The Magician's House
1999
📺 2 Seasons
🎬 12 Episodes
📅 Ended
🌐 EN
⏱️ 30 min/episode
DramaSci-Fi & Fantasy
The Magician's House is a quartet of children's fantasy books by William Corlett. Two mini-series were produced in 1999 for British television, which were directed by Paul Lynch. The series featured Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry voicing some of the animal characters.
The books were published in the early 1990s, and named as follows:
⁕The Steps up the Chimney
⁕The Door in the Tree
⁕The Tunnel behind the Waterfall
⁕The Bridge in the Clouds
Although in a rural setting, this series' focus on subjects such as industrial development and the combining of present-day and past settings in the plotline gives it a feeling tending more towards urban fantasy than simply contemporary fantasy.
In addition, though there is no specific mention of Welsh myths and legends, the strong part nature plays in the stories and the settings bring to mind other British children's authors. Authors like Alan Garner, who is perhaps best known for The Owl Service and Elidor, and Susan Cooper, famous for The Dark Is Rising sequence of books, who allude more specifically to British myth and legend in their writings.
Seasons
Season 1
Three children, Mary Green and her cousins William and Alice Constant, arrive with her Uncle Jack at Mary's father's home, Golden House, in the forests of Wales' Golden Valley, to spend their Christmas holidays. Once there they meet a 400-year-old magician who has been waiting for their help.
Season 2
Back in the 17th Century, the Magician's apprentice tries to harness the power of electricity but an explosion in his lab accidentally creates a dangerous substance called Black Gold and forces the Magician back to his own time, losing his precious gold pendulum. Meanwhile, in the present, a large corporation is planning to build a theme park close to Golden Valley, which would destroy the rare and beautiful surroundings.
Cast
Network
BBC One
Production
Kudos, BBC Cymru Wales, Forefront Entertainment
Keywords
magicbased on children's book