The Changes (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Changes is a British
children's science fiction
television
serial filmed in 1973 and first broadcast in 1975 by the BBC
. It was directed by John Prowse. It is based on the trilogy written by Peter Dickinson
: The Weathermonger (1968), Heartsease (1969) and The Devil's Children (1970) (the books were written in reverse order: the events of The Devil's Children happen first, Heartsease second and The Weathermonger third).
, David Garfield, Keith Ashton, Bernard Horsfall
, and Edward Brayshaw
.
The Changes are seen through the eyes of teenage schoolgirl Nicky Gore (Victoria Williams
), and the 10-part series, originally broadcast every Monday from 6 January to 10 March 1975, traces Nicky's quest to reunite with her parents and solve the mystery. The serial's theme echoes contemporaneous adult drama series Survivors
in which a small group of British people attempt to survive the annihilation of the world's population by disease.
Despite its modest budget, The Changes was noted for its extensive location filming in Bristol
, the Forest of Dean
and Sharpness
. Its original premise, downbeat tone and Sikh
characters make it an acclaimed example of 1970s British television.
The theme and incidental music, composed by Paddy Kingsland
, combines the sound of an EMS Synthi 100 synthesiser with a small live band (horn, sitar and percussion). Kingsland went on to score both the radio and TV adaptations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
and incidental music for a number of Doctor Who
stories in the early 1980s.
Writer Anna Home later became head of head of BBC Children's Programmes.
The high reputation of The Changes is partly based on the scarcity of its showings. The first episode, seeing ordinary people smash ordinary objects in fits of seeming madness made a great impact on its young audience, although the pace slowed through the serial and the denouement was rather diluted from the book's original premise.
The series was exported, but hasn't been released on video or DVD. It was repeated on the BBC in 1976 and on UK Gold in 1994.
Described by BBC continuity as "a serial for older children", the TV series was freely adapted by Anna Home from a trilogy of novels by Peter Dickinson
. The series took most of its material from The Weathermonger which, together with Heartsease and The Devil's Children has recently been reissued in a single volume in the UK. In the original books, however, the lead character of Nicky Gore appears only in The Devil's Children - the books have entirely separate characters, and Nicky is introduced into scenarios in which she does not appear in the books, mixing with characters from the other two books. Also, the time span of The Changes is considerably reduced from that in the original trilogy.
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...
children's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
serial filmed in 1973 and first broadcast in 1975 by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. It was directed by John Prowse. It is based on the trilogy written by Peter Dickinson
Peter Dickinson
Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE is an English author and poet who has written a wide variety of books, notably children's books and detective stories, over a long and distinguished career.-Life and work:...
: The Weathermonger (1968), Heartsease (1969) and The Devil's Children (1970) (the books were written in reverse order: the events of The Devil's Children happen first, Heartsease second and The Weathermonger third).
Cast
Victoria WilliamsVictoria Williams (actor)
Victoria Williams is a British actress. Born in 1955, she started her career at the end of the Sixties. In the Seventies, she amassed a steady stream of various roles in different TV drama productions...
, David Garfield, Keith Ashton, Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Horsfall
Bernard Horsfall is a British actor.Horsfall was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. He has appeared in many television and film roles including: Guns at Batasi , On Her Majesty's Secret Service , Enemy at the Door , Gandhi , The Jewel in the Crown , The Hound of the Baskervilles Bernard...
, and Edward Brayshaw
Edward Brayshaw
Edward Brayshaw was a British actor.His television roles include the part of Rochefort in the 1966 serial The Three Musketeers and 1967's The Further Adventures of the Three Musketeers...
.
Background
The Changes posits a Britain where a sudden enveloping noise emanating from all machinery and technology causes the population to destroy them. The resulting upheaval displaces many people and reverts society back to a pre-industrial age where there is a deep suspicion of anyone who may be harbouring machinery. Even the words for technology are taboo. The remnants of modern technology that escape destruction (such as electricity pylons) produce a physical and sometimes violent repulsion among those left in Britain.The Changes are seen through the eyes of teenage schoolgirl Nicky Gore (Victoria Williams
Victoria Williams (actor)
Victoria Williams is a British actress. Born in 1955, she started her career at the end of the Sixties. In the Seventies, she amassed a steady stream of various roles in different TV drama productions...
), and the 10-part series, originally broadcast every Monday from 6 January to 10 March 1975, traces Nicky's quest to reunite with her parents and solve the mystery. The serial's theme echoes contemporaneous adult drama series Survivors
Survivors
Survivors is a British post-apocalyptic fiction television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977...
in which a small group of British people attempt to survive the annihilation of the world's population by disease.
Despite its modest budget, The Changes was noted for its extensive location filming in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
and Sharpness
Sharpness
Sharpness is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
. Its original premise, downbeat tone and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
characters make it an acclaimed example of 1970s British television.
The theme and incidental music, composed by Paddy Kingsland
Paddy Kingsland
Paddy Kingsland is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Educated at Eggars Grammar School, Alton, in Hampshire, he joined the BBC as a tape editor before moving on to...
, combines the sound of an EMS Synthi 100 synthesiser with a small live band (horn, sitar and percussion). Kingsland went on to score both the radio and TV adaptations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
and incidental music for a number of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
stories in the early 1980s.
Writer Anna Home later became head of head of BBC Children's Programmes.
The high reputation of The Changes is partly based on the scarcity of its showings. The first episode, seeing ordinary people smash ordinary objects in fits of seeming madness made a great impact on its young audience, although the pace slowed through the serial and the denouement was rather diluted from the book's original premise.
The series was exported, but hasn't been released on video or DVD. It was repeated on the BBC in 1976 and on UK Gold in 1994.
Described by BBC continuity as "a serial for older children", the TV series was freely adapted by Anna Home from a trilogy of novels by Peter Dickinson
Peter Dickinson
Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE is an English author and poet who has written a wide variety of books, notably children's books and detective stories, over a long and distinguished career.-Life and work:...
. The series took most of its material from The Weathermonger which, together with Heartsease and The Devil's Children has recently been reissued in a single volume in the UK. In the original books, however, the lead character of Nicky Gore appears only in The Devil's Children - the books have entirely separate characters, and Nicky is introduced into scenarios in which she does not appear in the books, mixing with characters from the other two books. Also, the time span of The Changes is considerably reduced from that in the original trilogy.
Episode guide
Note: Episode titles were given in Radio Times, but were not shown on-screen.| No. | Title | Guest cast |
|---|
- Writer: Anna Home
- Director: John Prowse
- Story: Peter Dickinson
- Returning cast: Vicky Williams as Nicky Gore, Keith Ashton as Jonathon, David Garfield as Davy Gordon, Rafiq Anwar as Chacha, Zuleika Robson as Margaret, Raghbir Brar as Gopal
See also
- The Sparticle MysteryThe Sparticle MysteryThe Sparticle Mystery is a British science fiction television serial produced by Sparticles Productions for CBBC. The series was written and created by Alison Hume, directed by Jon East and produced by Stephen Smallwood...
(2011) - The Tribe (TV series) (1999)
- The Odyssey (TV series)The Odyssey (TV series)The Odyssey is a Canadian-produced half-hour adventure-fantasy television series for children, originally broadcast 1992-95 on CBC Television...
(1992)
External links
- Issue 22 of Skonnos, a TV fanzine special issue on the series from 1996, with extensive interviews (via archive.org).
- Changes Fansite
- Little Gems minisite with extensive screencaps episode-by-episode
- Action TV
- Essay on the series by Robin Carmody