Watership Down Episode Guide

Series 1

Episode 1- The Promised Land
Seven rabbits, Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry, Pipkin, Hawkbit and Dandelion, all set out on a journey from Sandleford warren to find a new home, after Fiver has a vision that Sandleford warren will be destroyed. Fiver dreams about where their new home will be,"The high and lonely hills, where the wind carries every whisper." They make an unusual friendship with a gull and a mouse.
    
Episode 2- Home on the Down
The rabbits try to settle down at their new home, Watership Down. Problems come though, when the burrow needs digging, and there is only one doe, and according to Bigwig "Bucks don't dig!" Also, a weasel arrives on the down, and Bigwig thinks that the Black Rabbit of Inle is coming for him after hearing somebody call his name, but it ends up being Captain Holly.
    
Episode 3- The Easy Life
In search for Pipernel, the rabbits find out that he is in a warren not far from where they live. Bigwig, Hazel, Fiver and Captain Holly set off to the warren to find him. (Pipernel is a survivor from Sandleford warren) But when they arrive, everything seems a litttle too good to be true. There is plenty of food, and the warren is enormous. As they soon find out, the warren is a death trap.
    
Episode 4- Strawberry Fayre
Free from Cowslip's warren, Strawberry tries to settle down at Watership Down. Bigwig forms an Owsla, to investigate a near-by blood-thirsty warren called Efrafa. Strawberry is scared he will let Hazel down, and almost risks his own life for it. Meanwhile, Bigwig, Pipkin, Hawkbit and Dandelion encounter the Efrafans.
    
Episode 5- The Shadow of Efrafa
Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig decide to take a visit to Efrafa, after hearing reports that Efrafa want to kill all out-siders. Hazel encounters General Woundwort, and asks him a few questions, unaware Woundwort is set out to kill him. Hazel falls for a rabbit there, called Primrose. After Fiver has a vision about Woundwort's past, they escape and had just made a new enemy.
    
Episode 6- The Raid
Having alot on his mind, Hazel travels to Nuthanger farm with Pipkin and Fiver to get some new hutch-rabbits to come and join them, in fear that if they don't have enough rabbits living with them, they will be wiped out by Efrafa. Hazel heads for alot of trouble though, involving a man and a gun. They bring back a new rabbit, called Clover.
    
Episode 7- Challenge to Efrafa
Hazel, Bigwig, Fiver, Hawkbit and Blackberry all set off to help rescue Primrose and Blackavar from Efrafa. However, they get trapped under a stone bridge. Bigwig and Hazel have yet another argurment, and Bigwig storms off, forming a plan to rescue Blackavar and Primrose.
    
Episode 8- Escape from Efrafa
Meanwhile, Bigwig joins Efrafa, and plans to help Primrose escape. Hazel and the others are still stuck under the stone bridge, from the Efrafan guards on top of it. They hatch a plan with Kehaar, and they flee towards the grounds of Efrafa, and meet Bigwig, where he tells them his plan to free Primrose and Blackavar. After some time, they finally flee from Efrafa, and make their escape on a boat, leaving Woundwort raging.
    
Episode 9- The Vision
Primrose feels a little homesick from Redstone, so Hazel agrees to take her back, despite Fiver telling them the place is empty. On the down, Fiver has another vision- that one of their past enemys will return. Meanwhile, Hazel and Primrose are shocked to find that Fiver was right about Redstone being empty. The only one left there is Captain Broom.
    
Episode 10- A Tale of a Mouse
Hazel having new babies, decides to take a trip to the farm, with Bigwig, Fiver and Hawkbit, to find some nice food for the baby rabbits. Everything seems to be going well, until they encounter a dog and a cat, and Hannah gets herself into trouble too.
    
Episode 11- Lost
Wondering the burrow, Hawkbit discovers a strange chamber, and believes he saw The Black Rabbit of Inle. Concered, Hawkbit goes to check it out again with Hazel and Fiver, but they encounter a cave-in. But Bigwig believes Hazel, Fiver and Hawkbit have been kidnapped by Efrafa.
    
Episode 12- Friend and Enemy
Certain that the Efrafans are getting closer to the warren, Hazel and his friends decide to leave false trails leading them away from the warren. But trouble lies for Captain Campion, as he has an encounter with a Hawk. Hazel being as caring as he is, helps Campion but puts his own life in danger, when they both meet an enemy the two of them have never encounted before.
    
Episode 13- Kidnapped
Bigwig and Hazel worry about the thought of Watership Down being wiped out, and that they have no idea of Woundwort's plans. Deciding that they will try to get Campion on their side, they find him out on patrol, and ask Campion. Things seem to be going well, until Pipkin is taken away by the river after attempting to swim.

Series 2

Episode 14- Prisoner of Efrafa
The rabbits find out the Efrafans have captured Pipkin. Woundwort begins to treat Pipkin well, in order to find out the location of his warren. Meanwhile, Hazel hatches a plan to free Pipkin, with help from Campion. They manage to grab as many animals as they can in order to make his plan work, and in the end it works better than they expected.


Episode 15- The Roundabout
Hickory and Marigold decide its time to leave Cowslip's warren, and set off to find Hazel. Hazel agrees to help them escape, and Hawkbit and Dandelion give them lessons on how to live outside, in freedom. Hickory and Marigold decide to start a new warren. Concered, Primrose suggests that they move into Redstone. Trouble is ahead of them though, when Hickory gets trapped on a roundabout.
    
Episode 16- The Market
Kehaar becomes homesick of the Big Water, and decides he must go and visit it, with the rabbits tagging along too. Smelling the glorious smell of carrots and lettace, the rabbits wonder inside a big farm van to nibble at the food. But, suddenly the van wanders off, and the rabbits find themselves at a market, where they make a strange relationship with a pig.

Episode 17- The Great Water
Finally making it to the Big Water, the rabbits loose contact with Kehaar. The rabbits are amazed by their new surroundings, including the salty sea water. But, the rabbits soon realise to sea is getting closer to them. Meanwhile, Kehaar meets up with his old friend, Katerina, but soon realises she isn't as friendly as he thought she once was. The rabbits are helped put by the puffins, after almost being taken away by the sea.

Episode 18- The Stand
Hickory and Marigold finally make their escape from Cowslip's warren, bringing along some friends with them. Bigwig and his friends help Hickory set up his warren at Redstone, unaware Cowslip has watched them, and meets up with Woundwort. Campion warns Hazel that Woundwort will attack at dawn. Woundwort is disappointed to find Redstone empty, and heads off to Cowslip's warren, where he is almost caught by the shining wire. Campion however, is caught out by Vervain, and arrested.

Episode 19- The Orchard
The apples of the orchard are red and delicious, so Hazel and Bigwig go down to have a munch, but retreat back to the warren when they find out a badger lives there. Knowing that the orchard is off-limits, Pipkin and Fiver go down to have a bite of the apples anyway. The badger comes back, and Pipkin flees. But Fiver soon finds out the badger is harmless, and has a name. Bark.

Episode 20- The Great Game
Knowing Campion is still under arrest, and Vervain is starving him to death, Hazel decides he must do something to help. The rabbits make a really cunning plan, and turn Vervain into a mad bunny! Campion however, is soon up and running again.

Episode 21- Winter on Watership Down ~Part 1~
Its been snowing, and the grass has turned white. The rabbits plan on having a big feast, but with no food, Hazel, Bigwig, Hawkbit, Dandelion, Fiver and Kehaar set off to find some. They become lost, and encounter danger, with a fox, and ice. Then Buttercup comes along, and allows the rabbits to say at her warren, right near man.

Episode 22- Winter on Watership Down ~Part 2~
Unconvinced Buttercup's warren is safe, Hazel and his friends decide to flee from there during night. But they soon find out, Buttercup's warren is harmless, and the men that live nearby are harmless too. Buttercup lets them take as much food as they want, and Kehaar leads them back home safely to Watership Down.
    
Episode 23- The Mysterious Visitors
Hawkbit, Fiver, Pipkin and Dandelion raid the farm, and to Hazel's surprise they bring two other rabbits back to the down instead of food. Bluesky and Raincloud, both say they are messengers from Prince Rainbow. Hazel catches on straight away its all a scam, but he keeps it quiet. The two demanding rabbits tell Pipkin they can fly, which leads into alot of trouble.

Episode 24- The Invasion
After a huge storm, to the rabbit's surprise, sheep are at Watership Down. For now, Hazel agrees to let them stay. But after living with them for a while, he soon finds out they arn't that friendly and they attract more enemies. Captain Broom explains about what a sheepdog can do to get rid of the sheep. Hazel hatches a cunning plan to get the sheep of the down.

Episode 25- Bigwig's way
Bigwig sets up an early morning Owsla patrol, but Hannah doesn't show up for her training. Later, she turns up with Hickory, excited that Hickory and Marigold have got baby rabbits. However, Bigwig is annoyed at her, and after an argument, Hannah leaves the down. Kehaar manages to convince Hannah to come to Redstone, and she agrees. On her way to Redstone, she ends up stranded up a tree, and meets a Squirrel, called Tassle.

Episode 26- The Homecoming
Vervain now a slave, escapes and manages to find Hazel's warren. Vervain tells Woundwort, and Campion is horrified. Campion sets off to warn Hazel, and is then amazed by the beauty of Watership Down when he sees it for himself. Hazel and his friends set traps for Woundwort's arrival. It's love at first sight for Blackberry and Campion. Its the final battle, and Fiver's scary vision becomes reality.
    

Series 3

Episode 27- Campion Lives
The Efrafan Owsla flees the collapsing caverns, leaving only Woundwort, Vervain, Moss, and a handful of officers alive. Realizing that not even the cave-in will stop General Woundwort from trying to destroy them, Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig make preparations to wage war on Efrafa, with Pipkin recruiting all his animal friends. Fiver meanwhile senses that Campion is not dead, and indeed the Efrafan captain manages to pull himself free from the rubble of the caverns, alive but horribly scarred. He meets the Black Rabbit of Inle, who tells him his time has not yet come and he has a special destiny in store for him. Meanwhile, Moss, seeing that Woundwort is going mad, teams up with a doe named Heather to overthrow him, but then the Watershippers attack Efrafa in full force.
Episode 28- Woundwort Never Gives Up
Following the liberation (and destruction of Efrafa), the Efrafans move into Watership Down with Moss, the highest-ranking surviving officer, as their reluctant leader. Tensions are, though, as three of the other surviving officers try to bully Pipkin and end up getting into a fight with Bigwig. Meanwhile, Woundwort has survived and runs into two other rabbits in a swamp, letting them sink to their deaths in a mire after they refuse to swear loyalty to him. The Black Rabbit of Inle shows Campion this, and tells him his destiny is stop Woundwort, who "threatens the world of the living." Campion also has a horrible vision of Blackberry in danger, and himself being threatened by a fierce green rabbit. Meanwhile, Moss and Heather decide to take the rest of the Efrafans to start a new warren elsewhere.
Episode 29- The Wanderer
Bigwig is fed up with his Owsla messing up, and is pleased when the junior Owsla actually knock him off his feet. Blackberry becomes suspicious of Pipkin when he keeps wondering off and learning new Owsla tricks so fast. Vervain gets himself into trouble and almost drowns, but luckily Captain Holly, Primrose and Fiver are nearby. Even after they saved his life, he teams up once again with the "one-eyed evil".
Episode 30- The Challenge
The Junior Owsla and Kehaar help an orphaned Hawk survive, whilst at the same time trying to prove to Hazel they are responsible enough to go on solo patrol. But what they don't know is that Hazel has been secretly watching them save the Hawk. So when they actually ending up saving the Hawk, they have proven themselves to her.
Episode 31- Woundwort in the trap
Undercover, Woundwort begins to gain the trust of the rabbits at Redstone Warren. He has to fight off his own allies in order to finally gain there trust. Meanwhile, Blackberry finally finds out about Campion.
Episode 32- Kehaar's Departure
Woundwort works his way to chieftainship of Redstone. Meanwhile, Kehaar decides to leave the warren for good with his new mate Gluck.
Episode 33- Redstone Falls
Woundwort discovers that a human construction crew plans to bulldoze Redstone, and so he and Vervain travel to the Warren of the Shining Wire. There, he tells Cowslip he will show him Redstone destroyed if Cowslip will give him his seer, Silverweed. Meanwhile, Hickory and Flax talk of revolt against "Wheatstalk" while Marigold races to Watership Down to warn Hazel and the others of Woundwort's return. The wandering Campion stumbles across a new warren, Darkhaven, populated by savage rabbits who await the prophesized return of "the Dark One", and becomes their chief after he defeats their strongest warrior, Granite, winning the respect of a tough doe named Spartina.
Episode 34- Magic
Woundwort, Vervain and Silverweed arrive at Darkhaven, just in time to meet up with Campion. At the same time, Hannah seeks Hedge the Wizard, hoping to learn magic so she can help her friends.
Episode 35- An Unfair Due
Silverweed traps Fiver in a twisted dreamworld illusion, allowing him to invade Fiver's mind and see through his eyes to learn the location of Watership Down for his master, Woundwort. Fiver manages to fight off Silverweed's hold, but not before Silverweed deduces that Watership Down is "in the high hills, near a lone beech tree." Hazel realizes how dangerous Silverweed is, so he and the others journey to Darkhaven with the intent of kidnapping him. Meanwhile, Campion and Blackberry have the same idea, whilst Granite becomes Woundwort's new second-in-command when he challenges Vervain to single combat and Vervain forfeits rather than face the stronger Granite.
Episode 36- The Spy
Spartina is sent by Woundwort to befriend Hazel and the others and act as a spy for him. Before she leaves, she informs Granite that if she does not return to Darkhaven by the next full moon, he is to kill Blackberry. Meanwhile, Bigwig has Silverweed play a trick on Dandelion and Hawkbit, making them believe that no-one on the Down can see or hear them.
Episode 37- Campion's Betrayal
While trying to return to Darkhaven in time to save Blackberry, Spartina is found out by the Watership Down rabbits. She confesses everything, even admitting to putting Blackberry in danger. After discovering Spartina's betrayal, Woundwort uses her and Blackberry to make Campion confess as to where Watership Down is, and to lead his army into battle there.
Episode 38- Hannah's Big Achievement
The Watership Down rabbits prepare for the last battle with Woundwort, while Blackberry, Spartina and Campion plan their escape from Woundwort. A reluctant Hannah joins Skree in helping their friends escape. During the escape, Campion is pushed into a river by Granite. While unconscious, he is told by the Black Rabbit of Inle that Woundwort will be defeated by the Watership Down rabbits, but that one of their number must give themselves to him in order to do so.
Episode 39- The Last Battle
It's time to end the battle once and for all. Both sides collide and there can be only one winner. Bigwig goes one on one with Woundwort and Hannah plans to use 'the magic' to finally be rid of Woundwort forever, but Silverweed knows that a high price must be made to use it. So he plans to use it, instead of Hannah.

Watership Down Episode Introduction

Episodes

Series 1

The Promised Land Seven rabbits from Sandleford Warren set out on a search for the 'High Lonely Hills' which Fiver has seen in a vision as being a place of safety. Along the way, they encounter many dangers such as the river and a dog. They finally reach the hill called Watership Down.

Home on the Down The rabbits begin to settle into their new home on the down. However problems become apparent: the burrows need digging, but there's only one doe and bucks don't dig! A weasel also arrives at the down and everyone must work together; Meanwhile, a mysterious visitor is looking for Bigwig. It was Caption Holly who escapes from Sandleford.

The Easy Life In search of Pimpernel, the rabbits travel to a nearby warren believed to be a place of safety. This warren led by Cowslip, seems a little too good to be true ... and it is! Bigwig nearly dies in the process of realizing this.

Strawberry Fayre Free from Cowslip's warren, Strawberry begins to settle in at the down, albeit lazily. Meanwhile, Bigwig hears of a vicious warren called Efrafa and investigates further.

The Shadow of Efrafa Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig decide to visit Efrafa, after hearing reports that Efrafa want to kill all outsiders. Hazel encounters General Woundwort and asks him a few questions, Unaware Woundwort is set out to kill him. Hazel falls in love for a rabbit called Primrose After Fiver has a vision about Woundwort's past (which is unlike any others he's had before), they escape having made a new enemy. Hazel promised himself he will come back for Primrose to be free.

The Raid Having a lot on his mind, Hazel travels to Nuthanger Farm with Pipkin and Fiver to get some hutch-rabbits to come and join them, fearing that if they don't have enough rabbits living with them, they will be wiped out by Efrafa. Hazel heads for a lot of trouble though involving a man and a gun. In the end, they bring back a new rabbit doe named Clover.

The Challenge to Efrafa Hazel, Bigwig, Fiver, Hawkbit and Blackberry all set off to help rescue Primrose and Blackavar from Efrafa. However, they get trapped under a stone bridge. Bigwig and Hazel have yet another argument and Bigwig storms off forming a plan to rescue Blackavar and Primrose.

Escape From Efrafa Bigwig joins Efrafa and plans to help Primrose escape. Hazel and the others are still stuck under the stone bridge with the Efrafan guards on top of it. They hatch a plan with Kehaar and flee towards the grounds of Efrafa to meet Bigwig, where he tells them his plan to free Primrose and Blackavar. After some time, they finally flee from Efrafa and make their escape on a boat leaving Woundwort raging, Hazel and Primrose happily to be together at last.

The Vision Primrose feels a little homesick for her former home Redstone, so Hazel agrees to take her back despite Fiver telling them the place is empty. On the down, Fiver has another vision: that one of their past enemies will return (the weasel they defeated last spring). Fiver begins to feel even guiltier than usual after Hawkbit accuses him of being bad luck (despite the fact that if Fiver had never told them about the visions they'd all be dead by now); however, Hawkbit was just angry at Bigwig for working them too hard. Meanwhile, Hazel and Primrose travel onward, She nearly drowning after falling into the river along the way, but Hazel leaps in and rescues her. They are shocked to find that Fiver was right about Redstone being empty. The only one left there is Captain Broom. So they went back to the Down to tell Fiver that his visions aren't wrong and he felt much better.

Tales of a Mouse Hazel decides to take a trip to the farm with Bigwig, Fiver and Hawkbit to find some good food for the new baby rabbits. Everything seems to be going well, until they encounter a dog and cat. Hannah gets herself into trouble too. But she been saved by Fiver and together they escaped with a help from Hazel and others to make a hole underneath the garden fence.

Lost Wandering through the burrow, Hawkbit discovers a strange chamber and believes he saw The Black Rabbit of Inlé. Concerned, Hawkbit goes to check it out again with Hazel and Fiver; They encounter a cave-in and are trapped. but Bigwig believes Hazel, Fiver and Hawkbit have been kidnapped by Efrafa. Later, the others found out the Black Rabbit is just a shadow.

Friend and Enemy Certain that the Efrafans are getting closer to the warren, Hazel and his friends decide to leave false trails leading them away from the warren. But trouble lies for Captain Campion as he has an encounter with a hawk. Hazel being as caring as Campion does, He helps him into the greenhouse. but puts his own life in danger when they both meet an enemy, a snake. The two of them have never encountered before.

Kidnapped Bigwig and Hazel worry about the thought of Watership Down being wiped out and that they have no idea of Woundwort's plans. Deciding that they will try to get Campion on their side, they find him out on patrol and ask him to help. Things seem to be going well, until Pipkin falls into the river and is swept away. Hazel and others knew they had to rescue him before its too late.

Series 2

Prisoner Of Efrafa The rabbits find out the Efrafans have captured Pipkin. Woundwort begins to treat Pipkin well, In order to find out the location of his warren and especially since Woundwort learns that Pipkin's mother was killed by a weasel (which was what happened to his own mother). Meanwhile, Hazel hatches a plan to free Pipkin with help from Campion. They manage to recruit as many of the local animals as they can in order to make his plan work, and in the end it works better than they expected.

The Roundabout Hickory and Marigold decide its time to leave Cowslip's warren and set off to find Hazel. He agrees to help them escape, Hawkbit and Dandelion give them lessons on how to live outside in freedom. Hickory and Marigold decide to start a new warren. Concerned, Primrose suggests that they move into Redstone. Trouble is ahead of them though when Hickory gets trapped on a roundabout. Hazel and others set off to save him along with Pipkin who help them to get across.

The Market Kehaar becomes homesick for the Big Water and decides he must go and visit it, The rabbits are tagging along too and smelling the glorious smell of carrots and lettuce. They wander inside a big farm van to nibble at the food. But suddenly the van wonders off and the rabbits find themselves at a market where Dandelion and Hawkbit get separated. They find the others and make a strange friendship with a pig that they encourage her to be free.

The Great Water Finally making it to the Big Water, The rabbits lose contact with Kehaar. They are amazed by their new surroundings, including the salty sea water. but soon realize that the sea is getting closer to them. Meanwhile, Kehaar meets up with his old friend, Katerina. but soon realizes she isn't as friendly as he thought she once was. The rabbits are helped out by the puffins after almost being taken away by the sea. After getting to the top, They set off for home.

The Stand Hickory and Marigold finally make their escape from Cowslip's warren, They bringing along some friends with them. Bigwig and his friends help Hickory set up the warren at Redstone, Unaware Cowslip has watched them and met up with Woundwort. Campion warns Hazel that Woundwort will attack Redstone at dawn. Woundwort is disappointed to find the warren empty and heads off to Cowslip's warren where he is unaware of the shining wire until Campion saves him. Campion however, is caught out by Vervain and arrested.

The Orchard The apples of the orchard are red and delicious, so Hazel and Bigwig go down to have a munch. but retreat back to the warren when they find out a badger lives there. Knowing that the orchard is off-limits, Pipkin persuades Fiver to go down with him to have a bite of the apples anyway. The badger appears, Fiver and Pipkin flee. but Fiver gets hurt after he is hit by a ladder and Pipkin leaves him. The badger drags the unconscious Fiver into its den. But Fiver soon finds out the badger is harmless and her name is Bark.

The Great Game Hazel sends Hannah to check on Campion when he doesn't receive any news from him. After a while, the mouse sneaks into Efrafa. Hannah observes Vervain trying to coerce answers out of a starved Campion; She then reports back to Hazel. Knowing Campion is still under arrest and Vervain is starving him to death, Hazel decides he must do something to help. The rabbits make a really cunning plan and manage to convince Woundwort that Vervain is a mad bunny (which isn't hard considering how insane he already is)! Woundwort tells Campion he's sorry for listening to Vervain and reappoints him as captain; Meanwhile, Vervain is relieved of his duty and treated as insane. Campion is soon up and running again. He turns down Hazel and Primrose's invitation to Watership Down once again.

Winter On Watership Down: Part 1 It's been snowing and the grass has turned white. The rabbits plan on having a big feast, But with no food, Hazel, Bigwig, Hawkbit, Dandelion, Fiver and Kehaar set off to find some. They become lost and encounter danger with a fox and ice. Bigwig falls through the ice and Hazel saves him, but Bigwig starts to suffer from the cold. They stand outside and gaze in at the humans celebrating Christmas Eve. Then Buttercup comes along and allows the rabbits to stay at her warren, right near man. Kehaar is upset that he can't find them somewhere in the snow.

Winter On Watership Down: Part 2 After finding out Buttercup and her friends live near man, Hazel's group is unconvinced that Buttercup's warren is safe. Hazel and his friends decide to flee from there during the night, but they soon find out that Buttercup's warren IS harmless and that the men that live nearby are harmless too. Buttercup lets them take as much food as they want and Kehaar leads them back home safely to Watership Down. Primrose and others are happy that they finally come home at last.

The Mysterious Visitors Hawkbit, Fiver, Pipkin and Dandelion raid the farm and to Hazel's surprise bring two other rabbits, Bluesky and Raincloud, back to the down instead of food. Both say they are messengers from Prince Rainbow. Hazel catches on straight away that its all a scam, but he keeps it quiet. The two demanding rabbits tell Pipkin they can fly, which leads into a lot of trouble.

The Invasion After a huge storm,They surprised that sheep have come to Watership Down. For now, Hazel agrees to let them stay. But after living with them for a while, He soon finds out they aren't that friendly. Their eating habits are ruining the down and that they attract more enemies. Captain Broom explains about what a sheepdog can do to get rid of the sheep and Hazel hatches a cunning plan to get the sheep off the down. Pipkin says goodbye to a lamb named Frost who speaks.

Bigwig's Way Bigwig sets up an early morning Owsla patrol, but Hannah doesn't show up for her training. Later, she turns up with Hickory, excited that He and Marigold have got baby rabbits. However, Bigwig is annoyed at her and after an argument Hannah leaves the down. Kehaar manages to convince Hannah to come to Redstone and she agrees. On her way to Redstone, she ends up stranded up a tree and meets a young squirrel called Tassle who shows her how to get down the tree. Bigwig realizes that he's been so hard on Hannah, He knew that he had to find her to say sorry for what he had done.

The Homecoming Vervain, now a slave but escapes, manages to find the hidden back entrance to Hazel's warren and tells Woundwort, To Campion's horror. He sets off to warn Hazel and is then amazed by the beauty of Watership Down when he sees it for himself. Hazel and his friends set traps for Woundwort's arrival. It's love at first sight for Blackberry and Campion. Then the final battle and Fiver's scary vision becomes reality as Campion is crushed beneath a rock in the process of saving Woundwort. Hazel and others bid farewell to Campion in their hearts.

Series 3

The Last Battle (English-German translated title* Campion Lives) The Efrafan Owsla flees the collapsing caverns leaving only Woundwort, Vervain, Moss, and a handful of officers alive. Realizing that not even the cave-in will stop General Woundwort from trying to destroy them, Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig make preparations to wage war on Efrafa with Pipkin recruiting all his animal friends. Fiver meanwhile senses that Campion is not dead, and indeed the Efrafan captain manages to pull himself free from the rubble of the caverns. Alive but horribly scarred. He meets the Black Rabbit of Inlé, who tells him his time has not yet come and that he has a special destiny in store for him. Meanwhile, Moss seeing that Woundwort is going mad, teams up with a doe named Heather to overthrow him, but then the Watership group attacks Efrafa in full force. The Efrafans are free from Woundwort at last.

A New World (English-German translated title* Woundwort Never Gives Up) Following the liberation (and destruction) of Efrafa, the Efrafans move into Watership Down with Moss, the highest-ranking surviving officer as their reluctant leader. Tensions are high, though, as the different rabbit cultures clash, culminating in three of the other surviving officers trying to bully Pipkin and ending up getting into a fight with Bigwig. Pipkin sulks, but when another animal tells him that the crows are waiting for someone to die, He runs off and discovers an exhausted Campion. But Campion makes him swear to keep his survival a secret. Meanwhile, Woundwort has survived and runs into two other former Efrafans in a swamp letting them sink to their deaths in a mire after they refuse to swear loyalty to him. The Black Rabbit of Inlé shows Campion this and tells him that his destiny is stop Woundwort, who "threatens the world of the living." Campion also has a horrible vision of Blackberry in danger and himself being threatened by a fierce green rabbit. Meanwhile, Moss and Heather decide to take the rest of the Efrafans to start a new warren elsewhere.

The Wanderers (English-German translated title* The Wanderer) Vervain wanders about aimlessly, getting into all sorts of trouble. Bigwig, meanwhile, continues to push his Owsla. Campion, with Pipkin's help, is also beginning to regain his strength. Vervain meets a companion, only to abandon him like he always does after a weasel attacks them. In the end, Bigwig eventually accomplishes his goals. Vervain nearly drowns after he is entangled in a barbed wire filled pond, but Fiver, Primrose, Captain Holly, Captain Broom, Hannah and Kehaar rescue him (but only after Fiver pleads with them to save the drowning rabbit). They banish him, hopefully for good. Fiver has a vision and the others realize Woundwort lives. Meanwhile, Vervain is attacked by a weasel, but Woundwort saves him. The rabbit is stunned, but says, "Master, I live to serve you."

The Nestling (English-German translated title* The Challenge) The Junior Owsla and Kehaar help an orphaned hawk named Scree survive, while at the same time trying to prove to Hazel they are responsible enough to go on solo patrol. But what they don't know is that Bigwig has been secretly watching them help the hawk, so when they actually ending up saving the hawk they have proven themselves to him. Kehaar leaves to find a mate. Woundwort and Vervain realize someones following them so they set a trap. Scree saves the trapped Campion.

The Secret of Redstone (English-German translated title* Woundwort In A Trap) Hazel and the others notice a change in Redstone. After learning that elil and man are hunting the Redstone warren, they leave only to smell Campion's trail. Believing it to be a shadow rabbit and realizing that shadow rabbits bring death, They split up but Pipkin confesses to Blackberry who runs off. He then confesses to the others. Woundwort, calling himself Wheatstalk and Vervain Chaff, begins to gain the trust of the rabbits at Redstone Warren. Blackberry finds Campion and tells him she loves him despite the scars; He tells her he cannot be with her and runs off. Woundwort and Vervain get caught by a poacher, but the poacher is caught before he can do anything and they're set free.

My Fair Gull (English-German translated title* Kehaar's Departure) Woundwort works his way towards chieftainship of Redstone. Kehaar returns with his new love, Gluck. All the rabbits are driven crazy by her. Woundwort discovers that its Fiver who outsmarts him every time he has threatened Watership Down and decides he might have to kill the rabbit. Hickory makes Woundwort the new leader, much to Marigold's displeasure (as she is the only one who has seen through the evil buck's disguise). After an interrogation with a young rabbit, Vervain asks Hickory about the rabbit he mentioned. Hickory says Silverweed is a strange mystical rabbit, Vervain finds the information useful and passes it onto Woundwort. They decide to turn in the Redstone rabbits in exchange for Silverweed, an idea that Marigold overhears and runs away at. She is nearly caught, but fakes her death after running in front of a car. Meanwhile, Kehaar decides to leave the warren for good with his new mate Gluck.

The Dark Deal (English-German translated title* Redstone Falls) Woundwort discovers that a human construction crew plans to bulldoze Redstone, so he and Vervain travel to the Warren of the Shining Wire. There, he tells Cowslip he will show him Redstone destroyed if Cowslip will give him his seer, Silverweed. Meanwhile, Hickory and Flax talk of revolt against "Wheatstalk" while Marigold races to Watership Down to warn Hazel and the others of Woundwort's return and they all race back, saving the warren. The wandering Campion stumbles across a new warren, Darkhaven, populated by savage rabbits who await the prophesied return of "the Dark One", and becomes their chief after he defeats their strongest warrior, Granite, winning the respect of a tough doe named Spartina.

Darkhaven (English-German translated title* Magic) Woundwort, Vervain and Silverweed arrive at Darkhaven, just in time to meet up with Campion. At the same time, Hannah goes off to meet up with the hedgewizard in order to learn magic so she can help her friends. Woundwort and Campion agree to join forces once more, while Vervain doubts that Campion can be trusted. Silverweed tries to look into Campion's heart, but he cannot because of the Black Rabbit of Inlé's curse. Woundwort feels empathy for the scarred up rabbit and accepts him, despite Vervain's displeasure. Blackberry and Primrose head towards Darkhaven. Hazel leads the others and manages to rescue Primrose, but Blackberry is captured.

The Eyes of Silverweed (English-German translated title* An Unfair Due) Silverweed traps Fiver in a twisted dreamworld illusion, allowing him to invade Fiver's mind and see through his eyes to learn the location of Watership Down for his master Woundwort. Fiver manages to fight off Silverweed's hold, but not before Silverweed deduces that Watership Down is "in the high hills, near a lone beech tree." Hazel realizes how dangerous Silverweed is, so he and the others journey to Darkhaven with the intent of kidnapping him. Meanwhile, Campion and Blackberry have the same idea, whilst Granite becomes Woundwort's new second-in-command when he challenges Vervain to single combat. Vervain forfeits rather than face the stronger Granite and then gets it back by cheating. Fiver gets inside Silverweed's head and the mystic decides to go with Hazel to Watership Down. Silverweed happily to be free at last.

The Spy (Same in both languages*) Bigwig uses Silverweed's influence to turn Hawkbit and Dandelion's original ideas against them when they attempt to slack off. Spartina is sent by Woundwort to befriend Hazel and the others and act as a spy for him. She fakes injury in order to be taken in by them. However, Silverweed soon learns of her real objective. Spartina tells Granite that if she does not return to Darkhaven by the next full moon, Granite is to kill Blackberry. Blackberry is chased by Granite, but the male gets injured and the doe helps him. Vervain has her punished for showing mercy. Spartina is enraptured with Watership Down, She doesn't know what to do after having seen it with her own two eyes and she fell in love with Bigwig.

The Betrayal (English-German translated title* Campion's Betrayal) Spartina soon gets found out by the other Watership Down rabbits and she confesses everything, even admitting putting Blackberry in danger. Silverweed allows Bigwig to see into Spartina's heart, but the male is frightened by her feelings for him and runs off. Granite attempts to help Campion and Blackberry escape out of gratitude. Silverweed sees a vision involving Hannah's future, but refuses to admit it. After finding out of Spartina's betrayal, Woundwort uses her and Blackberry to make Campion confess where Watership Down is and to lead his army into battle there. After Fiver's vision, Hazel knew the time is come to stop the enemy at once.

The Beginning of The End (English-German translated title* Hannah's Big Achievement) The Watership Down rabbits prepare for the last battle with Woundwort, once again gathering their animal friends to aid them and setting up traps around the warren. Scree takes Kehaar's place as the sky watch while Blackberry, Spartina and Campion plan their escape from Woundwort.

The Magic (English-German translated title* The Last Battle) It's time to end the war once and for all. Both sides collide and there can be only one winner. After the first attack, both sides are injured and weakened, but they must keep fighting. Hazel tells them he'll stay and fight while the others escape to a new warren, but the warren refuses to leave their leader. Bigwig also goes one on one with Woundwort and Hannah plans to use 'the magic' to finally be rid of Woundwort forever, but Silverweed knows that a high price must be made to use it. So he plans to use it, instead of Hannah. Watership Down is saved at last.

Watership Down Series Introduction

Watership Down is an animated television series, adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Adams. It was a co-production of Alltime Entertainment of the United Kingdom and Decode Entertainment of Canada, and produced by Martin Rosen, the director of the 1978 feature film adaptation.

Watership Down aired for 39 episodes and three series from 1999 to 2001, on both YTV in Canada and CITV in the UK, though the latter did not broadcast the third series. It starred several well-known British actors, including Stephen Fry, Rik Mayall, Phil Jupitus, Jane Horrocks, Dawn French, John Hurt, and Richard Briers, among others. Stephen Gately sang a new arrangement of Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes", which had been included in the 1978 feature film, while Mike Batt (who wrote "Bright Eyes") and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra contributed a completely new score. In 2003, composer Eric Robertson as well as David Greene and Mike Batt were nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series for their work on the show.

Some episodes from the adaptation were released on VHS and later, DVD. In October 2005, a Region 2 DVD box set of all three series was released in the UK.

Watership Down

Watership Down title card.png

The Watership Down title card. From left to right: Pipkin, Bigwig, Hazel, Blackberry, and Fiver.

Genre   Fantasy

Children's television

Format                 Animated cartoon

Created by          Richard Adams (book)

Written by          Mary Crawford

Alan Templeton

Directed by         Troy Sullivan

Composer(s)      Mike Batt

Country of origin              United Kingdom

Canada

Language(s)       English

No. of seasons 3

No. of episodes                39

Production

Running time     23 minutes

Production company(s)                 Alltime Entertainment

Decode Entertainment

Helix Animation

Funbag Animation Studios

Broadcast

Original channel                CITV, YTV

Original run         September 28, 1999 – December 4, 2001

Plot overview

Following the basic plot of the novel, Watership Down follows the lives of a group of rabbits as they leave their endangered warren in search of a safe new home. They travel across the English countryside, braving perilous danger, until they find a hill called Watership Down, where they begin a new warren. However, they are endangered by another warren, Efrafa, which is led by the authoritarian General Woundwort, and they are soon forced to defend their home and lives.

Although the first series concerned themselves mostly with elements taken from the original novel at first, later on in that same series as well as the second and third deviated almost entirely, with many episodes focusing solely on new characters and situations. In addition, the third series featured a new opening sequence and style of animation, along with the loss of many of the original voice actors. The programme became noticeably darker in tone, adding elements of mysticsm and magic, such as Campion's encounters with the Black Rabbit of Inle, Silverweed's psychic powers and Hannah's learning of hedge magic.

Although the series was praised by younger audiences at the time of the series' air, fans of both the novel and the movie gave it mixed to negative reviews due to drastic changes from the novel (like Blackberry changed from a buck to a doe) and its more kid-friendly tone as compared to the violence of the movie. The third series drastically changes this to make the series more darker in tone to try and attract more viewers. What they did however was prevent the third series from being aired in the UK, due to it being considered too dark. Nevertheless, the series has grown a fanbase as it went on.

Voice cast

Watership Down was voiced by many familiar faces in the world of British film and television. John Hurt, the voice of Hazel in the film, was reappointed for the series as the voice of General Woundwort, and Richard Briers, the voice of Fiver in the film, appeared in the series as Captain Broom. Dawn French, Jane Horrocks, Stephen Fry, Phil Jupitus and Rik Mayall all provided voices, as Buttercup, Hannah, Cowslip, Dandelion and Kehaar, respectively. To a lesser extent, the late former Boyzone member Stephen Gately, who performed the re-working of "Bright Eyes", provided the voice of Blackavar, and comedy actor Stephen Mangan provided the voice of Bigwig and later, Silverweed, replacing Tim McInnerny who provided Silverweed's voice for one episode in Series 1. Actor Kiefer Sutherland was involved and played the role of a new rabbit called Hickory, but only for 3 episodes, to be replaced in Series 3 by Rob Rackstraw who also provides the voice for Captain Campion and various other characters. By Series 3 most of the celebrity voices were gone and were replaced by new actors, with only a few of the original cast having decided to stay and reprise their roles and provide additional voices.

Cast

All Series Cast

NOTE: These are the only actors to appear on all 3 series of the TV show

    Rob Rackstraw as Campion, Hickory (Series 3), Raincloud (Series 2), Granite (Series 3)

    Stephen Mangan as Bigwig, Silverweed (Series 3), Shale (Series 3)

    David Holt as Vervain, Bluesky (Series 2), Boxwood (Series 1), Darkling

    Andrew Falvey as Fiver, Flax (Series 3)

    Sue Elliot Nicholls as Blackberry

    Lee Ross as Hawkbit

    Richard Briers as Captain Broom

Series 1/2 Cast

NOTE: The actors on this list only portrayed characters in the first two series of the show. These roles were either dropped or recast for Series 3.

    Ian Shaw as Hazel

    Rik Mayall as Kehaar

    Stephen Fry as Cowslip

    Kiefer Sutherland as Hickory

    Stephen Gately as Blackavar

    Kate Ashfield as Primrose

    Tim McInnerny as Silverweed

    Dawn French as Buttercup

    Stephanie Morgenstern as Marigold

    Anthony Barclay as Culoci

    John Hurt as General Woundwort

    Matt Wilkinson as The Weasel

    Phill Jupitus as Dandelion

    Jane Horrocks as Hannah

    Tom Eastwood as Moss

    Jo Rodriguez as Clover

    Robert Harper as Strawberry

    Janet Dale as Bark, Tassle, Frost, Katrina

    Alice and Sean Welsh as Primrose's Kits

Series 3 Cast

NOTE: These are the actors who either played new characters or replaced the majority of the celebrity cast from Series 1 and 2. These names come from the official end credits of this series.

    Anthony Jackson as Kehaar, Cowslip

    Maria Darling as Hannah

    Paul Panting as Strawberry

    Penny Freeman

    Nigel Pegram

 

 • Series 3 Episode Titles Error Because the only country in Europe which aired the third TV series was Germany, the fan site Thank U Stars provided translations of each episode title directly from the German titles. However sites like play.com and tv.com have found and used the German translated titles and not the official ones found on the DVD releases or on screen as they appear at the beginning of each episode.

Unproduced episode

According to the official Watership Down TV series website (which is now closed) Series 2 was supposed to have had an episode produced called Dandelion's Big Story, in which he would tell a story to the younger rabbits, with the roles of El-ahrairah, Prince Rainbow, etc. played by the Watership Down rabbits, while Hazel and Bigwig went to Nuthanger Farm on a raid. However, the episode was never produced and was instead replaced by Bigwig's Way. Even so, the episode title and synopsis managed to find its way on to the 14-disc Region 2 DVD set by Entertainment Rights and Universal, where it replaced Bigwig's Way. The episode itself was oddly placed, on a disc with the episodes that preceded Series 3.

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack for the series was produced by Mike Batt with the aid of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He had also gathered an array of stars to provide their voices for some of the songs. As well as Stephen Gately performing Bright Eyes, Art Garfunkel who had sung Bright Eyes for the film sang When You're Losing Your Way In The Rain, Cerys Matthews from the group Catatonia performed Thank You, Stars which was used in the series as a romance theme for Hazel and Primrose and Paul Carrack from the group Mike + The Mechanics performed Winter Song, though the song wasn't used, an instrumental piece was in the Winter on Watership Down two parter. Mike himself sang for the soundtrack, performing the song The View From A Hill which oddly enough was used in the series, but only in the German version and sung by an uncredited singer, and British voice actor Gary Martin provided the narration for the story of Frith's Blessing for the original release of the CD soundtrack, though in the TV series, it was Dandelion who told the tale of Frith's Blessing.

The soundtrack has just recently been re-released as part of the Mike Batt Music Cube released in December 2009 by Dramatico Records. However only the orchestral pieces are on the CD and none of the recorded songs are present, probably due to copyrights involving many of the guest singers and their record labels[citation needed] and perhaps due to the death of Stephen Gately[citation needed]. The re-released soundtrack has recently became available separately from the Cube in a 2 CD set, along with the soundtrack to the film Caravans

International television

United Kingdom

    CITV (1999–2000)

Republic of Ireland

    TG4 (2000–2005)

    RTE Two (2005–2011)

North America

    YTV (Canada only)

Differences from the novel

Although the story was broadly based on that of the novel, with most characters and many incidents retained, there was an increasing divergence as the series went on, and in later episodes especially some storylines and characters were entirely new.

    El-ahrairah's name was shortened in the series to El-ahrah.

    Kehaar, in direct contrast to the book, severs his gull-like instincts and becomes attached to the Watership rabbits, even pushing aside his own kind at one point.

    Woundwort's backstory was altered to include a connection to a warren called Darkhaven.

Two warrens that did not appear in the original book were added: Redstone and Darkhaven. The Redstone warren was dug beneath the remnants of an ancient Celtic stone circle by a band of regular rabbits, but was invaded by an Efrafan patrol. The Darkhaven warren was located beside a burning tire yard with a large pit where the rabbits, extremely vicious in nature, would battle for the position of Chief Rabbit.