NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The Famous Five (characters)

The Famous Five is a fictional group of child detectives, composed of four children (Julian, Dick, Anne and George) and their dog Timmy, created by Enid Blyton. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Mystery of the Vanished Prince (1951) Enid Mary Blyton (August 11, 1897â€“November 28, 1968) was a British childrens author. ...

Blyton created several such groups for her detective series, including The Secret Seven and the curiously titled Five Find-Outers and Dog, but the Famous Five are the best-known and most popular of these. Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... The Secret Seven are a group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton, one of several such detective series written by Blyton. ... The Five Find-Outers and Dog, also known as the Enid Blyton Mystery Series, is a series of childrens mystery books written by Enid Blyton and first published between 1943 and 1961. ... Genre fiction is a term for writings by multiple authors that are very similar in theme and style, especially where these similarities are deliberately pursued by the authors. ...

Image File history File links Famous. ... Image File history File links Famous. ... Jenny Thanisch as Anne, Michelle Gallagher as Georgina, Gary Russell as Dick, Marcus Harris as Julian from The Famous Five (1978-1979) television series Jennifer Thanisch is an English actress who played the role of Anne in the televised version of Enid Blytons children book series called The Famous... Gary Russell appearing on Doctor Who Confidential Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK) is a freelance writer and former child actor. ...

Overview

The first books in the series were written during the 1940s, and some of the basic concepts can now seem extremely outdated. Three of the children, Julian, Dick and Anne, are siblings. During their holidays, they are regularly sent to stay with their Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin, whose daughter, Georgina, is a tomboy always known as George. Image File history File links Five_down. ... Image File history File links Five_down. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... This article is about the domestic group. ... In the United States, a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity. ... A tomboy is a girl who behaves according to the gender role of a boy. ...

Every time they come together, they find themselves obliged to solve a mystery which usually, but not always, has a criminal behind it. The location of the adventure varies from book to book. Sometimes it will happen close to George's home, and "Kirrin Island", a private island, presents many opportunities for such activities. Since both George's own home and various other houses are hundreds of years' old, there is much room for secret passages or smugglers' tunnels, which play a central role in the plot of several books in the series. On other occasions, the children may go camping or hiking or be sent on holiday together elsewhere, but they are always accompanied by George's dog, Timothy, affectionately known to the children as Timmy. Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage Camping is an outdoor recreational activity, in which the campers get away from civilization and enjoy nature by spending one or more nights at a campsite. ... Two hikers in the Mount Hood National Forest Eagle Creek hiking Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ...

Blyton always said that George was based on a real girl she had once known: in her later life, she admitted that that girl was herself.

Characters

Note - There is debate about whether Julian, Dick and Anne share George's surname of Kirrin (as shown in Five on Finniston Farm), which would imply that their father was brother to Uncle Quentin, or whether their surname is Barnard (as their mother is referred to as "Mrs Barnard" in Five Get into a Fix). Georgina Kirrin, more commonly known as George, is a fictional character from the Famous Five children series by Enid Blyton. ... A tomboy is a girl who behaves according to the gender role of a boy. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into The Famous Five (characters). ... The Famous Five is a fictional group of child detectives, composed of four children (Julian, Dick, Anne and George) and their dog Timmy, created by Enid Blyton. ... A mascot, originally a fetish-like term for any person, animal, or thing supposed to bring luck, is now somethingâ€”typically an animal or human characterâ€”used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team (the name often corresponds with the mascot... The Famous Five can refer to: A group of Canadian women; see The Valiant Five. ...

Bibliography

Blyton also wrote a number of short stories featuring the characters. These were finally collected together in 1998 as 'Five have a Puzzling Time and other stories'. Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

There are also books written originally in French by Claude Voilier (the Five have long been extremely popular in translation in the French-speaking parts of Europe) and later translated into English. The French/English books (not written by Blyton, and for the most part contemporary to their era, i.e. the 1980s) are generally regarded as inferior by Blyton aficionados and at least in the English-speaking world, have never equalled the popularity of the original books. The title of one of these books—The Famous Five in Fancy Dress—has been a particular object of ridicule. // Claude Voilier is a French teacher, journalist, translator (especially of popular English childrens series such as The Three Investigators and Dana Girls), and a prolific author, having written over 600 short stories for various French magazines, and about 400 stories for children. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The anatomical planes The anatomical position is a schematic convention for describing the relative morphology of the human body. ... For an alternate meaning, see Fan (implement). ...

From 2004 to today, another nine new Famous Five novels written by Sarah Bosse have been published in Germany, but as yet, they have not been translated into English. Furthermore, six books in a Choose Your Own Adventure style were written by Mary Danby, entitled The Famous Five and You.[1] Like Choose Your Own Adventure books, these books involved reading small sections of print and being given two or more options to follow, and being given a different page number for each option. The books came with several accessories, including maps and code deciphering wheels. The books were titled as follows: The Cave of Time, the first Choose Your Own Adventure book. ...

The original books are set in rural England, and assume old-world values and a general innocence often missing from more recent children's literature. Innocence is a term that describes the lack of guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. ...

The stories almost always take place in the children's holidays when they come home from their respective boarding schools. Kirrin Cottage, which is George's home, and all the other places they visit are set in the countryside, where the children discover the simple joys of cottages, picnics ("with lashings of ginger beer" - an oft-quoted cliché but never actually mentioned in any of the 21 books), bicycle trips, home-made food, islands, sea shores, and always have a thrilling adventure. In contemporary usage, picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors, ideally, taking place in a beautiful landscape. ... Ginger beer is a type of carbonated beverage, flavored primarily with ginger, lemon and sugar. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Adventure novels have adventure as a main theme. ...

The characters are outlined with very few words, and there is very limited description of scenes, but this style of writing keeps children's attention and is seen by enthusiasts as fuelling their imagination and encouraging them to think for themselves. Imagination is, in general, the power or process of producing mental images and ideas. ...

Television series

1978 series

The Famous Five 1978 television series was produced by Southern Television for the ITV network in the UK, in 26 episodes of thirty minutes. It starred Michelle Gallagher as Georgina, Marcus Harris as Julian, Jennifer Thanisch as Anne, Gary Russell as Dick, Toddy Woodgate as Timmy, Michael Hinz as Uncle Quentin and Sue Best as Aunt Fanny. It also starred Ronald Fraser, John Carson, James Villiers, Cyril Luckham and Brian Glover. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Southern Television was one of the original ITV companies, serving the south-central and south-east of England from August 30, 1958 until 12:45 AM on January 1, 1982. ... ITV (Independent Television) is the name popularly given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. In England, Wales and southern Scotland, the network has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of... Jenny Thanisch as Anne, Michelle Gallagher as Georgina, Gary Russell as Dick, Marcus Harris as Julian from The Famous Five (1978-1979) television series Jennifer Thanisch is an English actress who played the role of Anne in the televised version of Enid Blytons children book series called The Famous... Gary Russell appearing on Doctor Who Confidential Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK) is a freelance writer and former child actor. ... Ronald Fraser, known as Ronnie, (born 11 April 1930) was a British actor who was part of the 1950s and 1960s film scene in the UK. The numerous film credits to his name include two versions of Pygmalion, Trial of the Pink Panther, the raunchy Come Play With Me, The... John Carson (born 28 February 1927 in Ceylon) is a British actor noted for his appearances in film and television. ... James Michael Lyle Villiers (September 29, 1933 - January 18, 1998) was a British character actor and a familiar face on British television. ... Cyril Luckham (July 25, 1907 - February 8, 1989) was a British actor of stage and screen. ... Brian Glover (April 2, 1934 - July 24, 1997) was a British actor. ...

The screenplays were written by Gloria Tors, Gail Renard, Richard Carpenter and Richard Sparks. The episodes were directed by Peter Duffell, Don Leaver, James Gatward and Mike Connor. The series was produced by Don Leaver. Richard Kip Carpenter (born 1933) is an English television screenwriter and author who has created a number of popular British television series, the most famous of which internationally is probably Robin of Sherwood. ... Richard Sparks is an illustrator. ...

Intro song lyrics: Intro can mean the following things: A musical introduction A computer intro, a short or small version of the computer demo An R&B group This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (commonly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ...

Finnish punk rock band Widows (of Helsinki) made three different cover versions of the theme song, first one in early 1979. [2] Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song). ...

All the books apart from Five on a Treasure Island, Five Have a Mystery to Solve and Five Have Plenty of Fun were dramatised; the first two were excluded because the Children's Film Foundation still had the film and TV rights to the books (see below), and the third because it could not fit in the production schedule. Plans to make a third series which would have included this story plus new ones written purely for television were abandoned after the Blyton estate exercised its veto. The Childrens Film Foundation was a non-profit-making organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom, typically running for about 55 minutes. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. ...

1996 series

A later TV series was produced around 1996, a co-production between a number of companies including HTV, Zenith North and the German channel ZDF; this was also shown on ITV in the UK. Unlike the previous series, this was a period piece, set in 1953, and also unlike the previous series it dramatised all the original books. Of the juvenile actors the best-known is probably Jemima Rooper, who played George. In this series, to fit in with modern changes to Blyton's books and the fact that "Fanny" now has other meanings, Aunt Fanny was known as Aunt Frances. Image File history File links Famousfive_198. ... Image File history File links Famousfive_198. ... HTV Group plc is a television company, the ITV contractor of Wales and the West of England, owned by ITV plc. ... Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German Television), ZDF, is a public service German television channel based in Mainz. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... American high school students Adolescence (Latin adolescentia, from adolescere, to grow up) is the period of psychological and social transition between childhood and adulthood (gender-specific, manhood or womanhood). ... Jemima Rooper Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. ...

Video and DVD

The 1978 series was released on video with reasonable regularity between 1983 and 1999, many of which are still easy to find second-hand, although the sound and picture quality is not always what it could be. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Top view of VHS cassette with U.S. 25c coin for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Sound, Sound pressure and Sound pressure level, accessible from a disambiguation page. ... For images in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Images. ...

A four-disc DVD collection, containing 23 of the 26 episodes produced for the 1978 series (and two episodes from the 1996 series) was released in region 4 (Australia and New Zealand) in 2005. The box and disc art identify it as a release of 1996 series. (The distributor had licenced the 1996 series but due to an administrative glitch, it was supplied with master tapes and artwork for the 1978 series.) The error was corrected in a later release. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

The 1996 series was released in its entirety on video; only the adaptation of Five On A Treasure Island seems to have been released on DVD in the UK, although there are apparently some rare mainland European DVD releases of the series, available via certain websites in the UK (these are, of course, Region 2 DVDs). 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... This article is about the continent. ... A website, Web site or WWW site (often shortened to just site) is a collection of webpages, that is, HTML/XHTML documents accessible via HTTP on the Internet; all publicly accessible websites in existence comprise the World Wide Web. ...

A three-disc DVD collection, containing 13 of the 26 episodes of the 1996 series, was released in Australia and New Zealand in 2005 (these are region 4 DVDs). This release followed the erroneous release of the 1978 series with 1996 artwork, and is marked "Revised Edition" to avoid confusion. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

There are also two Children's Film Foundation films of the Famous Five books - Five On A Treasure Island, made in 1957, and Five Have A Mystery To Solve, produced in 1963 - plus other film adaptations of the books made in countries such as Denmark.

Movies

Two of the Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton have been filmed by Danish director Katrine Hedman. The cast consisted of Danish actors and the movie was originally released in Danish. Ove Sprogøe stars as Uncle Quentin. The movies are: De 5 og spionerne (Five and the Spies) (1969) and De 5 i fedtefadet (Famous Five Get in Trouble) (1970). Ove Wendelboe SprogÃ¸e Petersen (December 21, 1919 - September 14, 2004) was a Danish actor. ...

Computer Game

In 1990 an interactive fiction computer game based on the first of the books, Five On A Treasure Island, was released. It was programmed by Colin Jordan and first released for the little known SAM Coupé by Enigma Variations. This article is about the year. ... Zork, an early work of interactive fiction, running on a modern interpreter Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... The output from the process of computer programming (often shortened to programming or coding) is source code written in a programming language. ... The SAM CoupÃ© was an 8-bit British home computer that was first released in late 1989. ...

He originally started coding the game on the ZX Spectrum using his own "worldscape" technique. When the SAM Coupé was launched, he switched to it as the target platform while still hosting the code on the ZX Spectrum. He later ported it to the Amstrad CPC and completed the ZX Spectrum version. The game was also ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST by others. The term coding has the following meanings: In communications systems, the altering of the characteristics of a signal to make the signal more suitable for an intended application, such as optimizing the signal for transmission, improving transmission quality and fidelity, modifying the signal spectrum, increasing the information content, providing error... The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The Commodore 64 is the best selling single personal computer model of all time. ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with Commodore 1080 monitor The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced home entertainment and productivity machine. ... The Atari 520ST Atari 1040STF with SC1224 color monitor The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ...

Parodies

The Five also inspired the Comic Strip parody Five Go Mad in Dorset and its sequel Five Go Mad On Mescalin, in which the characters express sympathies with Nazi Germany and opposition to the Welfare State, homosexuals, immigrants and Jews, in an extremely broad parody not so much of Blyton but of wider perceived 1950s prejudices. The parodies were deliberately set towards the end of the original Famous Five "era" (1942-1963) so as to make the point that the books were already becoming outmoded while they were still being written, although the continuing popularity of the books even in the 21st Century may be seen to suggest otherwise. This article is about the British comedy group; for the published art form, see comic strip. ... Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The Famous Five - Julian (Peter Richardson), Anne (Jennifer Saunders), Dick (Adrian Edmondson) and George (Dawn French) Five Go Mad in Dorset was the first of the long-running series of Comic Strip Presents. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... It has been suggested that Welfare capitalism be merged into this article or section. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The 21st century is the present century of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A story in The Guardian's G2 supplement also parodies the Famous Five. It argues that Anne, Dick, George and Julian are caricatures rather than characters, portraying Anne as having no life outside of domestic labour. It highlights what the writer, Lucy Mangan, considers to be the power struggle between Dick, George and Julian while Anne is sidelined. It also suggests that the lives of the children are ideological rather than realistic, referring to a "delicious fruit cake they had bought from the local paedophile - sorry, red-cheeked farmer and his wife - that morning". The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... A common caricature of Charles Darwin focuses on his beard, eyebrows, and baldness, while often giving him the features of an ape or monkey. ...

New Series

In 2005 Chorion announced the production of a new animated series based on the books, to be broadcast on British television in 2007. In December of 2006, Disney made public that they would be working with Chorion. Many things will be changed, and it is arguable whether the true spirit of the novels will remain. A 26-episode series is planned with Cole, Dylan, Jo and Allie replacing the original names of Julian, Dick, Anne and George. It will be set in modern times. The series is planned to be broadcast on the Disney Channel in early 2008. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chorion is an entertainment company based in the United Kingdom. ... British television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Categories: ZX Spectrum games | SAM Coupé games | Fictional detectives | Enid Blyton series | Children's novels | Series of children's books | Period piece TV series | ITV television programmes | Children's ITV television programmes The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...

Contents

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