The Watership Down Podcast

68: Watership Down (1978) Section 10: The Shining Wire Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 29:20 to 32:20. The equivalent Chapters from the book are 17 and 10. As a rising tense musical theme plays, we see Hazel and Fiver react instantly. Cut to Bigwig's face in extremis, with a straight black line running from his neck. The camera zooms out as...

67: Watership Down (1978) Section 9: The Warren of the Snares Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 26 minutes 10 to 29 minutes 20 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 13-14 and 16-17 Chapter 15 does not appear in the film. The dark subdued colours of the last scene are replaced with the orange and purple of the interior of this...

66: Watership Down (1978) Section 8: The Rat-attack and the Stranger Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 21 minutes 20 to 26 minutes 10 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 10-12 In the book there is a long section of the journey to WD that we only hear about in passing. This is the part from the departure from the Warren of th...

65: Watership Down (1978) Section 7: The Road and the Beanfield Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 18 minutes 30 to 21 minutes 20 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 10. The Road and the Common, 9. The Crow and the Beanfield and 11. Hard Going And so, having crossed the Enborne, the 8 rabbits head south. In the book this is w...

64: Watership Down (1978) Section 6: In the Woods and The Crossing Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 14 minutes 10 to 18 minutes 30 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 5. In the Woods, 7. The Lendri and the River and  8. The Crossing The camera pans left past a sparse bush to reveal the recent escapees from Sandleford at the...

63: Watership Down (1978) Section 5: The Departure Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths I have come across a review of a 2002 BBC Radio 4 radio play of WD from the long defunct site bitsnbobstones.watershipdown.org: http://bitsnbobstones.watershipdown.org/reviews/radio4.html Section 5: The Departure This section covers from 11  minutes 50 to 14 minutes 10  and the equiva...

62: Watership Down (1978) Section 4: The Chief Rabbit Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 9 minutes 30 to 11  minutes 50  and the equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 2. The Chief Rabbit As the music dies away Hazel and Fiver approach a rabbit we immediately recognise as Bigwig. A shortened version of their first conversation from the boo...

61: Watership Down (1978) Section 3: The Notice Board Scripted by Newell Fisher, with assistance by John Ruths This section covers from 5 minutes 40 to 9 minutes 30. The equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 1. The Notice Board As the camera zooms out from the detailed rabbit we ended with last time, the shot dissolves to one in which a rabbit is represented in the way we will see throughout...

60: Watership Down (1978) Section 2: Opening Titles Scripted, narrated by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths. This section covers from 3:40 to 5:40 As the image of Frith melts away, it is replaced by a hazy rising Sun. There is movement from out of focus grass in the foreground and we zoom out to see more grass waving in the breeze, as well as a passing butterfly. We get the first...

59: Watership Down (1978) Section 1: Prologue Scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths This opening section covers from the start of the film to 3 minutes 40 and the equivalent Chapter from the book is Chapter 6.The story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah. The very first thing we experience in the film is a dramatic orchestral flourish, before we...

58: Introduction to the 1978 film Scripted, narrated, recorded and edited by Newell Fisher, with script-assistance by John Ruths Origin of a film Martin Rosen bought the rights by 1975 and production started that year. He hired Terry Rawlings as editor. The music for the film hit a major crisis after Malcolm Williamson, a prestigious composer, left the country with hardly anything written. Angela...

57: Watership Down and the Classics Written by Andrew Stevens Full references: Richard Adam’s biographical note in the Puffin edition of Watership Down describes him as having “more than a passing acquaintance with the giants of English literature”(1)… ...The three great epics...Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid do seem to feature throughout the novel, as does the wider Greek Epic cycl...

56: Owsla Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. What is an Owsla? Without an Owsla, the ONLY structure in a warren would be the Chief Rabbit. Hazel became Chief Rabbit simply based on his personality. Woundwort got to be a Chief by killing the previous one, so by a hostile takeover.  Who knows how Cowslip got to be a Chief but one might guess it was simply because he was the most 'in charge'....

55: Does Scripted by Newell Fisher. The does of WD in order of appearance: Nildro-hain : Song of the blackbird Clover: A hutch-doe. The first doe to speak directly in the book Haystack: a hutch-doe Hyzenthlay: Fur-shining-like-dew Thethuthinnang: Movement of Leaves Nelthilta Thrayonlosa Vilthuril A summary of the plot of the novel from a purely female perspective: Watership Down: The Does' Tale Ni...

54: The one after they finished the book Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher Well...we did it. We went through the entire 1972 novel in detail, taking just short of a year. About half way through that year, having started out never having podcasted ever before, I hit one of the largest crises of my adult-life, and this podcast was only able to remain weekly as a result of John Ruth's extensiv...

53: Epilogue Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. Adams speaks to us directly as readers in the opening sentence.  It has a similar effect as when an actor breaks the 'fourth wall' and speaks directly to the camera.  "The wise Mr. Lockley" is referenced and we learn that wild rabbits don't live very long.  Hazel did as it turns out.  We don't even get to know how long he lived and the narrati...

52: Chapter 50. And Last Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. Dedicated to the people of Ukraine and of Russia. The Lost Paragraph resolved Before going through this week’s chapter, I need to apologise for completely missing a crucial moment in Chapter 49 last week, especially given all the time I spent on the Lost Paragraph in episodes 7 to 10, 15 and 23. The last words of Chapter 49, spoken...

51: Chapter 49. Hazel Comes Home The Watership Down Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/468458781496287/?ref=share This episode is scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher. The pre-chapter quote is military in nature and is surely about the First World War.  But it can really apply to any armed conflict. It's clear that the two folks that the poem is about have survived their w...

49: Chapter 47. The Sky Suspended This episode is scripted by John Ruths, Andrew Stevens and Newell Fisher The pre-chapter quote is from Lark Rise to Candleford, by Flora Thompson. It seems to clearly reference Bigwig and what's going on between him and General Woundwort.  The chapter begins where we left off at the end of Chapter 45 at Nuthanger Farm and starts with Dandelion's leap when Hazel st...

48: Chapter 46. Bigwig Stands His Ground Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher John's notes for this episode were dedicated to Samantha the wonder dog, who he lost just before writing them. I dedicated Episode 45 to her memory. Rest in Peace Samantha The pre-chapter quote is one of Richard Adams' finest selections. It was spoken by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo and is a bruta...

47: Chapter 45. Nuthanger Farm Again Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher There will be a conference marking the anniversary at the University of Glasgow from the 2-4 September this year, 2022.  Apparently a graphic novel of the book is also coming out this year. Episode 21 of 'Sophomore Lit' recorded on 6th March 2016, discussing Watership Down: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.theinc...

45: Chapter 43. The Great Patrol This episode is dedicated to Samantha the Wonder Dog, who John Ruths sadly lost this week. John Ruth's notes on this chapter are really good and for this episode I have decided not to edit them at all. The removed cultural perspective of this chapter makes this seem appropriate. Chapter 43. The Great Patrol The pre-chapter quote is from Napoleon by Walter de la Mar...

44: Chapter 42. News at Sunset Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher The pre-chapter quote is from Plato, referring to Socrates, in 'Euthyphro'.  Plato's statement that "the act is unjust and hateful to the gods" would seem to refer to how things develop in this chapter.  So, like some other pre-chapter quotes, this one is definitely foreshadowing. But it also refers to how things turn out with...

43: Chapter 41. The Story of Rowsby Woof and the Fairy Wogdog Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher The pre-chapter quote is a Psalm of David and is about delivering him from his enemies and their actions against David. It's interesting that Richard Adams choose a psalm snippet that contains the word "dog" and this makes it quite fitting. And then the chapter opens with "Now came the dog days—d...

42: Chapter 40. The Way Back Scripted by John Ruths and Newell Fisher A late promotion to the podcast's Owsla. Welcome to the Owsla Nati Plavin. Please consider yourself very much a part of the inaugural membership. Chapter 40. The Way Back The pre-chapter quote is from English poet Walter de la Mare. Most of Adams' selected quotes have an element of foreshadowing and this one certainly has.  It's...