Talk:Children of the Stones

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Contents 1 Black Hole 2 Painting 3 Confusion 4 Source Citation

[edit] Black Hole

Surely the black hole would eventually move out of alignment due to precession of the Earth? -unsigned anon user

Maybe that was why the main villian had all the computers in the basement and had to brainwash everyone within a certian amount of time. -Husnock 16:19, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Painting

Does anyone have any idea who actually painted the evil painting that is seen in the series. Apart from being a scary prop, it was in fact a very good piece of art. -Husnock 16:19, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree, but I'm afraid I don't know the answer. --bodnotbod 17:58, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

The picture is not necessarily "evil" - it just exists to prevent the link/the circle being completed. (Whether the picture will change the "people leaving" to reflect the number/gender of the people who will break the pattern next time is idle speculation.) Jackiespeel 18:04, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

In the novelization, after Matt and Adam break the spell, they go to retrieve the painting only to find that the original painting has been replaced with an innocuous pastoral scene.

[edit] Confusion

I remember seeing an episode of this when it first aired in the 70s as a little boy. It was terrifying. I watched it again on DVD recently and was surprised (and pleased!) that it was still terrifying. But I have to say the clarity of the backstory contained in this article is not in the series. I had no idea of what was going on in the last episode which seemed to make very little sense. A shame as otherwise the series is brilliant. True British horror in the tradition of The Stone Tape and Nigel Kneale. We don't seem to able to find that atmosphere in our horror any more. ThePeg30 June 2006

Presumably once the Brakes leave the stone circle they return to normality - which is why Matthew wonders whether the events actually happened. There may well be a distinction between "permanent inhabitants" and "passers through" - otherwise why have a permanent museum (and occasionally inhabitants might leave). A parallel universe scenario could also be invoked - Dai's change of vocation, and the practicalities of the change of ownership of the central big house.

The novelization more-or-less confirms that the circle is a parallel universe (though still, unhelpfully, not using that term for it). It is clear, though, that this is the concept Burnham and Ray are trying to get across. Adam comes close to using the phrase in the finale episode when he says "we're in a 'now' that's parallel to our own." He also notes failing to mention "the time turning." Parallel universes in speculative fiction are sometimes described in terms of time, rather than space, as going "sideways in time" (rather than forward or backward) as one episode of The New Twlight Zone put it. The idea of 'sideways in time' refers to alternate events diverging from one point, both existing in parallel time streams (and hence, parallel universes). If you travel to the same moment in time, but into the other universe, you could be said to be time traveling not forward, nor backward, but sideways. Strong support for this is indicated in the penultimate scene when Margaret notes that Sandra will be furious to know she missed Matt and Adam leaving and remarks that Matt is "best in the class." This indicates that during the experiences of Matt and Adam as we see them, in the post-climax restored universe, there must have been duplicates of Matt and Adam having a very normal experince during their time in a very normal Milbury... a Milbury that has not yet had the power of the stone circle tapped by a malevolent neo-druidic magus. For one thing, the Matt that we see in the series is clearly not the best in the class. An interesting ontological quandary posed here is what happened to Normal Matt and Normal Adam who experienced their time in Normal Milbury? They are clearly replaced by Our Matt and Our Adam, so are the consigned to oblivion? Do they bump over to yet another strange parallel world? A sequel had always been planned, but did not come to fruition. Perhaps these questions would have been explored further. -- tuttlemsm

More of the actual plot could be included - Matthew's psychic ability, Dai's abode (and the appearance of the symbol at his feet at the end), the "not-quite-relationship" between Adam and Margaret, the transformation of the people as Henderson "converts" them etc Jackiespeel 18:19, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

So add them! It's a wiki!

I have made slight enhancements to the plot structure, particularly as pertaining to the Time Circle and its slightly-different variations (e.g., Dai is a poacher in one iteration, then a blade-sharpener in the next, etc.). In so doing I have attempted to remain factual, steering clear of original research; if you disagree, please re-phrase rather than deleting/removing entirely. Sskoog 17:31, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Nice work people. Good memories also. I'll have to rewatch this one. HasleMere (talk) 02:56, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Source Citation

My correction of the DVD error comes from conversations with the composer Sidney Sager, who, before he died, was the topic of a paper I had written while at the University of Bristol. I also had access to the musical score (i.e., the score written on music paper) itself. tuttlemsm