Worzel Gummidge: both 2019 episodes

December 27, 2019 8:39 PM - Season 1 (Full Season)

Mackenzie Crook's new adaptation of Barbara Euphan Todd's novels about the scarecrow with a life of his own, famously formerly played by the third Doctor Who Jon Pertwee. Both episodes are broadly pitched and paced as a sort of family-viewing version of Crook's previous series Detectorists.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue (5 comments total)

Oh you're freaking kidding. But you're not! I can't believe it. It's a real decision to make this with modern kids, who have presumably been exposed to enough terror clowns, haunted dolls, and possibly Harold the scarecrow to never stop screaming at Worzel Gummidge. But at least he seems younger and less intense than Jon Pertwee.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:58 PM on December 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

Have to say I really enjoyed both episodes of this. The first has much more of a sense of the uncanny and perhaps The Snowman about it, whereas the second seemed more a bit more early-evening CBBC and less focussed.

I liked the physicality of MC's performance, always (necessarily?) hanging onto his hat. I loved the bit in the first episode where he identified the carrier bags as jellyfish. I thought the young actors were great. I thought the little gags where the script undercut the "everything countryside is backwards" trope with the bedside light and the binoculars were pitched perfectly. I'm not ashamed to admit I liked the Trubblemakers and loved their swears.

Great stuff! Don't doubt we'll see more, but I hope it'll skew a little more towards the tone (or consistency at least) of the first episode rather than the second.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 8:58 PM on December 27, 2019

Also, a total missed opportunity not to have Kurtan from This Country cameo at that Scarecrow festival. Am full of anticipation for the inveviatable YouTube edits!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 9:01 PM on December 27, 2019

I wonder if he'll do Catweazle next? He'd be a really good Catweazle.
posted by Grangousier at 5:12 AM on December 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

What what what??? I almost thought I hallucinated my mom reading these books to me as a kid except we named our cat Worzel... Maybe this was a normal thing in the UK but I've never talked to another Californian who read these so extremely surprised to learn they are big enough to be adapted for TV. I adored The Detectorists so...
posted by latkes at 4:38 PM on December 30, 2019