Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Discuss the television and film adaptations of Enid Blyton's stories.
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MJE
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Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by MJE »

Hallo.

     I just saw a YouTube clip of the theme for what appears to be a television or film version of the Secret series, dating from 1996. But the information I gleaned from it seemed a bit unexpected, so I thought I'd ask here if anyone knows about it.
     The series seems to be German (I saw the title "Die verwegenen vier" [case of initial letters sic]; but the theme song is sung in English. I did learn German at school, but it's more than a bit rusty now, and so I don't know what "verwegenen" means. But the "vier" (four) would seem not to include Prince Paul.
     There appears to be a dog in the series, judging from seeing one in a few brief scenes during the theme - yet the original series had no animal at all. This does make me wonder how many other changes they've made to the original stories - such as whether Prince Paul is even included, since the list of what actors played what characters which was displayed didn't include him, although it mentioned a good many other far less important characters, as well as the Arnold children.
     The characters listed included the following:


  The three Arnold children

  Jack Bennett
     Bennett? I don't recall any of the books giving him a surname, although I presume he became an Arnold at the end of "The Secret Island" when the Arnold family adopted him.

  Laura Arnold
     Laura? If this is the children's mother, I don't remember her ever being anything other than Mrs. Arnold, although I suppose it's fair enough to give her a first name in the film or T.V. version.

  Thaddeus Arnold
     I guess he has to be Capt. Arnold. That sure is an odd first name to give him, though.

  Charlotte Clancy
     (Who on earth?)

  Ruby
     (Dimmy, perhaps? Why can't she just remain Dimmy?)

  MA O'Moon (M. A. O'Moon?)
     (This illustrates one of the disadvantages of the modern practice of dropping punctuation: I don't know whether the "MA" here is meant to be "Ma" (a nickname for "Mother") or "M. A." (initials).)

  Fin, Lord Foggo, Drunk
     (An odd collection of characters. But a drunk in an Enid Blyton story?)

  Uncle Joe
     (Why not Uncle Henry? And where is Aunt Harriet?)

  Tom
  Waiter, Elderly chap, Club member, Farmer, Fisherman, Store owner
  Girl on bike 1, Girl on bike 2
     I don't remember any of these in any of the books.


     Where is Prince Paul?! Could be be one of the above, with a changed name? Fin? Lord Foggo? Could he bave been renamed, and demoted to a Lord? Or maybe these were the credits specifically for "The Secret Island", in which he didn't appear. But I don't think anyone remotely resembling a waiter or a Lord appeared in "The Secret Island", in that case; although they might have in one of the later books.
     Can anyone shed any light on any of the above points? Thanks.
     The theme music seemed quite inappropriately modern for its subject matter - as did a theme, in very similar style, for the Adventure series, of which I also found a clip.

Regards, Michael.
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Re: Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by Tony Summerfield »

This is the version of the Secret Series filmed in English in New Zealand, but you are looking at the version dubbed into German with different character names.

These links might help you understand it a bit better:-

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903367/ful ... cl_sm#cast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://enidblytonsociety.co.uk/continua ... t=secrettv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am not sure what Jack Trent is doing in the cast list, as he was just Jack!!

The stories only vaguely followed the original books.
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Re: Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by MJE »

Tony Summerfield wrote:This is the version of the Secret Series filmed in English in New Zealand, but you are looking at the version dubbed into German with different character names.
     Thanks, Tony. That doesn't seem to be a version I've heard much of before. It rings a faint bell in my mind; but that's about all.
     Many of these adaptations are not included in my now badly-out-of-date Enid Blyton listing. I think I kind of lost heart about that page when I realized how profoundly lacking it is in certain things and that it would be enormously difficult to catch it up now. Also, it doesn't help that I have been quite unable, for unknown reasons, to even access my web site (for uploading, not just reading, which is still possible) for the last few years.
Tony Summerfield wrote:These links might help you understand it a bit better:-

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903367/ful ... cl_sm#cast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://enidblytonsociety.co.uk/continua ... t=secrettv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
     Well, at least Prince Paul is there, even though not credited in the version of the theme I saw. Dimmy isn't though - I guess she must be either Ruby, or Old Nanny, or someone like that.
     Why, why, though? I guess the name "Dimmy" is politically incorrect now, as it might suggest she's a bit dim. Well, I think the people who strain at gnats to draw such conclusions are a bit dim themselves.
     And I suppose many of those characters are just new characters introduced in the changed story-line of the television version, and not in the original books at all.
Tony Summerfield wrote:I am not sure what Jack Trent is doing in the cast list, as he was just Jack!!
     Well, I would assume that the "Trent" on that page is simply a typing error on the part of whoever prepared that web page - probably nothing more.
Tony Summerfield wrote:The stories only vaguely followed the original books.
     Predictable.
     Being a bit of a completist, it's possible I might buy those books if I see them somewhere; but of course I don't give them nearly as high a place in my estimation as I do the original books.

Regards, Michael.
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Re: Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Three or four months ago we had a Readathon on The Secret of Moon Castle. After reading the book I watched the New Zealand adaptation and wrote the following comments:
I decided to take another look at the 1990s New Zealand film of The Secret of Moon Castle, recalling that it departed from the book in many places. It was quite fun to watch but didn't feel very Blyton-like.



*** SPOILER WARNING FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TV SERIES OF THE SECRET BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THE SECRET OF MOON CASTLE ***



Mrs. Arnold died some time ago, and cool dude Captain Arnold (known as Mr. Arnold, Thaddeus or Thad in the series) has been struggling to come to terms with the idea of having a relationship with feisty journalist Charlotte (Charley). On being asked to write an article about Irish castles, Charley books herself, "Thad", the children and their dog Prince into an Irish castle (Moon Castle) for a fortnight. Nora is Laura, Prince Paul doesn't appear in the story at all, and five minutes into the film Mike decides to go off to a horse fair instead of going to the castle! A boy named Tom who was bound for the horse fair joins the trip to Moon Castle instead! All rather odd - I assume the actor playing Mike wasn't able to take part in the filming at the castle for some reason! Dimmy, by the way, has morphed into a trendy young woman named Ruby, and Jack is formally adopted by Mr. Arnold at the beginning of this episode. Throughout the series, because of the New Zealand accents, Peggy comes out as "Piggy"!

Mrs. Brimming has turned into Mrs. O' Moon (or "Ma"), and she and her son (Finn, not Guy) live alone at the castle. They're descendants of Finbar O' Moon who built the castle over 600 years ago, and they keep the tower locked (much to the children's annoyance and curiosity) because they're using it as a laboratory to brew an elixir of eternal youth which was supposedly discovered by Finbar. Mrs. O' Moon is obsessed with the idea of looking young - she says that her husband left her when her face became wrinkled. The elixir has not yet been perfected and she and Finn need unsuspecting victims to try it on...

We have the locked tower, the portrait with glowing eyes, the twanging instruments and the leaping books - but there's a twist that isn't in the original story (along with many other events!) A few little touches are recognisable, including a game of cards and a pillow fight which leads to a pillow being thrown out of the window, but the whole thing is really over the top and quite unbelievable. Finn looks like a cross between Diarmuid Gavin and Russell Grant, while his mother looks like a cross between Dolly Parton and Barbara Windsor!

One thing that does appear to have been taken from Enid Blyton (but from other books rather than from The Secret of Moon Castle) is the repeated phrase that you should face up to things which frighten you. That idea is used in several different contexts in the film.

Quite entertaining as I said, but I'd rather have seen a period adaptation that stuck more closely to the book!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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Re: Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by Moonraker »

You have whetted my appetite, Anita! I must have a re-watch of this series.
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Re: Oddities in 1996 Secret series adaptation.

Post by black labrador »

I've just watched the Secret Island version of this series on Youtube. I was not impressed.

The main positive was the great scenery. The island and surrounding countryside are in line with my memories of the book. The children's uncle and aunt were good as was the portayal of Jack.

The characters are very different and not for the better. Thaddeus Arnold (a playboy adventurer) replaces Captain Arnold (a genuine hero and a great pilot). Mrs Arnold is replaced (why?) by a journalist.

The plot is very different to the book - it switches between the Secret Island and Thaddeus on a tropical island. There are some weird additions - Prince the Dog, the telepathy between the children, the monk on the island, etc. The book is centred around the children's attempts to survive on the Island, the TV series scarcely covers this.

For those who are interested, all the NZ Secret and Adventure series are on YouTube. Search for 'Enid Blyton Series'.
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