The A – Z of Classic Children’s TV: The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Episodes 9 – 13

So here are the final five parts but I will start this final section with my favourite Robinson Crusoe joke.

Why did Robinson Crusoe have every weekend off? Because his work was always done by Friday!

Now, you may have noticed that this particular character has not appeared yet. It turns out that he was very much a latecomer to the scene. I can guarantee he plays a significant part in the rest of the story.

Episode Nine opens up with the aftermath of the shipwreck of what turned out to be a pirate ship as Robinson Crusoe has brought a lot of the supplies onto the island. Suddenly, it’s three years since he was shipwrecked and he has a party for himself and his companions after thanking God for his blessings. It’s really interesting to hear that being a central plot point, but with it being so faithful to the original early 18th Century novel, that probably shouldn’t be surprising. I love the different animals and the parrot sitting around the table all being on their best behaviour! After having finished off two flasks of rum, Crusoe bemoans the fact that they left him so little, so he runs down to the beach and sets off for the pirate ship in search of more. He is drunk and the voiceover makes this very clear! Back on the pirate ship he falls asleep in a drunken stupor, waking up to the sound of singing sea shanties, which he presumes is in his imagination, before finding more rum and having a hair of the dog! He playfully spins the wheel of the ship and then falls asleep again. When he comes to he realises that he is drifting out to sea and he can no longer see the island. The ship’s wheel is now stuck and there is nothing left on board the ship as he has taken it all off and transported it to the island. Is he ever going to get back? What will happen to the dog, the parrot and the goats? I can imagine being really worried as a child, as I am concerned as an adult! It’s a measure of how well the story and the adaptation have drawn me in. His ship runs aground on an unfamiliar stretch of coastline and he decides to take his chances with the land. The first living thing he sees is his dog! He turns out to be back on his island much to his, and my, relief. However, he finds unfamiliar footprints which tempers his joy at being back. Who is the intruder? Is he still on the island? It has taken a very unsettling turn as Crusoe starts to fear his own shadow. To keep the parrot quiet, because he is afraid that the bird will bring the intruder to his cave, he throws a sheet over it which seems to work. He finds himself nursing his first illness in three years and decides that inhaling the fumes from a bowl of tobacco will be the perfect cure! His goats are bleating with pain from not being milked and he has succumbed to exhaustion. When he wakes up he has got rid of the fever, no doubt because of the tobacco. Suddenly he sees a skull and realises that there are cannibals on his island!

The next episode sees Crusoe on guard and he sees the cannibals leaving, whereupon he makes plans to frighten them so much that they will never come back. So, he invents a weapon that means a number of muskets can be fired at once and booby traps the place where he has seen the fire they have lit with a barrel of gunpowder. The cannibals will believe that there are supernatural forces at play because, of course, all non English races are superstitious. When they do return it is surprisingly tense. The cannibals see a lone prisoner escape and two follow them. Crusoe kills one, terrifies the other and then the fire explodes accompanied by a volley of gunfire. The savages turn tail and run to their boats apart from two cannibals, including the one who he terrified earlier. One is shot but the other attacks Crusoe and starts to strangle him. Luckily, the grateful prisoner kills the assailant and Crusoe uses the knife to cut the binds around his wrist. The two then set about burying them. Robinson Crusoe calls his new companion Friday, and calls himself Master, because of course he would having been born an Englishman! His dog does not like Friday initially, but is calmed somewhat with food. Crusoe makes Friday sleep outside the cave and binds his wrists once again in case he ‘wakes up feeling hungry’ as he is a cannibal! There is a real feel of the slavery storyline coming back with Crusoe as the slave owner this time, with his added role of civilising this savage, which to modern audiences may be somewhat troubling, but which to 60s and 70s kids was quite natural. The story has suddenly gone into overdrive in Episode Ten after meandering through nine episodes!

Episode 11, and it isn’t clear where the story is going to go yet in these last three instalments. So lets settle in for the ride during this last hour of the story. Now, it’s clear that Friday has to be civilised to enable Crusoe to feel like he has done his job, but how is he going to do this? Well, Friday learns to bring him his breakfast on his first morning, although it’s not explained how. Crusoe tells us that he is showing Friday how the gun works so he can be impressed by how powerful and superior his Master is. He then starts to teach Friday to count and how to say specific words like milk. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the way that people thought about those from different countries, especially those with different skin tones, as people with no sense or intelligence. The whole section dealing with his education makes it clear what was at the heart of slavery, as the trade in people could not be acceptable unless those being traded were inferior. He teaches Friday to use a gun as that is civilised and a bow and arrow are not! Naturally, the use of birds as target practice is a clear indicator of civilisation. Friday then runs amok with the rifle and proves very civilised! Friday suddenly seems to learn the intricacies of English to the extent that they can have philosophical discussions. Robinson Crusoe then introduces Friday to God. It is quite a leap from where they started the episode, that’s for sure!

The penultimate episode starts with Crusoe searching for Friday who he fears has left him after an argument. Apparently he has been living on the island for five years, four years on his own and one year with Friday. Friday has gone to ground but not left the island, as a series of gifts for Crusoe proves, but why is he continuing to hide? Then we find out that his faithful dog is dying in scenes that will have upset even the most hardy of 60s and 70s children. It’s upsetting even now. Friday returns and the two men simply look at each other, and they go together to bury his faithful canine companion. Now, Crusoe sees him as an equal rather than a slave although the reason isn’t exactly made clear. Later in this episode Crusoe has lost track of time, grown a beard and become a joint ruler of his domain. He doesn’t ever want to leave. Suddenly he sees a ship and he is ready to leave with Friday, but when the men come ashore in a small boat he keeps out of sight just in case. It turns out that the men are murderers and pirates, so it’s just as well. Then, his parrot starts talking and the pirate draws his gun. Is the parrot about to squawk his last? Crusoe rescues his bird by tripping up the head pirate, but he and Friday’s days seem to be numbered. Another boat comes ashore. Surely this is it for our heroes?

The final episode opens with a game of hunter and hunted, but which is which? The pirate captain creeps up behind Robinson Crusoe and knocks him out with the butt of his pistol. Friday finds the canoe the latest set of pirates came ashore in and hides in it. Crusoe is a captive at the whim of the pirate captain but he tries to lead him on a wild goose chase in search of water. Friday is found by a pirate but pretends not to understand him so that he can find out what is happening with the pirates. It’s all very confusing! Then, all seems lost as the pirates find his cave and his treasure. Luckily, greed makes them fight and under cover of the confusion Friday escapes. Crusoe tells the captain that he knows of a native village on the other side of the island with even more treasure and luckily the captain is foolish enough to fall for it. Friday then picks the pirates off one by one from hiding. When the captain is killed things become more confusing still for the pirates as they have no leader, no plan and no sense of companionship. Robinson Crusoe and Friday now have the upper hand. It’s quite the body count in this last episode! Crusoe captures a pirate who agrees to help in return for his life. The last two pirates try to escape with the treasure chest in their canoe but Friday sinks the canoe by making holes in the bottom with his knife. The treasure has gone but so have the pirates. Friday makes his way to the pirate ship, ambushes those left on board and raises the White Ensign! They are on their way back to freedom, but Robinson Crusoe reflects on his luck at being changed for the better by his captivity on the island. We now see the two of them back in England with Friday now speaking RP and writing the story in front of a roaring fire.

Well there you go. They certainly don’t make them like that anymore. Yes, there were elements that are jarring to modern eyes, but the way that the story gripped me proves that good television is good television from whatever era it comes. Tales of shipwrecks and desert islands have been replaced for now, but if you ever want to go back to them they will always be there. I hope you enjoyed this revisit and that you will join me for more blasts from the past in the months ahead.