Children of the Stones (1977)

Country of Origin: UK
Date(s) of Broadcast: 10 January - 21 February 1977
Number of Seasons: 1
Total Number of Episodes: 7
Average Episode Running Times: 25 mins
Format: colour
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: HTV
Executive Producer: Patrick Dromgoole
Producer: Peter Graham Scott

SCRIPT
Scripts: Jeremy Burnham, Trevor Ray

DIRECTION
Director: Peter Graham Scott

PHOTOGRAPHY
Film Cameras: Bob Edwards, Brian Morgan

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Film Editor: Adrian Brenard

MUSIC
Music: Sidney Sager

SOUND
Film Sound: Mike Davey, John Cross

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Ken Jones

LOCATIONS
Locations: Avebury, Wiltshire, UK

OTHER CREW
Technical Advisor: Dr Peter Williams

CAST
EPISODE 1
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Freddie Jones (Dai)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
Ian Donnolly (Bob)
Darren Hatch (Kevin)
Gary Lock (Jimmo)
June Barrie (Miss Clegg)
Peggy Ann Wood (Mrs Warner)

EPISODE 2
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Freddie Jones (Dai)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Peter Ann Wood (real name: Peggy Ann Wood) (Mrs Warner)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)

EPISODE 3
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Freddie Jones (Dai)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
Darren Hatch (Kevin)
Gary Lock (Jimmo)
Richard Matthews (Dr Lyle)
June Barrie (Miss Clegg)
Hubert Tucker (Browning)

EPISODE 4: The Narrowing Circle
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Freddie Jones (Dai)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
Richard Matthews (Dr Lyle)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
Peggy Ann Wood (Mrs Warner)
Darren Hatch (Kevin)

EPISODE 5: Charmed Circle
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
John Woodnutt (Link)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
Freddie Jones (Dai (uncredited))

EPISODE 6: Squaring the Circle
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
John Woodnutt (Link)

EPISODE 7: Full Circle
Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick)
Gareth Thomas (Adam Brake)
Freddie Jones (Dai)
Veronica Strong (Margaret)
Peter Demin (Matthew)
Katharine Levy (Sandra)
Ruth Dunning (Mrs Crabtree)
John Woodnutt (Link)

PLOT SUMMARY

Matthew Brake and his scientist father move to the remote English village of Milbury where Matthew finds that the locals have fallen into the grip of Hendrick, the sinister village squire who may not be quite as human as he appears...

A much loved (by those of us of a certain age) series from a time when British television allowed children's show to not only be accessible to adults as well as kids, but also damn scary. Like all of Patrick Dromgoole's productions for HTV (Sky (1976), The Georgian House (1976), King of the Castle (1977), Into the Labyrinth (1982)), Children of the Stones was genuinely creepy and contained many individual images - especially the final shot - that lingered a long time in the impressionable minds of its young viewers. Unlike the others, it has stood the test of time well and remains an unsettling viewing experience even now. (Full Review)

EPISODES

Into the Circle (10 January 1977)
Circle of Fear (17 January 1977)
Serpent in the Circle (24 January 1977)
The Narrowing Circle (31 January 1977)
Charmed Circle (7 February 1977)
Squaring the Circle (14 February 1977)
Full Circle (21 February 1977)

1977
January
10: UK - Into the Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)
17: UK - Circle of Fear first television broadcast (on ITV)
24: Serpent in the Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)
31: The Narrowing Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)

February
7: Charmed Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)
14: Squaring the Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)
21: Full Circle first television broadcast (on ITV)

WEB LINKS
Avebury Yahoo Group - a small group dedicated to Avebury, the locations used in the filming of Children of the Stones.

BOOKS

The Encyclopedia of TV Science Fiction (3rd edition) p.101
credits, episode guide, review

mysticism, standing stones, the supernatural, teenagers, time loops

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009