Figure 1.--Here Peter (Richard Dempsey) is at a railyway station preparing to go back to school just before Prince Caspian summons help to save Narnia. Click on the image for another view at the station.

The BBC production of "The Chronicles of Narnia" had excellent acting and was quite faithful to the C.S. Lewis story. It shows off just how bad the BBC's special-effects department was before "Red Dwarf" gave them an opportunity to sharpen their skills on a regular basis! They were on more familiar ground with the costuming, however; interstingly, Peter (the oldest boy) wears shorts throughout although Pauline Baynes' illustrations (which date to the books' publication in the early-mid '50s) show him in long pants. One reader writes, "Personally, I'd rather seen him in the actor's 1990 street clothes talking to an Aslan that didn't look like a giant stuffed animal!" As in the books, Aslan, the wise lion, could be relied on to discern the truth of a situation. The children under his tutelage learned courage and a bedrock sense of right and wrong, gradually learning to acknowledge that troublesome state of in-between as well. The particular episode is called ‘Prince Caspian. I have included the preamble from the dvd cover for you. The image here comes from the "Prince Caspian" volume. This followed the first volume, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" ends with peace returned to Narnia. In "Prince Caspian" the troubles have returned to Narnia. The evil King Miraz and his manipulative Queen Prunaprismia have proven a disaster for Narmia. Peace has yielded to destruction and suffering. Young Prince Caspian (Jean Marc Perret) is tge rightful heir and pledges to save the distressed kingdom. Prince Caspian sounds the magic horn to summon aid. While at a rural railway station Peter, (Richard Dempsey) Susan, (Sophie Cook) Edmund (Jonathon R Scott) and Lucy (Sophie Walker) are waiting for the train for the new school term. (As late s the 1950s many children attending private schools still went to school by train.) Then they sence Prince Caspian's call for help. The children are magically transported to a deep forrest in Narnia. Caspian and the children pull together a stealth army consisting of a wild mix of fauns, dwarves and various talking beasts. This is the group that will liberate Narnia.

TV-ology

The BBC production of "The Chronicles of Narnia" had excellent acting and was quite faithful to the C.S. Lewis story. It shows off just how bad the BBC's special-effects department was before "Red Dwarf" gave them an opportunity to sharpen their skills on a regular basis!

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

C.S. Lewis was a respected university professor, not the kind of person that one would think would write a children's classic. Lewis was a Medieval scholar a Oxford, he wrote children's books for his own amusement, but the Narnia Chronicles became classics of children's literature. His mother was a brilliant mathematician and his father was a solicitor. He lived in a large, drafty house with untold little hideaways. He began writing at about 5 and created his own imaginary world with his younger brother. He continued to write his fantasies until he was packed away to strict, formal boarding school at 12. He was fitted with a stiff Eton collar and suffered from the strict discipline. He writes in detail about the school in his book Surprised by Joy. He lived the life of a bachelor scholar until late in his life he met an American poet and author, a married woman with two children. He was captivated by her and the boys, but had difficulty with adjusting his bachelor habits and the ethics of the relationship as she was still, if unhappily, married. She contracts cancer which devastates him, but marries her before she dies. The story of his later years is nicely depicted in a British docudrama 'Shadowlands'.

Cast

Young Prince Caspian (Jean Marc Perret) is the rightful heir and pledges to save the distressed kingdom. Prince Caspian sounds the magic horn to summon aid. While at a rural railway station Peter, (Richard Dempsey) Susan, (Sophie Cook) Edmund (Jonathon R Scott) and Lucy (Sophie Walker) are waiting for the train for the new school term.

Plot

As in the books, Aslan, the wise lion, could be relied on to discern the truth of a situation. The children under his tutelage learned courage and a bedrock sense of right and wrong, gradually learning to acknowledge that troublesome state of in-between as well. The particular episode is called ‘Prince Caspian. I have included the preamble from the dvd cover for you. The image here comes from the "Prince Caspian" volume. This followed the first volume, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" ends with peace returned to Narnia. In "Prince Caspian" the troubles have returned to Narnia. The evil King Miraz and his manipulative Queen Prunaprismia have proven a disaster for Narmia. Peace has yielded to destruction and suffering. Prince Caspian is the rightful heir and pledges to save the distressed kingdom. Prince Caspian sounds the magic horn to summon aid. While at a rural railway station Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are waiting for the train for the new school term. (As late s the 1950s many children attending private schools still went to school by train.) Then they sence Prince Caspian's call for help. The children are magically transported to a deep forrest in Narnia. Caspian and the children pull together a stealth army consisting of a wild mix of fauns, dwarves and various talking beasts. This is the group that will liberate Narnia.

Costuming

The BBC were on more familiar ground with the costuming, however; interstingly, Peter (the oldest boy) wears shorts throughout although Pauline Baynes' illustrations (which date to the books' publication in the early-mid '50s) show him in long pants. One reader writes, "Personally, I'd rather seen him in the actor's 1990 street clothes talking to an Aslan that didn't look like a giant stuffed animal!"

Created: 2:15 AM 10/23/2004
Last updated: 8:39 PM 12/14/2004