88-521: The StoryTeller is a live-action / puppet television series that originally aired in 1987 and which was created and produced by Jim Henson . Reruns of The StoryTeller episodes were featured in some episodes of The Jim Henson Hour . The series retold various European folk tales, particularly ones considered obscure in Western culture, created with a combination of actors and puppets. The framing device had an old storyteller ( John Hurt ) sitting by
176-527: A British Academy Television Award for Best Actor at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. After the series ended, Peck had become a figure of popularity and a national favourite. After gaining popularity for his starring role in Edge of Darkness , Peck began appearing in films. After a few theatre appearances, Peck made his first appearance as a main character in a film again playing
264-416: A hedgehog . That, of course, is what she gets: a baby covered in quills, as soft as feathers. His mother calls him 'Hans My Hedgehog' and she is the only one to love him; his father grows to hate him for shame. The village children also taunt Hans, calling him "Grovelhog". So eventually Hans leaves for a place where he cannot hurt anyone and where no-one can hurt him. Deep inside the forest, for many years Hans
352-606: A live-action animated feature film . Live action is used to define film, video games or similar visual media. Photorealistic animation, particularly modern computer animation , is sometimes erroneously described as "live action", as in the case of some media reports about Disney's remake of the traditionally animated The Lion King from 1994. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary , live action involves "real people or animals, not models, or images that are drawn, or produced by computer". As
440-499: A live-action/animated film such as Space Jam , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Looney Tunes: Back in Action , or Mary Poppins in which humans and cartoons co-exist. In this case, the "live-action" characters are the "real" actors, such as Michael Jordan , Bob Hoskins and Julie Andrews , as opposed to the animated "actors", such as Roger and Jessica Rabbit . As use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in films has become
528-455: A beautiful woman calling to him and weeping for him. The gardener, who can't remember Anja because of the Trollop's spell, becomes suspicious. On the third night, he avoids the drink the Trollop bring him, and pretends to fall asleep. When Anja comes to him for the last time and tries to wake him, he gets up and tells her that he cannot remember who she is. She kisses him, and the Trollop's spell
616-531: A chest full of treasure on the shore of the island and returns triumphant. He explains to the ferryman to offer his pole to the next visitor in order to gain freedom. The King begrudgingly gives his blessing to marry the Princess, yet is soon enchanted by the jewels Lucky has brought back. His greed leads him to the Griffin's island but he becomes impatient with the ferryman's speed. The ferryman offers his pole and
704-415: A creature of fur and feathers known as Straggletag. She lives thus for years, working in the kitchen of a handsome but proud prince. On the night of the ball, she discards her disguise and attends three different balls in one of her bridal gowns and captures the heart of the prince, leaving him naught but a single slipper as she runs off into the night. The prince scours the kingdom for the girl whose foot fits
792-522: A fire telling each tale to both the viewers and to his talking dog (a realistic looking puppet of a brown and blonde Pudelpointer performed and voiced by Brian Henson ) who acted as the voice of the viewers, and was written in a language and traditional style in keeping with old folk tales. In the "Secret of the Muppets" episode of The Jim Henson Hour , Jim Henson stated that the StoryTeller has
880-470: A half-puppet appearance. Heavy make-up was used to create the character, notably large ears and a prosthetic nose, resembling the titular character from the children's book by Roald Dahl , The BFG . The StoryTeller was initially conceived by Jim Henson as an animatronic puppet character. However, Ron Mueck filmed a test with facial prosthetics, to suggest that an actor in make-up would be more effective. Henson, having worked with director Steve Barron on
968-425: A major trend, some critics, such as Mark Langer, have discussed the relationship between live action and animation. New films that use computer-generated special-effects can not be compared to live-action films using cartoon characters because of the perceived realism of both styles combined. In producing a movie, both live action and animation have their own pros and cons. Unlike animation, live action involves
SECTION 10
#17327805422271056-605: A memorable appearance on stage in the RSC production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby , originally by Charles Dickens , playing two characters: the boisterous Yorkshireman John Browdie and the predatory Sir Mulberry Hawk, and repeated these roles on Broadway and when the production was filmed for television in 1982. He played the character of Macduff in Trevor Nunn 's acclaimed 1976 stage and television versions of Macbeth , and re-appeared in another production of
1144-487: A panic he roams the castle grounds, running into a magical beggar who turns him into a flea. At the end of the day when the King calls for his story, the StoryTeller confesses he has no story, and instead tells the King the true tale of his adventures under the magic of the beggar that day. This is the only episode where the StoryTeller himself plays a major part in the story he tells. The other actors include Brenda Blethyn as
1232-695: A policeman, John Graham, based in Kenya in 1950, who takes under his wing the son of a murdered black priest in the 1987 film The Kitchen Toto . He also appeared in the 1987 film On the Black Hill , adapted from the 1982 novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin . The role which really launched his career as a film actor was his portrayal of the android Byron, in the post-apocalyptic science-fiction adventure film Slipstream (1989), in which he appeared alongside Mark Hamill , Bill Paxton , F. Murray Abraham , Ben Kingsley and Robbie Coltrane . During
1320-448: A stone, by adding it into a cauldron of water and slowly adding other ingredients to improve the flavour. When the cook realizes he has been swindled, he asks that the StoryTeller be boiled alive. As a compromise, the King promises to give the StoryTeller a gold crown for each story he tells for each day of the year - and to boil him if he fails. The StoryTeller does well at first, but on the final day, he awakens and can think of no story. In
1408-751: A television film documenting the life of the composer. In the later years of his life and career, Peck appeared in more films, portraying the roles of Captain Sebastian Belger in Merisairas , Françoise's father in Surviving Picasso , Ravn in Smilla's Sense of Snow , Harry Briggs in FairyTale: A True Story and Denton (based on Lancelot Dent ) in the film The Opium War (Chinese: 鸦片战争; pinyin: yapian zhanzheng ). He also appeared in
1496-483: Is a variant on " Allerleirauh ", as well as containing elements of Donkeyskin and the Cinderella story recorded by the brothers Grimm. There is a widowed king, who has three daughters. Two are as ugly and as bad as can be, but the third nicknamed Sapsorrow is as kind and as beautiful as her sisters are not. There is a ring belonging to the dead queen and a royal tradition that states that the girl whose finger fits
1584-450: Is at the foot of the person's bed (as was the case with his son), he or she will recover if sprinkled with water from the goblet. If Death is at the head of the bed, nothing can be done. Then the Tzar becomes ill and the soldier, seeing Death at the head of his bed, makes a bargain with Death: his life in exchange for the Tzar's. Death takes his offer and gives the illness to the soldier, curing
1672-423: Is bewitched. The Queen says that the only way to reverse the spell is to fling the quills in the fire. That night when Hans sheds his quills, she obeys her mother and burns them. She hears his screams of pain as if he were aflame, and Hans runs from the castle. The Princess has a blacksmith make her three pairs of solid iron shoes and slips away in search of her husband. She wears the shoes to nothing and moves on to
1760-475: Is broken, and he remembers their love. At that moment, the three magical gifts fail, and the gold, silk, and jewels disappear. In a rage, the Trollop pursues Anja and her sweetheart, who ride back to their castle on the back of the Thought Lion. When the Trollop catches up to the pair at the castle, she is misled by what she thinks is the scent of the couple and sounds of their voices, and falls to her death
1848-465: Is carrying, he knocked the poisoned drink out of his hand in time. Before the guards can arrest Medea, she teleports away while cursing Aegeus. Reclaiming his rightful place as the son of King Aegeus, Theseus insisted on travelling to Crete to kill the dreaded Minotaur. He promised to his father Aegeus that he would put up a white sail on his journey back home if he was successful. Ariadne , Minos' daughter, fell in love with Theseus and helped him get out of
SECTION 20
#17327805422271936-631: Is the son of Calliope of the Muses who fell in love with Eurydice the moment he set eyes on her. His love for her was so strong that when she perished from a poisoned snake bite when being chased by the satyr Aristaeus (who is depicted as Pan 's brother in this show), Orpheus travelled down to the Underworld to plead to Hades for her return. To cross the River Styx, Orpheus used his music to charm Charon into taking him across. His music softened
2024-562: The direct-to-TV film The Scold's Bridle (1998). In 2000, a year after Peck's death from cancer, the stop-motion animated film The Miracle Maker , was released, in which Peck voiced the character of Joseph of Arimathea . The film was dedicated to Peck's memory. Peck won the Award for Best Actor at the British Academy Television Awards in 1986 for his portrayal of maverick policeman Ronald Craven in
2112-424: The oracle 's prophecy that he would kill his grandfather, Perseus, the son of Danaë and Zeus , was born in darkness and captivity. Discovering Perseus's existence, King Acrisius of Argos banished Perseus and his mother to a wooden chest cast into the sea. They managed to escape death at sea where they are found by Diktys . After coming of age, the young hero vowed to bring back the head of Medusa in order to stop
2200-744: The (unnamed) marine officer. He also appeared in Screen Two , Screenplay and A TV Dante , as well as in the television films, The Black Velvet Gown and An Ungentlemanly Act . In 1993, Peck made his biggest film appearance, when he was cast as park gamekeeper Robert Muldoon in the blockbuster smash hit Jurassic Park . After appearing in Jurassic Park , Peck appeared in the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993) playing General Targo in one episode. He also played Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi in Verdi ,
2288-456: The Farmer, and Maggie Wilkinson as the Farmer's Wife. The episode was directed by Steve Barron . Based on the early German folk tale, The Six Swans . After the queen dies, an evil witch ensnares the King and turns his three sons into ravens to rid herself of her rivals. The Princess escapes and must stay silent for three years, three months, three weeks and three days in order to break
2376-535: The Grovelhog dwells with his animals for companions. One day a king gets lost in Hans' forest and hears a beautiful song being played on a bagpipe . He follows the music and finds Hans' castle. When Hans helps him to escape the forest, the King promises that he will give to Hans the first thing to greet him at his castle - which the King secretly expects will be his dog. Instead, it turns out to be his beautiful daughter,
2464-531: The King demands that the Queen have Lucky chopped into a thousand pieces. The Little Man pities Lucky and forges the King's handwriting to change the youth's fate--"Marriage. Do this without delay". While Lucky is still unconscious, the Little Man drags him within eyesight of his destination. The King is enraged upon his return as he sees Lucky marrying his treasured daughter with his written approval. Claiming that
2552-632: The King is given the ferryman's previous fate as the ferryman is set free from his curse. This episode stars Steven Mackintosh as the Luck Child, Philip Jackson as the King, Cathryn Bradshaw as the Princess, Pauline Moran as the Queen, Anthony O'Donnell as the Little Man, Robert Eddison as the Cursed Ferryman, and George Little as the voice of the Griffin (which is operated by Alistair Fullarton and Brian Henson ). The episode
2640-645: The King, Peter Marinker as the voice of the wolf, and Frederick Warder as the giant. The birds, salmon and wolf are performed by David Greenaway , Robert Tygner , and Mak Wilson . The episode was directed by Jim Henson . Based on an early German folk tale The True Bride , combined with the Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon . A troll had a daughter, but since trolls are so mean, they can't even stand each other, she left straight off. So
2728-503: The King, and James Wilby as the Prince. The badgers, birds, and squirrels are performed by David Greenaway , Robert Tygner , and Mak Wilson . The episode was directed by Steve Barron . From an early German folk tale according to the creators of the series. A heartless giant, who once terrorized the land before being captured and imprisoned, is befriended by the young Prince Leo who, one night, sets him free. His older brothers go after
The StoryTeller (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-577: The Labyrinth by giving him a ball of thread allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur; even though he was Ariadne's brother. Theseus took Ariadne with him but on the return trip abandoned her on the island of Naxos. He also failed to fly white sails on his return journey due to using it to wrap the Minotaur's head, thus causing his father to throw himself into the Aegean Sea which
2904-417: The Luck Child after hearing the elderly couple's tale, the King promptly hands the young man a proclamation to be delivered to his kingdom. Lost in the forest, Lucky stumbles into an underground den of thieves and meets a little man. The little man drugs the gullible Lucky, being skilled in the art of hiding his concoctions in goulash. Curious of his victim's message, The Little Man reads the King's proclamation:
2992-402: The Luck Child. Taking him away from the boy's biological parents, he pushes the chancellor and the child off a high cliff. While the chancellor becomes a meal for the Griffin , the boy survives since his swaddling safely unraveled him to the shore. He is found and raised by an elderly couple and is named Lucky. Years later, the King finds Lucky while inspecting a mill's harvest. Recognizing him as
3080-579: The Minotaur. The episode was directed by John Madden . The Storyteller and his dog arrive in a part of a Labyrinth which shows statues of different people and one statue detailing Perseus ' encounter with the Gorgon Medusa as the Storyteller talks about it. The Storyteller describes Medusa as having terrible claws, wings of brass, a breath as foul as corpses, poisonous snakes for hair, and can turn anyone who looks at her to stone. Owing to
3168-599: The Pond Sprite . The episode was directed by Steve Barron . Featuring elements from the German folk tales " The Griffin " and " The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs ". The seventh son of a seventh son is born—a Luck Child. The wise men prophesy that someday he will be King. The cruel King hears about the prophecy, and plots to kill the child. With his chancellor by his side, he sweeps the countryside for
3256-561: The Soldier, John Franklyn-Robbins as the Tzar and Alistair Fullarton performs Death. The Devils are performed by David Barclay , Michael Bayliss , Marcus Clarke , Richard Coombs , John Eccleston , Geoff Foxx , Brian Henson , Mike Quinn , and Francis Wright while Tony Jackson , Peter Hawkins , and Peter Marinker voice the Devils. This episode was directed by Jim Henson . From an early German folk tale. The StoryTeller recounts
3344-461: The StoryTeller's dog states that Orpheus' lyre is still here, they have another vision of Orpheus who states "My lyre must always play for without music, we are nothing. We need the shapes out of nothing. Tunes out of silence. Love out of hate. Music that lasts forever". Live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation . Some works combine live action with animation to create
3432-479: The StoryTeller's wife, Bryan Pringle as the cook, Richard Vernon as the King, and John Kavanagh as the Beggar. This episode was directed by Charles Sturridge . From an early German folk tale of the same name . A farmer's wife drives her husband mad with her desperate measures to have a baby. She says to him that she wants a child so badly, she would not care how he looked even if he were covered in quills like
3520-503: The Troll and Trollop are performed by Frederick Warder. The episode was directed by Peter Smith. The StoryTeller: Greek Myths is a four episode follow-up, with a different storyteller ( Michael Gambon ), with the same dog (again performed and voiced by Brian Henson ). This second series was produced in 1990 by Jim Henson, beginning shortly before he died and continuing after his death. A US broadcaster could not be found, NBC having deemed
3608-469: The Trollop, so that he has forgotten his past. Anja trades three magical nuts to the greedy Trollop—one which gives unlimited fine silk, one which gives unlimited gold, and one which give unlimited jewels—for three nights with her beloved. However, on the first two nights, she is unable to wake him, for the Trollop had drugged him. On the third day, before night fall, the man hears the Trollop's prisoners calling out, asking how he can sleep each night with such
The StoryTeller (TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-409: The Tzar. Lying in his death bed, he summons Death into his sack and stops death from happening everywhere. But as time goes on, he sees people everywhere who are waiting for death that will not come. So he frees Death, who fears the soldier and his sack so much that he refuses to take the soldier's life. The soldier, old and weary of life, seeks out a way to die. He travels down to the underworld, forcing
3784-695: The UK on Channel 4 between May and July 1988. "The Heartless Giant", "The Soldier and Death", "The True Bride", and "Sapsorrow" first aired (in that order) in the US as part of The Jim Henson Hour on NBC, the first two in April 1989, the latter two in July 1989. "The Three Ravens" was included in the Jim Henson Hour' s twelfth episode, "Food", but the series was cancelled before it had a chance to air. "The Three Ravens"
3872-455: The adventures of a boy who goes out into the world to learn what fear is , accompanied by a dishonest but loveable tinker . He faces many dangers without learning to be afraid, only to learn that fear is at home: the fear of losing his sweetheart. This episode stars Reece Dinsdale as Fearnot, Gabrielle Anwar as his sweetheart, Willie Ross as the Tinker, Mr. McKoy, and Michael Cuckson as
3960-404: The answer. In the beast's lair, he meets the Little Man from the forest who was saved and brought there by the Griffin due to his delicious cooking. The Little Man tells Lucky to hide, drugs the Griffin with his tampered goulash, plucks the golden feather for the boy, and persuades the creature to reveal the solution to the ferryman's lament. As Lucky escapes while the Griffin sleeps, the youth takes
4048-406: The awful noise and so they killed him by tearing him limb by limb and throwing Orpheus' fragments into the river. Orpheus' head floated out to Lesbos where it still sang Eurydice's name. The StoryTeller stated that the wild women were stated to have been turned into trees. Some say it was last time the trees had souls. Orpheus' head spoke prophecies and his love for Eurydice was never forgotten. When
4136-491: The castle, to live with his friends in his forest castle. He knows she has seen him when he finds her slumbering on the discarded quills the following night. He tells her that he is bewitched and only if she can keep his secret for one more night can he be freed and remain in the form of the handsome man. She agrees. The next morning at breakfast the Queen inquires why her daughter is so cheerful. The Princess tries to resist but as her mother pries she gives in and tells her that Hans
4224-415: The devils at the gates (the same ones from before) to give him two hundred souls and a map to heaven. Terrified of the sack, the devils agree to his demands. Upon reaching the gates of heaven, he asks to be let in with the souls while begging for forgiveness from God, but he is denied by the gatekeeper. He gives the sack to one of the souls, asking the soul to summon him into the sack when he has passed through
4312-505: The evil King Polydectes from marrying his mother. He was given special weapons and armour by the gods to complete his task. He gained directions from Graeae and headed in the direction while encountering the Titan Atlas along the way. Perseus used his weapons in order to slay Medusa and avoids the other two Gorgons . Briefly interrupted by the Storyteller's Dog on why he never mentioned that there were three Gorgons after standing
4400-489: The films Royal Flash and Parker . In 1985 television writer Troy Kennedy Martin - who had previously written the screenplay for the film The Italian Job and created the popular police procedural television series Z-Cars (in which Peck had appeared during the 1970s) - cast Peck in the starring role of policeman Ronald Craven in his television miniseries Edge of Darkness . This crime drama / political thriller follows Peck's character as he attempts to unravel
4488-473: The final man, who gets the last biscuit despite the soldier being hungry himself, in return gives him a pack of magic playing cards and a musty sack that has the power to trap anything ordered into it. Using the sack, the soldier manages to trap a flock of geese, and so manages to feed himself. Upon arriving at an abandoned castle overrun with small devils, he plays them in a game of cards, winning 40 barrels of gold, and when they try to kill him, he captures them in
SECTION 50
#17327805422274576-490: The flapping of wings and she sees her husband whom she had so long searched for. He toasts a glass of wine to no-one, "to the beautiful woman who could not keep her promise." She speaks to him and he becomes rigid and asks how she found him. She tells him. She tells him all of the perils that she has faced and how she has walked the world and worn through three pairs of iron shoes. Then she flings herself into his embrace and with her confession of love and loyalty, he transforms into
4664-479: The gates. But since there is no memory in heaven, the soul forgets and the soldier is condemned to live forever upon the Earth. In closing, the StoryTeller remarks (with a smile) that the soldier is still probably about his business. As the StoryTeller tosses the bag aside, a devil emerges from the bag unnoticed by the StoryTeller but noticed by the dog who dismisses it as his imagination. The episode stars Bob Peck as
4752-402: The giant to capture him, but do not return, so Leo sets off to find the giant himself. Once found, Leo decides to find the giant's heart, but this is no easy task - it sits in an egg in a duck in a well in a church in a lake in a mountain far away. No easy task indeed. Even when Prince Leo finds the heart and brings it to the giant, one of the brothers grabs the heart and squeezes it enough to kill
4840-648: The giant, whose dead body becomes a hill. The StoryTeller tells his dog that when Prince Leo became king, he retold the story where he states that he gave the heart back to the giant and that the giant never bothered the kingdom again. This is a variation upon the Norwegian tale The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body , though there are some parallels with the Slavic legend of Koschei the Deathless . This episode stars Elliott Spiers as Prince Leo, Nicholas Selby as
4928-469: The handsome man, the spell lifted by her fidelity and affection. The StoryTeller states that he was given the final pair of the Princess' third pair of shoes which were worn down to nothing. This episode stars Jason Carter as Hans' human form, Terence Harvey as the voice of Hans the Hedgehog, Abigail Cruttenden as the Princess, David Swift as the King, Helen Lindsay as the Queen, Eric Richard as
5016-446: The heart of Hades' wife Persephone . Hades decided to let them both return to the living world as long as Orpheus did not look back. As Orpheus was not certain that Eurydice was following him into the sunlight, he looked back, forgetting the condition, and lost her forever. Thus, he refused to play any music for the villagers, instead, hitting his lyre's strings with a rock over and over. The village's wild women knew that they had to end
5104-506: The late-1980s, he also appeared in television shows including The Storyteller , The Jim Henson Hour and Screen One . Peck also voiced all the male characters in the children's live action TV series combined with stop motion animation, Forget Me Not Farm on the BBC in 1990. Peck's image and popularity increased with appearances in films including the 1990 film Lord of the Flies as
5192-674: The music videos for David Bowie 's songs " As the World Falls Down " and " Underground " (both from Henson's Labyrinth (1986)), was so impressed with Barron's work that he invited him to direct several episodes of the series. "Hans My Hedgehog", "Fearnot", "A Story Short", and "The Luck Child" aired (in that order) in the United States on NBC as standalone specials in January 1987, October 1987, January 1988, and April 1988, respectively. All nine episodes were then aired in
5280-445: The new groom must prove his worth, the king declares that Lucky must bring him a golden feather from the dreaded Griffin (a nigh impossible task as far as the king is concerned). Lucky sets for the island where the beast dwells and has a ferryman take him to his destination. The ferryman shares that he doesn't know why he is forced to perform his task rowing back and forth across the blackened water without ending. So Lucky promises to find
5368-405: The new storyteller and his dog wander through looking for a way out, and uncover some of its secret treasures and artefacts — which reminds to tell a story of its own — along the way. Anthony Minghella was credited as the series' creator but this spin-off was written by Nigel Williams (author) . An Athenian storyteller and his dog take shelter in the labyrinth of Knossos . There, he recounts
SECTION 60
#17327805422275456-399: The normal process of making visual media involves live action, the term itself is usually superfluous. However, it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, such as when the work is adapted from a video game , or from an animated cartoon . The phrase "live action" also occurs within an animation context to refer to non-animated characters: in
5544-573: The original episodes too strong for children, and refused to run them as a separate series. It remained unaired in the US until the entire 13 episode series was rerun in 1997 by HBO. The four episodes first aired in the Netherlands in April 1991, and the UK in December 1991. The four episodes focused, as the title suggests, on Greek mythology , and took place in the Minotaur 's labyrinth , which
5632-402: The photography of actors and actresses, as well as sets and props making the movie seem personal and as close to reality as possible. The only drawback is one's budget. On the other hand, animation works well in conveying abstract ideas but it generally takes much longer to produce. Bob Peck Robert Peck (23 August 1945 – 4 April 1999) was an English actor who played Ronald Craven in
5720-502: The play in 1982, this time playing Macbeth himself. According to Peck's fellow RSC performer and veteran McKellen, Peck is the actor he considers he "learned the most from". Peck's television career began in the 1970s, with his first television roles being in the BBC's Thirty-Minute Theatre anthology series in 1972, in which he appeared in the episode "Bypass". He also appeared in various other successful television productions such as Z-Cars and Play for Today . He also appeared in
5808-410: The princess awaits her husband in bed. He comes into the chamber with his bagpipes and takes a seat by the fire and begins to play the same beautiful music that saved the king a year prior. The Princess is soothed by the music and dozes off. She wakes and finds a pelt of quills as soft as feathers on the ground before the fire. She sees her husband in the form of a handsome young man freeing the animals of
5896-433: The princess of sweetness and cherry pie. Hans and the King have made a deal that in exactly one year and one day his prize (the princess) shall be his. A year and one day later Hans returns to the castle. The princess says she knows what she must do. Hans asks her if she finds him ugly and she replies that he is not nearly as ugly as a broken promise. They are married, to the dismay of the entire kingdom. On their wedding night,
5984-624: The prophecy that he would one day kill his grandfather King Acrisius. The StoryTeller stated that this happened the day when King Acrisius was killed in the crowd by the discus that was hurled at him with the strength of an oracle. As the StoryTeller states that Athena can corroborate the story of Perseus and Medusa, the eyes of Medusa on the sculpture of Perseus briefly open. This episode stars Jeremy Gilley as Perseus, Frances Barber as Medusa, John McEnery as King Polydectus, Kate Buffery as Danaë, Tony Vogel as Diktys, Arthur Dignam as King Acrisius, Pat Roach as Atlas, and Trevor Martin as
6072-417: The ring fits perfectly and the king (against his own wishes) must marry her, his own daughter, according to the law. The princess attempts to stall the wedding by demanding three magnificent gowns: a gown as pale as the moon, a gown as sparkling as the stars, and a gown as golden as the sun. Once her father provides these, on the night of the wedding she takes the gowns and goes into hiding, disguising herself as
6160-470: The ring will become queen as decreed by law. Neither of the bad sisters wish their father to marry for fear that his bride will stand to inherit his title and riches. In an effort to secure the royal wealth for their own they each try on the ring, though the ring becomes stuck on one of the sisters' fingers and Sapsorrow is forced to remove the ring. When Princess Sapsorrow slips on her dead mother's ring for safekeeping, she discovers, much to her own dismay, that
6248-451: The sack only letting them go when they promise to never return. He makes one of them swear to serve him and keeps its foot as leverage. Quickly becoming rich and famous because he removed the devils from a palace that is owned by the Tzar , his luck runs short when his son becomes deathly ill. Calling upon the devil, the soldier is given a glass goblet that allows the owner to see Death. If Death
6336-449: The same bottomless room that killed her father the troll. Anja and her beau are married and have a statue made to commemorate the Thought Lion. This episode stars Jane Horrocks as Anja, Sean Bean as the Prince, Michael Kilgarriff as the voice of the Thought Lion, Alun Armstrong as the voice of the Troll, and Sandra Voe as the voice of the Trollop. The Thought Lion is operated by David Greenaway, Robert Tygner, and Mak Wilson while
6424-400: The second pair, with still no sign of Hans. When she is donning the third pair of shoes, she finds a river and reclines by it, taking off the shoes and rubbing her sore feet. Catching sight of her reflection, she sees that her hair has grown white. She weeps bitterly for her hair and her husband, forever lost. The next day she comes to a cottage, abandoned, covered in dust and cobwebs. Then comes
6512-420: The slipper and agrees to marry Straggletag when hers is the foot it fits. At this proclamation, her pets strip away her disguise for good and the two become happily wed as they dance until they get exhausted. The Storyteller states that he has to go wake them up before the wedding starts. This episode stars Alison Doody as Sapsorrow, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as her bad sisters, Geoffrey Bayldon as
6600-527: The spell. But after she meets a handsome Prince, this is suddenly not so easy for her stepmother has remarried and to the prince's father... This episode stars Joely Richardson as the Princess, Miranda Richardson as the Witch, Robert Hines as the Prince, Jonathan Pryce as the King, and Richard Butler as the Second King. The episode was directed by Paul Weiland . From an early German folk tale, this
6688-426: The statue of Perseus holding Medusa's head up, the Storyteller says that there are branches of this story. On the way back to King Polydectes, Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Atlas to stone where he became a mountain . Upon Perseus' return, King Polydectes did not believe that Perseus returned with the true head of Medusa. Perseus proves it to him by using Medusa's head to turn him to stone. Still, he could not escape
6776-478: The story of the Minotaur confined to the maze by King Minos ten centuries earlier. King Aegeus had left his sword under a huge rock and told Aethra that when their son Theseus would grow up, he should move the rock to learn who his father was. Theseus grew up and became a brave young man. He managed to move the rock and took up his father's sword. His mother then told him the truth about his father's identity. Theseus decided to go to Athens, either by sea, which
6864-408: The television miniseries Edge of Darkness . Peck and actress Jill Baker were married for 17 years, from 1982 until his death, in 1999. They had three children: Hannah (born 1983), George (born 1986), and Milly (born 1990). In November 1994, Peck was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer. He was said to be undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy and his agent claimed that he was making
6952-665: The television serial Edge of Darkness , for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor . He was also known for his role as game warden Robert Muldoon in the film Jurassic Park . Robert Peck was born into a working-class family in Leeds , West Riding of Yorkshire , on 23 August 1945. He attended Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood , and performed with the National Youth Theatre for six weeks when he
7040-471: The troll asks her to build him a palace, the Lion builds it for her, and the troll falls to his death in a bottomless room. Anja lives happily in the castle. She finds her true love in the handsome palace gardener, whom she makes into a prince from his humble beginnings. He disappears one day, so Anja sets out to find him. When she finally does, he turns out to be bewitched at the hands of the troll's evil daughter,
7128-460: The troll took another girl to replace her to wait on him hand and foot. Her name is Anja and she has no father or mother, making the troll her only "family". Setting her impossible tasks, then beating her with his "contradiction stick" when she invariably fails, the troll makes sure to make her life miserable, until she one day makes a wish. Her wish is heard by a wondrous white lion called the Thought Lion who completes her impossible tasks for her. When
7216-419: The truth behind the murder of his daughter, portrayed in the series by Joanne Whalley . Another of Peck's co-stars in the series was American actor Joe Don Baker , along with fellow British actors Charles Kay and Ian McNeice . The series was broadcast on BBC Two in six episodes from 4 November to 9 December 1985. During its run the show attracted four million viewers and spiralled Peck to fame, winning him
7304-443: The voice of Atlas. The Gracea are played by Barbara Barnes, Justine Glenton, and Tacy Kneale and their voices are provided by Sandra Voe . Twin actress Tessa Vale and Deborah Vale portray the other two Gorgons. The episode is directed by David Garfath While rummaging through the labyrinth, the StoryTeller finds a lyre and briefly plays it as he has a vision of Orpheus he starts to tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice . Orpheus
7392-632: Was 15. He then studied at Leeds College of Art , where he received a Diploma in Art and Design, and where he was involved in student amateur dramatics. Before breaking into film and television work, Peck was a regular actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) alongside Ian McKellen , Donald Sinden and Judi Dench . Between 1979 and 1980 he played Iago alongside Donald Sinden in Othello , in both Stratford and London. He made
7480-469: Was directed by Jon Amiel . From an early Celtic folk tale according to the creators of the series. Based on a folk tale with many variants worldwide. In an adaptation of the Stone Soup fable, the StoryTeller tells of a harsh time when he was forced to walk the land as a beggar. Finding himself in sight of the castle kitchen, he picks up a stone and fools the castle cook into helping him make soup from
7568-472: Was not shown in the US until 1997, when the entire series was rerun by HBO . Taken from an early Russian folk tale retold in English by Arthur Ransome and is also inspired by " Godfather Death ". A soldier returns home after 20 years of war, with three biscuits in his knapsack. On his way he meets three beggars to whom he gives the biscuits; in return one gives him a ruby whistle, one the jolliest dance, and
7656-409: Was since named after him. Theseus becomes king. Many nights, he dreams he slew his own parents or Ariadne and had the Minotaur's face hinting the monster he became because of his lust for glory. This episode stars David Morrissey as Theseus, Steve Varnom as the Minotaur, Maggie O'Neill as Ariadne, Lindsay Duncan as Medea, and Amanda Burton as Aithra. David Greenaway does the face performance for
7744-576: Was the safe way or by land, following a dangerous path with bandits and monsters all the way. Young and ambitious, Theseus decided to go to Athens by land; slaying Procrustes , Sciron the Kicker , and Sinis the Pine Bender along the way. He arrived in Athens where King Aegeus welcomed while Medea plotted to kill Theseus so her own son can be king. After King Aegeus recognized the sword that Theseus
#226773