Raven: The Island is a BBC Scotland children's adventure game show, and the first spin-off to the main series, Raven. It comprises one series, initially airing in 2006 on the CBBC Channel, and then during CBBC on BBC One. In this series, warriors compete as teams and attempt to complete the many challenges on the island of Alaunus, retrieving timepieces in the hope of defeating the evil Nevar.

Plot

Raven: The Island sees the island of Alaunus, Raven's homeland as a child, come under control by the evil force of Nevar and his demons. Raven has been exiled from the island, and so his close and trusted friend, Princess Erina, assists Raven's young warriors in their quest, with the help of her sprite companion, Haryad. Their only hope of restoring the Island lies with the three teams of four warriors, who must travel to the island and towards the ruined fortress that once belonged to Erina's father, collecting timepieces along the way that Nevar, unable to destroy them, has attempted to hide in perilous traps and challenges. Using the timepieces, together with an upcoming solar eclipse, they must then enter the fortress and take an acorn from the Great Oak, stolen and locked away by Nevar to cut new Staffs of Power for his elite demons, so that a new tree may be planted away from the island, far from Nevar's dark domain.

Format

Raven: The Island features a set of different challenges for the warriors, but differs in that the warriors are split into teams; in Raven: The Island, this consists of three groups of four. These teams have different animal associations and colour clothing; the Lions wear green clothing, the Wolves wear blue clothing, and the Eagles wear maroon. Each team also has a team leader, and follow separate paths to the fortress, undertaking different challenges along the way. This series does not provide the concept of lives or rings: should a warrior fail a task by being caught by a demon, or fail to navigate an obstacle in a challenge, that warrior is instantly eliminated and plays no further part in the quest, and cannot be returned or brought back (in contrast to collecting rings in Raven, or exchanging jewels in the second spin-off, The Secret Temple).

Characters

Raven (James Mackenzie): Raven makes appearances in this series, but does not guide the warriors as frequently as in Raven, or The Secret Temple. He converses with Princess Erina on the warrior's progress, and talks to Cyrus to gain information about matters such as the upcoming eclipse, and the timepieces. Princess Erina (Lindsay McKenzie): Raven's close and trusted friend. She carries a Staff of Power with her (topped with a crown carving) and is helped by a tree sprite named Haryad. Erina lives on the Island of Alaunus, which used to belong to her father before Nevar took it over with his dark magic, and is the one who leaves signs and clues to guide the warriors to Nevar's fortress. She cannot meet the warriors herself until the quest is over, for her life force, and that of her Staff of Power made from the ancient Oak, would guide demons straight to them. Haryad (occasionally appears visible as a sprite, played by Jack Gilliland; voiced by Jo James): Erina's companion is a tree sprite – the spirit of the Great Oak that Nevar has stolen – who appears as a blue ball of light, and reports the warriors' progress back to her. Cyrus the Astronomer (Michael MacKenzie, James Mackenzie's father): An old and wise astronomer who works out when the eclipse is due; he also discovered the many magical properties on Alaunus, such as the Time Wells and the Pearls of Wisdom, when sorcery returned to the island. His great knowledge has been passed on to Erina, and he is seen explaining such matters as the eclipse, and the nature and location of the timepieces, to Raven. Nevar: The main antagonist of all the Raven stories, Nevar has seized control of Alaunus by capturing the Enchanted Oak, from which the Staffs of Power for Raven, Erina and his own were cut. He has locked it within the Ruins of the Castle of Alaunus, which he now controls, and has begun to cut Staffs of Power for his black-robed Elite Demons, slowly causing the death of the Oak.

Warriors

Twelve warriors started the quest, with four to each team. As with the main Raven series, each warrior is given their own warrior name, comprising a mix of letters from the first name and surname. Each team has a distinct animal association, and different colours for their outfits. The teams and warriors are listed below, with yellow cells indicating the warriors escaped the island safely.

Challenges

Each team follows a different path using one third of the map of Alaunus that Erina has given them, and each faces different challenges along the way. Nevar, who cannot destroy the timepieces, instead hides them in locations difficult to reach, and from the fourth day – when timepieces become part of the challenges – the warriors may attempt to retrieve them if they so choose.

Lions

Wolves

Eagles

Fortress Approach

Fortress

Having taken the correct acorn, Delra, Corso and Tanel escape Nevar's attacks, protected by the acorn. They return to Erina and Haryad at the Waterfall of the Little Fawn, where they hand her they acorn; they then make to return to the mainland, where they can find Raven, and together plant a new tree that will help in their fight to rid the scourge of Nevar from Alaunus.

Production

The initial sequences, before the warriors arrive on the Island of Alaunus, were shot at Loch Lomond in Scotland. Most of the subsequent challenges were then filmed at Auchengillan International Outdoor Centre. The series was directed by Maria Stewart, who also directed the second spin-off, The Secret Temple. It was produced by Paul Hineman, director of the third and fourth series of the main Raven series.