Originally shown during the run up to Christmas 1984, The Box of Delights is well remembered by many of those who saw either its initial transmission or the three-part 1986 repeat.

Recent sightings, however, have been much more limited, and it's questionable how effective the 2003 CBBC repeat was in attracting a new audience. Showing all six episodes of a 20-year-old series back to back, separated only by stupid "comedy" links from a couple of CBBC idiots was hardly like to appeal to today's kids in the first place, and that's before we get to the moronic decision to crop it into 14:9.

Fortunately, this DVD is in the original six-part format and the correct 4:3 ratio, something that we should be able to take for granted but you can never be 100% certain these days.

Based on John Masefield's 1935 book, the series' main character is Kay Harker, returning home for the school holidays. On the train home he meets two suspicious clergymen and a mysterious old man, Cole Hawlings (played by Patrick Troughton).

Troughton's performance is probably many viewers' abiding memory of the story, and it's a testament to his acting skill that he created such a memorable character despite only being in half the episodes.

This could have been a major problem, but fortunately, Devin Stanfield is excellent as Kay, and is more than capable of carrying the story alone, while Robert Stephens and Patricia Quinn manage to strike the right balance between camp and menace as the villains of the piece.

As you'd expect, The Box of Delights is a pretty effects heavy serial, and effects tend to date faster than anything else. Of course, if Box was made today, it would be CGI all the way, but back in 1984, director Renny Rye had to make do with a mix of traditional effects and mixing animation with live action - probably a first for television.

Some of the effects are criticised in one of the contemporary clips in the extras section, and to be fair, the shot of Kay flying on the horse does look a bit woeful. However, other shots aren't too bad considering this is a 20-year-old chidlren's series and the animated stuff in particular still holds up pretty well.

Like most episodic television, The Box of Delights is best watched an episode at a time rather than in one sitting. Watching it in one go exposes some of the story's flaws, as the plot is largely an excuse to put Kay into interesting and tricky situations all the time, rather than a proper, ongoing narrative.

As well as the episodes themselves, the BBC have also included a handful of extras, although it's unlikely that many viewers will bother with the quiz, profile of John Masefield or even the photo gallery more than once.

More substantial, however, are the 2004 interview with Devin Stanfield and director Renny Rye, and contemporary clips from Blue Peter, Take Two and Pebble Mill. It's good to see the BBC making the effort for this sort of release.

However, they deserve a slap for starting the disc of with a Richard Briers-voiced trailer for other releases. I don't like to see this on any DVD, but it's especially annoying on children's ones or ones that people may watch in several sittings. Fortunately, despite what other reviewers have said, skipping to the next chapter brings up the main menu, so it can be avoided, but there's no need for it in the first place.

Overall, The Box of Delights holds up reasonably well, despite the obvious dating of some of the effects. Watch it an episode at a time in the run-up to Christmas and it's still an enjoyable slice of classic children's television. back to the top

THE BOX OF DELIGHTS

Starring DEVIN STANFIELD
with PATRICK TROUGHTON

Directed by RENNY RYE

BBC DVD

PAL REGIONS 2+4
CERTIFICATE: U


RATING: 7/10