Swallows and Amazons Forever!
Swallows and Amazons Forever! is a 1984 BBC children's television series based on two children's novels from the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome, Coot Club (1934) four episodes, and The Big Six (1940) four episodes.
| Swallows and Amazons Forever! | |
|---|---|
 Title Card | |
| Genre | Children's |
| Written by | Arthur Ransome (books) Michael Robson (script) |
| Directed by | Andrew Morgan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Norfolk Broads |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 14 March – 2 May 1984 |
The setting is the Norfolk Broads in the 1930s, partly near the village of Horning, with the children sailing and bird-watching, plus some detective work in The Big Six. The main characters are visitors Dick and Dorothea (Dot) Callum and locals Tom Dudgeon, the twins Nell and Bess, three boatbuilders’ sons Joe, Bill and Pete, and adults Mrs Barrable, Dr Dudgeon (father of Tom) and Frank Farland (father of the twins) plus in Coot Club five obnoxious adults in a motor cruiser, the Margoletta who are called the Hullabaloos by the children. Despite the title, Ransome's other groups of children, the Swallows and the Amazons, do not appear.
A Puffin paperback with the same title was published in 1983; it is a condensation of Coot Club (omitting the postscript) and The Big Six (omitting 7 chapters). It was reissued as a Red Fox paperback in 1993 with the title Swallows and Amazons for Ever!
It was intended that Swallows and Amazons Forever! should have continued with adaptions of all the books in the series, and Swallowdale and The Picts and the Martyrs were to have been next. Casting and scouting for locations began, but the cost of filming on National Trust property in the Lake District was too expensive, so the series was cancelled.[1]
Episodes
The series was broadcast on BBC Two on Wednesdays in 1984.[2]
| Episode | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Coot Club - Episode 1 | Wednesday 14 March 1984 | 7.10-7.35pm |
| Coot Club - Episode 2 | Wednesday 21 March 1984 | 7.10-7.35pm |
| Coot Club - Episode 3 | Wednesday 28 March 1984 | 7.10-7.35pm |
| Coot Club - Episode 4 | Wednesday 4 April 1984 | 7.00-7.25pm |
| The Big Six - Episode 1 | Wednesday 11 April 1984 | 7.05-7.30pm |
| The Big Six - Episode 2 | Wednesday 18 April 1984 | 7.15-7.40pm |
| The Big Six - Episode 3 | Wednesday 24 April 1984 | 7.15-7.40pm |
| The Big Six - Episode 4 | Wednesday 2 May 1984 | 7.10-7.35pm |
Characters
- Richard Walton as Dick Callum
- Caroline Downer as Dorothea Callum
- Henry Dimbleby as Tom Dudgeon
- Claire Matthews as Bess Farland
- Sarah Matthews as Nell Farland
- Nicholas Walpole as Joe
- Mark Page as Bill
- Jake Coppard as Pete
- Rosemary Leach as Mrs Barrable
- John Woodvine as Mr Tedder the Policeman
- Colin Baker as Dr Dudgeon
- Andrew Burt as Frank Farland
- Simon Hawes as George Owden
- some minor characters
- Julian Fellowes as Jerry a Hullabaloo
- Patrick Troughton as Harry Bangate the Eel Man
- Sam Kelly as the Owner of the Cachalot
References
- Swallows and Amazons Forever! on IMDb (Coot Club)
- Swallows and Amazons Forever! on IMDb (The Big Six)