Children of the Stones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Children of the Stones |
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| Genre | Fantasy Drama Children's |
| Created by | Jeremy Burnham Trevor Ray |
| Directed by | Peter Graham Scott |
| Starring | Iain Cuthbertson Veronica Strong Gareth Thomas Freddie Jones John Woodnutt |
| Composer(s) | Sidney Sager |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Patrick Dromgoole |
| Producer(s) | Peter Graham Scott |
| Production location(s) | Avebury, Wiltshire |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | HTV West |
| Distributor | Granada International Media Ltd |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | PAL (576i) |
| Original release | 10 January – 21 February 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Third Eye |
Children of the Stones is a British fantasy drama TV show. It was made for children by HTV in 1976. The show was first shown in the United Kingdom on the ITV network in early 1977.
Many people think this series is a very good children's drama. Some have even called it "the scariest programme ever made for children."
Contents
About the Show
This TV series tells the story of Adam Brake, a scientist who studies space, and his teenage son, Matthew. They arrive in a small village called Milbury. This village is built right in the middle of a huge megalithic stone circle.
The show was filmed in Avebury, Wiltshire, during the very hot summer of 1976. Indoor scenes were filmed at HTV's studios in Bristol. The music for the show makes it feel very tense. It uses strange, wailing voices. Sidney Sager wrote the music. He used a group called the Ambrosian Singers to chant, like the ancient rituals in the story. The director, Peter Graham Scott, was surprised the show was for children. He thought the story was very complex and a bit scary.
The main characters were played by talented actors. Iain Cuthbertson played Hendrick, the leader of the village. Gareth Thomas played Adam Brake. They had worked together before on another TV show. Veronica Strong, whose husband helped write the series, played Margaret Smythe. She is the curator of the local museum and helps Adam solve the mystery. The teenage roles were played by Peter Demin as Matthew and Katharine Levy as Sandra. Freddie Jones played Dai, a poacher, and John Woodnutt was Link, the butler.
Episodes
There are seven episodes in the series:
- Into the Circle (First shown: 10 January 1977)
- Circle of Fear (First shown: 17 January 1977)
- Serpent in the Circle (First shown: 24 January 1977)
- Narrowing Circle (First shown: 31 January 1977)
- Charmed Circle (First shown: 7 February 1977)
- Squaring the Circle (First shown: 14 February 1977)
- Full Circle (First shown: 21 February 1977)
Each episode was shown on Mondays at 4:45 p.m.
The series was shown again by ITV from July to September 1978. Since then, it has not been shown completely on UK television.
What Happens in the Story
The village of Milbury, inside the stone circle, is stuck in a kind of time loop. The same events happen over and over again, with small changes. The goal is to release the power of the circle to the outside world. If something goes wrong, the time loop resets, and the events try to happen again. But time outside the circle moves normally. So, time inside the circle also has to move forward, even as it repeats the same story.
The show describes four main times the time loop happened.
The First Circle
The very first stone circle was built a long, long time ago. It was made by ancient people led by a Druid priest. This priest saw a supernova (a huge star exploding) and figured out that a black hole formed after it. The priest used special powers and folk magic with the stones. The stones are natural magnets. He used them to send negative energy, like a beam of light, towards the black hole. This energy came from the villagers' anger and fear. It turned them into calm and happy people, controlled by the priest. They would say "happy day."
One day, two travelers came into the village. The priest tried to control their minds too. But the travelers were smart. They tricked the priest into thinking they were brainwashed before the light beam appeared. When they joined the group of controlled villagers, the priest's power broke. The light beam then appeared, turning the villagers to stone. The two travelers barely escaped by hiding in a rock cave called the sanctuary.
Later, someone painted a picture of these events. This painting becomes important in a later time loop.
The Barber-Surgeon's Story
Much later, a barber-surgeon lived in Milbury. The events of the first circle started to happen again. The barber-surgeon protected himself with an amulet. It was a small, palm-sized charm with a winged serpent on it.
This barber-surgeon was a threat to whoever was restarting the time loop. He was crushed by a falling sarsen stone. This stone also had a serpent carved on it, like his amulet. The amulet was broken. But the person who caused his death did not succeed. The time loop reset again, bringing events to modern times.
In the show, a character named Dai the poacher has a life and death very similar to the barber-surgeon. This suggests they are linked across the time loops.
Children of the Stones (The Main Story)
The time loop started again in the 1970s. A scientist named Rafael Hendrick found an old text about the ancient Druid priest. This text mentioned the supernova. Hendrick found where the supernova was, which made him famous. He also learned that it was now a black hole in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Hendrick then came to Milbury. He somehow learned how to use the stones to send the villagers' negative energy towards the black hole. He figured out the exact time to do this. He started to control the villagers, turning them into "Happy Ones."
The only person who challenged Hendrick was Dai the poacher. But Dai died mysteriously in the same spot where the barber-surgeon had died long ago. Dai's body seemed to be replaced by a fallen stone with a serpent. Then both the stone and the body vanished. After Dai's death, pieces of a broken amulet were found. These pieces perfectly matched the broken amulet of the barber-surgeon.
With Dai gone, Hendrick continued to control the villagers one by one. Professor Brake's son, Matthew, seems to have special psychic abilities. He found the painting that showed the first circle's events. By the time Hendrick tried to control Professor Brake and Matthew, they had figured out that Milbury was repeating history. They tried to find a way to escape.
In the last episode, Professor Brake and Matthew trick Hendrick. They set his digital clock ahead by five minutes. This makes Hendrick think they have been controlled by the energy beam. When they join the "Happy Ones" circle, the power breaks. Hendrick is hit by the light beam and changes into the ancient Druid priest. His butler, Link, covers his eyes to protect himself. The villagers then turn to stone when they look at the light from Hendrick's house. Professor Brake and Matthew try to save their friends, Margaret and her daughter Sandra. But they look back at the light and also turn to stone. The professor and his son escape to the Sanctuary, just like the ancient travelers.
When Brake and Matthew wake up the next morning, the village is back to normal. There are only small differences. It's as if Hendrick and his plan never happened. Margaret, Sandra, and their housekeeper are all alive and living normal lives. Even Dai the poacher is alive in the Sanctuary. But he doesn't seem to know Professor Brake or Matthew. Matthew wonders if the time loop has reset again and if these events will happen once more. Professor Brake jokes if Matthew wants to go back and find out. But Matthew just wants to drive far away and stop for food.
Sir Joshua Litton
In the very last scene of the series, after Professor Brake and Matthew leave, a well-dressed man drives into Milbury. He looks exactly like Rafael Hendrick. This man drives to Hendrick's old house. There, he meets Link, Hendrick's butler from the last time loop. Link now has a mustache and looks much younger.
The man introduces himself as Sir Joshua Litton. He says he used to be a professor at the University of Cambridge. He explains he came to Milbury from London. He says Milbury will be a nice place to retire and that he will be very happy there. This suggests the time loop is starting all over again.
Cast and Crew
Cast
- Hendrick / Sir Joshua Litton: Iain Cuthbertson
- Adam: Gareth Thomas
- Dai: Freddie Jones
- Link: John Woodnutt
- Margaret: Veronica Strong
- Mrs Crabtree: Ruth Dunning
- Matthew: Peter Demin
- Sandra: Katharine Levy
- Kevin: Darren Hatch
- Jimmo: Gary Lock
- Dr Lyle: Richard Mathews
- Miss Clegg: June Barrie
- Browning: Hubert Tucker
- Mrs. Warner: Peggy Ann Wood
- Bob: Ian Donnelly
Crew
- Written by: Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray
- Technical advisor: Dr Peter Williams
- Film cameras: Bob Edwards, Brian Morgan
- Film sound: Mike Davey, John Cross
- Film editor: Adrian Brenard
- Designer: Ken Jones
- Music composed by: Sidney Sager
- Executive Producer: Patrick Dromgoole
- Produced and Directed by: Peter Graham Scott
Avebury in the Show
The show uses the real place Avebury as its setting, calling it Milbury. The way the show describes Avebury is mostly correct for the 1970s. Avebury really does have a stone circle with two paths leading away from it. One path leads to a place called the Sanctuary. In real life, the Sanctuary is another stone circle, a bit far away on a ridge.
In the story, the Sanctuary is shown as a cave. Parts of it were filmed in the West Kennet Long Barrow, which is a real ancient burial mound near Avebury and Silbury Hill. The idea of Ley lines (straight lines connecting ancient sites) is not generally accepted as a real archaeological fact.
How to Watch the Show Today
Children of the Stones was one of the first children's shows released on home video. It came out on Guild Home Video in 1981. There was a mistake on the cover that said it was shorter than it was. But the tape actually had almost the full series. Some scenes were just reordered. For example, in the first episode, Matthew falls from his bike after his father touches a stone in the TV version. On video, he falls right after that scene.
The series was released again in 1992 as one long movie. You can also find the show on DVD. Second Sight released it in the UK, and Acorn Media released it in the US. These DVDs include interviews with actor Gareth Thomas and producer Peter Graham Scott. Network released the series again in 2011. Even though it's a children's show, it was given a 12 certificate in the UK. This means it's recommended for ages 12 and up.
The writers, Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray, also wrote a book version of the series. It came out in 1977. An audiobook version was released in 2014, read by Gareth Thomas.
Sequel
A sequel book called Return to the Stones was written by Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray. It was released as an e-book in 2012 and as a printed book in 2013. There is also an audiobook, again read by Gareth Thomas.
Podcast
The BBC made a new audio version of the story as a 10-episode podcast. It came out in October 2020. Famous actors like Reece Shearsmith, India Brown, Steve Oram, and Ralph Ineson were in it.
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