Maddigan's Quest

Although I missed several episodes, it is fairly easy to grasp the plot. Basically, in a post-apocalyptic future, there is a city called Solis. Solis, as the name may suggest, runs on solar power, but the machinery they use to collect is is running down. Enter the Fantasia, a group of travelling entertainers. They have been entrusted with the task of finding a new solar converter before Solis loses its power.

Seems fairly simple- travel until you get to a certain town, collect the converter and head back to Solis. Wrong. In winter, the paths change, and that is the least of the problems the Fantasia face. In the midst of the harsh weather, Road Rats etc, two boys and their baby sister turn up. They claim to be from the future- where the Fantasia have failed their quest and the evil Nennog rules the world. Said evil genius sends his henchmen back through time after the children, and while all this is going on, the Fantasia still have to get the solar converter...

Maddigan's Quest, despite the lousy SFX and blatant disregard for the laws of Time Travel, is fun and great family viewing (although younger children will probably be frightened by some of the bad guys). There really needs to be more programmes like this, and I hope the book will soon be available over here as well as in Oceania.