Worst Witch

I found at library the DVDs of Worst Witch, a BBC series. The DVD cover proclaimed, ideas that helped make Harry Potter. That's a bold claim, but ... I will second that motion. I only watched one episode, but many of the specifics are indeed Potter-esque.

Girls' school in a castle, all are witches, and Mildred and friend are rule-breakers. These young witches are plucky with their magic and it is tabboo to use magic, as they are not trained.

Two characters stood out in the show: PE Coah who might have been the basis for Madam Hooch and there was a little girl who looked like a blonde young Moaning Mertle.

(I stopped as I had to laugh about "hooch" and "moaning". It is a penalty to have watched Porky's and other movies.)

There are about fifty girls there, I think and it surprises me that two girls can go missing for such a long period without being noticed. As a teacher, especially while at recess -- track all your kids, the kids of the other class you have and make sure you bring everyone back, despite other groups/classes being out there at the same time. If you can't keep track of fifty kids in one building while in line, then you are a shambles of a monitor.

Anyway, I tend to give kid shows a higher ranking unnaturally, as MR has noticed and remarked, but I'll put this one at slightly below average. While the acting is as good as it can be, fairly good considering it's a TV series, it lacks fluidity. Sometime I'll read some of the books.