Dark Towers
Encyclopedia
Dark Towers is an 1981 educational production by the BBC in the Look and Read
series. The series remains highly popular in primary schools to this day.
The show involves two main characters; Tracy and Edward. They go about their mission to stop a group, led by Miss Hawk, from stealing the treasures of Dark Towers.
Gary Russell
as Lord Edward Dark
David Collings
as Lord Dark / The Friendly Ghost
Christopher Biggins
as Benger
Harry Jones as Bunce
Juliet Hammond (credited as Juliet Hammond-Hill
) as Miss Hawk
Peter Mayhew
as The Tall Knight
Part Two: Tracey and Edward encounter two men, Benger and Bunce, and soon become suspicious of the two. When they follow Towser to the Red Bedroom, they meet the Friendly Ghost, who is the man in the picture that spoke.
Part Three: The Friendly Ghost tells Tracey and Edward the legend of Dark Towers, of the Tall Knight, his treasure, and gives them this warning: "Beware of Two B's Buzzing Together. Beware of the Bird with the brown feather".
Part Four: After the Friendly Ghost disappears, a woman named Miss Hawk walks into the Red Bedroom, and offers to help Tracey and Edward look for the treasure. Tracey and Edward find a clue which tells them to "Go where old wheels go round".
Part Five: Following the clue, Tracey searches the Old Coach House where she discovers Benger and Bunce are crooks, and overhears their plans.
Part Six: Tracey is literally framed by Benger and Bunce (they stuffed a little gold picture into her pocket at the end of the previous episode), and she is sent away by Lord Dark. Edward finds a torn piece of paper in the Old Coach House. He seeks help from the Friendly Ghost, and learns that Benger and Bunce were the "two B's" the ghost warned him about. Reading the clue, Edward and the Ghost come to the conclusion that the next clue is at the Tall Knight's Folly at the end of the old wall. Edward goes there, and meets the Tall Knight who demands to know "Who comes to the Tall Knight's Folly?".
Part Seven: Edward asks the Tall Knight for his help, but he says he can't help unless Tracey and Towser are there, because the old legend involves a boy, a girl, and a dog, and he vanishes. Luckily, Tracey and Towser are still hanging around, and they meet up with Edward after Towser drags her to the folly. The Tall Knight appears again, and instructs them to "go to the old library, and a gold key you will see, inside the inside of the Dark tree". While trying to crack the Tall Knight's riddle, Edward realizes that he meant the Dark Family Tree, and they find the final clue, which falls out of the spine of the book. The clue reads: "The knight's treasure will rest inside the inside of a studded chest".
Part Eight: Edward asks his father if they have a studded chest, and he says there is one in the Old Tower. Miss Hawk overhears. Edward looks at the picture of the Friendly Ghost, and the ghost repeats his warning: "Beware of the bird with the brown feather", adding, "the hawk who hunts treasure". Edward now knows Miss Hawk is the bird with the brown feather, and rushes off to find Tracey. They head up to the Old Tower, opening the chest with the key that came with the last clue. It's empty. Benger and Bunce suddenly arrive with Miss Hawk. Bunce puts Tracey in the back of his and Benger's van, and drives off, but the Tall Knight comes to Tracey's rescue.
Part Nine: Bunce abandons his van and runs back to Dark Towers. Meanwhile, Miss Hawk has her own ghostly encounter in the Red Bedroom where she is keeping Edward, who now knows Miss Hawk wants the Golden Book of the Tall Knight for herself. The Friendly Ghost appears, and Miss Hawk runs from the Red Bedroom screaming. The baddies all discover the Golden Book of the Tall Knight hidden inside the lid of the studded chest, and the Friendly Ghost tries to summon the Tall Knight.
Part Ten: Tracey arrives back at Dark Towers as darkness falls, meaning that the Tall Knight will soon appear. She convinces Lord Dark she is innocent, and he calls the police. Miss Hawk snatches the Golden Book of the Tall Knight and splits as all of Dark Towers plunges into darkness. Benger and Bunce go after her. As Tracey, Towser, Edward, and Lord Dark emerge from Dark Towers, the Tall Knight arrives, and scares the bad guys witless. As Benger, Bunce, and Miss Hawk are arrested, and the darkness lifts, Tracey gives Lord Dark the Golden Book of the Tall Knight. The Tall Knight has vanished, but throughout the house are strange sounds like laughter. The ghosts of Dark Towers are having the last laugh.
Look and Read
Look and Read is a BBC television programme for primary schools, aimed at improving children's literacy skills. The programme presents fictional stories in a serial format, the first of which was broadcast in 1967 and the most recent in 2004, making it the longest running nationally broadcast...
series. The series remains highly popular in primary schools to this day.
The show involves two main characters; Tracy and Edward. They go about their mission to stop a group, led by Miss Hawk, from stealing the treasures of Dark Towers.
Cast
Juliet Waley as Tracey BrownGary Russell
Gary Russell
Gary James Russell is a freelance writer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media...
as Lord Edward Dark
David Collings
David Collings
David Collings is a British actor. He has played many different roles on various television programmes, including the leading dramatic role in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in 1964....
as Lord Dark / The Friendly Ghost
Christopher Biggins
Christopher Biggins
Christopher Kenneth Biggins is an English actor and media personality.-Career:Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England and brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he took elocution lessons and participated in local drama groups...
as Benger
Harry Jones as Bunce
Juliet Hammond (credited as Juliet Hammond-Hill
Juliet Hammond-Hill
Juliet Hammond-Hill is an English actress, best known for her role as Natalie Chantrens in all three series of the BBC drama series Secret Army and its 1981 sequel Kessler....
) as Miss Hawk
Peter Mayhew
Peter Mayhew
Peter Mayhew is an English actor known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was tall.-Career:...
as The Tall Knight
Episodes
Part One: A loner named Tracey Brown and her dog Towser venture into a garden where Tracey meets Lord Edward Dark, who agrees to help her look for Towser. Tracey's search leads her into Dark Towers where she meets Edward's father, Lord Dark. Tracey eventually finds Towser barking at a picture on the wall. The picture comes to life and cries out that the house is in danger, and that the girl (Tracey) will save the house, but Edward and his father do not hear the voice.Part Two: Tracey and Edward encounter two men, Benger and Bunce, and soon become suspicious of the two. When they follow Towser to the Red Bedroom, they meet the Friendly Ghost, who is the man in the picture that spoke.
Part Three: The Friendly Ghost tells Tracey and Edward the legend of Dark Towers, of the Tall Knight, his treasure, and gives them this warning: "Beware of Two B's Buzzing Together. Beware of the Bird with the brown feather".
Part Four: After the Friendly Ghost disappears, a woman named Miss Hawk walks into the Red Bedroom, and offers to help Tracey and Edward look for the treasure. Tracey and Edward find a clue which tells them to "Go where old wheels go round".
Part Five: Following the clue, Tracey searches the Old Coach House where she discovers Benger and Bunce are crooks, and overhears their plans.
Part Six: Tracey is literally framed by Benger and Bunce (they stuffed a little gold picture into her pocket at the end of the previous episode), and she is sent away by Lord Dark. Edward finds a torn piece of paper in the Old Coach House. He seeks help from the Friendly Ghost, and learns that Benger and Bunce were the "two B's" the ghost warned him about. Reading the clue, Edward and the Ghost come to the conclusion that the next clue is at the Tall Knight's Folly at the end of the old wall. Edward goes there, and meets the Tall Knight who demands to know "Who comes to the Tall Knight's Folly?".
Part Seven: Edward asks the Tall Knight for his help, but he says he can't help unless Tracey and Towser are there, because the old legend involves a boy, a girl, and a dog, and he vanishes. Luckily, Tracey and Towser are still hanging around, and they meet up with Edward after Towser drags her to the folly. The Tall Knight appears again, and instructs them to "go to the old library, and a gold key you will see, inside the inside of the Dark tree". While trying to crack the Tall Knight's riddle, Edward realizes that he meant the Dark Family Tree, and they find the final clue, which falls out of the spine of the book. The clue reads: "The knight's treasure will rest inside the inside of a studded chest".
Part Eight: Edward asks his father if they have a studded chest, and he says there is one in the Old Tower. Miss Hawk overhears. Edward looks at the picture of the Friendly Ghost, and the ghost repeats his warning: "Beware of the bird with the brown feather", adding, "the hawk who hunts treasure". Edward now knows Miss Hawk is the bird with the brown feather, and rushes off to find Tracey. They head up to the Old Tower, opening the chest with the key that came with the last clue. It's empty. Benger and Bunce suddenly arrive with Miss Hawk. Bunce puts Tracey in the back of his and Benger's van, and drives off, but the Tall Knight comes to Tracey's rescue.
Part Nine: Bunce abandons his van and runs back to Dark Towers. Meanwhile, Miss Hawk has her own ghostly encounter in the Red Bedroom where she is keeping Edward, who now knows Miss Hawk wants the Golden Book of the Tall Knight for herself. The Friendly Ghost appears, and Miss Hawk runs from the Red Bedroom screaming. The baddies all discover the Golden Book of the Tall Knight hidden inside the lid of the studded chest, and the Friendly Ghost tries to summon the Tall Knight.
Part Ten: Tracey arrives back at Dark Towers as darkness falls, meaning that the Tall Knight will soon appear. She convinces Lord Dark she is innocent, and he calls the police. Miss Hawk snatches the Golden Book of the Tall Knight and splits as all of Dark Towers plunges into darkness. Benger and Bunce go after her. As Tracey, Towser, Edward, and Lord Dark emerge from Dark Towers, the Tall Knight arrives, and scares the bad guys witless. As Benger, Bunce, and Miss Hawk are arrested, and the darkness lifts, Tracey gives Lord Dark the Golden Book of the Tall Knight. The Tall Knight has vanished, but throughout the house are strange sounds like laughter. The ghosts of Dark Towers are having the last laugh.