Blimey, this takes me back. For those of a certain age in the UK, you, like me, may have had episodes played to you on a chunky cathode ray TV at primary school, and certainly on the BBC in school holidays. As I remember it, when we watched at School there would be projects or tasks related to the history or actions in the plot, which just addicted me more as being a nerd I loved that kind of thing.
Alongside wonders like Spanish series The Flashing Blade, this transported me to other worlds and also made me want to read the source book in its entirety. Watching the DVD again now, I can’t help wondering if the New Romantic movement (and Adam Ant in particular) were inspired by his look too. The theme tune is burned into my brain, and the version by The Art of Noise from 1989 evoked and is so respectful to the original, but is also a wonderful chill out tune in its own right!
As Crusoe wasn’t in English, the version we watched had narration, and such a recognisable three or four note rising note coda whenever the action was about to go into flashback, even the structure is memorable, and is a lesson in wonderful storytelling. It would be made very differently today of course, in content and form, but when I first started writing longform fiction, this popped into my brain as a great framing device in its medium. The approach of flashbacks and the author narration is very common in classic literature of course, but for me the pace and delivery achieved for its target audience of children is a masterclass in storytelling. Whether this is down to the editors of the 13 part UK version or the original 4 part French version I don’t know.
I think I’m going to watch it again now, having written this.
Stay safe,
Kit