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The Changes
Title card
Genre	Fantasy
Based on	The Weathermonger Heartsease The Devil's Children by Peter Dickinson
Written by	Anna Home
Directed by	John Prowse
Starring	Victoria Williams Keith Ashton
Composer	Paddy Kingsland
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Anna Home
Production location	Bristol
Running time	25 minutes
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	6 January (1975-01-06) – 10 March 1975 (1975-03-10)

The Changes is a British children's science fiction television serial filmed in 1974 and first broadcast in 1975 by the BBC. It was directed by John Prowse and is based on the trilogy written by Peter Dickinson: The Weathermonger (1968), Heartsease (1969), and The Devil's Children (1970) (the books were written in reverse order: the events of The Devil's Children happen first, Heartsease second, and The Weathermonger third).

Background

The Changes posits a Britain where a sudden enveloping noise emanating from all machinery and technology causes the population to destroy them. The resulting upheaval displaces many people and reverts society to a pre-industrial age where there is a deep suspicion of anyone who may be harbouring machinery. Even the words for technology are taboo. The remnants of modern technology that escape destruction (such as electricity pylons) produce a physical and sometimes violent repulsion among those left in Britain.

The Changes are seen through the eyes of teenage schoolgirl Nicky Gore (Victoria Williams), and the 10-part series, originally broadcast every Monday from 6 January to 10 March 1975, traces Nicky's quest to reunite with her parents and solve the mystery.

Regular cast

• Vicky Williams as Nicky Gore (all episodes)
• Keith Ashton as Jonathon (episodes 5–10)
• David Garfield as Davy Gordon (episodes 5–8)
• Rafiq Anwar as Chacha (episodes 2–5)
• Zuleika Robson as Margaret (episodes 5–8)
• Raghbir Brar as Gopal (episodes 2–5)
• Sahab Qizilbash as Grandmother (episodes 2–5)
• Marc Zuber as Kewal (episodes 2–5)
• Rebecca Mascarenhas as Ajeet (episodes 2–5)
• Jack Watson as Peter (episodes 5–8)

Production notes

Despite its modest budget, The Changes had extensive location filming. This included:

• Bristol: Clifton; Hotwells; Totterdown
• Weston-super-Mare: Anchor Head
• Berkshire: Stanford Dingley; Bothampstead; Winterbourne
• Gloucestershire: Miserden; Gloucester and Sharpness Canal (incl. Splatt swing bridge, Purton Locks and the British Waterways tug Severn Active); Sapperton (Daneway Inn); Forest of Dean (Bixslade Valley and Clearwell Caves).

The theme and incidental music, composed by Paddy Kingsland, combines the sound of an EMS Synthi 100 synthesiser with a small live band (horn, sitar and percussion). Kingsland went on to score both the radio and TV adaptations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and incidental music for a number of Doctor Who stories in the early 1980s.

Described by BBC continuity as "a serial for older children", the TV series was freely adapted by Anna Home from a trilogy of novels by Peter Dickinson. The series took most of its material from The Weathermonger which, together with Heartsease and The Devil's Children has recently been reissued in a single volume in the UK. In the original books, however, the lead character of Nicky Gore appears only in The Devil's Children – the books have entirely separate characters, and Nicky is introduced into scenarios in which she does not appear in the books, mixing with characters from the other two books. In addition, the timespan of The Changes is considerably reduced from that of the original trilogy.

The series was shown overseas, repeated by the BBC in 1976 and on UK Gold in 1994. It was released on DVD by the BFI in August 2014.

Episode guide

Note: Episode titles were given in Radio Times, but were not shown on-screen.

Soundtrack

A selection of music from this serial was released as a single by BBC Records (RESL 33) in 1976.

The complete soundtrack by Paddy Kingsland was released on double white vinyl LP on 21 April 2018 for Record Store Day 2018.

It was reissued as a bonus disc in the Record Store Day exclusive 6-CD box set Four Albums 1968 – 1978 29 August 2020.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Paddy Kingsland

Critical Reception

Science fiction historian Brian Stableford lauded The Changes, writing that "Home's adaption of Dickinson's well-written novels is sensitive and artful."

Reviewing the DVD release of The Changes, writer Rob Young praised the show. Young stated "Episode one, entitled ‘The Noise’, is as good as anything the BBC children’s department ever produced." Young said The Changes had "occasionally stilted script and dialogue", but praised the performances of Victoria Williams, David Garfield and Oscar Quitak. Young concluded: "Home was committed to creating a canon of youth television to compare with the great works of children’s literature, and The Changes deserves that comparison".

Stewart Lee has remarked during an interview on the BBC4 programme Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe that he feels lucky for having been a teenager watching TV for teenagers in the 1970s as "there was something really comforting for nerds and weirdos about programmes like Children of the Stones and The Changes.".

References

1. "Clearwell Caves Owner: Ray Wright". Skonnos Magazine. January 2001. Archived from the original on 18 September 2004. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
2. Docherty, Mark J.; McGown, Alistair D. (2003). The Hill and Beyond: Children's Television Drama. British Film Institute. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-851-70878-2.
3. BFI DVD releases announced for August/September 2014 https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/bfi-dvd-releases-announced-augustseptember-2014
4. "Paddy Kingsland – Record Store Day". Record Store Day. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
5. "BBC Radiophonic Workshop, The – Record Store Day". recordstoreday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
6. "Silva Screen Records". www.silvascreen.com.
7. Pringle, David. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, London, Carlton Books. 1996. ISBN 185868188X (p.154)
8. ^ Young, Rob. "The World Gone Mad" (Review of The Changes). Sight and Sound, October 2014 (p.98).
9. Lee, Stewart. "Stewart Lee on Skins". Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe. BBC Four. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2008.

External links

• The Changes at IMDb
• Issue 22 of Skonnos, a TV fanzine special issue on the series from 1996, with interviews (via archive.org).
• Little Gems minisite with screencaps episode-by-episode
• Carmody, Robin (22 May 2002). "They're awful, they frighten me, they're evil and wicked and dangerous..." Elidor. Archived from the original on 17 April 2003 – via Wayback Machine.

• 1975 British television series debuts
• 1975 British television series endings
• 1970s British children's television series
• BBC children's television shows
• British science fiction television shows
• Post-apocalyptic television series
• British English-language television shows
• 1970s British science fiction television series
• Witch hunting in fiction
• Fiction about Sikhism