The Animals of Farthing Wood

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To the Rescue" (based upon The Missing Fox's Friend, Adventure for the Birds, and Scared Silly by Snakes) The wonderful voice work of actors such as Ron Moody brought to life a colourful array of characters named for their species: Fox, Badger, Owl, Weasel and so on.

Colin Dann was born in Richmond, London, in 1943. After leaving the local grammar school he worked first for a large textile company before his real love – the world of books – brought him a job in publishing. He worked for William Collins, Sons & Co. for 13 years. During this time, in odd hours at home, Colin wrote his first book, The Animals of Farthing Wood, which was published finally in 1979 after years of trying. It was an immediate success, winning awards is now translated into sixteen languages. The book has never been out of print since its first publication 25 years ago. Six sequels and one prequel have followed and enjoyed similar success. Death is a constant threat throughout the book as some of the other animals won’t complete the journey. The Weasels' Adventure" (based upon The Missing Fox's Friend, Tiffs and Tempers, and The Long Tailed Visitor) The Animals of Farthing Wood is a tale about the residents of Farthing Wood's quest to move to White Deer Park after their home is bulldozed over.I also enjoyed the message that went with every animals uniqueness: we all have a place and a part to play in life; no matter how small or large; weak or strong. I appreciated the way Dann did not shy away from adressing the realities of life: death, suffering, hardship and hunger; but met these topics head on, with hope intertwined. The show also had much to say about other issues, including the impact of human activity on animals and their environment. A gripping, exciting and emotional story where the Animals of Farthing Wood must leave their home because of humans destroying the land to build houses. Toad reveals he knows a nature reserve where they can all go and live safely from human intervention and so the animals make an oath to protect one another on the dangerous journey to the nature reserve White Deer Park. Production: A Martin Gates Production in association with Telemagination (London), Praxinos (Montpeller) for the BBC Enterprises

Badger was at his worst when he crowed "I told you so" [well he did say he was right] to force the field mice and Vole to stay behind, when their babies are eaten. Farthing Wood was written many years before Frost Dancers but both had psychotic birds who killed. Frost Dancer's Bubba was more fleshed out than the Butcher Bird. Watered-down versions of episode storylines were also featured as a running story in 'Farthing Wood Friends', illustrated using photographic stills from the series. Between magazine coverages of second and third series episodes, abridgements of Colin Dann's original stories were used to fill the void, entitled 'Tales From Farthing Wood'. Another book adaptation of the running story employed for series one was released by Ted Smart Publishing, with illustrations by Stuart Trotter.

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Written by: Alan Case, Steve Walker, Sue Butterworth, Jenny McDade, Gordon Harrison, Elphin Lloyd-Jones, Valerie Georgeson One thing that the tv adaptation improved on was changing some of the animals into female characters, it gives a more diverse feel to the story.