Through the Dragon's Eye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Through the Dragon's Eye
Opening credits of Through the Dragon's Eye
Genre	Children's fantasy
Written by	Christopher Russell Christine Russell
Starring	David Collings Simon Fenton Nicola Stewart Marlaine Gordon Carolyn Pickles
Voices of	Sean Barrett Charles Collingwood
Composer(s)	Roger Limb
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Sue Weeks
Running time	10 x 20 mins episodes
Release
Original network	BBC
Original release	19 September – 28 November 1989
Chronology
Preceded by	Geordie Racer (1988)
Followed by	Sky Hunter II (1992)

Through the Dragon's Eye is a fun and educational TV show from the BBC. It was part of the "Look and Read" series, which helped kids learn to read. The show first aired on BBC Two in 1989 and was shown for many years.

The story is about three kids who go on an amazing adventure. They are transported to a magical land and must use their reading skills to save it. The TV show was so popular that it was also made into a video game.

Plot Summary

The story begins with three children: Jenny, Amanda, and Scott. They are painting a mural of a dragon on a school wall in Acton, London. Suddenly, the dragon in the painting, named Gorwen, winks at them!

Journey to Pelamar

The winking dragon transports the children to a magical place called Pelamar. Once there, Gorwen the dragon asks them for help. Pelamar is in great danger and needs the children to save it.

Saving Pelamar

The life source of Pelamar is something called the Veetacore. It has recently exploded into many pieces. The land of Pelamar is becoming dry and empty without it. Its people are starting to disappear.

To save Pelamar, the children must find and put the Veetacore back together. The instructions for this are in a special book. The problem is, the people of Pelamar cannot read! This means the children must use their own reading skills. This part of the story teaches viewers how important reading is.

Challenges and Villains

Some pieces of the Veetacore have been thrown far away to a land called Widge. Amanda and Scott, along with Gorwen, Boris, and a giant mouse named Rhodey, travel to Widge to find them. Jenny stays behind to help figure out how to rebuild the Veetacore.

Jenny's job is tricky because she isn't a very confident reader. Also, a caterpillar belonging to Morris, one of the Veetacore keepers, has eaten some pages from the instruction book!

The main bad guy in the story is Charn, also known as "The Evil One." He wants to take the Veetacore for himself. It seems he was the one who made it explode in the first place.

Clever Tricks and Victory

Luckily, Charn also cannot read. Jenny uses this to her advantage. When Charn tries to stop her from telling her friends about him, she tricks him. She pretends to knit a scarf because Pelamar is cold. But the knitting pattern she creates actually spells out "HELP! CHARN!" She shows this message to her friends using a video phone.

Gorwen the dragon eventually defeats Charn. However, Gorwen becomes very weak in the fight. The children find the last piece of the Veetacore just in time. The Veetacore is restored, and Pelamar is saved!

At the end of the show, the children return to their school. It seems like they were only gone for a moment. But they find their notebooks and three tiny versions of the Veetons they recovered. This proves their amazing adventure was real.

Characters

Here are some of the main characters you'll meet in Through the Dragon's Eye:

The Children

• Amanda Jackson (played by Marlaine Gordon): Amanda is one of the three children transported to Pelamar. She is very clever and resourceful. She joins the group that searches for the lost Veetons.
• Jenny (played by Nicola Stewart): Jenny is the second child. She stays behind to help Morris and Doris read the special book. At first, Jenny isn't a strong reader, but she gets much better as the story goes on.
• Scott Bates (played by Simon Fenton): Scott is the only boy among the three children. He goes with the rescue team to find the missing Veetons. Scott had the smart idea for the children to write down everything that happened in his notebook.

Pelamar's Inhabitants

• Boris (played by Timothy Lyn): Boris is an orange Veetacore Keeper. He joins Amanda, Scott, Gorwen, and Rodey on their quest. Boris has a magic cricket bat that lets him fly! He sometimes seems a bit silly but can be very smart. He learns to read well with Scott's help.
• Doris (played by Carolyn Pickles): Doris is the purple Veetacore Keeper. She stays with Jenny to help rebuild the Veetacore. At first, Doris doesn't want Jenny's help, but she changes her mind. Charn briefly turns her into slime, but Gorwen saves her.
• Morris (played by Michael Heath): Morris is the green Veetacore Keeper. He also stays to help Jenny and Doris. Morris is more welcoming to Jenny. He has many green pets, including a caterpillar named Frug, who turns into a giant butterfly.
• Gorwen the Dragon (voiced by Sean Barrett): Gorwen is a green, fire-breathing dragon. He brings the children to Pelamar and asks for their help. Gorwen had defeated Charn before and fights him again, becoming very weak in the process.
• Rodey (voiced by Charles Collingwood): Rodey is a talking mouse. He can change his size from human-sized to a normal mouse. Rodey can speak Widgen, the language of the Widgets, which helps the team communicate.

The Villain

• Charn "The Evil One" (played by David Collings): Charn is the main villain of the story. He looks like a scary, skeletal bird-man with long, sharp fingers. He wears a black cloak and can shoot electricity from his hands. This electricity turns his victims into puddles of slime! Charn wants to control Pelamar and caused the Veetacore to explode. He is finally defeated by Gorwen.

Other Creatures

• The Widgets (played by Peter Bonner, Samantha Burroughs, Willie Coppen, Melanie Dixon, Raymond Griffiths, Peter Mandell, Sandra Nicholson and Kate Purvis): The Widgets are small, playful, squirrel-like creatures. They live in a land called "Widge," next to Pelamar. The last three Veetons were scattered in Widge. The Widgets seem mischievous at first, but they surprisingly help Scott find the last Veeton.

Theme Song

The show had a memorable theme song sung by Derek Griffiths. There were three different versions of the lyrics used throughout the series.

Computer Game

Through the Dragon's Eye was also made into an educational computer game. It was available for the BBC Micro System. In the game, players went through parts of the story. They had to use their reading and math skills to solve puzzles and move forward.