I, like many here, first saw this show and it's sequels when I was a child in the 1980s. It was memorising, mostly because of the visual effects for Chocky herself and the sparkly vocal effect that was put on actress Glynis Brooks' voice.
Watching it again as a 42 year old adult it's surprising that they ever passed it off as a children's show. It's writing is advanced and far more complex than I think any child could really comprehend. In fact, I do recall not really knowing what the show was about when I was a boy as a lot of it flew over my head. Regardless, it's well acted and well written. Andrew Ellams is superb as Matthew, the boy who is chosen by the Alien entity to be a pupil. He shows a wide range of emotions and puts everything into his performance. It's amazing that Ellams never had any real acting experience previous to this, and also very sad that he never did any more acting after the Chocky saga.
The show isn't without it's problems though. It's a very slow affair, and the pacing feels drawn out - almost to the point where I felt that my attention was waning in certain parts (and that's my adult brain talking). Most of this first series involved the parents just sitting around talking, and I can't quite see how that would be entertaining for a child.
The second (my personal favourite) and third series have much better pacing and more focus on the children which makes for a superior watch I feel. However, despite it's sometimes turgid (some might say dull) pace, there is a better sense of authenticity to this first series.
Regardless of any shortcomings, this is a classic of it's genre, and part of the many "creepy kids shows" which were common at that time and helped to fire young imaginations.
Watching it again as a 42 year old adult it's surprising that they ever passed it off as a children's show. It's writing is advanced and far more complex than I think any child could really comprehend. In fact, I do recall not really knowing what the show was about when I was a boy as a lot of it flew over my head. Regardless, it's well acted and well written. Andrew Ellams is superb as Matthew, the boy who is chosen by the Alien entity to be a pupil. He shows a wide range of emotions and puts everything into his performance. It's amazing that Ellams never had any real acting experience previous to this, and also very sad that he never did any more acting after the Chocky saga.
The show isn't without it's problems though. It's a very slow affair, and the pacing feels drawn out - almost to the point where I felt that my attention was waning in certain parts (and that's my adult brain talking). Most of this first series involved the parents just sitting around talking, and I can't quite see how that would be entertaining for a child.
The second (my personal favourite) and third series have much better pacing and more focus on the children which makes for a superior watch I feel. However, despite it's sometimes turgid (some might say dull) pace, there is a better sense of authenticity to this first series.
Regardless of any shortcomings, this is a classic of it's genre, and part of the many "creepy kids shows" which were common at that time and helped to fire young imaginations.