pub: Network 7952210. 4 DVDs 9 stories 500 minutes plus extras. Price: £10.00 (UK) if you know where to look. stars: Michael Mackenzie, Roy Holder, Petra Markham, Donald Layne-Smith and Fred Owl.

check out website: www.networkdvd.co.uk

There's been a lot of talk over the years about erased episodes of 'Doctor Who' and a lot forgotten about ITV's children's TV series 'Ace Of Wands' where the first three seasons were stupidly erased simply because no one was in the office to say otherwise.

Unless you were like me and watched them when they were originally on TV back in the early 70s, then they aren't even memories. All we have left is Season 4 and a couple Dramaramas featuring its most notorious villain, Mr. Stabbs, and these are in this DVD boxset. Although the search has been done before, if any of you folk in other countries have TV connections, see what they have in their archives in case they have any trace of them. They could always be under a different can label.



So what is 'Ace Of Wands' about? Magician and illusionist Tarot (actor Michael Mackenzie) and his assistants getting involved in various adventures long before Bill Bixby did in the American TV series 'The Magician'. Actually, these are also two new assistants, brother and sister Chaz and Mikki Diamond (played by Roy Holder and Petra Markham) as Tarot's previous two have gone on to other things.

Creator Trevor Preston had observed that children back in the 70s were showing an interest in the adult shows their parents liked. Rather than have a series starring teens, he opted to create one starring adults. 'Course, the budget on children's TV isn't quite as much as for adult TV even today but it developed a cult following not only with children but with the student community as well. Looking at the viewing figures in the 90 page booklet, the numbers or up to 0.8-1.3 million viewers are something most shows today could only dream about.

If anything, they went up over the weeks but often it didn't always sink in the show was back on for 20 weeks and then word-of-mouth carried it on.

If anything, season 4 was toned down from the first three seasons. I remember one scene from the first season where Tarot was trapped in a box thrown into the river. In those days, kids were more sensible than to copy such things but a lot of this was eased back to only a few parlour tricks by the last season. Mind you, Tarot was hardly the type of hero who would bash the villains. The stories were based on suspense and problem-solving in unusual circumstances with villains which wouldn't have looked that far out from the TV 'Avengers'.

There was a lot more dependency on actors acting than effects and when you consider each episode was recorded in three days on a slender budget and still holds up all the more remarkable. Granted, even the cast admit, that the story pace wasn't that fast compared to today and the breaks between episodes could have been left more up in the air so to speak but you'd still want to see what happened next. If it couldn't have some things, it more than made up for in story content and any gaps was left for the imagination to fill in.

Of the significance with this season was the presence of P.J. Hammond, a writer who went on to create 'Sapphire And Steel' and recent stories of a certain Time Lord whom you all know. Victor Pemberton was also involved in the earlier 'Doctor Who' after his tenure here.

If anything, 'Ace Of Wands' was subtle storytelling and I'm surprised no one ever thought to do the series as an adult programme or even brought it back today cos the basic idea is still sound. With current budget and effects, it would soon grabs the hearts of today's TV reviewers.

Of the six stories here, I would consider the first, 'The Meddlers', the weakest but only in as much of having to introduce the new characters and blending with the villain of the piece who was manipulating to own an outdoor market. After that, 'The Power Of Atep' involving Egyptian mythology and 'Peacock Pie' where a mind manipulator played by Brian Wilde messes with their heads really raises the story level.

If anything, despite the magical influence, the stories are pretty much grounded in our reality and to the young minds back then could happen more likely than an alien encounter. Tarot was at the door keeping things self-contained. 'Mama Doc' with a lady taking control of people by making dolls of them and 'Sisters Deadly' where elderly spinsters sought to control a leading military man was just spooky. The final story, 'Beautiful People' was meant to lead into a fifth season and was left in a worse state than even the latter 'Sapphire And Steel' ended in.

If I have to be critical then the audio commentary was somewhat muted by the original soundtrack but that's a minor quibble.

There is also a three-part documentary meeting the cast as they are today plus its magic expert Ali Bongo. The real treat is seeing the superb Russell Hunter playing Mr. Stabbs in the 'Dramarama: Dutch Schlitz's Shoes' showing a complete contrast to the part of Lonely he played in 'Callan' showing what a dynamic presence he had. David Jason plays a younger Stabbs in the second Dramarama. An interesting version but Hunter's is the more compelling.

The 90 page illustrated booklet written by Andrew Pixley is recommended to be read after watching the series. Having followed the instruction, I tend to disagree. Read the production notes first and the episode guide up to season 4 to set the scene for you makes more sense. It's a really hefty read and Pixley ought to see if he can get one of the bigger publishers like Boxtree interested in getting a larger size version out there.

'Ace Of Wands' is a trip down memory lane. A reminder of when children's TV wasn't all glitz and running about. It might not necessarily have aged so well but I'm glad it's around to comment on.

GF Willmetts