Worzel Gummidge - The Complete Collection [DVD]

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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. The first episode sees him visit the nearby Scatterbrook farmhouse, where he befriends children John and Sue Peters, played by Jeremy Austin and Charlotte Coleman, who have just moved to the area with their father. Their film work, which included A Kind Of Loving and Whistle Down The Wind, was of such high quality that Alfred Hitchcock hired them to polish the screenplay of Torn Curtain in 1966, whilst their comedy credits included The Dick Emery Show and The Frost Report. To make matters worse, the twitchers’ arrival forces Mr B to come to face to face with his old birdwatching rival, Lee Dangerman.

The Crowman’s powers to create living scarecrows isn’t explained in any detail, but he also has the power to summon all scarecrows and is often subtly menacing, metering out punishments to wayward scarecrows. The BBC synopsis reads: "With The Bonfire Night Committee distracted, Guy convinces Worzel to swap places, but it soon becomes clear that Worzel has bitten off more than he can chew. With Worzel stuck on top of the bonfire, John and Susan turn to Aunt Sally for help, but can they find a way to rescue Worzel before time runs out? Tanya Qureshi, Head of Comedy at the BBC, says: “Worzel and the magical cast of characters that inhabit Scatterbrook are back once again, and we can’t wait for audiences to see what Mackenzie and the crew have brought to life in these new instalments. 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.Bayldon was also already well known, especially to younger viewers, as the star of Catweazle from 1970 to 1971. Image shows left to right: Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Saucy Nancy (Barbara Windsor) Worzel Gummidge. Image shows left to right: CPO Pertwee (Jon Pertwee), Sub-Lieutenant Phillips (Leslie Phillips), Lt Cdr Murray (Number One) (Stephen Murray). No-one on Scatterbrook Farm is more troubled by the late harvest than walking, talking scarecrow Worzel Gummidge. But their plans are soon scuppered once word of the choughs gets around, and a group of avid twitchers move in before he’s even had his chance.

Watching the show through adult eyes, it’s possible to see just how detailed and nuanced Pertwee’s portrayal is. With The Bonfire Night Committee distracted, Guy convinces Worzel to swap places, but it soon becomes clear that Worzel has bitten off more than he can chew. Worzel’s cousin, Guy Forks, has taken his rightful place at the top of the bonfire, but an argument between the old friends leads to a competition to prove who can do the other’s job better. 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.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. Booth and Stubbs were close friends, with Stubbs appearing in the Fawlty Towers episode The Anniversary. The films have been commissioned by Tanya Qureshi, Head of Comedy for the BBC, and Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer for the BBC. The former had written the acclaimed novel Billy Liar in 1959, which the duo later adapted into an immensely successful stage play, film, musical and, later, a television sitcom, all of the same name.

This was also the centrepiece of Worzel's Song, a track based on the jaunty theme tune composed by George Evans, in which Pertwee, as Worzel, explains the language. 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". It entails spelling words letter-by-letter, but adding 'wor' after each, and adding either 'zel' or 'dip' to the end of each word, depending on whether it is over three characters long or not. The production was obviously high enough in calibre to attract some of the greatest actors of the era in guest parts. Image shows left to right: John (Jeremy Austin), Sue (Charlotte Coleman), Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee), Crowman (Geoffrey Bayldon), Aunt Sally (Una Stubbs) Worzel Gummidge.As the scarecrows descend, the risk of being seen intensifies, but will the legend of the enchanted organ turn out to be true?

Perhaps the most notable thing about this series is that it gave Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson one of his earliest screen credits, working in the special effects department, and is where he met his wife, Frances Walsh, who wrote its second series. Rejoining Mackenzie as Worzel Gummidge for these new adventures are Steve Pemberton as Mr Braithwaite, Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs Braithwaite, Vicki Pepperdine as Aunt Sally, India Brown as Susan and Thierry Wickens as John. Mackenzie Crook says: “I’m thrilled to bring three new episodes of Worzel Gummidge to audiences this year and to announce the quite brilliant cast. 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. 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.Credit must also go to Una Stubbs, who valiantly gives her all to the character of Aunt Sally, which never really develops, but she is an excellent foil to Pertwee. 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. 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. It was Pertwee's last starring role, and though he would continue working in television and straight-to-video Doctor Who spin-off films during the 1990s (as well as developing further ideas for Worzel projects), his career from this point consisted mainly of personal appearances at conventions, after dinner speaking and pantomime work, until his sudden death in 1996. He draws on the youthful exuberance of John and Susan, seeks the wisdom of his long-estranged Aunt Sally, and negotiates a testy deal with the frightful rooks and crows of Scatterbrook.