Interactions across class boundaries develop in unsurprising ways, interrogating class boundaries and the prejudices and expectations that come with them. And groundskeeper Huw (Raymond Llewellyn) is something of a harbinger, giving warnings and telling tales that may not be as tall as they initially appear.Ĭlashes of class and culture are apparent early on, as Roger, Clive and Alison represent a wealthy ruling class while Nancy, Gwyn and Huw are the working class.
Alison’s stepbrother Roger (Francis Wallis) exemplifies the dutiful son of his upstanding business owner father Clive (Edwin Richfield) but also pursues photography as a form of self-expression if not rebellion. Gwyn (Michael Holden), son of the Mrs Danvers-esque housekeeper Nancy (Dorothy Edwards), is a friend and confidante to Alison as well as being a servant figure and therefore unstable in the social order. Alison (Gillian Hills), the young lady of the house, is slightly odd and shows traits of the Gothic heroine. We are introduced to a creaky old house in a Welsh valley, as well as the six characters and what they embody. This new Blu-ray release from Network assembles the entire series along with a handful of extras.įrom its opening moments, The Owl Service lays out its setting, tone and tensions. However, looked at with modern eyes, especially those familiar with wider traditions of genre fiction, the show works as a piece of folk horror, informed by British myth and folklore but resonant with themes of its period and indeed today. Originally broadcast on Sunday afternoons in 1969, the eight episodes of this adaptation of Alan Garner’s 1967 novel is ostensibly a children’s show in the vein of Swallows and Amazons, a 1967 adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and Doctor Who at the time.
The Owl Service is a notable curio in the history of British genre television.
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