Book Review: Opening The Box of Delights (2024 Edition)

The festive season is upon us once more and, of course, that means The Box of Delights will be getting its yearly airing for countless fans of vintage British television. And 2024 marks 40 years since The Box of Delights was first aired by BBC1 on 21st November 1984. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, and sweeten the pill that we're all 40 years older, Philip W. Errington has brought us an updated version of his book Opening the Box of Delights.

First published in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the original version of Opening the Box of Delights was an exhaustive look at the series which appeared to leave no stone unturned. Errington's detective work was admirable, delivering a rarely seen level of detail which drilled deep down into The Box of Delights and remains a benchmark for the genre. So, job done, you would have thought. But Errington and DLT Books had other ideas.

This revised edition brings everything that the original had, but somehow manages to cram in an extraordinary amount of new information across 32 additional pages. Aside from a copy of the first episode's script, Errington has been busy surveying the archives to bring these new chapters to the book:

• Kay Harker in Australia
• The First Proof Copy
• The 1962 ITV Broadcast
• The Abandoned Feature Film
• The Pod of Delights
• The 'Big Finish' Audio Adaptation
• The RSC Adaptation
• The Role Playing Game
• Rehearsal Script of Episode One of the TV Adaptation
  

It's not often you can make a compelling case for upgrading to a revised edition of a book, but Opening The Box of Delights does this with ease. A perfect addition to the series for anyone who's ever followed the adventures of Kay Harker with a sense of awe and wonder, Opening The Box of Delights is available from DLT Books.