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Moondial

1988

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Part One Feb 10, 1988

Moondial begins with an opening night sequence showing a girl in old fashioned nightdress running through a gateway and into a church ground, she then opens a very large gate and enters a garden garden - she reaches a large grey / white statue and clasps the moondial it supports. She then runs back towards a dark old house with a single light in the doorway. She runs along the path leading up to the light and then up some large stone steps. She peers inside and sees a small girl running towards her on the other side of the glass. Through the window a struggle between a young girl and an older person can be seen. After the death of her father Minty and her mother visit Aunt Mary (Minty's godmother). It is hoped that the break in the country will help Minty and her mother come to terms with the loss. Aunt Mary used to look after Kate when she was younger as Minty has her bedroom. Her mum shows Minty round the bedroom - full of old photos and in particular an old patchwork quilt full of A

EP2 Part Two Jan 01, 0001

Minty returns to the garden and walks down a long pathway set between the lawns. She seems to know that she has been here before but is unsure when. Minty then sees the Moondial (she calls it a sundial) and as in her dream the night before she touches it. Minty appears to become faint. She clasps her head in her hands as she is becoming more and more disorientated. All at once the spinning feeling reduces and Minty appears to come to herself although the surroundings appear slightly different. She sees an estate gardener in the distance disappear and then reappear before her eyes. The moondial then starts to spin very fast. Minty holds her head and keeps her eyes closed during this motion. She steps off the Moondial unsure of where she is and runs towards the house. Mr Benson asks Minty to return to the hospital as there has been no change in her mum Kate's condition. Minty then goes back into the large house and stands in the main entrance (black and white chequered floor). She then w

EP3 Part Three Jan 01, 0001

We learn that Tom's sister Dorrie (coachman gave him a message) has sent some word of where she is. Minty agrees with Tom that it would appear he has grown in stature since they last met. Tom then admits that Minty is not the only ghost he has found in the gardens, she is smaller and only seen at night. He reveals that Sarah is her name, to which Minty says that she has also seen her. Before anything else can be said, the gardener (Mags) appears and shouts at Tom . Both children run off and hide round the back of the house. On looking around the corner Minty sees a coach and family with maids and footmen in attendance. Tom is again shouted at by the footman who apparently cannot see Minty though. Tom at this point discovers that he is the only one who can see Minty and in order to prove this, takes her into the kitchen. The cook and maids look right through her and admonish Tom for standing doing nothing. The nasty cook grabs Tom and marches him down dark corridor and locks him in dark

EP4 Part Four Jan 01, 0001

The Moondial comes to a stop and Minty is again back in the past and finds it is night there to. She leaves the Moondial and walks down the path in the dark. Minty continues down the dark path and hears a girls voice singing and catches glimpses of others following the singer. The singer is Sarah a young girl and gradually she is surrounded by hooded boys all chanting ""What's the time Mr. Wolf?"" They shout louder and louder, then the words change and Minty hears them shouting ""Moondial"" - ""Moondial"" - ""Moondial."" The chanting again changes to ""Devil's child."" Sarah starts screaming and so Minty rushes forward shouting. The boys are frightened by this unexpected course of events and so scatter in all directions. Another voice is then heard harshly shouting ""Sarah"", ""Sarah."" Sarah, then falls to the ground in a faint. The hooded figures vanish into the night and the Governess, for want of another title, then appears - lifts Sarah to her feet and reviles her with the words ""you really are

EP5 Part Five Jan 01, 0001

Ms Raven asks Minty to show her the gardens and Minty reluctantly does. Minty tries to move Ms Raven away from the direction of the moondial but Ms Raven heads straight for it. Minty tries to distract her by whistling but this fails. Ms Raven asks Minty if she feels anything as she stands near the moondial. To Minty's relief, Ms Raven then sees the church and heads off towards it leaving a slightly happier Minty. Minty gets up at dawn the next day and goes to the moondial. She touches the dial, closes her eyes and it begins to spin. Next she is seen by Tom, who quickly asks her to come with him. They both see Sarah, she is walking on her own singing quietly in daylight. She gets to the fountain whilst talking to a flower. Tom calls out to her and we get to see her face as she turns around. We see she is a lovely young girl with a birthmark down one side of her face. Sarah instantly runs off but is pursued by Tom and Minty. They all enter the house at which point Tom and Minty realise t

EP6 Part Six Jan 01, 0001

After a brief stop at the hospital Minty finds herself back in the graveyard. She sees Tom who informs her that Dorrie is spitting blood as well. She now finds out that Tom's name is really Teddy Larkin and that Tom is just a nick name. Minty asks him to meet her at the moondial at midnight tonight. Minty hears that Ms Raven is going on a ghost hunt that very night. Minty feels that something is going to happen tonight. She looks at the church from the window and thinks that she needs a lucky charm to protect her. Suddenly she realises what charm is necessary. She goes and fetches a small hand mirror which has the mirror in the shape of a cross. At about 11:30 or so Ms Raven sets off. Minty also leaves and heads for the moondial. She meets Tom sitting on the moondial. Minty thinks she knows who the figure is on the moondial. They both stand on the dial and she says ""light and shadows in turns but always love"" The dial then spins and they both appear in a new time, it is cold November n
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Synopsis

Moondial is a British television serial made for children by the BBC and transmitted in 1988, with a repeat in 1990. It was written by Helen Cresswell, who also wrote the novel on which the series was based. The story deals with a young girl, Minty, staying with her aunt after her mother is injured in a car accident. Minty spends much of her time wandering around the grounds of a nearby mansion, and is drawn to a moondial that enables her to travel back in time, where she becomes involved with two children, Tom, who lives in the Victorian era, and Sarah, who seems to live in "the previous century" to that, and must save them from their own unhappy lives. Regarded as a nostalgic favourite by followers of 1980s BBC children's drama, Moondial employs extensive location filming and fantastical, dreamlike imagery. The series was produced by Paul Stone and directed by Colin Cant. Other cast members include Valerie Lush as Minty's aunt Mary, Arthur Hewlett as the elderly, mysterious Mr. World and Jacqueline Pearce in the dual role of the vicious Miss Vole and the present-day ghost hunter Miss Raven.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Arthur Hewlett

Moondial
Moondial
The Night Visitor
The Night Visitor
Dilemma
Dilemma

Reviews

Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting
Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
lucky_ducks This Six part childrens was just brilliant. Minty is a rather sulky teenager sent to live with her aunt following her fathers death. She finds a beautiful garden in at the local manor house and there is a sundial in the centre of the garden. Minty has strange mental powers and when she touches the dial she becomes dizzy! when she recovers she finds she has been transported through time to the turn of the century. Here she finds the manor house filled with maids and servants and lords and ladies. But there is a girl who is trapped in the house as she has a disfiguring birthmark which is seen as a devils mark! Minty with the help of the servant tom must rescue the girl before she becomes part of a sacrifice.