British 90s nostalgia and shite

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Does the plot to this TV show sound familiar?

Searching for a new start after the mysterious disappearance of his mother, Adam Freeman and his dad move to the small town of Springville. Actually, the town is better known as "Spooksville" because, well, weird things seem to have been happening there for centuries. At first, Adam doesn’t believe in the tales of supernatural occurrences but soon begins to learn firsthand why the nickname was attached to his adopted hometown. Along with new friends Sally and Watch, Adam intends to save the town from surreal forces and solve the mystery of the supposed age-old curse.

Yes, they made Spooksville into a show!

Actually, the show has been out since 2013, so this is old news. But I only just found out, so it's new news to me.

Here’s Adam, played by a ventriloquist dummy:

He looks too old to play Adam - I thought Adam was supposed to be 11 or something, not 24?

Here’s Sally, played by a field mouse.

Here’s Watch, played by a Jim Henson muppet:

I can already that the producers got Watch wrong. In the screenshot above, Watch looks like the classic high school nerd: he has a confused expression and thick glasses. But in the books, Watch isn't a nerd or a geek. Sure, he’s smart and a loner, but he’s not a classic high school loser. At least, it's not how I imagined him.

And this must be Ann Templeton?

The producers have used their artistic license here and used an 18-year-old actress instead of one in her 30s. This actress is way too young to play Ann Templeton. Too young and too... sexy. Mmm, Anne Templeton, you can put a spell on me anytime. I can already feel my wand beginning to rise...

Don't worry, the actress is eighteen, so my comments are merely inappropriate instead of prosecutable.

This is Bryce:

What the fuck? In the books, Bryce was an intrepid adventurer, but here he looks more a token high school bully. And get this: he only appears in a single episode. Goddammit, Bryce was the best character in the books, after Watch of course. He deserves more than one episode.

Now, you may be thinking: where’s Cindy? Well, like Bryce, Cindy only appears in one episode. That's odd since Cindy featured in all but one of the books. So her exposure in the TV show is a perfect reversal of her exposure in the books. Interesting.

Cindy is played by an actress called Matreya Scarrwener:

Wait – isn't Cindy supposed to have blonde hair? If I remember correctly, her blonde hair was her defining feature in the books. Yeah, here's an excerpt from The Howling Ghost:

Her hair was long and blond; it reached almost to her waist. Her eyes are wide and deep blue.

Yet here she's brunette. I'm beginning to think I should sue the producers of this TV show for shitting on my childhood.

The first Spooksville book, The Secret Path, is available to buy at Amazon.