The Enid Blyton Society

Just thought I'd ask. I'm making my way through them at the moment.

Five Go Down To The Sea - without a shadow of a doubt.

Followed by

Get Into A Fix
Mystery To Solve
Smugglers' Top
Go Off In A Caravan
Demon's Rocks
Get Into Trouble
Kirrin Island Again
Hike Together
Run Away Together
Go Off To Camp
Adventuring Again
Secret Trail
Finniston Farm
Together Again
Wonderful Time
Mystery Moor
Treasure Island
Billycock Hill
Fall Into Adventure
Plenty Of Fun

Are these all available on Youtube? I've not seen any DVD's available I'm going to have to have a poke around Youtube to see what I can find!

They certainly are - these are the ones I watched on Youtube before I acquired them properly to watch on my laptop -

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yarvelling wrote:Are these all available on Youtube? I've not seen any DVD's available I'm going to have to have a poke around Youtube to see what I can find!

There is (or was) a Dutch set available, as far as I know "Five go to Smuggler's top" is missing, and there's a Nordic set with all 26 episodes. If you understand German, all 26 episodes are available as well on DVD. But there's also a thread about the 90s series on the forum giving further details.

I've got the full Dutch set with both series one and two. I have also watched the You Tube clips and they're not bad at all either. If I had to choose my favourite, I would have to agree with Cathy and say Five Go Down To The Sea. I think this episode has everything in terms of the location and the humour from Yan and his granddad. However, as a general rule, I prefer series one. The actors don't appear as likeable in season two. I think it may be because they're older and feel a little uncomfortable. Sadly, I think this carries to the viewer a little bit. I'll write a full list in order when I've watched them all again!

I agree about them being awkward in Series 2. Marco especially always looks very awkward both phsyically and emotionally and doesn't seem as lively and fun. I much preferred him in the first series when he was younger, had his un-gelled fluffy hair and seemed to have more friendly brotherly banter with Paul.

I also thought Paul Child wasn't as likeable either. He seemed a lot jollier and nicer in the first series than the second one. I just thought the characters in series one were more what I would have expected in the book in terms of age and personality. I also couldn't get over how much their appearance did change considering there was little more than a year between the two series.

I agree that Five Go Down to the Sea is one of the best 1990s episodes, even if it is set in Somerset instead of Cornwall. As it's a two-parter there is ample time for build-up and banter, and characters like Mr. Penruthlan, Old Grandad and the Barnies are larger than life with their quirky sayings and mannerisms. Really entertaining. Yan is not "frit" enough for me and his love of sweets is somewhat exaggerated, but that's only a minor grumble.

Having said all that, I think Five on a Treasure Island is my favourite story from the 1990s series. Again it's a two-parter which means events aren't rushed, it sticks pretty closely to the book and key characters like George and Uncle Quentin are on top form. It's lovely to see George and her cousins getting to know each other and gradually forming a strong bond. The location is stunning and the atmosphere is exactly right - dreamy and idyllic but laced with tension and danger.

Fraid I've not seen this series even though I do know you can view them on You Tube. For me, the 70's was the best.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I agree that Five Go Down to the Sea is one of the best 1990s episodes, even if it is set in Somerset instead of Cornwall. As it's a two-parter there is ample time for build-up and banter, and characters like Mr. Penruthlan, Old Grandad and the Barnies are larger than life with their quirky sayings and mannerisms. Really entertaining. Yan is not "frit" enough for me and his love of sweets is somewhat exaggerated, but that's only a minor grumble.

Having said all that, I think Five on a Treasure Island is my favourite story from the 1990s series.

I too like the fact that Treasure Island is in two parts, which gives time for the cousins to get to know each other etc. The only criticism I have of this one is that the villains were too comic, which ruined it for me because they should have been nasty and more like the villains in the book. The younger chap was just silly with his stupid grin when he threatened to shoot Timmy, and his exaggerated manner while they were examining the old box, and the way they fall over while chasing the children is just like something out of a slapstick comedy, it would have been so much more dramatic if they had been serious and nasty villains.
Also poor Jemima's scene where she shouts repeatedly at Quentin that she'll get the box back makes me cringe a little - not her fault because she's a great actress, it's the script and direction that let her down, it was just too over the top I think!

But it's the silly villains that put this one far down my list - the scenery, the children and the story are all great!

I wonder why they set Go Down To The Sea in Somerset rather than Cornwall. They kept the name Tremannon, which is obviously a Cornish name, yet moved it to Exmoor and near to places like Watchet and Porlock! Doesn't bother me because I love Exmoor, but it seems strange because there was no need to move it at all. Obviously they couldn't film in Cornwall but that doesn't matter because they didn't show any places that would instantly be recognisable as Exmoor (except Valley Of The Rocks but only if you know it well), so it wasn't as if it was a necessity to move the story there. Who knows?!

Deej wrote:I also thought Paul Child wasn't as likeable either. He seemed a lot jollier and nicer in the first series than the second one. I just thought the characters in series one were more what I would have expected in the book in terms of age and personality. I also couldn't get over how much their appearance did change considering there was little more than a year between the two series.

Yes that's true, Paul did also seem slightly more 'grumpy' for want of a better word.
Marco, in some shots, looks conpletely different to the young fluffy-haired lad of Series 1, with his longer hair all gelled and swept to the side.
I think Laura was the only one who didn't really change. Jemima looked more grown-up with gel on her hair and her eyebrows plucked and shaped like a girl (good view of them in Billycock Hill when the spider is dangling by her!), and although Paul kept the same side-parting hairstyle, he too looked a lot older and more serious.

I must admit I can't bring the 1990s Five on a Treasure Island villains to mind at all, so they obviously didn't make much of an impression on me! Unfortunately, quite a lot of mystery/adventure TV programmes for children are let down by crooks who would be more at home in a slapstick comedy.

This is them -



The young one just looks and acts as though he should be in a P G Wodehouse novel, and the older one seems to spend all his time falling down!

It's a shame that they made some of the villains so slapstick - they made some very nasty and true to the books (I'm thinking of people like Block, Rooky, Mr Andrews, the crooks on Whispering Island, the fake Mr Brent and Mr Janes, the men in Kirrin Island Again, etc) but then others were so silly! I'm all for a bit of comedy but I do feel the villains should have at least a bit of villain-ness about them!

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Yan is not "frit" enough for me and his love of sweets is somewhat exaggerated, but that's only a minor grumble.

Yes, I agree that his love of sweets was exaggerated a bit, hehe, and at times he didn't seem very 'frit'!
However I thought Richard Allen was perfect for the part, in his raggedy clothes and with his grubby face and sun-tan, and when he smiled his face lit up just as Yan's was described in the book.

Thanks for the reminder of the villains in Five on a Treasure Island, Cathy. I remember the younger one now, but I can still barely remember the older one. I'll have to pay particular attention to him whenever I next watch the episode!