Overlooked Cult UK TV - King Of The Castle

Doctor Who. The Prisoner. The Avengers. Blake’s 7. Space: 1999. All massively well known classic British sci fi/fantasy series and all much picked over, discussed, debated and analysed. So let’s not talk about them*. During the 60s and 70s (and to an extent the 80s), there was a wealth of cult TV scattered all over the schedule, most of which don’t get a lot of coverage. Let’s do a little bit in this tiny corner to redress the balance , shall we? Yes, it’s time for another theme that will probably drop by the wayside after a week or so. (Still, keeps me off the streets for a bit, eh?)

I’m going to start with a selection of series made ostensibly for children’s television but don't seem like the sort of show that would be ear-marked for kids nowadays. It seems that, in the 70s in particular, television executives either weren’t afraid to expose young minds to concepts that might be tricky to understand or paid so little attention to what was going out in the kids slots that the programme makers could get away with murder (I suspect a little from Column A and a little from Column B depending on the show).

So What Is It? King Of The Castle, a seven episode single serial; aired in May/June 1977.

What’s It About? Roland, a smart child who doesn’t quite fit in at his new private school as he’s not from an affluent background, is also bullied at the tower block where he lives with his dad and stepmother for going to that very same school. To escape the bullies, he retreats into a broken lift and finds himself plunged into the dungeon of a strange fantasy world, the Castle, peopled by twisted versions of people from his real life. To escape, he must find the King Of The Castle…

Why’s It Good? The first episode sets the tone and is surprisingly stylish, being mostly shot on location and film, and with lots of dynamic camera work (dutch angles, a hint of fish eye lens) accompanied by some full-on performances (Fulton Mackay in particular is very much enjoying himself). The world of the Castle itself (while looking a little cheaper given that it’s studio-based and shot on video) is realised with a nice sense of surrealism and feels suitably nightmarish. The elements tackled within are surprisingly adult - the stepmother analogue’s entreaties for him to love her are weirdly Oedipal and the episode dealing with the frustrating circularity of bureaucracy has the feel of Brazil if it had been made a seventies kids show. While there are obviously shades of both Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard Of Oz within it, the writers have stated that Kafka was more of an influence (and which current kids shows are likely to say that??).

70s Connections:- Writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin wrote for both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker on Doctor Who (and were the creators of K9).

Extra Trivia:- Bob Baker also co-wrote for Wallace And Gromit.

70s Tropes:- Dead/Missing Mothers (seems to come up a lot in 70s kids telly); May Contain Adult Themes (being wooed by his stepmother and having to defeat his father; spirit-crushing bureaucracy); Creepy Theme Music (children's choir singing about being King Of The Castle to organ music? Yup, it's definitely on the creepometer)



* Apart from the times that I have and/or will talk about them, that is. As always, I reserve the right to both make and break the rules around here.