Raven: The Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raven: The Island
Genre	Children's Game Show
Starring	James Mackenzie Lindsay McKenzie Michael MacKenzie
Voices of	Jo James
Theme music composer	David Brockett
Country of origin	Scotland
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	20
Production
Production location(s)	Scotland
Release
Original network	BBC
Original release	2006 (2006)

Raven: The Island is an exciting adventure game show made for children by BBC Scotland. It's the first spin-off from the popular Raven series. This show aired in 2006 on the CBBC Channel and later on BBC One. In Raven: The Island, young warriors work together in teams. They face many challenges on a magical island called Alaunus. Their main goal is to find special timepieces and defeat the evil villain, Nevar.

What is the Story of Raven: The Island?

The story of Raven: The Island begins when Nevar, a powerful evil force, takes over Alaunus. This island is Raven's home from when he was a child. Raven has been forced to leave the island. His good friend, Princess Erina, helps the young warriors. She has a small sprite friend named Haryad who also helps.

Their only hope to save the island is with three teams of four warriors. These teams must travel to the island. They need to reach a ruined fortress that once belonged to Erina's father. Along the way, they collect timepieces. Nevar couldn't destroy these timepieces, so he hid them in dangerous traps.

With the timepieces and a coming solar eclipse, the warriors must enter the fortress. They need to get an acorn from the Great Oak tree. Nevar stole this acorn to make new Staffs of Power for his evil demons. If they succeed, a new tree can be planted far from Nevar's dark control.

How Does the Game Show Work?

Raven: The Island has many different challenges for the warriors. Unlike the main Raven show, warriors here are split into teams. There are three teams, each with four warriors. Each team has a special animal and wears a certain color:

• The Lions wear green.
• The Wolves wear blue.
• The Eagles wear maroon.

Each team also has a leader. They follow different paths to the fortress, facing unique challenges.

What Happens if a Warrior Fails?

In this series, warriors don't have "lives" or "rings" like in other Raven shows. If a warrior fails a task, they are out of the game. This means if a demon catches them, or they can't complete an obstacle, their quest ends. They cannot return to the game.

Who are the Main Characters?

Raven

Raven, the hero of the show, helps guide the warriors.

Raven is played by James Mackenzie. He appears in this series, but he doesn't guide the warriors as much as usual. He talks with Princess Erina about how the warriors are doing. He also speaks to Cyrus to get important information. This includes details about the eclipse and the timepieces.

Princess Erina

Princess Erina is played by Lindsay McKenzie. She is Raven's close and trusted friend. She carries a special Staff of Power. Her staff has a crown carved on top. A tree sprite named Haryad helps her. Erina lives on Alaunus Island. Her father used to rule it before Nevar took over with dark magic. Erina leaves clues and signs to help guide the warriors to Nevar's fortress. She cannot meet the warriors herself until their quest is over. If she did, her life force and her Staff of Power would lead demons straight to them.

Haryad

Haryad is Erina's companion. He is a tree sprite, the spirit of the Great Oak that Nevar stole. Haryad usually appears as a blue ball of light. He tells Erina about the warriors' progress. Sometimes, he appears as a sprite, played by Jack Gilliland, and is voiced by Jo James.

Cyrus the Astronomer

Cyrus is played by Michael MacKenzie, who is James Mackenzie's father. He is an old and wise astronomer. Cyrus figures out when the eclipse will happen. He also found many magical things on Alaunus, like the Time Wells and Pearls of Wisdom. This happened when magic returned to the island. He has shared his great knowledge with Erina. He is seen explaining things like the eclipse and the timepieces to Raven.

Nevar

Nevar is the main bad guy in all the Raven stories. He has taken control of Alaunus. He did this by capturing the Enchanted Oak tree. The Staffs of Power for Raven, Erina, and even his own were made from this tree. He has locked the tree inside the Ruins of the Castle of Alaunus, which he now controls. Nevar has started cutting new Staffs of Power for his black-robed Elite Demons. This is slowly killing the Great Oak.

Who are the Warriors?

Twelve warriors started the quest, with four in each team. Just like in the main Raven series, each warrior gets a special warrior name. This name is made from letters of their real first and last names. Each team has a different animal symbol and wears different colored outfits.

Some warriors successfully escaped the island. These are marked in yellow in the tables below.

What Challenges Do They Face?

Each team follows a different path using a part of the map Erina gave them. They face different challenges along their way. Nevar cannot destroy the timepieces, so he hides them in hard-to-reach places. From the fourth day, timepieces become part of the challenges. Warriors can try to get them if they choose.

Lions' Challenges

The Lions face challenges like:

• Directory: Using their map and a riddle, they find special stones to move forward.
• Speed Run: They jump to grab bags, hoping for a timepiece, while avoiding wood demons.
• Stone Trolls: One Lion climbs a hill to collect timepieces from stone trolls.
• River Crossing: They cross a river on stepping stones. Norso fell and was eliminated.
• Bog Crossing: They cross a marsh by stepping on toadstools, collecting timepieces.

Wolves' Challenges

The Wolves face challenges such as:

• Thrall River: They travel upstream, avoiding strings that alert demons. Jenso touched a string and was eliminated.
• Archery: They hit targets to get timepieces, but must watch for demons.
• Abseiling: They must climb down a cliff. Tanla had a fear of heights and was eliminated.
• Silent Collection: They silently collect timepieces with bells, avoiding demon sentinels.
• Bones of the Vanquished Warriors: A blindfolded warrior is guided through a field of debris.

Eagles' Challenges

The Eagles' challenges include:

• River Crossing: They rebuild a bridge to cross a river.
• Climbing: They climb a dangerous cliff.
• Time Piece Netting: They use a net to catch timepieces floating quickly downstream.
• Bog O'Balor: They cross a bog on toadstools. Masam and Cared fell into the mud and were eliminated.
• Speed Run: They jump for bags, hoping for timepieces, while avoiding wood demons.

Fortress Approach Challenges

In the final week, the surviving warriors from all three teams join together. They combine their map pieces and decipher runes. These runes lead them to a "Twisted Tree" where they find a golden disc pendant. This pendant will help open the room with the Great Oak.

Other challenges include:

• Thrall Demons: Warriors must pass through threads in the forest without touching them. If a bell rings, demons appear. Bayle and Kaysa were caught and eliminated here.
• Frozen Timepiece: They set up telescopes to focus sun rays on a frozen timepiece.
• Nevar's Eye: A warrior uses a catapult to destroy Nevar's crystal eye.
• Magic Potion: They make a potion to use against demons at the Causeway.
• Demon Vanquish: They face two demons. Simlo was caught by the first demon after saying the wrong spell.

Fortress Challenges

Inside the fortress, the warriors face their final tests:

• The Totality Clock: They feed timepieces into a clock to make the eclipse last longer. This gives them more time to complete the quest.
• Catapult: They use a catapult to break down a wall and get a key. This alerts Nevar to their presence.
• Door to the Inner Chamber: They use a mirrored shield to navigate past demons without looking at them directly.
• Inner Chamber: They cross a rune path and a beam with swinging boulders. Goram was knocked off the obstacle course and lost the pendant.
• Door to the Oak: They solve rotating locks to enter the room with the Great Oak.
• The Great Oak: They must solve a final riddle to pick the correct acorn from three types. Picking the wrong one, or taking one without a pure heart, ends their quest.

After taking the right acorn, Delra, Corso, and Tanel escape Nevar's attacks. The acorn protects them. They return to Erina and Haryad at the Waterfall of the Little Fawn. They give Erina the acorn. Then, they head back to the mainland to find Raven. Together, they will plant a new tree to help fight Nevar's evil from Alaunus.

Where Was Raven: The Island Filmed?

The first parts of the show, before the warriors arrive on Alaunus Island, were filmed at Loch Lomond in Scotland. Most of the challenges were then filmed at Auchengillan International Outdoor Centre. Auchengillan International Outdoor Centre

The series was directed by Maria Stewart. She also directed The Secret Temple, another Raven spin-off. Paul Hineman produced the show. He also directed the third and fourth series of the main Raven show.