The Probulator

Way back when (in the early eighties) my family first got cable, the embryonic childrens’ channel Nickelodeon aired an anthology show they called “The Third Eye“.  The nearly budgetless fledgling network bought old shows from our former mother country England.  While many remember “The Tomorrow People” which ran before Nick ran commercials during their shows, fewer remember this show which recycled BBC and ITV childrens’ serials.

The show endlessly reran the episodes of four (a fifth was added just before the anthology was cancelled) serials most likely purchased on the cheap.  The oldest of the shows, “Children of the Stones“, a mid seventies relic, ran alongside it’s early eighties cousins: “The Haunting of Cassie Palmer“, “Under the Mountain“, and my favorite, “Into the Labyrinth“.

“Children of the Stones” wasn’t the most entertaining of the series, but it was unique amongst its bretheren.  Where the other shows followed the typical children run away, find some strangers and have some adventures, the father and son team of “Children” had an unusual, open and equal relationship.  For what may be the first time on television aimed at children, a parent and his offspring treated each other with the level of intelligence and responsiblity they both knew each had.  The somewhat outlandish claims made by the son weren’t immediately dismissed by Dad.  He even took the time to investigate, and when necessary, defend them against the more closed minded opinions of the villiagers.

The production values of the show were typical of the low budget British drama with a mix of videotaped studio material and 16mm film location shots.  Yes, it looks cheap, but the cast makes up for this by being at worst competent and at best, a pleasure to watch.  A year after this, star Gareth Thomas would get his own ongoing series playing Roj Blake in Terry Nation’s attempt to make an adult Doctor Who called Blake’s 7.

The good news is that there is finally a Region One DVD release forthcoming in January.  After nearly a quarter century absence from American television screens, we’ll be able to watch this gem again.

Tags: British, DVD, Entertainment, Science Fiction, Seventies, Television //