The Lost Children (2006–2007)

Ethan and his sister Amy are travelling by ship from England with their mother Charlotte, to join their father, who has gone ahead of them to establish the family farm. A storm hits, their ... See full summary »

Creators:

John Gilbert, Mike Smith

Stars:

Grant Roa, Hudson Mills, Beatrice Joblin

Cast

Series cast summary:
Grant Roa	...	Te Kahu (4 episodes, 2006)
Hudson Mills		(2 episodes, 2006)
Beatrice Joblin	...	Meg (2 episodes, 2006)
Rhys Castle-Hughes	...	Tama (2 episodes, 2006)
Mikaela Devitt	...	Amy (2 episodes, 2006)
Tandi Wright	...	Charlotte Melville (2 episodes, 2006)
John Bach	...	Frank (2 episodes, 2006)
Brian Sergent	...	Harold (2 episodes, 2006)
April Phillips	...	Doris (2 episodes, 2006)
Erroll Shand	...	Drunk (2 episodes, 2006)
Jacinta Wawatai	...	Mahina (2 episodes, 2006)

Storyline

Ethan and his sister Amy are travelling by ship from England with their mother Charlotte, to join their father, who has gone ahead of them to establish the family farm. A storm hits, their vessel begins to take on water, and the captain issues the order to abandon ship. Meg, a young thief, is lowered into the lifeboat along with Ethan and Amy. A freak wave washes the life-boat away from the ship. The children wake on a wild shore and begin the battle for survival. Meg is captured by a Maori raiding party and makes contact with a young Maori slave, Tama. After being caught up in armed conflict between Maori and European forces the four children decide to band together to make an epic journey.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 2006 (New Zealand)

Filming Locations:

Wellington, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

NZD 1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bighouse

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

excellent New Zealand period drama

I discovered this program part-way through the series, and wish I had seen it from the beginning. It is excellent and I look forward to a new episode each week. The blurb from TVNZ's web site for the program is almost exactly the same as the description here on IMDb, so I won't attempt to improve on it here. :-)

The children have just reached the South Island in the episode I'm watching as I type. As well as assisting with the birth of a child to an immigrant Italian couple, Tama has encountered his tribe, but not everyone is happy to see the escaped slave return and he must re-establish his mana.

Being interested in the history of European settlement of New Zealand (even before I started tracing my family's past) and other aspects of the country's past, I was interested to see how the production treated details, and have been impressed with the results. Everything, to my eye, is believable for the time period. The clothing, buildings, mud in the streets of towns, and so on. I can't speak to the authenticity of the Maori culture displayed, but it appears to be well-researched.

If you have an interest in things New Zealand, and have the opportunity to see this series, I thoroughly recommend it.