Treasure Island (1977 TV series)

Jim Hawkins (Ashley Knight) discovers a treasure map and embarks on a journey to find the treasure, but pirates led by Long John Silver (Alfred Burke) have plans to take the treasure for themselves by way of mutiny. This four-episode adaptation by John Lucarotti, while particularly faithful to the original, adds an expanded narrative concerning the declining Daniel Hawkins, as well as clarifying Squire Trelawney's naiveté in trusting Blandly and Silver.

This takes place in the first episode; Billy Bones tempts Jim's father into arranging a two-man treasure voyage, the corrupt shipping agent Ezra Blandly guesses their intentions and tips off Silver, who hoodwinks and then cruelly tortures the information out of a hapless alcoholic Mr Arrow. Billy Bones plans founder, and Hawkins snr catches pneumonia in the rain, which finishes him.

Lucarotti's additions to the original provide useful backstory, and the pirate idiom is sufficiently well captured for these additions not to be too obvious.

While the director, Michael E. Briant, has clearly made sure that all the characters are much more strongly defined on screen than they are in the novel, and has cast most of the great TV character actors of the 70s, Alfred Burke is a quite astonishing Sea Cook; slick, violent, cunning, and dangerously plausible. The characterisation bears comparison with that of Robert Newton.

• Alfred Burke as Long John Silver
• Ashley Knight as Jim Hawkins
• Jack Watson as Capt. Billy Bones
• David Collings as Blind Pew
• Thorley Walters as Squire John Trelawney
• Anthony Bate as Dr. David Livesey
• Roy Boyd as George Merry
• Patrick Troughton as Israel Hands
• Stephen Greif as Job Anderson
• Talfryn Thomas as Tom Morgan
• Paul Copley as Ben Gunn
• Tim Condren as Seamus O'Brien
• Richard Beale as Capt. Alexander Smollett
• Roy Evans as Richard Joyce
• Brian Croucher as John Hunter
• Royston Tickner as Tom Redruth
• Edward Peel as Abraham Grey
• Jo Kendall as Sarah Hawkins
• Terry Scully as Daniel Hawkins
• Christopher Burgess as Black Dog
• Ena Cabayo as Louisa Silver
• Stephen Boswell as Dick Johnson
• John Baskcomb as Ezra Blandly
• Keith Bartlett as John
• Max Faulkner as Sgt. Dance
• Linal Haft as Joshua Arrow
• Henry Knowles as Bill
• Derrick Slater as Tom
• Clive Wood as Dirk
• John Dearth as Jeb

• Director Michael E Briant on his career, making Treasure Island and working with Alfred Burke
• Treasure Island at IMDb