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BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials provokes debate over its suitability for children, while the National Gallery scores a memorable own goal
Just how dark is His Dark Materials? The BBC, which has made a splendid adaptation (14-year-old Dafne Keen as Lyra is outstanding) of Philip Pullman’s bestselling trilogy, pondered long and hard about its tone, content and when to show the eight-parter. In the end it plumped for 8pm rather than 9pm, the traditional slot for its Sunday-night dramas. The earlier time gives more youngsters a chance to watch it “live”, even though the series’ lead producer, Jane Tranter, now an independent but who ran BBC Drama in the 2000s, argues that the TV version is “for adults which children can watch”.
Pullman has always refused to categorise his Dark Materials books. Yet there is child-snatching and medical experiments on those kids to remove their souls. Tranter counters that “children are going to be the least scared as they will not understand everything”. Probably not some of the physics and religion, but I reckon they’ll “get” being stolen by baddies.