Before I begin my thoughts on this episode, I need to say that I have not seen the old 1986 TV movie, nor have I seen the original 1998 TV series. I have recently read the first book of the series that all the adaptations are based on, and I enjoyed it. It's kind of like a spiritual predecessor to the Harry Potter books, in that it involves a school of magic with rival students and teachers, but is also aimed at a younger audience.
With that said, this first episode, while still having the same kid friendly feel and main characters of the books, is a loose adaptation. Whereas the book starts with Mildred already enrolled at Cackle's Academy, with no backstory as to how this came about (though to be fair, I have no idea if it is brought up in the later books or not), the first episode of this series kind of tells an "origin story," detailing how Mildred discovered the school and struggled to enroll in it, while also tying in some events from the first book.
I really enjoyed seeing how the people who wrote the show managed to invent a backstory for Mildred and some of the other main characters without shoehorning it into the story. The actors do very well playing their respective roles. Bella Ramsey convincingly plays Mildred as a character unfamiliar with the world of magic, struggling to fit in. Jenny Richardson plays the snobbish Draco Malfoy-like character of Ethel, while Raquel Cassidy plays the stern and biased Snape-like character of Miss Hardbroom, who, while biased towards the students who know more about the world of magic, knows when to do the right thing.
I enjoyed this episode a lot, and I look forward to watching the other episodes.
Next Episode:
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/the-worst-witch-2017-s01e02-tabby.5083/
With that said, this first episode, while still having the same kid friendly feel and main characters of the books, is a loose adaptation. Whereas the book starts with Mildred already enrolled at Cackle's Academy, with no backstory as to how this came about (though to be fair, I have no idea if it is brought up in the later books or not), the first episode of this series kind of tells an "origin story," detailing how Mildred discovered the school and struggled to enroll in it, while also tying in some events from the first book.
I really enjoyed seeing how the people who wrote the show managed to invent a backstory for Mildred and some of the other main characters without shoehorning it into the story. The actors do very well playing their respective roles. Bella Ramsey convincingly plays Mildred as a character unfamiliar with the world of magic, struggling to fit in. Jenny Richardson plays the snobbish Draco Malfoy-like character of Ethel, while Raquel Cassidy plays the stern and biased Snape-like character of Miss Hardbroom, who, while biased towards the students who know more about the world of magic, knows when to do the right thing.
I enjoyed this episode a lot, and I look forward to watching the other episodes.
Next Episode:
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/the-worst-witch-2017-s01e02-tabby.5083/
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