Line #19 Series/HettyFeather


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2	[[caption-width-right:267:Hetty Feather]]
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4	''Hetty Feather'' (2015-2020) is a children's TV show on CBBC about [[ProtagonistTitle Hetty Feather]], an abandoned child at the Foundling Hospital in London. It is based on the book series of the same name by Creator/JacquelineWilson.
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7	!!Provides examples of:
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9	* {{Adaptational Angst Downgrade}}: Gideon is a lot less timid and shy than his book counterpart. Also, while he still gets bullied by Vince and Judd, he actually has a close, stable group of friends, unlike in the book where he always appears to be on his own and gets bullied by all the other boys.
10	* AdaptationDistillation: While the first book covers Hetty's life in her foster family and her return to the Foundling Hospital at age five before the TimeSkip in the second part, the show's first three seasons focus more on Hetty's present life at the Foundling Hospital and gives a small introduction of Hetty's foster life and return to the hospital at the beginning of the first episode.
11	* AdaptationExpansion:
12	** The show expands on the life in the hospital by showing life for the boys and even giving episodes focused around other characters in the hospital, in contrast to the entire story being told from Hetty's point-of-view in the book.
13	** At the end of Season 3, when Hetty, Gideon, and Sheila finally leave the Hospital for service at Calendar Hall, the show diverts away from the books by adding brand new characters who never appeared in the books and creating new incidents.
14	* {{Adaptational Villainy}}: Sheila, who while starts off bullying Hetty in the book and doesn't actually mean to let Matron find out that [[spoiler: Ida is Hetty's mother]], is a lot more sadistic and ruthless in this adaptation, constantly going out of her way to snitch on Hetty, and actually [[spoiler: snitches to Matron Bottomly that Ida is Hetty's mother, leading to her dismissal and painful, tearful seperation from Hetty.]] As if that isn't ruthless enough, she then continues to snitch on Hetty to Matron in the following episode about her [[spoiler: correspondences with Ida.]] She also bullies and intimidates Mary into betraying Hetty on multiple occasions.
15	** Matron Bottomly herself as well, who while was still very much cruel, abusive and hateful to Hetty in the book, she is shown to be even more sadistic, callous, ruthless and evil in this adaptation, having a larger role in this adaptation with a lot more {{Kick the Dog}} moments, such as being sadistic when Hetty is separated from both [[spoiler: both Polly and Ida on different occasions]], even doing illegal dealings with con-men and sells a girl to work illegally at a factory, who she also keeps captive in a dark, dingy room, intending to send her to a mental institute.
16	* {{Adults are Useless}}: All the other staff and governors at the Foundling Hospital are completely oblivious to Matron's cruel, sinister, abusive and conniving ways until near the end of series 3, despite how often Hetty and the gang keep finding evidence only for her to manage to find a way to lie her way out of it. Lady Asquith is even initially suspicious of Matron, but chooses to believe Matron over Hetty when Hetty comes up with evidence to try and foil her and Matron lies about it being a lie on Hetty's part.
17	* BackForTheFinale: A number of characters returned for the final three episodes of the series, including Matron, Hetty and Gideon's old friends and staff from the Foundling Hospital, which also made a return appearance
18	* BrattyHalfPint: Constance Calendar, although she does grow out of it in series 6.
19	* BrotherSisterTeam: Hetty and Gideon.
20	* CanonForeigner: A few, including Mary, Mathias, most of the boys and all the characters at Calendar Hall.
21	* ClipShow: The two-part "The Chronicles of Hetty Feather", released on the BBC [=iPlayer=], which has Hetty recapping her life at the Foundling Hospital and at Calendar Hall, with FramingDevice being she is writing articles for Mr Calendar's newspaper. It also serves as a prologue to the final series, setting up the consequences to Hetty writing an article about life in Calendar Hall, Mrs Calendar expecting a baby and Jack leaving the Hall for a new job.
22	* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: Monica Clackett is very much a child and dies after a fall in series 2.]]
23	* {{Demoted to Extra}}: Jem has a much smaller role in this series than he does in the book series, even though the few episodes he is in do seem to set him up to live up to his larger role in the books and role as Hetty's main love interest (especially where he promises Hetty he's going to come for her when dropping him off like in the book, and actually sneaks into the hospital to see her dressed as a maid). Also, despite earlier implications as mentioned, he is not romantically involved with Hetty in this series, disappearing after a few small appearances with limited screen time.
24	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Mrs Calendar's daughter begins courting a potential suitor in series 4. At the end of the season, where they break up, he comments that he will not marry a woman who considers women equal to men. This is, of course, a reflection of Victorian views on women.
25	* {{Easily Forgiven}}: Matron Bottomly really does seem to be an irredeemable villain, yet is made to somewhat reform in the end.
26	** Also Sheila, who, unlike her book counterpart,has a {{Moral Event Horizon}} when she actually snitches to Matron Bottomly that [[spoiler: Ida is Hetty's mother]], resulting in her being dismissed and the mother and child being tearfully separated from each other again, which Sheila shows no remorse for, continuing to snitch on Hetty about her correspondance with Ida in the following episode. However, she is also made to reform later on in the series. Realistically these two should have really received their {{Laser-Guided Karma}} and left it at that.
27	* ExtraLongEpisode:
28	** The first two episodes were originally shown as a single hour-long installment and shown as two separate parts on later broadcasts.
29	** The Christmas special was an hour-long installment.
30	* {{Girl Posse}}: Sheila, Monica and Elizabeth, also known as the "she-mob".
31	* FieryRedhead: Hetty Feather is a redhead and a fiery temper when angered.
32	* GeneHunting: Hetty is desperate to find her birth mother. [[spoiler: In series 2, she does.]]
33	* {{Hate Sink}}: Matron is very cruel, sinister, conniving, abusive, ruthless, callous and sadistic, being especially harsh on the children (and especially having it in for the wild and rebellious Hetty who is always trying to foil her), being both physically and emotionally abusive, with more than several {{Kick the Dog}} moments, including being very sadistic to Hetty, more so than her book counterpart, and unlike her book counterpart, is actually conniving, doing dealings with criminals that involve exploiting the children.
34	** Same with Sheila, who is also a lot more sadistic and ruthless than her book counterpart, even though she does show to have redeeming qualities at occasional times such as teaming up with and refraining snitching on Hetty on the odd occasion, she also goes out of her way to constantly snitch on Hetty, even after seeing the emotionally painful, drastic consequences her last snitching had on Hetty, bullies and intimidates Mary into betraying Hetty and sadistically torments Hetty about how broken she looks after having been in the tench.
35	* HeelFaceTurn: Lady Grenford spends series 4 trying to out Mrs Calendar's secret of an illegitimate son and then series 5 trying to procure the Dawn Star. After spending two series as a villain, in the final series, she shows a nicer side, joining in on Constance's birthday picnic and telling George to not go back to India and send his children away, stating that she does not want his children to lose another parent.
36	* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: After two seasons of lying her way out of trouble, Matron Bottomly is finally exposed near the end of season 3 and arrested at the end.
37	* MacGuffin: The plot of series 5 revolves around a quest to find a priceless diamond called the Dawn Star.
38	* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Tough, outspoken Hetty and patient, gentle Gideon fit this trope.
39	* MissingMom: A plot point in series 4 is Hetty accidentally finding out that Mrs. Calendar has already had an illegitimate child (who was adopted).
40	* MusicalEpisode: The Christmas Special which aired in-between series 5 and 6.
41	* OrphansPlotTrinket: Hetty's token. Her mother gave it to the Foundling Hospital with Hetty when she gave her up. It's a coin with a heart stamped through it.
42	* PuppyLove:
43	** Harriet and Mathias [[spoiler: who both go off to New York together with plans to get married.]]
44	** Hetty seems to view Jack's affection for her as this and, while sympathetic to him, doesn't want to marry him.
45	* PutOnABus: Happens to a few of the children of the Foundling Hospital. Notably [[spoiler:Mary in series 1 and Polly in series 2]]
46	* RaceLift: Gideon is white in the books and black in the show. The same is true for Nurse Winterson.
47	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr. Cranborne is far more caring for the children than Matron is, often managing to overturn her illegal acts without trying.
48	* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler:Polly]] is adopted by a couple because she looks like their recently deceased daughter.
49	* ScatterbrainedSenior: A subplot in series 4 involves the cook Mrs Whittock gradually losing her memory from dementia, forcing Sheila and the others to desperately try and cover for her.
50	* SculleryMaid: Sheila at the end of series 3 and series 4. This is also Ida Battersea's job at the Foundling Hospital [[spoiler:before she is dismissed]]
51	* {{Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality}}: The girls in the foundling hospital have it a lot worse than the boys, who get to do more fun activities and learn about interesting stuff such as explorers, as well as even playing football on one occasion while the girls have to garden, as part of preparing for life as a soldier, while the girls have to perform menial tasks most of the time. It is also a significant representation of how women were viewed as inferior to men back in the Victorian times of course.
52	* TraumaticHaircut: When little girls are first brought to the Foundling Hospital, they have their hair cut off short. This also happens to [[spoiler: Sheila, Elizabeth, and Monica in the second episode of series 1 when Matron doesn't believe them when they tell her of Hetty trying to escape as punishment for being out of bed. They sport BoyishShortHair for the rest of series 1.]]
53	* VillainousBreakdown: In Series 3 Episode 8, when Matron is caught red-handed by the protagonists and authority figures, she becomes indignant, flustered, and occasionally devolves into screaming; even threatening Hetty in front of everyone.
54	** Happens again in the Series 3 finale and in bigger fashion. As she is about to be carted off to prison, she wails a BigNo, and spirals into an emotional breakdown; even having the gall to plead to be shown mercy.
55	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
56	** In season 2, Jem tells Hetty that their father (Jem's biological father) has taken ill. Barring a flashback, he is never seen again and it is unknown what happened to everyone in Hetty's foundling family.
57	** In the Christmas special, set after series 5, Mrs Calendar declares her plans to open a home for children. This is forgotten in the following series [[spoiler:though perhaps justified given that Mrs Calendar passes away]].
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Context Series / HettyFeather