Published in Infinity #25, 2020.
Written after my main Worzel article but published before, this is short and to the point. I notice that I reused the line about remakes, but that’s fine, the 2016 Dad’s Army film deserves repeated criticism. The published version knocked a star off the rating. No idea why.
REVIEW – WORZEL GUMMIDGE.
Written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, BBC1 26 & 27 December 2019.
“What’s the matter Worzel?” asked Rashid.
“I don’t understand that stuff you was just saying” replied the scarecrow.
“You mean about how colonialism was evil?” said his new friend.
“No, I may be a daft old scarecrow but even I can see the self-evident truth of that. No, I means your lecture about gender fluidity.”
“What’s your problem Gummidge?” bristled Rashid.
“No problem, no problem” stammered the straw man “Even as a Cis-crow I fully appreciate the new sexual delineations. But does this mean my Aunt Sally is now my Uncle Sally?”
“Oh Worzel, you are silly! Honestly, if you got any stupider you’d support Brexit!” laughed Rashid. “Now let’s listen to some more Stormzy.”
Remakes are a mixed bag. For every cinematic gem such as Paddington there’s a Dad’s Army lurking in the shadows, ready to sully the memory of the original. TV reboots have proved to be equally variable, hence the trepidation in some quarters regarding this new BBC version of Worzel Gummidge. Were they going to ruin a cherished childhood memory?
No they weren’t. In fact this wasn’t made by the BBC but by Leopard Pictures, and it was also made with care, intelligence and affection. Like the wonderful Jon Pertwee series this was an adaptation of Barbara Euphan Todd’s books, true enough to the core ethos without being overly reverential yet individual enough to stand on their own (straw) feet.
Lead actor Mackenzie Crook also wrote and directed these two episodes. His Worzel is reasonably bright (for a scarecrow) and mostly acts as an elder brother to Susan and John. Unlike Pertwee’s Worzel he is actually good at his job and quite philanthropic, although he shares his predecessor’s pomposity. Anyone expecting a straight remake of the 80s show may have been initially disappointed by Worzel’s appearance, but wouldn’t have taken long to warm to and accept him. After all, the “classic” Pertwee Worzel was at least the third adaptation of the novels, and Crook’s features lend themselves beautifully to this new look. His performance is an absolute delight.
He’s ably supported by India Brown and Thierry Wickens as the children fostered by the Braithwaites of Scatterbrook Farm, lovely maternal Rosie Cavaliero and her initially spiky husband, the excellent Steve Pemberton. As in the source material Worzel’s Aunt Sally is his real Aunt, a stern former fairground attraction now housed in a museum, nagging him about his behaviour and lack of a girlfriend. Vicki Pepperdine only has one scene over these two episodes, hopefully we’ll see more of this imposing character in the future.
Episode one, as well as effortlessly establishing the premise sees farmer and scarecrow alike worried about the lack of a harvest. Across the nation viewers braced themselves for a highly selective finger-wagging diatribe on climate change, and then breathed a collective sigh of relief as the admonishment never came. The seasons had locked, a recurrent phenomena which Worzel and his scarecrow compatriots overcame by creating a crop circle key. We meet Earthy Mangold (Francesca Mills), thankfully not Worzel’s wife as in the books, but definitely a best friend for our hero. Earthy has a larger role in episode two, where the environs of Scatterbrook are threatened by a scarecrow motorbike gang known as the Trubblemakers, led by Colin Michael Carmichael’s superb Soggy Bogart. This collection of reprobates was easily the funniest thing on TV this Christmas, not that the bar had been set particularly high. With their improvised bikes, the cow graffiti and Earthy finally bringing them very much down to, well, earth, everything about them was pure joy.
Elsewhere we meet Worzel’s creator, an apparently transient semi-mystical presence called The Green Man (Michael Palin). Again, he’s different to the Crowman, who himself was mainly an invention of the earlier production team. He fits nicely into this version, there being a strong sense of the oneness and interconnectivity of nature throughout the production. Worzel’s environmental concerns are not bandwagon jumping stridency, but the worries of a creature that came from nature and remains an integral part of it. This bucolic feel is enhanced by the warm photography and gentle folk music, bringing a late summer feeling to a rainy Boxing Day.
Despite a few odd moments, a scatological scene which felt quite out of place and a fireworks set up which went nowhere, these episodes were a triumph. Worzel novices have discovered a whole new world, and those familiar with previous renditions or indeed the original books will hopefully have appreciated this contemporary but undisputedly faithful pair of films. Mackenzie Crook has hopes for a full series, and I for one cannot wait. Worzel’s back, and he’s in very safe hands.
5/5