Children of the Stones
The Stones of Avebury (Milbury in the serial)
Genre	Fantasy
Created by	Jeremy Burnham Trevor Ray
Directed by	Peter Graham Scott
Starring	Iain Cuthbertson Gareth Thomas Freddie Jones John Woodnutt
Composer(s)	Sidney Sager
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producer(s)	Patrick Dromgoole
Producer(s)	Peter Graham Scott
Location	Milbury, a fictionalisation of Avebury, Wiltshire
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	HTV West
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original run	10 January 1977 – 21 February 1977; repeated 21 July 1978 – 1 September 1978
Chronology
Related shows	The Third Eye
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Children of the Stones was a television drama for children produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. A novelization by the serial's writers, Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray also appeared in 1977. In the United States, it was carried on the Nickelodeon television channel in the early 1980s as part of the series The Third Eye.[1] Part of Avebury stone circle, Wiltshire, UK File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Avebury Village framed by the Stone Circle Avebury (the traditional local pronunciation is Abury) is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. ... Fantasy television is a genre of television featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. ... Jeremy Burnham is a British television actor of the 1960s and 1970s and a screenwriter. ... Trevor Ray is a British actor who has appeared in many TV-series. ... Iain Cuthbertson is a distinguished Scottish character actor born 4 January 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Gareth Thomas (born February 12, 1945) is a Welsh actor. ... Freddie Jones (born September 12, 1927) is a British character actor. ... John Woodnutt (3 March 1924 – 3 January 2006) was a British actor. ... Sidney Sager (1917 - 2002) is an English composer best known for his music for television and radio. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Avebury Village framed by the Stone Circle Avebury (the traditional local pronunciation is Abury) is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. ... Current ITV Wales logo Current ITV West logo HTV Group plc is a television company, the ITV contractor of Wales and the West of England, owned by ITV plc. ... Television encoding systems by nation. ... 576i is the shorthand name for a video mode. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Title Screen The Third Eye was a strange foreign mini-series collection that aired on Nickelodeon consisting of material that originated mostly from the UK and New Zealand. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... ITV Wales & West Ltd (formally and more commonly known as HTV) is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England[1]. It is owned by ITV plc. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV but also as ITV Network or Channel 3) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... A novelization (or novelisation in British English) is a work of fiction that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work. ... Jeremy Burnham is a British television actor of the 1960s and 1970s and a screenwriter. ... Trevor Ray is a British actor who has appeared in many TV-series. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Nickelodeon (commonly referred to as Nick) is an American cable television network owned by Viacom International. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Title Screen The Third Eye was a strange foreign mini-series collection that aired on Nickelodeon consisting of material that originated mostly from the UK and New Zealand. ...

Plot outline

The series followed the adventures of astrophysicist Adam Brake (played by Gareth Thomas of Blake's 7) and his young son Matthew after they arrive in the small village of Milbury, which is built in the midst of a megalithic stone circle. Gareth Thomas (born February 12, 1945) is a Welsh actor. ... Blakes 7 is a British science fiction television series made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for their BBC 1 channel. ... Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany Bronze age wedge tomb in the Burren area of Ireland For the record label, see Megalith Records. ... Swinside stone circle, in the Lake District, England. ...

Filmed at Avebury, Wiltshire, it was an unusually atmospheric production with sinister, discordant wailing voices heightening the tension. The series is frequently cited by those who remember it as one of the scariest things they've ever seen. Involving a temporal paradox and issues of individuality and community assimilation, the serial was also thematically challenging for its intended after-school audience, and could be described as a children's version of magical realism. Avebury Village framed by the Stone Circle Avebury (the traditional local pronunciation is Abury) is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Magic Realism (or Magical Realism) is an illustrative or literary technique in which the laws of cause and effect seem not quite to apply in otherwise real world situations. ...

Episodes

1. Into the Circle (TX: 10 January 1977)
2. Circle of Fear (TX: 17 January 1977)
3. Serpent in the Circle (TX: 24 January 1977)
4. Narrowing Circle (TX: 31 January 1977)
5. Charmed Circle (TX: 7 February 1977)
6. Squaring the Circle (TX: 14 February 1977)
7. Full Circle (TX: 21 February 1977)

Episodes were broadcast at 16:45 each week. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Insert non-formatted text here{| style=float:right; |- | paul is so hot sophie loves him |- | |} is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

The series was repeated by ITV from 21 July 1978 – 1 September 1978, at 16:15. Since then the show has not been broadcast in its' entireity on UK television, either terrestrial or satellite. Independent Television (generally known as ITV but also as ITV Network or Channel 3) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

The Time Circle

One of the more complicated aspects of Children of the Stones is the concept of the “time circle” and the “psychic bubble”. The main premise of this idea is that the village within the stone circle exists in a time rift where the same actions are played out, over and over again, with the end result being that the power of the circle will eventually be released to the outside world. Whenever this is faulted, however, the time circle resets and the same events attempt again to unfold. However, since time is passing in the outside world in a normal way, that within the time circle must also progress matching the time period of the real world while still attempting to play out the events within. Psychic is a term relating to or denoting paranormal extra-sensory abilities or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by known natural laws, since they transcend the confines of our current understanding of what a human being is capable of. ... Masouleh village, Gilan Province, Iran. ... Antarctica Oceania Africa Asia Europe North America South America Middle East Caribbean Central Asia East Asia North Asia South Asia Southeast Asia SW. Asia Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Central America Latin America Northern America Americas C. Africa E. Africa N. Africa Southern Africa W. Africa C. Europe E. Europe N...

Within Children of the Stones, there are four cycles of the time circle which are clearly described, although in reality there are likely to be a great number more.

The Original Circle

The original stone circle was built during Megalithic Great Britain and inhabited by a pagan folk led by a Druid priest. The village priest then witnessed the formation of a supernova and somehow deduced that a black hole had formed shortly thereafter. Using a variety of psychic powers, mixed with folk magic, the priest was able to harness the power of the stones (which were natural magnets) and focus negative energy, via a beam of light, through the centre of the circle towards the black hole. This energy, however, was drawn from the minds of the inhabitants within the circle, turning them into creatures without will and totally under the control of the Druid Priest. Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ... Multiwavelength X-ray image of the remnant of Keplers Supernova, SN 1604. ... Simulated view of a black hole in front of the Milky Way. ... Folk religion consists of beliefs, superstitions and cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation, in addition to the formally stated creeds and beliefs of a codified major religion. ... Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper A magnet is an object that has a magnetic field. ...

When a pair of travellers entered the village, the Druid Priest attempted to brainwash them, as well, through the beam of light towards the black hole. The travellers outwitted the priest, however, and tricked him into thinking they had been brainwashed when the beam of light had not yet appeared. When the two travellers entered the circle of those who had already been taken in by the priest, the circle of control was broken. The beam of light then appeared, much to the priest’s horror, destroying his altar and turning the inhabitants of the circle to stone. The two travellers barely managed to escape the same fate, and were only able to survive by hiding in a rock cave towards the edge of the stone circle, known as the sanctuary.

The events of the original circle were later put down into the form of a painting, which eventually made its way to become a key point of another cycle of the time circle. For building painting, see painter and decorator. ...

The Barber-Surgeon

One of the less explored manifestations of the Time Circle was the story of the Barber-Surgeon. The Barber-Surgeon was an inhabitant of the village of Milbury, which had been built upon the original site of the stone circle. The events of the first circle began to unfold again in Milbury, although how and why is never made clear. The Barber-Surgeon, however, seeing what was taking place was able to protect himself by use of a mystic amulet. The amulet was palm sized and inscribed with a winged serpent. A boy visiting a barber A barber (from the Latin barba, beard) is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. ... “Surgeon” redirects here. ... An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ... For some other uses of the word wing please see Wing (disambiguation). ... Serpent is a word of Latin origin (serpens, serpentis) that is commonly used in a specifically mythic or religious context, signifying a snake that is to be regarded not as a mundane natural phenomenon nor as an object of scientific zoology, but as the bearer of some symbolic value. ...

The Barber-Surgeon was apparently a threat to whoever had restarted the events of the First Circle and, through means unknown, he was mysteriously crushed under a falling “sarsen stone”, also engraved with a serpent like the amulet the Barber-Surgeon had carried. The amulet was crushed, along with the Barber-Surgeon; however his bones were later removed and the stone that killed him re-erected within the circle. Whoever had caused the Barber-Surgeon to die, most likely another priest-like figure attempting to brainwash the village through use of the magic beam towards the black hole, did not succeed and the time circle again reset itself into the modern age.

Children of the Stones

The Time Circle again took another loop in the 1970s when a famous astronomer, Rafael Hendrick, uncovered an ancient Dog Latin text speaking of the original Druid Priest who had seen a supernova explode in ancient times. Hendrick was able to discover the location of the supernova (a discovery which made him famous) and further learn that the supernova was now a black hole in the constellation of Ursa Major. The phrase Dog Latin refers to the creation of a phrase or jargon in imitation of Latin, often by directly translating English words (or those of other European languages) into Latin without conjugation or declension. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ursa Major (IPA: ) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. ...

Hendrick then traveled to Milbury, the site of the stone circle in which the Druid Priest had years before conducted his attempt at brainwashing the circle’s inhabitants. Through means unexplained, Hendrick learned the power of the circle and how to harness the negative energy of the Milbury villagers into the beam of light towards the black hole. Through complex astronomical calculations, he determined exactly when he could form the energy beam and began brainwashing the villagers into becoming “Happy Ones”.

The one challenge to Hendrick was a poacher named Dai; however, Dai suffered a mysterious death in the same location as the Barber-Surgeon had years earlier. Dai’s body was also apparently mysteriously replaced with a fallen stone carved with a serpent, but then both the stone and the body vanished. After Dai was killed, a broken amulet was found whose pieces matched exactly the broken amulet of the Barber-Surgeon. For other uses, see Poaching (disambiguation). ...

With nothing to stop Hendrick, the villages were brainwashed by the beam of light, one by one, until only a visiting professor and his son remained. Professor Brake’s son, Matthew, was apparently psychic and also had come across a painting a year before depicted the scene of the first circle. By the time Hendrick was seeking to brainwash Brake and his son, both had figured out that Milbury was replaying the events of the first circle and attempted to find a way to escape.

By disrupting Hendrick’s time table, Professor Brake and Matthew were able to trick Hendrick into thinking they had been brainwashed by the beam of energy and, when they entered the circle of “Happy Ones”, the power of control was broken. Hendrick then was exposed to the beam of light himself, and turned into an image of the ancient Druid priest. The villagers then turned to stone as Professor Brake and Matthew escaped to the Sanctuary, just as the ancient travellers had done in the original circle. When Brake and Matthew awoke the next morning, the village had changed back to normal with no sign that Hendrick or his plan had ever even existed. Upon leaving, Matthew commented that he wondered if the Time Circle had reset and would the events he had just witnessed happen again.

Joshua Litton

No sooner had Professor Brake and Matthew departed the village than a well dressed man in an expensive motor car drives into Milbury. The man looks, oddly enough, identical to Rafael Hendrick. The man drives to Hendrick’s old house where he meets with Link, Hendrick’s former butler and also henchman in the last round of the Time Circle to Hendrick’s evil plan. Car redirects here. ... Robin Shoots with Sir Guy by Louis Rhead. ...

The gentleman introduces himself as Joshua Litton, former chairman at Cambridge University who has come to Milbury from London. He comments on what a nice place it will be to retire and comments that he will be very happy there. The implication is clear that the Time Circle has reset and the events of the stone circle have begun again. The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or gens, and man, cognate with the French word gentilhomme, the Spanish gentilhombre and the Italian gentil uomo or gentiluomo), in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, the Latin generosus (its invariable translation in English... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Significant mistakes

• A plot error occurs at the start of the series, when Professor Brake arrives in Milbury to find that a moving company has delivered several boxes of scientific equipment. The moving company departed the village after dropping off the shipment, before Professor Brake arrived. At the end of the series, however, it is revealed that anyone entering the Circle of Stones was trapped within a "time bubble", from which they could not leave. The moving company, however, was able to depart the village without any problem. However, one way to explain this is that the "time trap" may only apply to those who establish residence in Milbury and are therefore cursed.
• Matthew's clothing changes frequently when he is running outside in several scenes, even though the scenes are supposed to be continuous.
• In the trivia section contained on the DVD, it incorrectly asserts that the phrase "happy day" is repeatedly woven into Sidney Sager's score. Copies of the score reveal that the repeated word is "Hadave", which is an Icelandic word chosen for its phonetic resemblance to "happy day" and because Icelandic as a language has been unusually resistant to change, supporting the theme of timelessness.

Sidney Sager (1917 - 2002) is an English composer best known for his music for television and radio. ...

Cast

• Hendrick: Iain Cuthbertson
• Adam: Gareth Thomas
• Dai: Freddie Jones
• Link: John Woodnutt
• Margaret: Veronica Strong
• Mrs Crabtree: Ruth Dunning
• Matthew: Peter Demin
• Sandra: Katharine Levy
• Kevin: Darren Hatch
• Jimmo: Gary Lock
• Dr Lyle: Richard Matthews
• Miss Clegg: June Barrie
• Browning: Hubert Tucker

Iain Cuthbertson is a distinguished Scottish character actor born 4 January 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Gareth Thomas (born February 12, 1945) is a Welsh actor. ... Freddie Jones (born September 12, 1927) is a British character actor. ... John Woodnutt (3 March 1924 – 3 January 2006) was a British actor. ...

Crew

• Written by: Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Scott
• Technical advisor: Dr. Peter Williams
• Film cameras: Bob Edwards, Brian Morgan
• Film sound: Mike Davey, John Cross
• Film editor: Adrian Brenard
• Designer: Ken Jones
• Music composed by: Sidney Sager
• Executive Producer: Patrick Dromgoole
• Produced and Directed by: Peter Graham Scott

Jeremy Burnham is a British television actor of the 1960s and 1970s and a screenwriter. ... Sidney Sager (1917 - 2002) is an English composer best known for his music for television and radio. ...

DVD release

Children of the Stones is available on DVD (Region 0, plays in all DVD players) from Second Sight, UK. Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... DVD Regions Each DVD-Video disc contains one or more region codes, denoting the area(s) of the world in which distribution and playback are intended. ...

The series was praised by comedian Stewart Lee in the 2007 BBC Four series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe. Lee commented on depictions of teenagers on television in different decades, contrasting Children of the Stones with Channel 4's modern drama Skins, highlighting how Children of the Stones was still relevant to a modern audience. Stewart Lee (born April 5, 1968 in Solihull) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera. ... The year 2007 in television involves some significant events. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Channel 4 is a public-service British television station, broadcast to all areas of the United Kingdom (and also the Republic of Ireland), which began transmissions in 1982. ... Skins is a British teen drama from Company Pictures which premiered on E4 on 25 January 2007. ...

External links

• Children of the Stones at the Internet Movie Database
• Action TV
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• TV Ark: A short description and sequence (under Cult)