Flambards (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Flambards was a television series of 13 episodes which was broadcast in the United Kingdom
in 1979 and in the United States
in 1980. The series was based on the three Flambards
novel
s of English
author K. M. Peyton
.
Like the books, the series is set just before, during, and after World War I
, and tells how the teenage heroine, the orphaned heiress Christina Parsons (Christine McKenna
), comes to live at Flambards, the impoverished Essex
estate owned by her crippled and tyrannical uncle, William Russell (Edward Judd
), and his two sons, Mark (Steven Grives) and Will Russell (Alan Parnaby). Other cast members included Sebastian Abineri as Dick Wright, Anton Diffring
as Mr Dermott and Rosalie Williams
as Mary.
Four episodes were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark
, and four others by Michael Ferguson
.
In 1980 Flambards was broadcast on American television by PBS who cut the series from 13 episodes to 12 by combining the first two episodes into one. PBS also added narration to the end and beginnings of episodes informing viewers of the events which had been affected by the cuts. In the late 1980s Flambards was shown on the A&E cable network in its full 13 episodes, but heavily commercial-edited.
, who is most famous for his 1972 composition African Sanctus
. Of his score for Flambards Fanshawe later wrote,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1979 and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1980. The series was based on the three Flambards
Flambards
Flambards is a novel by the English author K. M. Peyton.The book and its three sequels are set just before, during, and after World War I...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author K. M. Peyton
K. M. Peyton
Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton, who writes as K.M. Peyton is a British author.Born in Birmingham, Peyton has written more than fifty novels, including the much loved Flambards and its sequels for which she won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award...
.
Like the books, the series is set just before, during, and after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and tells how the teenage heroine, the orphaned heiress Christina Parsons (Christine McKenna
Christine McKenna
Christine McKenna was a British actress during the 1970s and 1980s and best known for playing "Christina" in the television series, Flambards....
), comes to live at Flambards, the impoverished Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
estate owned by her crippled and tyrannical uncle, William Russell (Edward Judd
Edward Judd
Edward Judd was a British actor.Born in Shanghai, China, he and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked China five years later....
), and his two sons, Mark (Steven Grives) and Will Russell (Alan Parnaby). Other cast members included Sebastian Abineri as Dick Wright, Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring , born Alfred Pollack, was a German actor.-Biography:Diffring was born in Koblenz...
as Mr Dermott and Rosalie Williams
Rosalie Williams
Rosalie Williams is best known for her appearance as Mrs. Hudson in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes TV series produced by Granada Television from 1984 until 1994 alongside Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Edward Hardwicke, and Colin Jeavons....
as Mary.
Four episodes were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark
Lawrence Gordon Clark
Lawrence Gordon Clark is an English television director and producer, perhaps best known for his A Ghost Story for Christmas series of mostly M.R...
, and four others by Michael Ferguson
Michael Ferguson (director)
Michael Ferguson is a British script writer, television director and television producer. Ferguson has been described as a “long term champion of realistic popular drama”. Ferguson was executive producer of the BBC soap opera, EastEnders between 1989 and 1991...
.
In 1980 Flambards was broadcast on American television by PBS who cut the series from 13 episodes to 12 by combining the first two episodes into one. PBS also added narration to the end and beginnings of episodes informing viewers of the events which had been affected by the cuts. In the late 1980s Flambards was shown on the A&E cable network in its full 13 episodes, but heavily commercial-edited.
Synopsis
Christina Parsons, who has been shunted around the family since she was orphaned at five years old in 1901, is sent to live at Flambards with her father's half-brother, the crippled Russell. Her Aunt Grace speculates that Russell plans for Christina to marry his son Mark in order to restore Flambards to its former glory using the money that she will inherit on her twenty-first birthday. Mark is as brutish as his father, with a great love for hunting, whereas the younger son William is terrified of horses after a hunting accident and aspires to be an aviator. Christina soon finds friendship with the injured William, who challenges her ideas on class boundaries, as well as a love for horses and hunting. William and Christina eventually fall in love and run away to London from the hunt ball.Musical score
The series' memorable score was composed by David FanshaweDavid Fanshawe
David Arthur Fanshawe was an English composer, ethnomusicologist and self-styled explorer. His work is situated at the crossroads of traditional and modern music. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work African Sanctus.- Life :Fanshawe was born in Paignton in Devon in 1942...
, who is most famous for his 1972 composition African Sanctus
African Sanctus
African Sanctus is a 1972 choral Mass and is the best-known work of British composer and ethnomusicologist David Fanshawe.In African Sanctus the Latin Mass is juxtaposed with live recordings of traditional African music, which the composer had recorded himself between 1969 to 1975 during a journey...
. Of his score for Flambards Fanshawe later wrote,
"On April 5th, 1977, I was on my way to give a talk about my travels in Africa to the Oxfam Annual Staff Conference in AbingdonAbingdon, OxfordshireAbingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
when, quite by accident, I whistled something, whistled it again, drew five lines and wrote it down. On arrival, I sought out the nearest piano, played the chord of 'A' seventh and whistled again. Just before going on stage, I completed the first phrase by writing it out backwards and indeed whistled it backwards: and that was the beginning of the music for Flambards.
A week earlier, producer Leonard LewisLeonard LewisLeonard Jack Lewis was a British producer and director. He was most active in television. He was the Executive/Series Producer for BBC's EastEnders during the early 1990s, though he had success with many other television programmes for both the BBC and ITV...
had phoned me, asking if I would like to compose a score for a 13 part series he was producing for Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
. He sent me the books of FlambardsFlambardsFlambards is a novel by the English author K. M. Peyton.The book and its three sequels are set just before, during, and after World War I...
by K.M. Peyton, together with the first part adapted for television by Alan PlaterAlan PlaterAlan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
. On meeting the star of Flambards, Christine McKennaChristine McKennaChristine McKenna was a British actress during the 1970s and 1980s and best known for playing "Christina" in the television series, Flambards....
, who plays Christina in the series, I was convinced that the whistle was right for the signature tune. Keith Morgan, then Head of Music at Yorkshire Television, got the message and even whistled it back. So, that was how I came to compose five hours of music based on a 3½ bar whistle!"