|
Enjoy for the first time ever on DVD
all 26 full length episodes of Huckleberry Finn and His
Friends. The series was a huge hit throughout the 80's
and 90's on British Television. This adaptation manages to
combine Mark Twain's two classic books - The Adventure
of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- into 11 hours of essential television viewing...
Anyone
who fondly remembers the TV series Huckleberry Finn and
His Friends will no doubt be pleased to learn that this
four-disc DVD collection is finally being released through
Fabulous films. This collection includes all 26 episodes of
the show's run as well as a new feature that tracks down a
handful of the show's stars.
The
plot follows pretty faithfully the original stories The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn (1884) written by Mark Twain. The show was a German/Canadian
co-production and was mainly shot in Canada with Canadian
and German actors (which explains a lot of the poor lip-synch
as well as why Tom's Aunt Sally has an inexplicable German
accent).
I
remember seeing this series when I was young and really enjoying
it. I thought that, viewed today, a lot of the show's charm
would be lost on me as an adult. But, I'm happy to report
that this series still stands up well today and is certainly
the best attempt at bringing Twain's original books to life.
The
picture and sound quality in this collection ranges from average
to poor. It was a shame that the original prints weren't given
a bit of a clean before being transferred to DVD. The sound
is also all over the place. Some episodes are painfully quiet
(meaning you have to whack the volume up on your TV to hear
anything) while others are much louder.
I
was pleasantly surprised by the extras. There's quite a lot
of additional information on the series spread over a number
of on screen pages of facts on all aspects of the production
and cast members, but the highlight is a new 30 minute Making
Of featurette. This
takes us to Toronto to find Sammy Snyders (Tom Sawyer) working
as a dance instructor, to Vancouver to find Ian Tracey (Huck
Finn) who has has a steady career as a TV star over the years.
While in Vancouver the filmmakers also track down Blu Mankuma
(Jim) and Alex Diakun (Indian Joe) who are both still working
hard as actors. The
documentary makers also travel to Frankfurt to meet Tom Wagner,
the show's producer.
It
was interesting to hear that Michael J Fox and Sammy
Snyders were both up for the role of Tom Sawyer, but Fox ended
up going to Hollywood to try and kick start his career. The
really odd thing is, is that I can actually visualise Snyders
in the role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future...
well, almost.
It's
also interesting to note that a lot of the actors have gone
on to appear in numerous sci-fi shows - most notably almost
all of them have appeared in Stargate over the years.
While
the picture and sound quality of the episodes is not what
it could have been, this is still a great box set. And one
well worth picking up for nostalgia reasons, or as a gift
for a young child who's never seen the show before.
Darren
Rea
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£29.99
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£31.99
(Play.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£28.99
(HMV.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£33.99
(Sendit.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£29.99
(Bensons-world.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£33.97
(Thehut.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
