Review of Chocky`s Challenge

Introduction

In the first series called `Chocky` a young boy called `Matthew is contacted by an alien mind who calls herself `Chocky`. She has some important information she wishes to share. The wrong people find out about this and kidnap Matthew to get the information for them selves.

A year later when Matthew is no longer in contact with Chocky his amazing artistic ability developed under the influence of Chocky remains. Now he starts to draw pictures of windmills in great detail. He also draws pictures of locations around the world. He meets Albertine who is a mathematical genius. The children are able to talk telepathically and Mathew is convinced that Chocky is now helping Albertine.

This series takes up their story just as Albertine is graduating from college. She needs a research grant to continue Chocky`s work to give them access to cosmic energy, a continuous and free source of power. However this draws the attention of the military who could certainly find their own uses for this power.


The original story was based on a John Wyndham book of the same name.

Video

The series was made with mixture of video and film in studios and limited outdoor locations.

It is a reasonably clean transfer with no obvious print damage.

Audio

Presented in the original mono. This is not a problem as there is little other than dialogue. The only special effects are the electronic voice changer for Chocky`s voice, which does sound dated.

Features

No extras on this disc.
A static menu with scene access.

Conclusion

Although perhaps slower moving than the in-your-face children`s television we are currently subjected to this is an interesting and thought provoking look at the dangers that children face when the adults around them have less than pure motives. Although ostensibly science fiction it looks at how people conduct themselves in society and has quite a paranoid worldview. Characters are stereotyped to some extent to make them simpler but this drama benefits from the actors playing it completely seriously. It is naïve to some extent but refreshing too.

This series is one of many of 1970`s and 1980`s TV shows that are being issued to appeal to those of us old enough to remember them. (Ahem). It seems that Science Fiction for children is particularly in demand and other programmes include `The Tomorrow People` and of course, `Doctor Who` -mainly the shows that scared the pants off me as a child. These shows don`t always live up to our rose-tinted memories of them but this one is certainly enjoyable enough to engage the attention of children today.