Grasshopper Island (TV Series 1971) Poster

(1971)

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7/10
a charming pastorale
mundsen30 May 2006
Famous Five meets Arthur Ransome - that sort of thing. Not zany like the "Double Deckers"; in fact, probably the sort of thing that the Comic Strip sent up in the 80's.

But I was obviously the target demographic for this; I remember looking forward to it. Gentle, dreamy, and mysterious somehow. If I saw a copy, I'd buy it.

I confess I can't remember much about it, except Julian Orchard and Patricia Hayes - which should be enough of a recommendation. Also very early work from Tim Brooke-Taylor.

Never saw the last ep.

Never saw the last ep of "Danger Island", either.
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10/10
They don't make 'em etc etc
MrSqwubbsy1 December 2006
I too remember this from the early 1970s. The dreamy idyll that it portrayed now seems indistinguishable from that of my own long-gone childhood. I was obsessed by the series,as I recall,in the same way I was by Dr Who and other escapist entertainments made primarily for kids. But this one had a different frisson,it was set in a foreign country,with cypresses and crickets and that kind of sun that you just don't see in England and which exerts a strange fascination upon us as a result. I still have the book which came out at the same time with a picture from the TV programme on the cover. It was never repeated on TV and in those pre-VCR days this gives it a magical kind of status for me!I notice it can be obtained on DVD now but I dare not rewatch it for fear of spoiling the beautiful if dim memories it still holds for me.
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A lovely adventure from my childhood
JLanglo28 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Three young boys run away from home because they are tired of doing homework and brush their teeth everyday! A strange young takes them with him in his boat to the sea. One day they discover a desert island, - at least that is what they think... The boys are left on the beach, and they soon find a house that hasn't been used for a long time. They live happily on the island, thinking that they are alone, until some things start to disappear, and other things appear in strange places... It is Mr Button and his housewife who lives on the other other side of the island. Mr Button is a passionate grasshopper collector, and now he has lost one of his most valuable insects...

I remember this series with pleasure, and wish they would send it again on TV. The music was great, the story exciting, and I have read the book for many of my pupils, as the story still seems to fascinate children of all ages.
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10/10
I loved this
jamie-bnd8922 October 2022
I remember watching this as a kid. Can't remember much of it, just remember Charles Haltrey rowing a boat and three. It came out about the same time as catweazle. I know I enjoyed it but that's all I can remember unfortunately so haven't got much more to say about it so just thinking of stuff I can say to use up the six hundred characters required to be able to write this article. Oh well just over two hundred more characters to go, wait no its 152 now6. Wait a minute no its 121. Wow this is going fast just 93 now?! Actually it's just 60. Oh my word now I've just got twenty seven more to use up.
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Welcome to nostalgiaville!
slubbergullion20 February 2007
Like others here I saw this as a kid in the 70s, enjoying the escapist story set in a picturesque island setting, though not realising it was filmed in corsica (took some years before i discovered that england really ain't that sunny - thanks Grasshopper Island!)Saw the DVD recently & was relieved to see the magic was still there: unthreatening lazy day adventures in an improbable world where no one is worried about 3 kids running away from home. Just wonderful. But would the story still cut it today with kids raised in a world of computer games, rap videos & cellphones? I think it would, given that the themes of Great Escape and Fun-Without-Grownups are still as popular as ever - just look at the Harry Potter series. A good show for nostalgic middle-agers to watch with their kids.
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