TV REVIEW : Quality Remains High as ‘Narnia’ Resumes

After a year’s hiatus, the myth, magic and high adventure of C. S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” resume on PBS’ “Wonderworks” with the three-part “Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (beginning tonight at 8 on Channel 15 and Sunday at 8 p.m. on Channel 28).

Fans who enjoyed last year’s exceptional debut of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” have waited a long time for the return of this multimillion-dollar BBC series. With one caveat, they won’t be disappointed.

Part I is a kaleidoscope of dwarfs and talking beasts, evil-doers, sword-play, four English children and the crowning of a boy king. Good fun, but the frenetic pace may confuse viewers who missed last year’s segment. That was when the children--Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan--first entered the magic world of Narnia and, aided by its spiritual leader, the lion Aslan, overthrew a wicked witch and ruled in her stead.

Parts II and III, however, offer a thoroughly marvelous telling of a quest to the edge of Narnia, aboard the ship Dawn Treader.

Lucy and Edmund are back, with Eustace, a bratty cousin. (Peter and Susan appear only in Part I; they have outgrown Narnia.) With Caspian and his crew of men, dwarfs and a talking mouse, they brave unknown seas and enchanted islands.

High-tech gloss is refreshingly absent; the special effects and mechanics have an appealing stage-play look. The cast is splendid--Sophie Wilcox is again a standout as heroic Lucy--and Alan Seymour’s adaptation is captivating. It’s a voyage well worth taking.