Just William (1994–1995)

In this remake, William Brown remains the story concentrate of an English boy. No matter what trouble his elders, and -worse- the insufferable 'good girl' Violet Elizabeth Bott who manages ... See full summary »

Stars:

Oliver Rokison, David Horovitch, Polly Adams

Cast

Series cast summary:
Oliver Rokison	...	William Brown (12 episodes, 1994-1995)
David Horovitch	...	Mr. Brown (12 episodes, 1994-1995)
Polly Adams	...	Mrs. Brown (12 episodes, 1994-1995)
Rebecca Johnson	...	Ethel Brown (12 episodes, 1994-1995)
Ben Pullen	...	Robert Brown (12 episodes, 1994-1995)

Storyline

In this remake, William Brown remains the story concentrate of an English boy. No matter what trouble his elders, and -worse- the insufferable 'good girl' Violet Elizabeth Bott who manages to enforce here presence upon them, take to tell them what to do, when and where, William, his best friend Ginger and the whole gang of village rascals make sure the saying "boys will be boys" proves true every single mischievous time, even if it takes all their courage and lying ingenuity.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Details

Country:

UK

Release Date:

December 1994 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Talisman Films Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (12 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of William (1962)

User Reviews

Good try from the BBC, but not good enough.

I can say that as a fan of the Just William Stories, by Richmal Crompton, I was happy to see some of the wonderful stories were made into a new TV series. It was disheartening to see the result! Don't get me wrong...some things were done to my satisfaction, but not many.

The plots revolve around a 10/11 year old, tyrannical, school boy and his boon companions the "outlaws", and their often attempts to help and entertain!

For example, the actor playing William, was just too upper class and not covered with enough dirt and mud (even when the producers put more mud on him for the second series, it didn't work!) Secondly, they got the character of Violet-Elizabeth Bott totally incorrect. In the novels, Crompton's detailed attention to dialect proves that Vioilet-Elizabeth has a lisp, and she does not in this production. Another mini flaw, is Ethel's hair colour in this production is black, and the short stories continually said her hair was golden and curly...not black and straight! Finally (phew) my biggest complaint is the fact that the stories were practically rewritten...which is a shame, because the original stories were usually much better than the ones in this TV series.

There are a few good points however, luckily. They got the characters of Mr John Brown and Mrs Mary Brown perfect! The outlaws too were perfect, but the acting was sometimes a bit too stiff...and very forced. The most perfect thing about this version was the scenery and locations...they were perfect! Also, Nigel Hess' score is very witty and intellegent, playing around endlessly with the main motif and theme in a variety of 20s and 30s styles - very enjoyable!

It's a shame the BBC messed it up so much...they should give it another try!