When fifteen year-old Raven is offered the chance to spend four weeks helping archaeologist Professor James Young and his wife, he seizes the opportunity to get away from Ferndown borstal, even though the past is of little interest to him. But after spending time with the wheelchair-bound professor, who carries out his excavation of an ancient cave system via CCTV from a cabin next to a stone circle, Raven comes to appreciate the value of uncovering the past. When the caves come under threat from a governmental nuclear waste reprocessing project, which plans to build a new plant that will dump unwanted plutonium in the caves, Raven is forced to choose sides; he soon discovers that he is inextricably linked to the ancient legends of King Arthur, and may just be Britain’s best hope it its time of need...

This six-part fantasy serial, which combines social issues and ecological concerns with Arthurian legendary and New-Age astrology, was written by Trevor Ray and Jeremy Burnham (‘The Avengers’, ‘Paul Temple’, ‘Hammer House of Horror’), who together created the telefantasy classic ‘Children of the Stones’. Future ‘Quadrophenia’, ‘Scum’ and ‘EastEnders’ star Phil Daniels gives an engaging performance in the title role, providing a fully-rounded character who develops from belligerent delinquent into reluctant hero. The rest of the cast is equally impressive, with Michael Aldridge (‘Last of the Summer Wine’) as Professor Young joined by ‘Carry On...’ stalwart Patsy Rowlands, former ‘EastEnder’ Shirley Cheriton and the prolific Tenniel Evans.

The show is ably-directed by Michael Hart, who makes the most of the studio sets by using clever camerawork and atmospheric lighting to introduce a feeling of mystery and claustrophobia. Later episodes see the introduction of a television film crew to the storyline, which allows the programme to almost break the fourth wall by letting viewers follow the action from the point of view of the director. The show’s graphics are also of note, particularly Raven’s psychedelic 'visions', and earned the production a B.A.F.T.A. nomination for Best Graphics.

Since its transmission in 1977, ‘Raven’ has long been believed to be incomplete in the archives; however, Network DVD were recently able to track down the original 2” VT tapes, which were released in 2010 for everyone to enjoy once more.


Raven - Eps 1-6

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