Worzel Gummidge - The Complete Collection [DVD]

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Overall, Worzel Gummidge is first-rate children’s television and great family entertainment. It may well leave youngsters of today cold, but for those of us with fond memories of the show, it doesn’t disappoint all these years later. You’ll find yourself saying, “Well, I’ll be bum-swizzled!” Worzel Gummidge offers a comforting, daft, and endlessly entertaining world, with enough moments of creepiness to keep you on your toes. If you get your thinking head on, you may well work out it’s a great festive gift. Hall and Waterhouse, meanwhile, continued their careers as hugely successful writers, the latter penning Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, a play that served as a magnificent showcase for Peter O'Toole. This boxset from Fabulous Films brings together the complete collection of Worzel Gummidge episodes from the 1970s and 80s, which starred Jon Pertwee as the eponymous hero. Eager to take on the role, Pertwee encouraged Waterhouse and Hall to rewrite the script as a television series. They pitched the series to Head of Drama at the BBC, Shaun Sutton, and to Philip Jones at Thames Television, without success. All hope appeared to be lost, until Lewis Rudd at ITV regional broadcaster for the south east of England, Southern Television, heard about the show and enthusiastically commissioned it. Siblings Susan and John arrive at Scatterbrook Farm, home of the Braithwaites, to little fanfare. It's been a poor harvest and their hosts aren't thrilled to have two amateur farmhands around the place during such lean times. No-one on Scatterbrook Farm is more troubled by the late harvest than walking, talking scarecrow Worzel Gummidge. Worzel is strictly forbidden from talking to humans, but after mistaking John and Susan for fellow scarecrows, his game is up.

A lot of the credit for the show's success must go to director James Hill. At the time of the series' conception, Hill was working with Pertwee's Doctor Who successor, Tom Baker, to get a feature film, Doctor Who Meets Scratchman (a story that, coincidentally, also featured scarecrows), off the ground. He and Pertwee got on famously and became lifelong friends. His stoic demeanour and strong work ethic guided the crew through an often gruelling production schedule, but he also established the aesthetic look of the series, with Worzel's grimy, believably earthy appearance contrasting with the bucolic beauty surrounding him.If you are in the North America, look out for US/Canadian flag icons on popular product listings for direct links. episodes were made between 1979 and 1981 over four series. A sequel series set in Ireland entered pre-production shortly thereafter. Sets were constructed and contracts signed, but just a few days before filming was due to begin, the plug was pulled and the finance lost. After a hiatus, a sequel series finally entered production in 1987. Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: John (Jeremy Austin), Sue (Charlotte Coleman), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Crowman (Geoffrey Bayldon), Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs) Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: John (Jeremy Austin), Sue (Charlotte Coleman), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Crowman (Geoffrey Bayldon), Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs) Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Crowman (Geoffrey Bayldon). Credit: Southern Television Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Crowman (Geoffrey Bayldon). Credit: Southern Television

According to Pertwee's memoir, his version of Worzel Gummidge was originally pitched as a feature film, which would have told the story of "the scarecrow equivalent of the Peasant's Revolt". Willis and Hall adapted the role of Worzel specifically for and around him, inspired by a postman character he played more than thirty years earlier in 1948's BBC radio comedy Waterlogged Spa, due to the actor's performance imbuing the character with a strong Devonshire accent. If you are in Australia or New Zealand (DVD Region 4), note that almost all DVDs distributed in the UK by the BBC and 2entertain are encoded for both Region 2 and Region 4. The UK and Australasia are in the same Blu-ray region (B). In 2019, the two Christmas episodes of Worzel Gummidge received a wealth of glowing praise from audiences and critics alike. The Guardian gave five stars, describing the shows as a “joyful, joke-filled eco-romp”, the Radio Times also awarded the “funny, poignant and heartwarming” films five stars, and the Daily Mail proclaimed Worzel “a TV wonder”, similarly giving five stars.Sadly, Todd never lived to see the most popular iteration of her scarecrow reach the screen, passing away in 1976, just as final negotiations were getting underway. The show's popularity was such that for Christmas 1980, Waterhouse and Hall penned a stage musical, which premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre before transferring to the Cambridge Theatre in London the following year. Pertwee, Stubbs and Bayldon all reprised their roles, with music by television composer Denis King, who is perhaps best known for performing in the BBC radio, later television, show Hello, Cheeky! (alongside Barry Cryer, John Junkin and Tim Brooke-Taylor). This resulted in the release of a full cast album, which remains in circulation to this day. Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs star in a childrens' sitcom about a scarecrow who comes to life. Also features Mike Berry, Jeremy Austin, Charlotte Coleman, Geoffrey Bayldon, Megs Jenkins and more. Aunt Sally was a role originally offered to actress and Carry On star Amanda Barrie, who turned it down. Pertwee asked Una Stubbs to take on the role: they had worked together in a 1975 production of Aladdin at the Richmond Theatre, and it was her dance and performance skills on that stage that caught his imagination. Like Pertwee, she was already a household name, having starred as Rita Rawlins in the hugely popular sitcom Till Death Us Do Part (and its various sequels) since 1965.

Having been rested throughout the 80s, Worzel Gummidge Down Under doesn’t feel like an unnecessary addition to the original series. There’s a new set of children, and a new Crowman (Bruce Phillips), as Worzel struggles to adapt to life in ‘Zoo Nealand’, having followed Aunt Sally into the cargo hold of an aeroplane after she is sold to a private collector. The antics of Pertwee and Stubbs anchor the show in charm and familiarity in a different, though equally rural setting, but ending it at two series, a decade after the original run, feels about right. The show belongs to Jon Pertwee. Undoubtedly, his Worzel Gummidge is a virtuoso performance. Watching the show through adult eyes, it’s possible to see just how detailed and nuanced Pertwee’s portrayal is. There is a winning combination of his physicality, from the way he walks and the endless comedic facial expressions he pulls, to his vocal talents, which bring a distinctive sound to the character, and a range of emotions. It’s truly a complete performance that owes a debt to music hall and the era of the all-round variety entertainer. Sadly, those days are long gone, and it’s hard to imagine we will ever seen another complete characterisation in the manner of Pertwee’s Worzel Gummidge ever again. Worzel Gummidge had been created in 1936 by author Barbara Euphan Todd, who wrote ten books about the character, the final published in 1963. It was first adapted for radio in collaboration with actress and writer Mabel Constanduros: Barry Took once said of Constanduros that "although today her reputation has faded, she was a popular cultural figure between the wars, helping to establish the style and flavour of British radio comedy". The two later collaborated again to adapt the series for television in 1953's Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective (now long lost), with Todd writing the scripts. Frank Atkinson took on the title role.Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Saucy Nancy (Barbara Windsor) Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Saucy Nancy (Barbara Windsor) Leopard Pictures, part of Argonon Group, are again partnering with Treasure Trove Productions to bring these glorious stories to life for an audience of all ages. The films have been commissioned by Tanya Qureshi, Head of Comedy for the BBC, and Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer for the BBC. Susan and John are excited when they learn that F R Peregrine’s Travelling Fair is coming to Scatterbrook for one night only. But as much as he’d love to join his friends, Worzel can’t be seen wandering around by humans. He recalls the legend of a fairground with an enchanted organ. It’s believed that, with the right music, the organ has the power to send humans to sleep so that scarecrows can enjoy the rides without the fear of being seen. Contained within this release are all four seasons from 1979-81, plus the recently-released Christmas special, as well as the two seasons of Worzel Gummidge Down Under, where the production was remounted in New Zealand during the late 1980s.

The Navy Lark. Image shows left to right: CPO Pertwee (Jon Pertwee), Sub-Lieutenant Phillips (Leslie Phillips), Lt Cdr Murray (Number One) (Stephen Murray). Credit: BBC The Navy Lark. Image shows left to right: CPO Pertwee (Jon Pertwee), Sub-Lieutenant Phillips (Leslie Phillips), Lt Cdr Murray (Number One) (Stephen Murray). Credit: BBC The production was obviously high enough in calibre to attract some of the greatest actors of the era in guest parts. We especially enjoyed Beryl Reid, who pops up to play Worzel’s old mother (even though she was only a few weeks older than Pertwee). Connie Booth (Fawlty Towers) turns up as a rival to Worzel’s affections as another Aunt Sally, though this one is much kinder to him. There are recurring guest roles for Carry On stars Barbara Windsor (Saucy Nancy) and Joan Sims (Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton). Last year's Christmas episode, Saucy Nancy, garnered even more critical acclaim, with the Radio Times again awarding five stars, declaring the episode is "like taking a bath in pure kindness". Whilst the Daily Telegraph and The i gave four stars, with the latter labelling the film as "gorgeous" and "affectionate". The other key character was the Crowman, played by Geoffrey Bayldon. The Crowman created Worzel (and many other scarecrows besides), and as such is often used as a device to explain various plot contrivances as well as provide Worzel with a new head whenever one is needed. Bayldon was also already well known, especially to younger viewers, as the star of Catweazle from 1970 to 1971.