Published in 1942, The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton is about a group of four teenage mystery solvers and their dog Timmy. There were 24 books in the series, but due to the critical acclaim, there have been several other short stories and spin-offs published, including three TV series, an audio drama set on CD, two musicals, 14 choose-your-own adventure books, six video games, many comics, and several parody books and films. This series bears a striking resemblance to Scooby-Doo in genre, despite being released almost 30 years before it.
Thanks so much to Greybishop for sharing this fun fact idea!
20 Comments
Greybishop
2/1/2021 12:12:32 pm
While it seems to be largely unknown in North America, the Famous Five series is still very popular in the U.K. and Europe. There is a series of movies from Germany (as recent as 2018) and in 2012 Disney was involved in a British animated series that updated the group to the modern era.
Reply
WildwindVampire
2/1/2021 12:15:03 pm
That's super interesting. I had honestly never heard of these books before you told me about them, so it doesn't surprise me that they're mainly known in the UK and Europe. Thanks again for sharing all the info on this!
Reply
john Locke
2/1/2021 12:45:33 pm
Interesting, well it would fit and 30 years seems long but is about the right time for a baby boomer to grow into a role where they could push along decisions, consciously or unconsciously. The reference I always heard for the team were characters from "the many loves of Doby Gillis" But it could have more than one origin.
Reply
WildwindVampire
2/1/2021 01:35:04 pm
I've heard "I Love a Mystery" is one of the origins as well, so I believe there were likely multiple.
Reply
The cop
2/1/2021 01:48:01 pm
A guess who promo was released in either Korea or china and that makes me think we will get the episodes this week
Reply
Peralaan
2/1/2021 01:55:55 pm
If you saw the same preview I did, it was released in the UAE, and it is the same preview from Turkey, so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.
Reply
2/1/2021 02:12:58 pm
Interesting! Could you link it? I haven't seen that.
Reply
Peralaan
2/1/2021 05:55:00 pm
I mean, it's the same preview we got from Turkey, but in Arabic this time. Here you go, but there isn't anything new in it. 2/1/2021 06:20:09 pm
I didn't realize there was nothing new in it, in which case I don't need to watch, but thanks anyway for linking it!
whackman
2/1/2021 03:52:07 pm
I am fairly certain the new episodes won't be airing anytime soon, I came upon some schedule guides for boomerang TV Germany and Poland, which show what is airing them on february, and they don't show any new episodes for Guess who. here is something which may come as a big suprise however. it turns out that season 5 of The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) series wil premiere on boomerang cable tv, in germany this march. about 39 new episodes will air on TV. which is confirmed here on this schedule guide.
Reply
WildwindVampire
2/1/2021 04:16:20 pm
Could be. I was kind of guessing they would be out around the same time as the Sword and the Scoob at the end of this month or the beginning of next (like they did with Happy Halloween with the first half of season two), but I also wouldn't be surprised knowing Boomerang if they held it back a while. There was a 10 month gap between the first half and second half of the first season in the US, so if the same case happened with season 2, that would mean there would be no new episodes until August. I'm not sure if new episodes would air in other countries first, but I guess only time will tell that.
Reply
Samuel Kirkwood
2/2/2021 07:45:53 am
Famous Five is a classic here in Britain and a real insight into British History. A great series for kids I've both the series on dvd. One, done in the 70'sreflects the clothes from that era while the 90's one is more true to the books 1950s origins. The third is a meh animation involving their kids. The parodies are also really funny. It is also very similar to Scooby Doo in the fact it uses a floating timeline with the kids never ageing.
Reply
2/2/2021 09:53:32 am
That's really interesting! I'm not sure if it would be available on DVD here in the States, but I'll have to look around to see if I can check it out myself someday.
Reply
Samuel Kirkwood
2/2/2021 11:56:56 am
If not region free dvd player. The 1990's set I had to import from Australia.
WildwindVampire
2/2/2021 12:22:51 pm
Oh wow, so the releases must be kind of rare then? Good to know.
Samuel Kirkwood
2/3/2021 07:57:53 am
The 90s set was definitely not easy to get hold of but the 70s set is readily available here in the UK. Oh wait scrap that its out of print, around £30-35 now off Ebay if lucky, the other R4 set I can't find anywhere. I now feel extremely lucky to have both! 2/3/2021 10:22:01 am
I couldn’t find anyone selling the set at all in the US, so I’m minded to say you’re quite lucky!
Samuel Kirkwood
2/3/2021 04:39:02 pm
Thanks, that I am it seems.
Greybishop
2/2/2021 08:06:58 pm
I actually learned of The Famous Five from a parody sketch on the BBC Radio show, John Finnemore's Souvenir Program. In the sketch we meet Georgina, who used to be tomboy George and one of the boys who has grown up and gone into the smuggling business.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWildwindVampire Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|