Ladies and gents there are alot of shows on over the Christmas period some have proven to be decent some not so much. There is however one show which i've been looking forward to seeing ever since it was first rumoured to be happening and well the first episode of it aired last night and episode two is due to air tonight and so I thought I thought that i'd bring you my first impressions of the new Worzel Gummidge miniseries enjoy.
The plot of this episode is that orphan John and Sue arrive at Scatterbrook Farm and quickly befriend scarecrow Worzel Gummidghe and as it turns out the seasons are locked and so it's up to the trio to get the seasons moving again. In terms of story it's not that bad but I do wish that they had taken more time introducing the characters and letting us get to know them more but I did honestly find the plot to be rather enjoyable.
Starring in this episode is writer / director / producer Mackenzie Crook as Worzel Gummidge as well as India Brown as Susan , Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs. Braithwaite , Tom Meeten as HMS Odney , Steve Pemberton as Mr. Braithwaite , Vicki Pepperdine as Aunt Sally , Tim Plester as Clarty , Stephen Samson as Builder and Thierry Wickens as John. I have to honest when this miniseries was just a rumour and they said that Mackenzie Crook was rumoured for Worzel I was so pleased because he just looks like a scarecrow even with makeup.
In terms of what I thought of the acting in this episode it was at best passable which for a first episode is to be expected. However at the same time for something that's going out when alot of people are going to be watching I wanted the acting to be better especially from the child actors that being said however Mackenzie Crook is honestly really funny as Worzel and Steve Pemberton is always a joy to watch.
Now both when the first image of Worzel and when the trailer was released the look of the character got alot of backlash from fans of the Jon Pertwee series. To that I have to say that the character in this episode looks alot closer to how he's described in the original books and that this is series is pulling more inspiration from the books then it is from that version of the character and I honestly like the way he looks yes it does take some getting used to but once you get used to his new look it's not that bad.
Like I just said this show is pulling more from the books then it is the Jon Pertwee series and as such the character relationships are going to be more in line with the books as well. Nowhere is that more evident then in the character of Aunt Sally since in the books she was Worzel's Aunt and was only made his love interest in the Jon Pertwee show sadly tho the character only gets basically a cameo appearance in this episode which is a shame because it seems like she has quite an interesting story to her.
Sadly one of the things that I wanted this miniseries to be is so far missing because I wanted it to be scary which was something that the Jon Pertwee version was at times and I know that I shouldn't compare adaptations but when something works so well in one version but then fails in the other it should be talked about. The only kind of scare they do have is just a lazy ripoff of a more effective scare in the original series which made it feel like a let down in my opinion.
There is a very strong environmental message in this episode and when I say strong I mean they hammer it down your throat. Saying that people need to recycle more is a good message and one that should be present in some kids shows but it doesn't need to shoved down our throats so much that you can't wait for it to be over you could have told that message in a more subtle way something which honestly would have worked better then shoving it down peoples throats.
I couldn't help but notice that there are alot of parallels between this episode and the first episode of the Jon Pertwee version. There are alot of scenes which are very similar which was something that I both liked and didn't like at the same time because it didn't really give this version a chance to forge it's own identity because it's reminding you of another version but at the same time it was pretty cool to see those scenes play out with new twists thrown in.
Since this is a comedy that does mean that we have to talk about the comedy that's in the actual episode itself. I honestly found the humour in this show to be cute that's the best word I could use to describe the humour in this episode I honestly don't think I laughed out loud but there was alot of times where I just smiled and for this show that's not a bad thing and even better is the lack of fart jokes just because there not funny and never will be.
A little bit of me was saddened by the fact that they didn't try and do the classic opening sequence from the Jon Pertwee show just because I feel that that opening is as iconic as the character himself. However the titles that they do have are pretty nice to look at and they do a good job of setting up the mood for the episode but nothing is going to top the original opening credits and they don't do the classic end gag either which is a shame in my opinion.
Overall I honestly found this episode to be rather enjoyable and I do think that those who were hating on the show before it even aired should at least give it a chance. That said the episode did have a lot of issues which i've mentioned but you could also say that about alot of debuting episodes so yeah I do think that people should give this show a chance and since this is the debut episode there's not going to be rating and tomorrow will be my review of the miniseries as whole.