Come with me, yes come with me to Dark Towers, the brilliantly spooky Look And Read tale from 1981, where in the garden, in the hall, I uncover 20 fondly remembered treasures…
Kept In The Dark
The thing I remember most about Dark Towers is missing what happened the first time around, and nearly experiencing deja vu the second.
At seven years old, I felt more grown up in 1981 because our class had outgrown the juvenile letter play of Words And Pictures. Instead of Henry Woolf leering evilly at the camera, I could now enjoy a drama serial that entertained and educated at the same time. I was instantly hooked on the spooky atmosphere of Dark Towers. With its moving pictures, haunted bedrooms and ghosts, this eerie tale was just my cup of cocoa.
The problem was, my folks moved house in the half term of October 1981. Which brought with it a new school, and not one that I wish to remember. Although the least of my problems at the time, I was still mightily peeved that my new class was stuck with Words And Pictures. Talk about a step back. Instead of a finely crafted ghost story, I’d returned to the sinister shuffling of Woolf and his oversized jumper ponchos. I never did get to find out what happened to Tracy Brown and Towser, and never got to see the fabled Tall Knight.
The next year, I moved schools again. The good news? Look And Read was on again, and after enjoying Sky Hunter and Fairground, I was delighted that Dark Towers was getting a repeat run in Autumn 1983.
The bad news? My folks were moving house again, and… you guessed it – in the half term period of October 1983. Which meant another new school. I told myself that I was doomed never to see the outcome of Dark Towers as long as I lived. But as it turned out, the new school was also showing Look And Read, so I did, at long last, get to enjoy Dark Towers in its entirety. Hooray!
A Very Peculiar Practice
Dark Towers was written by Andrew Davies.
Yes, THAT Andrew Davies. Before the days of A Very Peculiar Practice, House Of Cards, costume drama adaptations such as Middlemarch and Pride & Prejudice and even cult ’90s sitcom Game On, Davies submitted scripts to that humble old kids’ programme, Look And Read.
Davies would go on to write 1984’s Badger Girl for Look And Read, but his other commonly known kids’ creation is Marmalade Atkins, both in books and on TV.
Towers Terror
Having freaked out kids with The Boy From Space in 1971, Look And Read stories were a bit more genteel for the rest of the ’70s. The likes of Sky Hunter and Cloud Burst were exciting, action-packed thrillers for kids, but they didn’t send kids behind the nearest horse vaulting box in the assembly hall.
Dark Towers, however, was a welcome return to scares. Ask 40 and 50 somethings about shudder-inducing schools’ TV and it’s likely that they’ll mention this spooky Look And Read serial. The moving picture of the ghost and the moving bedclothes in the Red Bedroom are eerie enough, but the real nightmare clincher was the Tall Knight, a glowing, booming-voiced spectre of doom. The way it was shot, with the old wall area going dark, the harsh white glare and the doom-laden score, all added up to pure nightmare fuel.
Of course, the irony is that the supposedly scary ghosts are on the side of good. Both The Friendly Ghost and The Tall Knight offer help to Tracy and Edward ‘Son Of Lord’ Dark. It’s Benger, Bunce and Miss Hawk who are the baddies, but because they don’t don white sheets and go “Whooo”, they never gave kids the shivers.
Letters To Juliet Part One
It’s Juliet Waley again!
Last seen round these ‘ere blog pages as Alison Streeter in the last couple of series of Angels. Juliet was chosen to play the main audience identification character of loner Tracy Brown, and she gives a nicely appealing performance that never sinks to ‘Kids’ TV Am-Dram Panto’ ham. Actually, come to think of it, all of the actors in Dark Towers are very good, taking it as seriously as they would a Shakespeare play.
In late Autumn 1983, it felt like Juliet Waley had somehow taken over the TV schedules. As well as being in the repeat of Dark Towers twice a week, she could be seen as Alison in Angels – again on two nights a week. On top of this, on consecutive Wednesdays, the BBC repeated its classic 1974 five-part adaptation of Nina Bawden’s Carrie’s War, in which Juliet skilfully played the young lead.
Juliet also appeared in the likes of The Duchess Of Duke Street, the 1973 adaptation of Jane Eyre (playing young Jane) and the classic Joan Hickson version of Miss Marple: The Moving Finger, in which she played ill-fated maid, Beatrice Dunn.
Towser Suit
While Tracy thinks that boys, girls, football and dolls are stupid, she loves her dog, Towser.
The faithful mutt proves to be a considerable asset to the story, alerting Tracy of ghostly presences, helping her to escape from the clutches of the evil Bunce, and most astutely of all, doing a wee against Bunce’s van.
Towser was played by Flak, and alas, this is the dog’s lone TV credit.
OB One
The first Look And Read story to shoot the story with Outside Broadcast cameras. OB was, by 1981, a favoured alternative to film because it was a much cheaper and more practical medium.
Whereas film cameramen were being wheeled about like fairground visitors on clunky camera rigs and tracks, OB cameras were more portable – although back in ’81, you still needed 10 bowlfuls of Shredded Wheat to lug them around. With that in mind, a lot of 1980s telly used to record exterior scenes on videotape, giving a more uniform look into the bargain, with no jarring difference between film and video.
The likes of Fairground and Badger Girl would employ this technique on Look And Read, although since the ’90s, the broad TV tide turned again, with film becoming the preferred exterior medium of choice.
Famous Five For Minutes
Big Finish big cheese Gary Russell plays the bookish Lord Edward Dark. He’d previously been part of ITV’s Famous Five and also appeared in The Phoenix And The Carpet and in an uncredited role in the James Bond movie, Octopussy.
As well as Big Finish, Doctor Who fans will recognise him as writer and editor of Doctor Who magazine and script editor on the revived series, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood.
Out On A Limb
Roger Limb returned to Look And Read, contributing a suitably atmospheric score for Dark Towers. Some of Limb’s music cues add much to the creepy ambience, especially the off-kilter noise of a ghostly manifestation (eg: when the picture or bedclothes move). It sounds a bit like the strange noise at the start of Roxy Music’s Street Life, if you’ve ever heard it, for want of a better description.
Best of all is the ominous Gregorian chant motif for the scenes with the Tall Knight. And if you think you’ve heard that before, chances are you’ll have seen the Doctor Who tale, The Caves Of Androzani in which Limb later replicates the Tall Knight score to the letter – most notably for the scenes in which The Doctor is facing death, whether at the hands of a gun squad, Spectrox Toxaemia or in the prelude to his traumatic regeneration.
Silver Star
Two lots of David Collings for the price of one in Dark Towers.
The late, great David Collings inevitably provided value for money in every TV role he did. As well as cult favourites Sapphire And Steel (in which he played the Doctor-ish Silver), Doctor Who (Vorus in Revenge Of The Cybermen, Poul in The Robots Of Death, Mawdryn in Mawdryn Undead) and Blake’s 7 (read on), David appeared in everything from costume dramas like Elizabeth R and By The Sword Divided to kids’ fare such as Press Gang and The All Electric Amusement Arcade, even popping in to the odd soap or two (Holby City).
Collings adds that extra touch of class to the dual roles of Lord Dark and The Friendly Ghost, even doing that Shakespearian rolling of R’s thing that he does so well.
Blake’s Seven Three
On the subject of Blake’s 7, fans can spot three guest actors. Harry Jones and Harry Jones’ ridiculous bubble perm were in Gambit, when he played Servalan’s ineffectual lackey, Jarriere. Juliet Hammond-Hill was the out-for-herself Seska, Pella in Power, while a couple of weeks after Dark Towers ended, the last, traumatic Blake’s 7 episode, Blake, guest starred David Collings as Blake’s new confidante, Deva.
Sutton Dressed As Land
The principal location shoot of Dark Towers was at the Stowey-based Sutton Manor, originally built as a manor house from a 14th century fortified pele tower and surrounding buildings and then remodelled in the mid-1800s by Thomas Henry Wyatt.
Apparently, the building was since converted into private apartments, with the grounds including a communal space, trout lake and tennis court. Apparently, on some days, you can see The Tall Knight and the Friendly Ghost practicing for Wimbledon.
Letters To Juliet Part Two
It’s Juliet Hammond-Hill again!
Last seen round these ‘ere blog parts as snooty Miranda Davenport in my Only Fools And Horses countdown (Yesterday Never Comes – again broadcast in November ’83, when Dark Towers was enjoying its first rerun). Like Miranda, Juliet’s character is again after valuable treasure, but this time under the guise of Miss Hawk.
Juliet was best known for playing Natalie Chartrens in the drama and ‘Allo ‘Allo inspiration Secret Army. She would reprise the role for the spin-off Kessler. As well as her role in Blake’s 7, she also appeared in Blood Money (as Irene Kohl), Baal (Emilie) and Big Deal (Emma).
Why Don’t You Build Yourself A Word
A slew of classic Derek Griffiths and Julie Stevens-sung tunes, including the Apostrophe song, Dog Detective and Bill The Brickie! Bill would build a wall with a brick containing one word and then a joining brick with either ‘ing’ or ‘ed’, that sort of thing. So happen can become Happening or Happened!
Current Bunce
The ratty, snivelling sidekick to Benger, Bunce was played by Harry Jones, whose CV includes spots in Survivors, Tales Of The Unexpected and Juliet Bravo.
Mystery Is In The Air
Look And Read always guaranteed a hook-laden theme tune, and the creepy cacophony of the Dark Towers ode was no exception.
Once again sung by Derek Griffiths, the signature tune combines harpsichord and funereal orchestration to great effect. Played alongside still photos of the rooms of Dark Towers, the theme tune successfully establishes the time, place and feel of the oncoming drama, conjuring up that queasy dread for the kids who trembled in fear at the very mention of the Tall Knight.
Think Biggins Biggins Biggins At The Beginning
A left-field choice of actor for the main Bad Guy role in Dark Towers, actually Christopher Biggins acquits himself well as the evil Benger.
Biggins may be known as a one-time King Of The Jungle in I’m A Celebrity, but his acting resume boasts the likes of Porridge (Lukewarm), Rentaghost (Adam Painting) and I. Claudius (Nero) to name but three.
Good For Youth
As with Sky Hunter and many other Look And Read tales, the kids are the traditional heroes with the adults playing catch-up. Both Tracy and Edward take the initiative and use their loaves to hunt for the treasure and stop the baddies.
The grown-ups on the other hand, are either cowardly (the Friendly Ghost), duped (Lord Dark, who is easily taken in by Benger and Bunce’s charade) or evilly greedy (Benger, Bunce and Miss Hawk). As with many a Look And Read, the baddies’ motives are to get as much money as they can. Benger and Bunce plan to burn down Dark Towers after clearing off with valuable paintings and treasures which they can say perished in the flames. Miss Hawk, meanwhile, has her eyes on the Golden Book of The Tall Knight, which she’d rather keep for herself than in a musty old museum.
And naturally, the terrible trio are great big cowards, scared out of their wits by the advancing form of the Tall Knight at the story’s end. Although, why do they run straight at the Tall Knight, as opposed to scarpering in the opposite direction? The fools!
Morning Coffey
Wordy’s beamed back down to earth after spending the previous Look And Read in space. This time, he’s landed in a library and is joined by librarian Jenny Jackson, who’s played by Denise Coffey.
Denise is probably best known for two sketch and satire shows: Do Not Adjust Your Set between 1967 and 1969, and End Of Part One between 1979 and 1980. She also popped up in the likes of Georgy Girl, The Adventure Game and the ’90s reboot of The Tomorrow People.
A Knight Chew Remember
Behind the armour of the Tall Knight is none other than Chewbacca himself, Peter Mayhew!
Mayhew’s imposing 7’3” height made him an ideal choice for the character of the Tall Knight, although the unsettling booming vocals were apparently provided by Wordy voicesmith Charles Collingwood.
Treasured Memories
I guess Dark Towers remains a popular favourite from Look And Read because it encompasses all of the series’ themes. You have the treasure hunt quest from the early days of stuff like Bob And Carol Look For Treasure; the race against time to halt criminal schemes (Sky Hunter, Joe & The Sheep Rustlers, etc); and the fantasy elements that had made The Boy From Space so fondly remembered.
I’m glad I finally got to see it two years later after leaving St Michael’s school – better late than never – it’s still my favourite Look And Read tale to this day.
(Screengrabs credited to BBC)
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