it was a slightly longer and more detailed piece.

[Pippa-Stef]

How odd! Maybe it's only available through social networking sites, they have a deal with the site or something.

If possible, would people like me to copy and paste it into a comment? As Fiona said, it is a slightly longer and more detailed piece than the other one!

[Moonraker]

As if anyone would pay £225. Ridiculous.

[Fiona1986]

Well I was able to read it from Facebook earlier, but I can't now. If you can still get it to work then please do copy it here!

[Pippa-Stef]

I can't do it now either. Dash. How odd, and peculiar! I wonder if anyone does actually pay?!

[MJE]

     Hmmpphh! Personally I take a rather dim view of outrageous or ridiculous ideas like this.
     I will accept an honest attempt by other authors to extend a series and really try to stay within the spirit of the series - but to me having a time-travelling Five who are "like Dr. Who" is just a travesty of the Five, and just cheapens them into a mere commodity to be sold like shampoo or bars of soap.
     The Famous Five were not, are not, and never will be, science-fiction. If authors or filmmakers want to write science-fiction, let them invent their own characters, or maybe extend an existing series that is compatible with their ideas (it's not as if there's a shortage of already existing science-fiction series) - but please don't foist such ideas onto characters who are completely incompatible with them, such as the Famous Five.

Regards, Michael.

[Daisy]

I've just read the item through the second link Stef gave us. It sounds awful. Talk about jumping on band wagons! Why should today's children need an update such as they suggest. As others have said, it sounds ludicrous if George and Timmy are transported back to 1954 (why pick that year I wonder?) and the others presumably not. The mind boggles.

[poddys]

I agree with you Michael. I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to things like this, and seeing the Five in a modern setting or something like time travel just doesn't work for me, even if they do a good job on it.

[Pippa-Stef]

I really don't understand the proposed change to the Famous Five if they get around to remaking it. Considering that the 70s and 90s TV series were filmed as 25 minutes episodes, why not ditch the rewrite (as in trying to make it like Dr Who) and so something similar to the Poirot and Marple adaptions from Agatha Christie's books (except without the "based on" senerio that many of the TV adaptions contain!)?

Why not make an hour/hour and a half adaption of the Famous Five books, in blocks of three or something? Ok I understand budget wise that this might not be possible, but just think how much detail you could get into a TV episode in an hour?! I mean Dr Who's fifty minutes isn't it? Whats an extra ten minutes?

And before anyone points it out, yes I'm aware of the complications, budget, success of it, etc etc, it's just an idle thought that caught me off gaurd this morning.

How wonderful would it be though to have some full length adaptions? Would make a change than to have action chopped and changed about to fit 25 minutes. I know the 1950's and 1960's adaptions were better because of their cinematic viewing- Sunday afternoon type arrangement, but even then, there's only two and it's Treasure Island and Mystery to Solve.

Personally I'd like to see "Hike" as a proper adventure, full length feature*, but thats just me. I know that the cinema screens in our head are miles better than what we could see on TV, but doesn't anyone else just wish to see a "proper" adaption? Or is it just me being fanciful?


*with no limping from a certain Julian!

[Wolfgang]

Why not make an hour/hour and a half adaption of the Famous Five books, in blocks of three or something? Ok I understand budget wise that this might not be possible, but just think how much detail you could get into a TV episode in an hour?! I mean Dr Who's fifty minutes isn't it? Whats an extra ten minutes?

Actually a second Famous Five film is done in Germany, based on "Five get into trouble". According to the notice they have taken some liberties with the plot and enhanced it because otherwise it wouldn't fit into a 90 minute movie. This is a ridiculious statement because there already is a 90 minutes film based on this plot...

[Soenke Rahn]

there already is a 90 minutes film based on this plot...

The dansk movie De 5 i fedtefadet (1979)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_5_i_fedtefadet

[Kate Mary]

According to the Daily Mail website classic children's tales from the Famous Five, Beatrix Potter and The Beano are to be revived for a new generation of children:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... sters.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't think that any of the above needed reviving; now if they made a TV series of the Barney Mysteries, Pip Squeak and Wilfred and the Lone Pine books that would really be something, and while they are about it stop endlessly remaking Miss Marple and do the Miss Silver mysteries instead.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the link, Kate Mary, though I agree that it would be more interesting to see programmes based on material that hasn't been adapted for television before. I'd love to see TV series of the Barney Mysteries and the Lone Pine books, but only if they were done in period and without irony.

[Katharine]

An interesting article. I was bemused by the picture of the FF, presumably from a book cover. George is wearing a pink jumper. OK, I know modern men do wear pink, but surely George wouldn't have been seen dead in it? Made me wonder if whoever was responsible for the picture had actually read the book?

[Wayne Pyer]

Very interesting. Anything that keeps EB in the spotlight is fine by me. Who knows, if it takes off, it might lead to the other series being commissioned.