The Changes

The Changes is a 1975 BBC serial based on the trilogy of books by Peter Dickinson.  It tells the story of a sudden, intense noise that triggers a terror and a hatred for all technology more advanced than cutlery, and which, after an orgy of smashing, reverts the country to the level of mediaeval times.  Through this bleak new (old) world we follow schoolgirl Nicky Gore (Victoria Williams) in her travels to find safety, family and ultimately the cause of 'the noise'.

After becoming separated from her parents Nicky briefly attaches herself to a Sikh family who, unaffected by 'the noise', are very sensibly leaving the desolation of the cities to find a safe haven in the countryside, before striking out on her own.  Along the way she is involved in a deadly battle with bandits, is accused of witchcraft, and is involved in a cross country tugboat chase all of which she endures with a calm, practical, stoicism that shows such events were par for the course for a young girl in 1970s Britain.

Having been shot on film 'The Changes' still looks as good today as it did at the time and the 10 episode run means the story is allowed time to develop, although it maybe could have maybe done with being pruned by a half hour or so.  The first half of the story - mostly taken from 'The Devil's Children', the third book in Dickinson's trilogy - is arguably the more cohesive but this is no surprise as it's the closest to the source material - the only one in the series to feature Nicky.  The second half which takes much of it's story from the second novel, 'Heartsease', feels a little wobbly in places and lacks some of the conviction of the first half but still moves the story along admirably to it's rather odd conclusion.

This is classic 'Wyrd Britain' television that easily stands alongside not just other kid friendly shows of the time such as 'Children of the Stones' but, with it's darker hued moments of murder, xenophobia and religious tyranny, also with more adult orientated shows such as 'Survivors', and that the whole thing is soundtracked on synth (and occasional sitar) by BBC Radiophonic Workshop stalwart Paddy Kingsland is a very welcome added bonus.

All 10 episodes can be found below (I couldn't get the playlist to embed).

Enjoy.


THE CHANGES épisode 1/10 (1975) V.O... by nicholas-dubreuil

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

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