There are so few shows these days that are willing go to some really dark places with it's main characters. With the show that i'm about to be taking a look at today being one such show as it's a show that's willing to go to those dark places not only in this episode but in alot of the shows episodes and it does so in a way that treats it's child audience with respect and so then join me as I review the episode that sees it's main character almost die with the episode in question being called simply just "The Trial Of Worzel Gummidge" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when he accidentally knocks The Crowman's hat of in an attempt to scare of some crows Worzel Gummidge finds him on trial where one of the people going against him is Aunt Sally. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with the plot of this episode being really dark and more then willing to go to those dark places that other kids shows would just straight up avoid and yet it does so in a way that not only makes sense but also fits in not only with the shows more whimsical tone but also with the shows characters as well all of which make this episodes plot a really good plot for this show to have and one that this show does really well as the show does some really dark plots and there all done really well as well with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge , Jeremy Austin as John Peters and Charlotte Coleman as Sue Peters. Also starring in this episode is Porridge 1979 and Tales From The Crypt 1972 star Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman , Norman Bird as Mr. Braithwaite , Sutherland's Law star Steve Gardner as Mr. Collinson , Heartbeat star Bill Maynard as Sergeant Beetroot and Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty person ally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. Which for this show is nothing really all that new as even in this shows bad or even forgettable episodes it always had some really good acting in it ad the same thing is also true for this episode with alot of the actors for this episode turning in some really fun and enjoyable performances with the true standout performer in this episode being Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge who is just a pure joy to watch in this episode with this episode really showing us the audience just how great of an actor he really was with the acting in this episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all this episode cast have to do is just the say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally all of which really does raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
This is the episode that does see the debut of Bill Maynard as the semi series regular character Sergeant Beetroot. With the character being alot more strict then what he is in his other appearances with him being alot more of a fun and laid back character in the other episodes that the character appears in which does make sense the makers of this show were most likely still trying to figure out this character and as a result of that is the fact that it does make sense that the character would be alot more of strict then what he normally would be and it also gives someone for Worzel to verbally go up against as well which is something that is sadly toned down in the characters other appearances and as a result of that is the fact that we get a character who is pretty much The Crowman's second in command as he does everything by the book and is willing to do everything that The Crowman would do and it makes you wonder why the character was dropped after the shows Christmas special as there are stories that could have been told with this character that the show sadly never does take full advantage of with him only appearing in group scenes and that's really it.
This episode really stack the odds against Worzel as not only is he going up against hos creator to prove his innocence but he's also going against the cruel Aunt Sally. Who of course is doing everything that she can do to make life miserable for Worzel and is only thinking of herself which is something that really does work for this episode and having her testifying against Worzel is also something that's oddly fitting for her character as even tho he adores her she hates not only him but all scarecrows as she sees them as being beneath her and as a result of that is the fact that she would agree of justify against Worzel as all eyes would be on here which is something that she'd love as she just loves the spotlight and it also means that alot more scarecrows get to see how cruel she is as she leads Sergeant Beetroot into thinking that she only has eyes for him when infact all she wanted was releasing from the box that she was kept in and that's really it and knowing her history with him it now means that Worzel has enemies everywhere in that court for this episode and he has to somehow get them all other to his side in order to prove his innocence.
While this episode does have it's more touching moments with Worzel showing how kind of a scarecrow that he is by saying that he allowed the Robin red breast that lived him to stay there because she can't fly due to the fact that she's had babies. With this further being hit home by the fact that he also says that he takes things like apples and milk to feed her not because he gets something out of it because he really doesn't but because it's the right thing to do and the fact that it's those things that help to convince the scarecrow court to give Worzel one last chance goes to show you that the makers of the show no these characters really well as The Crowman would always praise his scarecrows for being good people and here we have one of his scarecrows doing just that and he rightfully gets let of the hook as despite what he did was indeed wrong his heart was always in the right place as all he was trying to do was scare some crows by throwing potatoes at them and one of which just so happened to knock The Crowman's hat of all because of the fact that he was actually trying to do his job and also keep his robin red breast and her chocks safe and warm.
In case it wasn't obvious in alot of the shows other episodes this episode pretty much confirms the fact that Worzel is The Crowman's favorite scarecrow that he created. As just as he's originally announcing him as being guilty you see The Crowman breaking down and start to cry something which to the knowledge of us the audience hasn't been done before and yet because it's Worzel he breaks down all of which makes you wonder why he was the judge as he clearly was showing favouritism at that moment in time and surely someone else would have been a better fit for the role of judge like a scarecrow who was created to be just that or they could even have another character who is more impartial act as judge but at the same time tho seeing The Crowman break down like that does also make him alot more human and it goes to show you that even tho he does give Worzel a hard time not only in this episode but also in other episodes as well but he's also willing to basically let things go when there are innocent creatures involved as is the case with the episode.
Now then while I cannot for the absolutely life of me remember whatever this episodes running time even was I do know that this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and thirty four seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show to have and while the episode really does have more then enough plot there to really cover that large amount of running tie the episode also really does feel oddly on the short side of things as well as alot of the scenes in this episode do go alot more faster then what they really should have been with the episode just rushing to get to the next plot point without taking the time that an episode like this one really needs in order to make it's more dramatic element work alot better and it would also go along way to make the episodes more darker and gothic atmosphere work even better then what it really already does in this episode but I will admit that this episode really does have some fairly solid pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is comedy that really does mean that I gave to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us n this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. As the main focus of this episode isn't the comedy it's more the drama aspect of the show and as a result of that is the fact that we don't get to have that many funny moments in the episode out side of the start of the start with Worzel using a slingshot to fire potatoes at crows which even then isn't laugh out loud funny it's more cute funny but when the episode gets to the court house alot of the comedy does rightfully go away with it only being brought back once when Jon and Sue get involved and try to defend Worzel only to realise that they actually have nothing to back him up which is a funny joke and is one that does feel in character for Jon and Sue with it also being a really cute and funny joke as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall this was a really solid that goes along way to show you that even this show is a kids show it's also not afraid to put it's main character in mortal danger as they frequently do in alot of this shows episodes with this episode being the best example of that as it's something that really does come out of nowhere and it's something that really does work well enough for this episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all f the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , Wikipedia and Google Images. With my personally preferred website that I personally preferred to use to get the images that I personally used in this very review being the wonderful Google Images since all of the images that are currently up and and featured / presented to us on Google Images are all fairly high in quality and as well as being fairly freaking high in definition.