Storyteller
When you think of films that managed to conjure up a genuine fantasy universe that made you feel like you were right there in the world you were watching, very few examples actually stand out. For me, The Company of Wolves captured the feeling of a dark fairy tale kingdom like no other movie of the early 80s, while Labyrinth captured the light side of the coin exceptionally well. When it comes to TV, however, only one series really encapsulated my childhood passion for fantasy…and that was Jim Henson’s Storyteller. Delivered as an episodic group of fireside tales by one John Hurt at the top of his game, The Storyteller took a handful of already pretty great German and Russian folk tales and wove them into something truly magical. Anthony Minghella’s scripting across the entire series was outstanding, and the concept art and feel of the show completely captured viewers in the UK (my own memory was from Sunday afternoons). Here’s my list of the episodes in order of the effect they had on me.
Illustrations: Darcy May
The Soldier and Death
The best of the entire series (and that’s against some pretty heavy competition) is - in my opinion - The Soldier and Death. The only story based on an original Russian folk tale sees the eponymous antihero (played by the late and incredibly great Bob Peck) acquire a magic sack from a mysterious stranger on his way back from the war. His ensuing journey, filled with hilarious demons, conversational innkeepers and a particularly memorable incarnation of the Grim Reaper himself, makes for completely unforgettable viewing. Quote of the episode: “Is he cheating? No? Well, I am….and I’m still losing.” Amazing.
The Heartless Giant
A traditional European fairy tale (believed to be Norwegian in origin) given a dark spin by introducing Leo as a truly innocent and kind-hearted boy who inadvertently frees a monster and throws a kingdom (and his own family) into turmoil before taking on the responsibility of bringing the vengeful giant to justice. A fabulous story with a remarkably sad ending, very well executed.
Fearnot
Another classic European fairy tale, although the real magic in this one comes from the performance of Reece Dinsdale (later to be seen as John Thaw’s hapless son Matthew in Home to Roost) as the title character, a boy who ‘goes forth’ to learn the nature of fear and finds out the hard way that it can be learned at home. Another brilliant take on a familiar story.
The Luck Child
The Luck Child contains several memorable scenes and is dominated by the ones involving the ‘Griffon’, a brilliantly crafted puppet from the creature shop that manages to be both funny and terrifying at the same time. It also contains some themes/motifs from several different tales, including the timeless boatman on the dark waters who can only leave his post if he is replaced. Funny, engaging and wise.
The True Bride
A really unusual take on the Grimm version of The True Sweetheart fairy tale in which a troll and his wonderfully inspired Trollop daughter torments, ensnares and bedevils the life of a Cinderella archetype (played here magnificently by a very young Jane Horrocks). It’s a fragmented story but one well worth watching for the trollop alone! Also, check out Sean Bean’s portrayal of a young prince, many years before he would play an old prince equivalent as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones!
A Story Short
The strangest of all nine tales is, as far as I can tell, a completely original mashup of several different fairy tale themes and involves the storyteller fooling a cook and becoming embroiled in a war with a wandering conjurer. I recognised at least one of these tales from my old ‘Story Teller 2’ cassette tapes (Stone Soup), but the rest of it is a bit of a mystery to me.
Sapsorrow
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders steal the show in this retelling of Cinderella. Apart from an inspired title and a solid enough performance from the lead, I found this one a bit hard to like and haven’t rewatched it quite as much as some of the others.
The Three Ravens
I really struggled with ‘The Three Ravens’, which has much to recommend it in terms of casting (Joely and Miranda Richardson are both brilliant in their respective roles), but I found the overall story very simplistic and forgettable.
Hans My Hedgehog
The weakest of the series (my opinion only) nevertheless gets off to a good start with a completely fascinating creature as the protagonist, a hedgehog/human hybrid who is a figure of disgust and a constant disappointment to his dismissive father (played here brilliantly by Eric Richard, ‘The Bill’s Sergeant Bob Cryer’). Unfortunately, the whole thing goes downhill for me as soon as it develops into a sped-up retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
