Date: 2008-02-17 14:44 Subject: Raven Security: Public Tags: novel, raven, television

We’ve started watching children’s television.

No, this isn’t a sign that we’ve finally regressed all the way back to being ten years old. It’s just that... really, apart from Torchwood, there’s absolutely nothing worth watching on adult TV at the moment.

And we’ve had a revelation: some of the most exciting, creative and imaginative television is children’s television. Seriously. No doubt there’s a load of crap out there, but there is also one piece of sheer genius.

I’m talking about Raven (also see this). If you don’t know what Raven is, the conceit is that Raven, a magician, is training children to become the ultimate warrior, to fight the big bad/dark lord at the end. They have to perform various challenges--balance across a high bar up in the trees, fire a catapult at a floating platform, dodge swinging boulders while crossing a bridge, and so on--competing against each other, gathering golden rings and trying not to lose their lives. The theme, obviously, is high fantasy. The kids are all dressed up in pseudo-Medieval outfits and Raven himself is dressed in a cloak of black feathers.

There are great fantasy special effects, and, almost the best part, Raven talks in that Tolkien-derived high-fantasy speak that you feel guilty enjoying but love nonetheless: “Warriors! Behold the blasted mountain. It is an awesome sight, is it not? And a terrifying one. [...] This passage under the mountain is known to only a few, and fewer still dare enter it, but enter it you must [...] Quickly, my friends, the mountain has sensed our presence.” The mountain in this scene, of course, is completely CGI, but you’d never guess it from the way the kids react. It’s all done utterly seriously, and the kids are completely into it. There's no postmodern, ironic sneering here. Nobody is ashamed of any of it. In fact, the kids are the best part of the show. They are totally buying into it. They’ve all been given fantasy names, and their own standards. They are the kinds of kids that we all would have wanted to be.

Folks, this is where fantasy really is. This is the kind of thing we all wish we could get away with writing, if we had the chance. It’s creative, fun, unselfconscious and utterly involving. I only wish I’d discovered it before.

And now let's compare it with another kids’ show that really doesn’t work. It’s a show that is trying to do the same thing, but which just doesn’t get it. This is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. It's kind of a J K Rowling-themed show. The premise is that a bunch of kids are competing to learn magic so they can become The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Off they go to an old country manor, dress in Harry Potter-style robes, and learn magic. Should be fantastic, right?

Except it’s not. It’s not fantastic because the makers have turned it into a kids’ version of Big Brother (the reality TV show) or Pop Idol/American Idol. They’ve managed to recruit the most egotistical, obnoxious, vain and self-obsessed bunch of kids you could imagine. Ones who misbehave to get attention, who smirk and who whine horribly that they don’t get to wear their stylish clothes and spend hours on their hair. These are exactly the same kind of jerks you get on Big Brother, desperately showing off, shouting me-me-me. Yuck. There’s not a single one of them I could sympathise with. And their whining and showing off is what the show focuses on, not the magic or the competition.

Compare this to the kids on Raven who are sincere, determined and totally buying into the game. Those are the kids I want to write for. They’re not--at least on the show--self-conscious or egotistical. They are open and genuine and creative. If I could get a job writing for Raven, I think I’d be in Heaven.

If you get a chance to watch Raven (no idea if you can get it on BBC America) and you’re a kids’ writer, you should. These are your audience, and they’re ready to believe.

#

It’s been a while since a writing update, so here we go:

'Dragons of Mars' progress:



February 20th target:

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