Children of the Stones is a 1977 television drama for children produced by ITV network. I know of this show mainly because of the late Gareth Thomas. So, I decided to watch it because I had heard good things about it.
Astrophysicist Adam Brake and his son Matthew go to a village called Millbury which has a megalithic circle of stones in the middle of it. (It’s filmed on the prehistoric monument of Avebury) Things get strange as soon as they arrive. First of all, the housekeeper and neighbors all seem abnormally happy. Matthew has strange feelings of evil and is immediately hostile towards the new neighbor. His father chides him, but Matthew can’t help but feel something is wrong. We later learn that Matthew has some psychic abilities and this is why he reacts the way he does.
When Matthew goes to school he soon discovers the other children are doing high level science and math well beyond the school years. Matthew makes a few friends at school who are still ‘normal’ like him. They warn him that the neighbors are slowly being changed and this is connected to the stones and the mysterious town leader. There is a heady mix of black holes, time paradoxes, and weird paranormal history in a short miniseries. At time, Children of the Stones is frightening. There are only seven episodes but I had a good time watching it.
Sure, it’s rather low budget, (yeah, the clothes are dated) but it’s well-acted and the writing is solid. Plus, this is a show that treats children as if they are capable of understanding complex ideas. There is no dumbing down to sell something. At the same time, the father-son relationship is convincingly done.
There is also a novelization of the story which you can find in paperback and e-book.
THE ECHO ZONE 
This sounds fun. I enjoy those 70’s shows (sometimes just because of the clothes – did I really wear that?) I have added it to my must watch list. Thank you.
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Happy Day! I have had the chance to watch this now. Interesting. (The clothes really weren’t that bad.) The beginning brought to mind Dark Shadows, of all things. I think it was the music(?) and/or the “waves of stone” that the opening sequence implied. In spite of the ambiguity, I liked the ending. Worth the watch. Thank you for the recommend.
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Happy Day! back at you. So glad you watched it. It is a bit ambiguous, but that makes it creepier. But oh, the clothes. Watch the original Tomorrow People; some of those outfits make your eyes hurt. 🙂 Oddly enough, I still haven’t seen Dark Shadows. I say oddly because its been on my TBW(to be watched ) list for years and I never seem to get around to it.
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Considering that is was a daytime soap that lasted somewhere around 10 years, there is a lot of Dark Shadows to watch. I am old enough that I got to see it “live” – can you believe it? Back in the day they actually did soaps live – and I also own the series. It is such a hoot to watch. Not only are we watching the clothing of the 60’s and 70’s but because it was live all the mistakes are there too – like doors that won’t open or close, the boom falling into the picture, back stage staff staff walking through the scene, walls shaking when they aren’t supposed to, not to mention goofed dialog. So fun. And campy! OMG. The story line goes from basic soap opera fair to a vampire moving to town, then a witch and a werewolf. As if that isn’t enough story line, then begins the time travel. It was a wild ride. If you ever get the chance, it is so worth the watch.
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