Why I am watching Harry Potter films every night this week.

A dozen or so years ago I picked up a copy of the first Harry Potter book to read on a plane. I knew it was a children's book but the J.K. Rowling phenomenon had already begun and I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. I finished the book during the transatlantic flight home, satisfied that I had seen enough of Potter to know what it was about but not feeling the need to follow up on the rest of the series.

Curious fact: Since I was travelling home from the USA the American imprint of the book I acquired had the title changed because the word "Philosopher" was deemed to be unacceptable to a US audience at that time so it was replaced with the word "Sorcerer".

Anyway that would have been the end of my flirtation with Harry Potter had not my own daughter caught a severe case of Harry Potteritus more than a decade later. It took her less than a month to read all of the novels and watch all of the films to date.

Needless to say the recent release of the final film has been a source of much anticipation and the entire family has been convinced to go along for the occasion. Which is all very well except that none of the rest of us had been keeping up with the saga. Therefore in an unprecedented display of family solidarity we have been sitting in front of the TV every night this week watching the films in sequential order. We finished number six last night so only number 7a is left tonight before watching the finale on the big screen on Sunday.

Don't ask me for an opinion on the quality of the films. With such an overdose of Harry Potter in such a short period of time it is impossible to make an objective judgement. I have a vague impression that the story is getting better as we approach the end but last Saturday and "The Philosopher's Stone" seems like such a long time away that I cannot be sure.

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