Raven: The Island
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.
Characters
Raven
: 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 warriors' progress, and talks to Cyrus to gain information about matters such as the upcoming eclipse, and the timepieces.Princess Erina
: Raven's close and trusted friend. She carries a Staff of Power with her 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
: 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
: 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, divided into three teams of four. Each warrior is given a warrior name, formed from their real name, and wears their team's colour: green for the Lions, blue for the Wolves, and maroon for the Eagles. The tables below summarise their outcomes.Episode progress
This chart tracks each warrior’s status and time‑pieces for all 20 episodes.Time‑piece totals by episode
The cumulative number of timepieces in play at the end of each episode:| Episode | Cumulative time‑pieces |
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 7 |
| 6 | 14 |
| 7 | 16 |
| 8 | 24 |
| 9 | 29 |
| 10 | 34 |
| 11 | 36 |
| 12 | 34 |
| 13 | 39 |
| 14 | 42 |
| 15 | 45 |
| 16 | 28 |
| 17 | 28 |
| 18 | 26 |
| 19 | 14 |
| 20 | 14 |
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.