This adaptation of Thomas Hughes' novel about life at Rugby -- which was the second most widely read book in 19th century England, after the Bible -- takes considerable liberties with the original source, compressing chronologies and adding motivations and other elements that were utterly missing from the book, but which are essential to modern story-telling. On the other hand, Antony Steven's screenplay captures the spirit of the book and the ideas behind it better than either of the two feature film adaptations done before it, and makes for entertaining viewing, even if he and director Gareth Davies sometimes allow too much of a Dickensian element to creep into some of the characters and their portrayals. Apart from Anthony Murphy's award-winning performance in the title role, there are a lot of other performances to recommend this BBC production: Simon Turner's Ned East, David Hampshire's Diggs, Richard Morant's Flashman, Iain Cuthbertson's Dr. Arnold (who pushes the cheerful idealism of the character almost to the limit of credibility), Christopher Moran as Coates, Mark Rogers' Cuthbertson, and, most of all, Robin Langford as Madman Martin, in what has to be one of the most vivid and beguiling portrayals of a young 19th century eccentric ever committed to film. The production values are high as well, and even if the script sometimes veers too close to what one might call Nancy Drew territory in episode five, the dramatic arc is solid and credible, and most important the spirit of Hughes' book is alive on the screen.