The first two episodes were patchy, so let’s see how episodes three and four do.

The Inter-Tower Match

I have to admit, the title and synopses for this episode made me groan. I actually enjoy the bits in the books about lacrosse but somehow on-screen it manages to be boring.

Clarissa plays in the inter-tower lacrosse match – but she’s hiding a dangerous secret.

Gwen learns Clarissa has been keeping a big secret after she falls ill during a lacrosse game. Meanwhile, Irene hears that her father has a new love interest.

Aside from the lacrosse being boring, it continues to make no sense. Previously we’ve had inter-school games but they’ve suddenly been replaced with an inter-tower league (which is what was in the books).

Alicia is the North Tower team captain, suggesting there are no fifth or sixth formers playing. Do they play together? Do they play at all? Who knows. With three places left on the team the first formers try out (and seem to be guaranteed places, while in the books all age groups could try out but it was rare for a first former to be good enough to make the team).

Gwen deigns to watch (as she is trying to impress Clarissa, having found out she’s honourable) and talks about how bad she is at lacrosse despite having played reasonably well just last year.

It seems that Felicity, Connie and June will make the team until Alicia recognises Clarissa as a star of a county game she’s seen. Obviously Matron doesn’t know about her heart condition – it must not have been on her health certificate as she and Alicia hector Clarissa into trying out. She does well – nipping and spinning around the other girls – but after says it was a fluke and she doesn’t want to play.

She, Connie and June make the team with Felicity a reserve

The full team is shown as:

Jean Winlow (Keeper)
Martha Casey (Defence)
Connie Batten (Defence)
Darrell Rivers (Midfield)
Clarissa Carter (Midfield)
Doris Clarke (Attack)
Alicia Johns (Attack)
Jane Letterbridge (Attack)

That’s not the Jean in Darrell’s class as she’s Jean Dunlop. So out of eight girls we have two fourth formers and three first formers. That means there’s likely two girls from each the second and third form.

At the actual match the West Tower Wolves score and then Clarissa gets the ball. She runs – absurdly slowly and without anyone making any effort to stop her or tackle her – while her friends half-heartedly shout you can do it before she stops for a full six seconds (yes, I timed it), then gets going again and scores a goal. Are all the other girls and adults blind? Can they not see her practically staggering, panting, white-faced across the pitch? Matron also watches her lie on the ground for six seconds before shouting for a stretcher once she finally collapses.

In the san Matron bawls at Clarissa as Gwen has found a letter from Clarissa’s doctor explaining her condition and expressing that she MUST NOT exert herself in any way. I can’t help feeling that that sort of important information would have been given to the school before Clarissa arrived. What if she ran up the stairs to her dorm and collapsed before being asked for her health cert and letter? Anyway, Clarissa just wanted to be normal and not be fussed over so didn’t pass on the letter – not even after being picked for the lacrosse team! I wonder how she planned to handle the regular physical activity at school? They don’t really show it on TV but the girls did go for long walks, swim, play tennis and non-competition lacrosse.

The minor secondary plot involves Irene. It was nice to see her getting her own story-line though she didn’t get anything interesting to do. She was worried that her father’s news meant he wanted her to go travelling with him again, but as per the rather spoiler-y synopsis he has a girlfriend – one which he says will keep him nearer the school. I suspect it is Mam’zelle. I like Irene’s father and the way he calls her his little harpsichord and little timpani.

This episode was probably 80/20 in favour of the first formers, with only Darrell, Alicia, Gwen and Irene getting any significant screen time and Jean briefly seen. The first formers have moments of decent acting but a lot of it is quite flat and wooden. I think it’s the posh accents! They’re working so hard to perfect the RP pronunciation they are struggling to show emotion at the same time.

On the plus side I was thrilled every time I saw all the extras milling around – they really do make a difference in making things more realistic.

The Essay

As soon as I saw midnight I thought feast, but that’s not the case.

With Matron out for the night, the First Form have their first midnight adventure!

Susan realises something is amiss with the twins when the new girls embark on their first midnight outing!

Mr Parker has whipped the first formers up into a frenzy about the Battle of Malory Bay and has promised them a prize for the best-researched essay about it. (Yes, he’s wearing the cloak and hat last worn by Darrell as Highwayman Jack in series two.)

Having heard from Fred that the ship’s captain can be seen in the grounds on a full moon guarding his treasure the girls decide that this is ideal for their essays. Even though their essays needed to be handed in the next morning and thus were all finished before they went to bed.

Matron sets Darrell up for failure – again – telling her she must watch the first formers as they are in high spirits. I remember Matron sleeping in the first form dorm in series one because of the “ghost” which turned out to be a sleepwalking Irene, but I can’t understand why she thinks it’s necessary for Darrell to sit in their dorm trying to study by torchlight while the girls sleep. I can understand someone needing to ensure lights were out and the girls were in bed but not watching them sleep!

Darrell tries to ingratiate herself with the girls by taking them cocoa and it’s just as well there’s only six of them else she wouldn’t have been able to carry the tray! June is not impressed, though, and says they don’t need a babysitter.

Seeing as Darrell falls asleep in her chair five of the girls decide to sneak out but stupidly Susan comes back and holds a conversation with Ruth.

The other girls don’t even make it outside the school as Darrell then catches up to them and scrambles to get them back to bed before Matron sees them.

Although Darrell probably wishes the girls could get into trouble she can’t let Matron see them or she will be in bother for not watching them properly. The girls don’t want to be caught either, so they cooperate. Until Susan decides to go back out to hold up Matron, to give the others time to get into bed. Darrell is almost thrown under the bus here, but they manage to cover this as Susan getting some fresh air to help her sleep.

OK, I was just about on board again until Matron shoos Susan to bed and then leaves Darrell still on guard in the darkened dorm. Is she supposed to stay there all night? Assuming Matron returned at the time she said, it’s around 10.30!

In the background to this is Connie struggling to keep up with the work and Ruth handing over her essay on the battle, which then wins the prize. Susan figures this out and having tried to talk to Ruth about it then goes to Darrell for advice, but ultimately insists she will handle it herself. I understand not telling tales but this doesn’t seem like something an 11/12 year old should be trying to solve alone. It was very head-of-form of her, but Darrell then asks if they can choose a head of first form for her to delegate to. Surely that should already have been done?

Susan is the obvious choice, but only North Tower girls are consulted. Could they not at least PRETEND that there are other girls in the first form?

This episode was really The Darrell and the First Form show. This actually explains something for me, though. Having looked at the IMDB listings I was assuming that some girls wouldn’t be in subsequent series as their number of episodes appeared in were lower than others. If they are absent from various series four (and perhaps five and six) episodes as we focus on the first formers, that would account for it.

I don’t think we saw any fourth formers except Gwen – and very briefly too. Gwen’s scene was at least funny, as Matron comes in to the dorm to see Darrell. Gwen leans back in her chair being nosy but as soon as she hears Matron wants a job doing her eyes widen and she leans forward to hide behind the door.

I also really liked the seamless cut between two scenes early on where Felicity flings a lacrosse ball outside and then inside Alicia smoothly catches another one.