The Australian adventure series Escape of the Artful Dodger helpfully provided answers to questions unwittingly posed by Charles Dickens in his classic novel Oliver Twist, such as: Whatever happened to resourceful preteen pickpocket Jack Dawkins, aka the Artful Dodger, after Fagin's gang of thieves had been broken up? According to this series, Jack Dawkins (Luke O'Loughlin) was arrested and transported to Australia for a seven-year sentence. Hoping to make up for past discretions, Jack became something of a junior crusader for justice, though his methods were still on the underhanded side. In a Dickens-ian coincidence, young Oliver Twist (Rowan Witt) had also relocated to Australia, in order to learn the "family business" on behalf of his grandfather, Mr. Brownlow. Reunited with his old pal Jack, Oliver naturally accompanied "the Dodger" in his various thrilling adventures. The first of 13 half-hour episodes of Escape of the Artful Dodger was seen on September 17, 2001.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
