Look and Read: Dark Towers (1 of 10)

[axemasterj]

As soon as the music started my hair stood on end all along my arms and I could remember the classroom we watched this in - Mr Hancocks class, Bishop Rawle School, Cheadle, Staffordshire - 1983 - hey groovy there's a Jimi Hendrix song called 1983 ( A Merman I Should Turn to Be) :D Coincidence? Well, yes it is haha. I proper loved this porogramme and this was one of the most mega stories - Wasn't there one called Badger Girl? That was lame compared with this!

[BuckhamHiya]

Geordie racer forgot about that one lol

[TheX4honda]

richard lee school 1984 coventry

[henryyydarkkk]

"I like books better than people"

What a wonderfully subversive, horrible line to insert into a TV programme for 6 year olds

[AndyThePerve]

i remember we used to watch this in lower school true memories! they dont make stuff like this no more :(

[bibmo28]

Geordie Racer - that was another one! ha!

[emmarcelful]

never forgot the title song, thanx for finding this.

[malBOROkid]

look, i know you didn't write shoot or produce this, but thank you, boy from space has always stuck with me, this was a forgotten memory,always remember tuesdays,we all went to a different room,teacher wheeled in a big tv/vhs player,drew the curtains,and we all sat cross legged,GOLDEN MEMORIES

[Agui007]

Sorry...the music was by Roger Limb!

[jbl456]

@freakybannayou.. Wizadora????

[jbl456]

WOW! Simple as that....

[Freakybananayo]

hey we had to watch this in primary school and through the dragons eye and there was an other one with this kid that lived in a candy shop i cant remember it

[krugerfuchs]

what year was this thanks

[nottsaboutart]

That knight scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. I cant believe that teachers made us watch this!!!!

[Agui007]

@nottsaboutart Lol, yes I too used to watch this in primary school (when we could dress how we liked) ah the good old days of indoctrination lol! Mind you I liked my childhood in many ways. I remember this all too well and the music for this is done by Paddy Kingsland (Dr Who).

[nikkigr53wal]

To this date i am still scared of this



[paulgeekie]

I was shown this in Primary 2 (age 6) I'm 34 now and it still scares the living shit out of me! I can clearly remember me screaming to Miss McGill of Northmuir Primary to switch it off in utter terror!

[agentolshki]

ah dark towers, i remember it well. you know i had a small part in that series... yes, thats right, i was towser.

[ste1bro]

The lad who played Edward Dark is now a script editor for Doctor Who ( and ex editor of the Doctor Who magazine )!

[BuckhamHiya]

Omg I loved this at school it was well scary but oh dear age and growing up hasn't helped it much but great memories that theme tune is so catchy

[jonty78]

This used to scare the shit out of me at school!!

[MrUNIXman]

Well remembered from primary school

[SirCrouch1]

When was this?!

[feckingbillgates]

Does anybody have this story without all the middle bits with Wordy and the animations etc cut out?

[Londonman84]

@feckingbillgates This upload does, this is the only episode where the uploader left the snippet with Wordy the horrible typewriter part and the batty old librarian.

[RobRobintv]

l liked Dark Towers, but thought The Boy From Space was better! Got The Boy From Space on my channel with the songs bits and without.

[wizardsam1975]

Thank you so much for this! I still have the book from primary school!

[findusfunk]

Come with me... to Dark Towerrrrrrrs!

Still remembered this after 30 years O_o

[feckingbillgates]

Was a bit cut out after the librarian said she'd show us around her library?

[Sweetspeas]

6:24 what a rude bitch I would of kicked her out

[GeorgeHarrison66]

I've been looking for this for literally years!!! I loved watching this as a kid growing up in the mid 80's. The knight scared the crap out of me!!

[jason241972]

tracey thought boys were daft she thought girls were daft...she thought dolls were daft......in fact she thought the whole world was daft...." great memorys this 

[Excelsior2007]

I remember watching this in school, when I was growing up in the 1980s.

[beagles32]

I remember we used to watch this every Monday morning in year 2 and the whole class was singing the theme tune xD I used to love it ;) Some of it freaked me out ahaha :P Thanks for uploading!

[timhansen101]

OK, this must have been the most trippy children's TV series ever.

BTW, should there have been an apostrophe in children's? Oh damn! Why didn't I pay more attention to Wordy when I had the chance, it's too late now!

[twittykins]

@timhansen101

The perils of a misspent youth!

[st1cklebr1ck]

This terrified me when I was a kid. I loved it!

[danlfc1983]

Watched this at school when I was 7 and that talking picture scared the shite out of me then haha!

[CraptinPants76]

I can't thank you enough for these wonderful memories..........FANTASTIC!!!

[Psfreakman300]

we watched this in school ages ago

[amr7037]

plees sum1 take me bdack i miss those simple days

[adiva682]

my cousin used to have a toy dog, i THINK it was merchandise from dark towers, and it was definitely called Towser... my aunt gave it away years ago, and its his 21st birthday coming up soon... i want to get him something special... anybody know if i could find him a new one?

[sonicology]

Dark Towers is brought to you in association with Jacob's - the Number 1 brand of "Crackers!"

[dowling1981]

@sonicology Is it true that Ian Beale is a fan of dark towers?

[shahideurope]

Tracey is supposed to be a girl - she looks about 30!!!

[avfcgoffy]

this takes me back to a time of atari 2600s, top loading vhs players and choppers(the bikes i mean, i wasnt a catholic schoolboy!)

[RichXbox360]

Grr FFS even when I was 5 in 1981 I thought "Wordy" as an annoying cunt.

[saturn1returns]

@RichXbox360 He liked his 'Magic E's' tbf.

[RichXbox360]

I miss good educational TV like this, bring back the 80s!

[davecook1976]

Ha.This is great.I was hunting for it for ages and managed to get a copy from ebay.Was well happy.Takes me right back to primary when i saw it.Brilliant.What a great theme tune..creepy.

[richieh1980]

I've been asking people about this and The boy from space for years and no one knew what I was going on about. So glad I found this and the others :D Many childhood memories

[Marko7T4]

Brilliant thanks a lot for uploading this. I remember it well from watching it a school. Best bit ever was when the Dark Knight first appeared in the Dark Knights folly, that was pretty scary to a 6 year old :-)

[Scotsman876]

This is awesome!!! Thank you for the memories.

[plissken1973]

if anyone is interested i have a large selection of the look and read series on dvd , please email me for deatils on bigcastle@hotmail.co.uk

[mrnicey2006]

Awesome!! cant believe this is on youtube!! i used to love this when i was at primary school. to be fair, wordy, still gets on my tits as much now as he did back then!! ahhahahahah. thanks alot for putting this up, i really enjoyed a wee trip down memory lane.

[RevImhotep]

I'm having the flashbacks of sitting crosslegged on the floor with the rest of the class in front of the giant telly... I think this was my first look n read!

[Runrome]

who sang this song was it the same actor who plays Brian in the Archers?

[Marko7T4]

@Runrome Sounds like Derek Griffiths to me. I think he used to do a lot of stuff in these days including Playschool

[MyCav1]

Good greif..I remember this! I must of been in primary 3 or 4 .late 1980's.pritty scary even though most in class did'nt want to admit it....especially that Knight in armor...

[jifkitchen]

how come ive never sean Sean Barret? he just narrates. He sang for a bit wth peter Gabrial you know!

[EnglandsEternal]

@malvolio80 thanks so much for uploading this,brings back some memories.

[malvolio80]

@EnglandsEternal I'm glad I did. It's not my most viewed upload, but it's easily the one that people respond to most strongly. (And after my own multi-year search for it, I was sure there were others out there who would appreciate it.)

[sword4thelord]

That CBeebies icon in the corner... do they still repeat awesome stuff like this now???? There's hope for the next generation yet! :-)

[Emu449]

I've waited so long for this to be on youtube, 'Dark Towers' was my favourite 'Look and Read' Thank You so much for uploading this XXXX

[AKTVUK]

Blimey. I remember being forced to watch this in my infant school years. THAT MUSIC =O It still sends a shiver down my spine! The acting is truly award winning though. Why are these people not International celebs by now i wonder :/

[MissAliciaDee]

It is Dick from the Famous Five, I'm sure

[MissAliciaDee]

Is Lord Edward of Dark Towers the same actor who played Dick in the original Famous Five videos?

[drav6]

they forced us to watch this at school 1988,scared the crap out of me!

[stealth74]

used to enjoy this as a kid. I remember trying to find it on video(a long time ago). Cant believe its on here. Thanks for posting

[amr7037]

simple innocent days,man id give anyfing to go bdack,best days of my life all over

[Chequeredpenguins]

i used to scare the crap out of me......... it still does :\

[amr7037]

capehill school mr beck 81,83ish

[chicane51]

@amr7037 lol doesnt it bring back memories.mrs case 1982 for me. used to go into the hall to watch it on thursday mornings,best bit of the week.

[RichXbox360]

Wordy is annoying.

[cue1cole]

1983 this was shown in my class i was 8 and we had to watch then answer questions about it, this freaked me out, benson and bunce i think were the 2 blokes, then after this we had the boy from space, look and read was freaky

[Londonman84]

It's significant that Wordy arises from a rubbish bin.

[ant851114]

how old is this , we had to watch this at school every friday in 1995

[RichXbox360]

@ant851114 it was originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1981.

[nuclearpavlova]

Oh my lordy lord - the memories from that theme tune give me chills! Look and Read was so awesome. Thanks for uploading!

[leelovesmel]

dont make things like this no more watch this in my school wicked

[star5628]

I remember watching this at school when i was 10,brings back memmories

[daherbalis]

I've been looking for this for years, thank you so much. =)

[Jone36]

Brilliant, this brings back so many great memories! Used 2 love watching this at school, and tbh, I was a little scared from the knight! Thanx!

[kdreamland]

Beautiful. haven't seen this in ages. thx.

"I like books better than people."

PAUSE "Yes, like me and dogs." .......

[simpleton5150]

OH MY GOODNESS!! I remember watching this at my 2nd year at primary school! Ive never forgotten it. Awesome upload thanks for the memories.

[hannahrb15]

I watched this in P.3 When the ghost comes in at first I was scared...

[RainbowSorceress]

lol i remember watching this in year 2 at school even the theme tune made me shit myself xD lol love it good times :) xx

[MrKimposs]

i had a night mare

[Milkbottlekid]

Oml, I can't believe how many years ago I watched this. Ravensworth Junior School FTW.

[proferci]

scariest thing i saw in my life

[uknuttah]

wow i remember watching this at school, i remember the fairground one and was it the boy from space?...ill be back 2moz to watch it, cheers 4 upping

[markypearson01]

I think Jenny played McWitch in Rentaghost too!!

[dazzyboy74]

nope she didn't McWitch was played by scottish actress Molly Weir altough i can see why you think they are the same person

[MFSHARK]

bastard, had to find this when my speakers are fucked, Looks spooky as I remember though, thanks for the upload.

[sonofherne]

David Collings aka Lord Dark. Didn't he do the voice of MONKEY in MONKEY MAGIC?

[thecelestialtoymaker]

Yep. That is correct. A wonderful actor (who has also been in three Doctor Who serials). Loved Monkey Magic too. A funny series.

[SHADYHOOF]

omg i used to watch this at school it was fantastic watching this as a kid i remember it so well i searched for it and thats why im here lol

[flyingdamingo]

THank you so much for posting I loved this I was probably about 7 or 8 when I saw it I remember watching at school and then my Nan recording it for me lol - thanks so much can't wait to show her to see if she remebers. Your a legend

[xxsha77xx]

omg god tried for ages to remember what that was lol i seen it at school thank you xx

[sonofherne]

Wow, this takes me back to primary school. We watched this as part of our English classes along with The Boy From Space.

[percypsgcp]

omg, this takes me back to the early 80's whilst at infant school, i have always remembered the tune throughout the years and this is the first time i have seen it since then, wicked upload, thanks :)

[Staliss]

Yes I remember seeing it in the early 80s at infant school. I remember thinking it was quite scary! lol.  Great memories though. You must be about 32 yrs old like me.

[percypsgcp]

yep lol, thats right hehehe :p

[ddbd]

the show scared the shit outta me at primary school i was 9 in 1990 and we went thru the show and then after going thru the books that accompanied the series, same with geordie racer and badger girl and tru the dragons eye...ahhh memories.

[stuwatts80]

I remember we watched this at primary school as part of English lessons back in the day, that theme tune used to scare me silly

[bagshitass]

Many, many thanks for uploading this, reminds me of my primary school which was over 100 years old, i used to love this and look forward to it at school, great upload and quality!!

[nursefan]

does anyone know or remember Interference? An old story about a ghost and it messed with all the electrics, pretty scary!

[Dungarth]

..Aaaagh The Tall Knight!

because of him I couldn't eat my wotsits & viscounts in my transformers packed lunch box for weeks.

[Dungarth]

haha I remember this at school in 1987, it really scared me at the time but now I love it..

[dedboy2000]

idjtmc, the peregrine falcon one was called skyhunter. It was also a look and read story yea. I'm a bit dissapointed with this video of dark towers as the whole of the middle section with wordy and the songs is missing.

[malvolio80]

@dedboy2000 oh, you mean the INCREDIBLE BORING PARTS we all had to sit through to get to the AWESOME GHOST STORY?

[dedboy2000]

Bill the bricky...boring? I think not. And Wordy - he was the tits! Plus you can't have look and read without Derek Griffiths singing educational crap at you!

[Sweetspeas]

@malvolio80 lol yes i agree

[RichXbox360]

@dedboy2000 Good, even when I was 5 and watched this when iot was originally on BBC2 in the early 80s I found that Wordy thing annoying.

[ade2006]

"Tracey was a loner. she thought boys where daft, she thought girls where daft"

Do you think she ended up turning into an axe murder??

lol

[rayp5]

I watched this at 1st school aged 7 in 1982

[Saternalius]

Amusingly, Gary Russell who played Edward had previously played Dick in "The Famous Five". He went on to become editor of Doctor Who Magazine, as well as a writer of Doctor Who novels and audio plays. He currently works on the new series of Doctor Who being filmed in Cardiff!

xx

[Northernspotter101]

Takes me back to corinthian av school in stoneycroft,liverpool.We would watch this in the hall with the curtains closed.What happy days with miss donnelly mr johnson and the lovely mrs dawber.

[thecritic2007]

this and the boy rom space sceard the crap out of me as a kid

[GatorM]

I remember watching this in Primary 3 in 1987. Ah...what a wonderful time. I don't recall Tracy being so old though.

[FreakinSweet86]

OMG, I remember this from primary school along with Earth Warp and Through the Dragons Eye which was the best one IMO, THE VEETAROD!!!!

[RichXbox360]

I actually bought the complete series of this on eBay last year.

[idjtmc]

can anyone remember a show similar to this shown in schools about peregrine falcons?, it was about ppl stealing their eggs or something cant remember much about it but would like to see it again. please help

[swanzm30]

i loved this also remember , the boy from space and badger girl think it was around 1984

[Knightofskull]

I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW

[plainface]

flashback to a giant telly on wheels with hinged wooden doors over the front...

[StefanPriceUK]

Bloody hell it was very old when you all watched it, I watch it in school at the time it was made and first broadcast around 1981.

[nosalvation88]

When I was in primary school, around 1993, my parents requested that I be pulled out of the lessons that showed this program... how depressing. I had to do extra work in a higher class when everyone else watched this!!

[azzaboi93]

never mind eh? ur watchin it now

[nathanblud123]

i cant beleeve its on here :L:L i remember watchin this in 2002

[womblediehard]

Tracy was a loner so she a lesbian then :p

Great show when i was young now im old its shit

[9LuckyTatties]

oh memories! I used to have the pop out book that went along with this... that knight fucked me up for decades to come! :)

[richardburnell]

I'm sure this wouldn't be allowed in school now, parents complaining it's too scary etc... I watched this in Y3 1987, kids were screaming at it! Pure class!

[Knightofskull]

I watched it when I was in year 2 oe 3 and I loved it everyone was always talking about whats going to happen next. This shaped me as a person and a artist.

[nasnsam]

Typed this in for the laugh - can believe it's on Youtube - what a classic...used to be shit scared when the knight used to come on - could hear a pin drop in classroom - absolute class!!

[HITpadawan]

I remember watching this at school in 1990!

I couldnt hold in my excitement when the Tall Knight first showed up :-)

[cole003f]

this brings back memories

[ricksta0433]

i remember this from year 3 !!!!!!

[PinkStrawberry6790]

wow (:

i remember watching this at primary (:

[Londonman84]

Really? They were still showing it then?

[mrmartinmartin]

This used to scare the pants off me at school.

[samechristie]

i remember going to the library and having them look up the book "dark towers" by andrew davies and I was very sad it didnt exist!

[malvolio80]

As I recall, these Look & Read shows did have picture books associated with them. They had drawings that vaguely resembled the actors.

[Triskknot]

wow this brings back lots of memories

[peepipe]

i had a teacher in Primary school called Mrs Towzer - she was a dog aswell lol

[courtypow]

boy from space was absolutely awful it was horrible it still scares me now :(

[rupertducker]

The librarian looks such a 1980s cliche ! !

[rupertducker]

'I prefer books to people' ; what a fun young lad to spend the summer with ; NERD ! ! !

[rupertducker]

Can't figure out if Tracy is 12 or 50 ; reminds me of 'Five Go mad In Dorset' ! !

[Londonman84]

I suppose for this one they couldn't be bothered to search for children who were any good at acting. For some of the later Look and Read series they did make that effort.

[rupertducker]

'...boys....girls...football..­.DOLLS ! ' ; yes dolls ( ! ) ; who couldn't see that sexist stereotype coming a mile away ? ! ? After all, bare in mind this was made back in the days of grey pleated knee-length school skirts and floral summer blouses ! ! !

[Markjuk]

The BBC must have got more than their moneys worth out of this show over the years. I can remember watching this at school around 1984ish and it has been shown to every generation of primary school kids since!

[jasperdrak]

fuck sake - that intro still makes the hairs rise on the back of my neck! i used to be terrified of this. was i just a sissy? the boy from space was worse!!! :)

[Sticka5]

me too!!!

[MyronBolitar]

lol @ 1:22...Tracey can't throw very well! heh

[lanceytoni]

how the fuck can someone talk like a book? tracy's the daft one. dumb bitch!

[Londonman84]

It is significant that Wordy emerges from a rubbish bin.

[dragonfitter]

this was the only good memory i have from school

[mosschops1974]

wasn't Wordy based on a 'golf ball' typewriter thingy - my Mum used to have one and I was always convinced that that was what Wordy was!!

[gobbygirl77]

beware of two bees buzzing together... they knew how to scare kids eh? haha

[mosschops1974]

...beware of the bird with the brown feather. LOL this program used to scare me silly - especially the Tall Knight

[gobbygirl77]

Not to mention Tracey looks about 30 for some reason :s

[gobbygirl77]

Tracey was a loner... you don't say, having to watch this aged 8 was just wrong lol, scared the crap out of us

[lerabollera]

Thank-you for posting this!!! I absolutely loved watching this when I was at school :) :) :)

[Jamandmand]

Always creeped me out!

[djbobbybob1976]

Word freaks me out more than anything in the dark towers story!

[gman2026]

love this seen it at school bout shit ma pants wen a first saw it brill!!!!!!!!1111

[Gumblejack]

My God! What a fantastic cast! The older Lord is David Collings from Monkey!, Sappire and Steel and Dr Who and the younger Lord is Gary Russell, who has script edited Torchwood and Sarah Jane and runs Big Finish Productions. Then later on we have Christopher Biggins and Denise Coffey and Peter 'Chewbacca' Mayhew as the Dark Knight. It's like a panel game Christmas special.

[RocketDogMan]

Another freaked out here!! It was 1981 when our class watched it in a 200 year old haunted school!

[tdavet]

The theme tune still scares the bejezus out of me!