Just William Books by Richmal Crompton

[Petermax]

Forumites may be interested to know that the complete first series of LWT's 1977 Just William is now available on a double DVD set for £11.99 post free (rrp £19.99) from Play.com.

Thanks Eddie. I last watched this back in 1977, I shall certainly enjoy viewing it again after all these years. It is nice to see obscure TV series making a comeback and hopefully reaching a whole new audience.

Much as I enjoyed the 1970's series of Just William, surely the definitive version was produced by the BBC in 1994. This is not available on DVD but was released on VHS. The 1970's series was partly spoilt by the presence of Bonnie Langford, an actress who was perhaps too theatrical for the medium of television. The fact that she was nearly as tall as her co-star, Adrian Dannatt also did not help matters much, bearing in mind that Violet-Elizabeth Bott was supposed to be a six year old!

[Eddie Muir]

Forumites may be interested to know that the complete first series of LWT's 1977 Just William is now available on a double DVD set for £11.99 post free (rrp £19.99) from Play.com. There are 13 brilliant episodes with a running time of 325 minutes. William is played by Adrian Dannatt, Violet Elizabeth by Bonnie Langford and Mrs Bott by Diana Dors. In addition to fine performances by these actors, the series also stars Stacy Dorning as Ethel, Diana Fairfax as Mrs Brown, Hugh Cross as Mr Brown and John Stratton as Mr Bott. This series is probably the best film adaptation of the Just William stories, and The Little Girl In White, which introduces Violet Elizabeth, is a sheer joy.

It's interesting to read the various opinions that have been generated by my post about the DVD release of the first series of LWT's 1977 Just William, and I feel I must add a few of my own. Firstly, I'm rather surprised at the general dislike of Bonnie Langford. I felt that, apart from being too old for the role of Violet Elizabeth, she was the ideal choice for the part. I haven't seen her in Doctor Who, Nigel and so I can't comment on her portrayal of Mel. Secondly, overacting has been mentioned in connection with Bonnie Langford, but all the performers in this series are guilty of overacting. Surely, it is this aspect that provides the comedy to make each episode so entertaining. The series is certainly true to the spirit of the original stories and in this respect can be compared favourably with the best adaptations of the P.G. Wodehouse stories, especially as this series of Just William is set firmly in the 1920s when Richmal Crompton wrote the first ten (and possibly the best) of her 38 William books. Thirdly, I think that Adrian Dannatt performed well as William bearing in mind that he had had no previous acting experience, and he was certainly better than Oliver Rokison who played William in the two BBC Television series from 1994 and 1995. I do not agree that this was the definitive series, Petermax for, although I quite enjoyed watching it at the time, I found it lacklustre and devoid of the comic elements which are an integral part of the Richmal Crompton stories. Anyway, I've had my say and so I'll get off my soapbox now! Thank you for your comments Anita, John, Nigel and Petermax. If you decide to buy the DVD set, I hope you enjoy watching it.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I do remember this series, but have to confess I didn't watch it all that much. There again I have to confess that I never read these books either.

[Eddie Muir]

You should give the Just William books a try, Julie. I'm sure you'd enjoy reading the stories.

[Rob Houghton]

I never really watched this series, but must say i have nothing against Bonnie Langford, who I've always rather liked!

I do remember her 'catch phrase' as Violet, oft quoted: 'I'll scweem and scweem and scweem until I'm sick!'

[Petermax]

The series is certainly true to the spirit of the original stories and in this respect can be compared favourably with the best adaptations of the P.G. Wodehouse stories

As you say Eddie, the 70's series is far more light hearted and captures the unique Richmal Crompton humour that worked at all levels. As regards Bonnie Langford, she has certainly enjoyed a very good career and unlike many former child stars has come through unscathed. Not so her Italia Conti Stage Academy classmate Lena Zavaroni, what a tragedy her life turned into.

I do remember her 'catch phrase' as Violet, oft quoted: 'I'll scweem and scweem and scweem until I'm sick!'

Surely it is "I'll thweam and thweam until I'm thick!"

[Tony Summerfield]

Forumites may be interested to know that the complete first series of LWT's 1977 Just William is now available on a double DVD set for £11.99 post free (rrp £19.99) from Play.com.

I have had it on order from Play.com for about ten days now, Eddie, and it is still listed as out of stock!

[Eddie Muir]

Play.com must have had a run on it, Tony. I ordered mine on 26th July and received it three days later. Let's hope you get yours very soon.

As a matter of interest, the second series from 1977-78 is due for release on 19th October.

[Tony Summerfield]

I ordered mine on the 27th of July - perhaps you bought the only copy they had in stock!

[Eddie Muir]

I've noticed that Amazon.co.uk have copies of Series 1 in stock for £11.98, Tony. Perhaps you could cancel your order with Play.com and re-order from Amazon. You might get it quicker this way.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the complete Series 2 is due for release on 19th October. It can be pre-ordered from Play.com for £12.99. A 4-DVD set of the complete Series 1 and 2 is also being issued on the same date and can be pre-ordered from Play.com for £17.99, which is a much better way of buying the whole series.

Anyway, I hope your Series 1 turns up in the next few days, Tony. Chick and I are currently watching the episodes from this set and thoroughly enjoying doing so.

[RDMorrell]

I would gladly buy both Series 1 and 2, except for one little thing: these DVDs are for Region 2, and New Zealand is in Region 4. I do hope that the Just William series is released in Region 4 as well, because it was also broadcast in New Zealand, and that was in fact how I was introduced to the books; by watching the TV series. In like fashion, I was introduced to the Famous Five by the 1978 TV series. In fact, TV adaptations have introduced me to quite a few of my favourite series as well as individual characters like Heidi.

Still, it's great that this classic series is being released at all, and as I say, I just hope it won't only be limited to the UK, but will be put out in other countries, like NZ, where it was broadcast.

[Moonraker]

Will the day ever come when technology is universal? Years ago we had video tape - VHS (JVC) and Betamax (Sony) - two incompatible systems. (There was a third - Philips V2000?) In spite of Betamax being superior, VHS won the day. Now we have DVDs, we have different regions - and I thought technology was making the world smaller!!! Maybe one of our resident gurus can explain why there are these different systems! I have just invested in a DVD/VHS/Hard drive recorder with built in Freeview - only to find that Blueray is now the way forward!

Back to the gramophone...

[Petermax]

I would gladly buy both Series 1 and 2, except for one little thing: these DVDs are for Region 2, and New Zealand is in Region 4.

Fear not! The chances are that your DVD player can be converted to multi region by means of a simple handset hack, a four digit code that can be input via the remote control. Have a look here. It is usually the DVD players at the lower end of the price range that lend themselves to this easy modification. Another method is to copy the DVDs onto your PC and use appropriate software to strip out the region coding before burning onto a blank DVD. Such behaviour is of course very illegal and I would not dream of doing it myself.

Region coding was originally foisted upon the DVD industry by Hollywood in order to restrict sales of certain titles to specific parts of the world. Why it is used on a 32 year old TV series is beyond me.

[70s-child]

I too am a huge fan of William. My favorite story is "The Birthday Treat" from William the Conqueror, where the Outlaws put up a show mimicking several denizens of their village not realizing that their victims are in the audience. I read this story some 20 years ago and remember it almost perfectly to this day - it's that good. Another favorite William moment is when Violet Elizabeth Bott creates a cross-word puzzle with exactly two words. 1 Down - 'wot' they have 'dropps' of (Ans. COF). 1 Across - Opposite of Cat (Ans. DOG).

[Eddie Muir]

Fear not! The chances are that your DVD player can be converted to multi region by means of a simple handset hack, a four digit code that can be input via the remote control. Have a look here. It is usually the DVD players at the lower end of the price range that lend themselves to this easy modification. Another method is to copy the DVDs onto your PC and use appropriate software to strip out the region coding before burning onto a blank DVD. Such behaviour is of course very illegal and I would not dream of doing it myself.

Region coding was originally foisted upon the DVD industry by Hollywood in order to restrict sales of certain titles to specific parts of the world. Why it is used on a 32 year old TV series is beyond me.

Many thanks for this information, Petermax. I have found the code I need and it will prove most useful!