TV Show – Chocky (trilogy)

TV Show – Chocky (trilogy)
Score : 7/10
Multiple directors
Country : UK
Language : English
Duration : 3 seasons of 6 episodes x 25 minutes. Total 7h32+7h31+7h29

I must’ve watched the Chocky trilogy, oh, just about 10 or 15 times throughout my adolescence and early adulthood. I have some of the most vivid and fond memories of this Thames tv production over 3 seasons, each being its own arc, and then comprised in the grand picture that is Chocky, this unique alien visiting earth in a special way and in contact with teenagers. 

It all starts with Matthew Gore in the first series, simply, ‘’Chocky’’. A normal 12 year old boy, in a normal family and environment starts hearing voices asking him odd questions…His adoptive parents first believe he has an imaginary friend, just like his sister Polly has…but soon, Matthew starts with strange queries from his teachers and parents ; he also suddenly develops talents he never had;  and unforeseen events result in accidental revelations, and unwarranted attention. 

This first season, produced and aired in 1984, was directly inspired and adapted from John Wyndham’s novel, published in 1968 (and which itself developed from a novelette he published in 1963). Anthony Head wrote and updated the language and time frame from the undefined near future of the 1960’s to a mid-1980’s storyline. Both John Wyndham’s writing and the 1980’s adaptation kept the idealised family structure which was very present in the 1950-60s, except that Anthony Head added a little tension – although not pushing it too far as this show was targeted mainly to teens. Then again, in his own words, it could still very well be viewed by adults as ‘’writing for children and for adults is really the same; teens can follow complex stories, sometimes more than adults’’ –(check his short interview present on Chocky’s dvd)

After working well with the crew, Mr Head wrote 2 spin-offs ‘’Chock’s Children’’ and ‘’Chocky’s challenge’’ with more or less the same cast – but also passing the torch to new characters as well. I guess the main cast had other projects and thus agreed to work on parts only. No matter the reasons, the continuation still worked and had its charms, as well as its flaws: just like the first series, there were indeed those few odd bits; those few scenes we can wish wouldn’t be so cheesy if anyone would remake this trilogy. At the time, however, the mid-1980’s, it worked well and didn’t bother me because I could relate quite well to the children and actually wished to have their enthusiasm… later on, I found their exuberance a bit annoying – though that might be more on my fault than on the acting… after all, they acted like ‘’normal children of their age’’ and I wasn’t… 

The other flaw I found was how naive some characters can be, in spite of repetitive proof that they should be more alert and not trust just anyone and everyone… a flaw I can often see in 1980’s writings, I have to say, and especially in ‘’for children’’, so writers don’t seem to be concerned with kids becoming less naïve… 

In spite of my own issues with these points, I found the overall acting believable and had really stirred my young self, and I kept coming back to this show every year, twice or thrice… 

As a whole, Chocky treated with ecology and unity, VS human greedy, destructive ways… each series dealing with the topics in its own way, and yet making one unique statement : it’s time for us to evolve as a race, but many of us aren’t ready for this leap. There are, however, a few open minded, more innocent people, who can bridge the gap and bring forth change, slowly. 

I loved the tune which I could easily hear in my mind for many years after I first discovered this show, especially since I kept watching it on every single school holiday.

If I had a kid, I’d definitely suggest this nice, not graphic and not attention deficit show, instead of modern shows.

Chocky… in the media

I had bought the first dvd edition over 10 years ago. Each season offered in a very basic transfer with menus to choose an episode, and direct access to any of their 6 chapters. The image quality is quite mediocre, but that might be because it’s a low-budget 1980’s Thames tv show.. the sound is in stereo, and the only bonus is a 20 minutes interview with Anthony Head on ‘’Chocky’’.

There are newest releases of each season, and also some trilogy box sets, but I know no details at the moment.