Shadows (1975)
Shadows was a children's tv series that ran for three years. series one which i've just finished comprises of seven stand alone 25 minute dramas aimed at younger audiences.
The stories are of varying quality as you'd expect and not all are successful however those that did work which was about half of them at least in a chilling sense. The Waiting Room about an eerie old railway station platform reminded me of Sapphire and Steel's Second Assignment and The Witches Bottle - a spine chiller about witchcraft and an old oak tree which had similarities to The Ash Tree (1975).
The productions had decent casts including Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Gareth Thomas, Sophie Ward and John Woodvine and some interesting scripts from the likes of Trevor Preston (Ace of Wands) Roger Marshall (Public Eye) and surprisingly The Old Dark House's JB Priestley.
All the tales are suitably atmospheric, the two mentioned above in particular, and explore alternate realities as well as ghostly goings on which play on childhood fears and preoccupations.
By now i know what i'm getting with these Network spooky series from the 70's and Shadows is a welcome addition to my collection
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