It took about five months but I have now watched the whole series. In my last post I had intended to give some thoughts on the series as a whole, but rather ran out of space/time having written a lot about the final episode.
The episodes
This overview contains spoilers!
1. The First Day
Darrell, Sally and Gwen arrive at Malory Towers for the first time. We learn that Darrell is there for a fresh start and she may have been asked to leave her previous school – St Hilda’s – while Alicia begins her tales of Lady Jane Malory, the resident ghost.
This is a good opening episode, introducing us to the main cast. It sticks reasonably closely to the book with the exception of the ghost story and the rumour about Darrell’s expulsion.
2. The New Girls
Gwen begins to investigate why Darrell left St Hilda’s and Darrell ends up admitting it was true but not the reason behind it. Sally denies having a sister, Alicia carries on with her ghost tales and Gwen discovers she’s not the top student she thought she would be.
As the girls are settling in it’s not surprising that nothing major happens in this episode, but it establishes Gwen’s nature as a sneak, the mystery of Sally’s family and Alicia’s slightly mean streak.
3. The Trick
Darrell and Alicia start playing tricks and Alicia ramps up the ghost stories again – scaring Mary-Lou badly.
This episode rather goes its own way featuring only one plot from the book – the deaf trick – which has the perpetrator switched. The ghost stuff, at this point, started to feel a bit like filler nonsense.
4. The Slap
After Gwen ducks Mary-Lou in the pool Darrell slaps her and the other girls struggle to work out how to deal with this. We discover that Darrell left St Hilda’s because she pushed a teacher down the stairs.
There might be just the one slap instead of four but it doesn’t truly matter as the spirit of the book is kept here. Information about Darrell’s past continues to be teased out, and is perhaps related to the fact we see her having trouble with writing and spelling – something book Darrell was very good at.
5. The Match
The first formers play against St Hilda’s at lacrosse, and it becomes clear that the St Hilda’s mistress has it in for Darrell. We discover that Miss Gale was bullying girls and cutting their hair as punishment, and the episode ends on the reveal to everyone that Darrell pushed Miss Gale down the stairs.
I’m glad we only had to wait until episode 5 to resolve the mystery of Darrell’s last school. It was quite dark, and although a complete TV fabrication it was a good story.
6. The Midnight Feast
The girls hold a midnight feast the night before an exam and end up in Miss Grayling’s study. Darrell is tempted to cheat by looking at the questions but doesn’t. Gwen does look but it is discovered that someone had been in the study so the exam is changed and she doesn’t gain anything.
This episode doesn’t really resemble the book but draws on plots from other Blyton books. The midnight feast was a nice inclusion, and the ghost story becomes more of a mystery than complete imagination.
7. The Open Day
Darrell hasn’t a special friend so takes Emily for lunch with her family, and tries to keep her underwhelming exam results hidden from them. Both her results and Gwen’s end up being found out, and their parents deal with it very differently.
This episode half sticks to the book and half doesn’t. Darrell not having a friend and taking Emily out is pretty similar, but in the book she doesn’t have exam results to hide. It cleverly shows the difference between Darrell’s life and Gwen’s though, and perhaps helps the viewer have more sympathy for Gwen.
8. The Push
Darrell and Sally argue about her sister and Darrell pushes Sally over. Sally ends up in the San and Darrell runs off into the night to fetch her father as he is a surgeon.
Sally’s illness gets this whole episode and at first sticks to the book but then veers off into silly territory as Darrell attempts to walk 10 miles in the dark. Matron also features heavily and goes from a bit lazy and mean to downright negligent.
9. The Letter
Sally recovers from her appendicitis, but her mother wants to take her home for good and she wants to stay. Darrell begins remedial classes due to her poor results, and finds out she has word blindness (dyslexia).
This is another half and half episode. It roughly follows the book in regards to Sally’s mother visiting, but drags it out with some silliness. The plot about Darrell’s dyslexia is entirely made up for the show, but it’s a relief for it to have come to a head.
10. The Dress
There is a debutante at Malory Towers and Gwen is trying to get in her good books – if only she knew who it was. It turns out to be Pamela who teaches remedial, and she and Darrell go head to head arguing about what’s right for Pamela’s future.
This episode is entirely made up for the show and is the weakest of the lot. I like the feminist arguments Darrell puts forward but there is a lot of silliness too.
11. The Spider
Gwen starts playing mean tricks on Mary-Lou while Darrell and Sally hatch a plan to give Mary-Lou more confidence. Darrell pretends to drown and has Mary-Lou save her.
This episode more or less follows the book, though it has brought various small scenes from different chapters together.
12. The Ghost
The ongoing story line of the Malory Towers is finally resolved as Darrell and Sally catch Emily sneaking to the San to visit her mother who works there. Matron catches them and Margaret almost loses her job.
Finally the ghost story is over! In the end the reveal is quite satisfying, actually.
13. The Last Day
Darrell is accused of playing the tricks on Mary-Lou and more of her classmates vote her guilty than innocent. Mary-Lou turns up the evidence that proves Gwen was the guilty party.
This is almost a part 2 to episode 11, and roughly follows the book but in a much shorter time frame. Darrell has a rather hard time but at least it ends well for her.
Although the series has left no loose ends, I felt a few story lines were rather abandoned. Darrell’s dyslexia was diagnosed and then Pamela left (she didn’t even come back after the debutante ball to collect her things!). Diagnosing dyslexia doesn’t make it go away. We never really got a full explanation as to what happened between Miss Gale and Darrell. Did Miss Gale falsely accuse Darrell of pushing her down the stairs? Did she try to hit Darrell and she defended herself? All we know is the Miss Gale was a bully and Darrell didn’t assault her.
Miss Grayling’s sad loss in the war is only briefly touched on and never expanded – but perhaps that’s yet to come!
If we get a series 2, and I really hope we do, I hope that Darrell’s dyslexia is an on-going story line. I’d like it if Margaret didn’t just disappear into the abyss of South Tower, and that Matron continues to get her comeuppance for her terrible behaviour.
Now that a secret passage has been introduced that can’t just be forgotten about, either!
The cast and characters
Darrell Rivers – Ella Bright
Darrell has more going on in the adaptation than the books, not only has she a temper but also a complicated back story and a learning disorder. Ella Bright plays her wonderfully whether she’s laughing, shouting or crying.
Alicia Johns – Zoey Siewert
Alicia is a little different from the books as she doesn’t have her cutting tongue or spiteful nature. She does still love her practical jokes, though. Zoey Siewart has a Canadian accent but it has no impact on her credibility as Alicia.
Irene – Natasha Raphael
I wish Irene had been featured more as she is terribly funny on the page and on screen. Natasha Raphael captures her absent-mindedness brilliantly.
Sally Hope – Sienna Arif Knights
Sally has quite a complicated character to play, she’s unhappy but also angry for much of the story and then opens up to a friendship with Darrell. The series shows her being friendly on occasion earlier than the book, otherwise she probably wouldn’t have had any lines. Sienna Arif-Knight embodies Sally’s steadfast sensibility well in the later episodes.
Jean – Beth Bradford
In the books Jean is a shrewd, forthright Scot who rarely speaks unless its to put someone sensibly in their place. On screen Beth Bradford gets to have a bit more fun as Jean is involved in most of the main plots.
Katherine – Twinkle Jaiswal
Katherine is the sensible head of the form and Twinkle Jaiswal plays her with authority but also a sense of fairness and empathy.
Emily – Saskia Kemkers
Emily barely features in the books other than to be sewing quietly and spending one picnic with the Rivers family. On screen she has a background role in the main plots, then Saskia Kemkers gets to shine when it is revealed she is the ghost. She shows us Emily is a girl with a lot of worry and weight on her shoulders.
Mary-Lou – Imogen Lamb
Mary-Lou is just like in the books, almost annoyingly cowardly. Imogen Lamb absolutely looks the part of mouse-like Mary-Lou and also had some of the most wonderful, unexpectedly humorous facial expressions.
Gwendoline Lacey – Danya Griver
Gwen is just as scheming and vicious as in the books and Danya Griver plays her perfectly. She is hands down the best actress in the whole series. Her face is just so expressive and captures the nuances of Gwen’s complicated character perfectly.
Pamela – Hannah Saxby
There may be a Pamela at Malory Towers in the books but this character is a TV creation. She is games captain and runs remedial study sessions for the lower formers.
Ron – Jude Harper Wrobel
Another TV-only character, Ron is the gardener’s boy who pops up now and again to lend a bike or catch a spider.
Miss Grayling – Jennifer Wigmore
Miss Grayling features a little more often than in the books but she gives very good advice when she does appear and Jennifer Wigmore plays her with great dignity and compassion. There are hints of a backstory involving a lost love in the war.
Miss Potts – Imali Perera
Miss Potts is younger than I imagined but otherwise just as sensible and all-seeing. Imali Perera gets some great lines and delivers them with some wonderful facial expressions.
Matron – Ashley MacGuire
Matron’s role is changed greatly from the book. In the book she appears at the start and end of term and pops up occasionally to hand out mending or to tend to sick girls. Screen Matron is seen frequently and is a very large personality – she is in turn greedy, scheming, lazy, squeamish, cruel and more. Ashley MacGuire plays her with great humour so despite all her shortcomings Matron can be, if not likeable, then at least relatable at times.
Mam’zelle Rougier – Genevieve Beaudet
Malory Towers on screen has only one French mistress so Genevieve Beaudet has had to take on a role which has amalgamated two characters. She acts mostly the haughty and sharp nature of Mam’zelle Rougier but on occasion the foolishness of Mam’zelle Dupont.
Margaret – Christine Horne
Margaret is an entirely new character, the assistant to Matron of north tower. She is much kinder than Matron and when we see her she is soft spoken and takes time to listen to the girls. As Margaret is so quiet Christine Horne doesn’t really get a chance to shine but she does show Margaret’s kindness and worry.
Mrs Lacey – Naomi Sheldon
Mrs Lacey is also a bit younger and more glamorous (and more eyebrowed!) than I imagined but she is absolutely as self-absorbed, silly and affected as in the book.
Mr Rivers – Rob Carter, Mrs Rivers – Flora Dawson and Felicity – Minti Gorne
None of the Riverses are as I imagine them – Mrs Rivers is particularly glamorous, Mr Rivers is less imposing and Felicity more annoying! Saying that Rob Carter and Flora Dawson had me almost in tears at their loving portrayal of Darrell’s parents.
Every actor in this adaptation is great, my favourites were Danya Griver (Gwen), Imali Perera (Miss Potts), Ella Bright (Darrell) and Jennifer Wigmore (Miss Grayling).
What I haven’t mentioned above but should be clear from the pictures is that this is a very diverse cast. No cast will ever match anyone’s imagination and rarely does any show cast actors that match every description from the source material. So whether it’s someone with a different hair colour, or who is taller or shorter, or has different eyes, or a different skin colour, I can’t see how it matters.
What’s also interesting is that actually this is probably a more realistic representation of an English boarding school of the time. There would have been a lot of girls of colour from the British Commonwealth as English schools were seen as extremely attractive places for rich young women to receive an education.
Also of note is the cast featuring an actor with a facial difference (I have replaced the phrase facial disfigurement which I have used before with facial difference as I have done some reading and think it is a kinder and more useful term). Jean’s difference is not referenced by the script and the programme makers explain a bit about it below:
Beth Bradfield’s visible difference was not central to her character Jean’s story line. How did you decide that and did any of the cast say anything about it to Beth, or did they just accept Beth for who she is?
With regards to Beth’s casting process, we had an open casting process with no predetermined physical requirements for any character. We always look for ways to represent people who have a disability or look different because we feel that is so important and so we looked for the girl first before writing the storyline to suit her backstory.
We kept it very light and we never called out or discussed Beth’s visible difference. Everyone fully accepted, without question or comment, Beth for who she is.
CBBC Malory Towers Q&A on Changing Faces
Where did the idea for Jean’s character to be played by an actor with a visible difference come from? Was it decided from the outset or during the casting process?
This was a natural decision that evolved from the casting process. The role that media can play in authentically portraying the lives of people from different backgrounds is really important and how important it is for young people to see people like them reflected on screen was also something we were aware of.
CBBC Malory Towers Q&A on Changing Faces
One thing I noticed is a slight lack of teachers at the school. The only teachers with speaking parts and names are the three above and so it feels a little bit different from the books where there is more of a variety of teachers for different subjects.
There are also no other girls with names/speaking parts – for example Alicia’s friend Betty, or any of the myriad of non North-tower first-formers. I appreciate this will have been for budgetary reasons but it made the world feel a bit small at times.
I’ll end by just saying that I really enjoyed the series despite the various niggles and look forward to more, if there is any. I haven’t had room to cover the costumes or locations here but all are excellent and various screen shots can be seen amongst the full episode reviews.
Fiona
pippastef
worldofblyton
World of Blyton 
This is a rather comprehensive review! It is good to hear your thoughts! However, you never answered my previous question about writing other book reviews. What do you wish me to do?
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As I understand, this is not only the first screen adaptation of Enid Blyton’s school stories, but the first live-action Blyton of any kind for 25 years. It had a limited budget and source material that is less adventurous than many Blyton books (no catching smugglers), but the writers say they instead focused on the sophisticated emotional and social intelligence they found in the book (despite its simple language) and its “quiet feminism”. So the series has an almost entirely female cast, but never feels lightweight or “only for girls”. Darrell is an unusual, unladylike heroine – yet characters who are classically feminine, like Emily and Pamela, are also depicted sympathetically.
Ella Bright and Danya Griver deserve particular credit for portraying complicated, flawed characters with warmth and humour. I like the diversity in the rest of the cast, and agree it’s historically plausible. I liked also the adjustments they made to the adults, with Mr Rivers becoming a very gentle man and Mrs Lacey (who in the book is just stupid) more of an acerbic, Dorothy Parker type. The one character I had slight trouble with was Alicia, who is rather subdued compared with the book – though I can see that might have been a necessary compromise.
One small point about Miss Grayling’s lost love: while it’s the Second World War that’s just ended, the medal and photo are First World War.
I absolutely hope there will be a second series. Although it had a quiet launch, being put out early because of lockdown, it seems to be getting more showings on different networks around the world and picking up more fans.
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I was about to argue strongly about your first point but then I added it up, and yes it has been THAT long since the 90s Famous Five, well doesn’t that make me feel old? I remember rushing home from primary school in order to watch it.
I absolutely agree that there is a good feminist message (which there is in the books, but the show really brings it out) and it’s certainly not fluff.
I also agree that although they changed some characters the only one that wasn’t so successful was Alicia, she really lost something on screen.
The WW1/WW2 point is interesting, I had not noticed that. A possible mistake, or has she been mourning for thirty years?
I definitely want a second series – but I wonder how health and safety will affect the cliff top scene at the end.
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I know what you mean about feeling old! If you feel bad, think of this, you said you rushed home from primary school to watch it-I was already in my 20s! It was the 70s show I watched (it was shown in the early 80s here, but still!)
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I’ve only read synopses of the other books, but get the feeling the writers might have to do more cannibalising of different plotlines rather than following the second book straight. It looks like Blyton kept bringing in new characters, who were mostly similar to the old ones anyway, and the whole plotline about someone stealing everyone’s valuables doesn’t feel that right for the Malory Towers we saw on screen.
Being super-nerdy, I notice now that in the one clear glimpse we get of the photo and medal, there’s also a bunch of letters. The front one definitely has WW1 postmarks and I think is dated 1915. So that’s all been carefully got historically right – we’ll have to see if we ever find out more.
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For many WWI was still raw after WW2…so much loss of life…shellshock didn’t disappear. I wonder if Mary-Lou’s anxieties are due to the war. She seems to live with her grandmother. Jean’s mother has to work, it is possible that her father was killed. Women did have to work after WW2. My mother’s family moved to South Africa to get away from the rationing, that rubble, the poverty, and for a better life.
I have the most trouble with Alicia, in this version, who was my favourite character in the books. But I like the characters being deeper, without the moralizing. Like the bite about Alicia being rather hard…It this version, Alicia likes to be centre of attention and craves approval and fun, when she doesn’t see her family.
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The positive review of the programme is a welcome one after some of the negative drivel I found on other sites. I found the series to be an excellent adaptation with very good actresses and glad that the producers stayed mostly true to the book. I also hope there will be another series or five !
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I was just wondering which websites have given negative reveiws as I enjoy reading them and getting annoyed at them
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Hi Anonymous. I cannot remember which specific sites I visited but if you Google Malory Towers TV series reviews I’m sure something will come up.
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Footnote to my comments of December 19 2020. I have since viewed the New Zealand Umbrella adaptations of The Adventure series and The Secret series ( Boxed set ) and found them both to be absolutely terrible. I have still to watch The 1970’s and 1990’s adaptations of The Famous Five and the 1982 Island of Adventure and the 1990 Castle of Adventure. I hope they are better than the Umbrella adaptations. However, they will have to go a long way to better the 2019 Malory Towers which is brilliant. I want more !
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The 1990 Castle of Adventure isn’t too bad, actually – it’s better than the Cloud 9 series by miles. I have the 1982 Island of Adventure but haven’t watched it yet. Both the 70s and 90s Famous Five are pretty good, though both suffer from their short episode lengths. If they’d given each book even half as many episodes as the Malory Towers adaptation then they could have done the books more justice.
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Thanks Fiona. I’m due to watch the !982 Island of Adventure first ( Chronological order ) and then 1990 Castle. Then I’ve got Five on a Treasure Island 1957, Five have a Mystery to solve 1964, The 70s Famous Five boxed set and the 1990’s Famous Five so I’m going to be very occupied for a long time. It’s good to know they’re not as bad as the awful Cloud 9 adaptations.
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I have now watched all the adaptations mentioned above and found all of them very watchable, especially the 1990’s Famous Five which I really enjoyed.
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Just seen 26 new episodes have been commissioned, with the previous main cast all returning. Good news!
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(Or, most of the cast. May not be quite all.)
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This is brilliant news. I can’t wait for the screening !
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This s extremely disappointing and not at all in keeping with the books of Malory Towers – which I loved. In the novels, Alicia was NOT Canadian, Jean was Scottish – which she doesn’t appear to be in the TV series, Miss Potts was NOT Asian and she wore spectacles. Matron was much nicer in the novels than she is here – and we haven’t seen Belinda or Mam’zelle Dupont yet. Plus, the third – form mistress was Miss Peters in the novels – NOT Miss Johnson – and when Thunder got colic, Matron didn’t get the vet – Miss Peters did. Very disappointing and not at all in keeping. A big let down.
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If you think the Malory Towers adaptation is disappointing then you need to view the awful Cloud 9 productions of The Adventure and the Secret series. I think the Malory Towers series is excellent in comparison. Please remember that the producers of Malory Towers have a budget to stick to so they would be unable to follow Enid Blyton’s books to the letter for monetary reasons.
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The reason that the actress playing Alicia is Canadian is because the series is partly financed by a Canadian company and they wanted some Canadian actors/actresses to appear in the series. There are also financial restraints to adhere to as the budget is not large so we have to make allowances for the fact that some characters are missing. I have taken all this into account and still find the series to be one of the best adaptations I have seen, and I have seen them all.
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