Mallory Towers!

[PlomBear]

On BBC iplayer from Monday!

I've watched a few episodes but it's made me realise how little I remember from the books. I'm sure they're all still at my DPs house so I'll have to get them the next time we're able to go over there (which might be a good few weeks obviously.)

Just watched the first episode, dd and I were aghast at Matron. She's just so wrong! Matron is meant to be jolly and kind but she's absolutely horrible in this adaptation. And Mamzelle is glam! How bizarre!

Jean was Alicia’s shrewd Scot friend, wasn’t she?

I thought Betty was Alicia's friend -- witty, amoral, hard...

I think the closest we get to a disability in the book is mousy Clarissa's glasses and braces (which she discards to emerge as a gorgeous, green-eyed, shiny-toothed Amazon) and the various injuries that are viewed as self-inflicted -- Amanda the potential Olympic swimmer who swims in the sea and is badly injured, and Mavis, who sneaks out to sing in a talent contest in a storm and loses her voice for years.

Someone has a heart condition can't remember who? which Gwendoline copies to get out of games, and is punished by public exposure and then her father becoming an invalid so that she has to go out to work, rather than go to finishing school. EB simply could not give that girl a single break...

Now I remember Jean, and Betty.
EB was making an example of GML wasn't she?!

Was Jean one of the nice responsible, blah girls who EB invented to be Head of Form from time to time because it couldn't always be Darrell, Sally or any of the other main characters?

No Jean, the "shrewd Scots girl" was a regular until they went up to the fourth form, when she just disappeared. I think she went up to the fifth or something. Blyton was always having girls going up to the next form while others stayed behind, I assumed it was a thing in the 40s when there were still children who hadn't been to school before.

Is Irene in this one? The one who's very good at maths and music, but a bit scatterbrained? And then there's Belinda who's good at art. She might not join until the next year though. I might have to get my books out of the loft!

Yes Irene is in it but Belinda only joined the school in the second form, along with Daphne and Ellen the cheating scholarship girl.

I think Malory Towers could be my Mastermind topic!

I was shocked at matron as well!! She was more like Miss Trunchbull than kindly matron - who'd never be scared of a mouse, surely??! Mamzelle Dupont was scared of mice in the books iirc...

I don't agree with the glamorous Mamzelle Rougier (if that was her name, v rusty on my MT these days) in this version either.

Aside from GML, the cast are all wrong! Not due to diversity reasons - just features.

Alicia is tall and angular, Darrell is brown eyed with short hair, and Sally is small, pinched and mousy.

And WTF bastardised creation is this Mamzelle....?!?

I always liked this Malory Towers tribute:

www.compulsiveconfessions.com/2014/04/what-happened-after-malory-towers.html?m=1

And I’m sure you’ve all found:

blytonlyobvious.blogspot.com/2010/05/gwendoline-mary-heroine-of-our-time.html?m=1

Ah I loved the books as a child! I think I may watch just for a bit of nostalgia.

Watched the first one today. Loved it!

They've basically made Matron into the Mamzelle Dupont character (presumably to avoid anti-French jokes). Mlle Rougier and Miss Grayling are both more glam than expected.
Not sure why we need the random errand boy, but Jean has just been snarky to Gwen which is great.
I'm sure in the books Darrell has straight brown hair.

I think they've amalgamated the Mam'zelle DuPont character with Matron, who was no fool in the books.

They've made Gwen more clever and knowing, rather than struggling, dim and fat, which makes sense but does make the series feel like the Worst Witch without magic.

I dont really remember much of the books, I preferred St Clare's (purely because i read them first)
My dream school however was Whyteleaf from The Naughtiest girl series.

DS2 didn't want to watch it (he is 13 so hardly surprising) but is hooked since recognising Trevone - his favourite beach.

Forgot to say, I love all their blankets. Some crocheted, some knitted some patchwork. I can imagine their Mum's making them to send them off to school with

What is the point of Enid Blyton if you can’t be —ridiculously— a tad xenophobic towards the French...?!?

(I love the French and speak French - most likely due to Malory Towers and Chalet School overload as a child.)

I am on the fourth episode on the trot just to monitor how wrong this this all is.

This was how I imagined Darrell! Short dark curly hair.

I’m not happy about Alicia-she was terribly terribly English in the books.

Also can’t believe matron is Big Mand!

OVER INVESTED

Yes that's how I imagined her too. The uniforms in the series aren't right either!

But I like some of the little touches like giving Miss Grayling a fiancé who was killed in WWI.

But I like some of the little touches like giving Miss Grayling a fiancé who was killed in WWI

DD and I did laugh and say to each other, ‘she never would have had a man-she was like an angel!’ but I do rather like that too. They did that with the Miss Marple remakes as well.