''Chocky'' is a 1984 children's six-part television drama based on the 1968 novel of the same name by

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...

. It was first broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from 9 January to 13 February 1984. Two six-part sequels—''Chocky's Children'' (1985) and ''Chocky's Challenge'' (1986)—were later produced. All were written by

Anthony Read Anthony Read (21 April 1935 – 21 November 2015) was an English television producer, screenwriter, script editor and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, which included a period as a script ...

, directed by Vic Hughes and produced by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

. While the 1968 novel was set in an unspecified 'near future', the TV adaptation was set contemporaneously in the mid-1980s in Surrey. The Gore family acquire a second generation Citroën CX car which was marketed as being technologically advanced at the time.

Series synopses

''Chocky''

Matthew Gore is an intelligent boy chosen by a mysterious extraterrestrial visitor to be a source of information about life on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. As his schoolwork and artistic talent improve dramatically he arouses the suspicion of powerful groups who wish to tap into the amazing fund of knowledge to which he is now party.

''Chocky's Children''

A year has passed since Matthew said goodbye to his alien friend, and in the summer holidays he meets Albertine, a mathematical prodigy, with whom he discovers he can communicate

telepathically Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

. One day Chocky returns to warn Matthew that they are both in danger. When he returns to tell Albertine, he finds she has disappeared.

''Chocky's Challenge''

Chocky hopes, with Matthew and Albertine's help, to help the human race discover cosmic power, which unlike Earth's finite natural resources, will sustain them for as long as the universe itself exists. But their knowledge has aroused a great deal of interest from the military, and they are willing to take drastic action if they don't get what they want.

Overview

''Chocky'' was subsequently repeated in a re-edited single episode on 31 December 1984, with a similar single-episode edit repeat of ''Chocky's Children'' following on 27 December 1985.

Overseas transmissions

The series was also broadcast and popular in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

where it was dubbed in both Czech and Slovak languages. It was also dubbed in French and broadcast in Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s; in Spanish and broadcast in Spain in the late 1980s. It was hugely popular in Bulgaria in the second half of 1980s. Also in Cuba. All episodes of Season 1 and Season 2 were shown numerous times.

Video release

The re-edited single episode of ''Chocky'', originally broadcast at the end of 1984, was released on VHS by Thames Video in the July 1985.

Home media

The complete ''Chocky'' saga was available on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

(all-region PAL, UK) from Second Sight. Revelation Films re-released the whole series in August 2010.

References

External links

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Little Gems
{{John Wyndham 1984 British television series debuts 1986 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British science fiction television series English-language television shows ITV children's television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television Television shows based on British novels Television series by FremantleMedia Kids & Family Television shows set in Surrey Works by John Wyndham