Worzel is a character that was for a long period of time a British institution with the hit Jon Pertwee show making the character move lovable then he has ever been. Yet even so with he's not remembered all that much nowadays which is a shame because when the series got it right it really did get things right it's only when the show moved to New Zealand that it start to get bad and while the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today isn't a bad episode persay it's also not a good one either and so then join me as I review the episode that introduces Worzel two human child friends into the show with the episode in question being called simply just "The Sleeping Beauty" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when Worzel catches wind of just were his beloved Aunt Sally is staying he and his new human friends Mickey and Manu set off to rescue her. 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 bad as while this episodes pot does have some things to set up it does also have a pretty weak plot even for this version of the show as the episode has to set up who Worzel's new human friends are and what there like as people which is fair enough but that eats up so much of the episodes run time that it leaves very little time for the episodes main plot which is something that is left more of an afterthought when compared to anything else in the episode and while this episodes plot isn't the strongest plot in this show as it is pretty weak at best due to it feeling like a typical Aunt Sally plotline from the later series of Worzel Gummidge instead of feeling like something that was more in line with the original shows first series for example but to be fair to this episode there are still moments of that first series flair coming through in the plot of this episode but he episode is bogged down by so much bad things just in it's plot alone that it makes would could have been a very passable plot seem really dull and while this episode isn't unwatchable by any means the plot doesn't do the episode any kind of favors whatsoever with the plot of this episode not really being really rather entertaining and nor is it really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge and Bruce Phillips as The Crowman. Also starring in this episode is Jonathan Marks as Mickey , Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally , Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler as Manu , Gerald Bryan as Rooney , Michael Haigh as Professor Pike , Patupatu Ripley as Mrs. Te Wheke , Joy Watson as Mrs. Peacock and David Copeland as Commissionaire Gilbert.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting 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 acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With pretty much all of this episodes actors turning in some really good performances even the episodes kid actors which was something that was surprising as kids can usually be pretty annoying to watch and yet there the actors playing them were really good in the episode with of course the likes of Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs being really great to watch as well which is something that does make alot of sense as they are reprising their roles from the original show and would therefor have the best knowledge on how best to perform there respective characters with both of them even being the episodes best actors as do still have a lot of chemistry with each other and are both quite clearly having a lot of fun in playing there respective characters with both characters being perfectly well cast as both of those actors bring something that's uniquely them to the roles with that being something that really does help to sell you on these characters and while both Jonathan Marks and Olivia Ihimaera-Smiler aren't as good as Jeremy Austin and Charlotte Coleman they both really good actors in this episode with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
The episode does get a little bit better when it comes to it's characters as it does pretty much round out all of the side characters for this first series of the show. As while the side characters that we get fully introduced to in this episode won't be as good as the ones from the original show they all have there own unique charm to them that make them different from the ones on the original show with the best example of this being the kids Mickey and Manu who are the complete and total opposite of Jon and Sue as while those character were the typical good kids that all British kids TV shows seemed to have at the time it's clear right from the second that we see them in this episode that Mickey and Manu are trouble makers but ones that do have a heart of gold as while they trust straight up tell Worzel that there not his friends and there not surprised that he's a scarecrow they are willing to help him go and see Aunt Sally even tho it could get them into a lot of trouble with another good example of this episodes side characters being Rooney who is best described as being a handyman of sorts for the local town as he just does every little odd job here and there that's really needed of him which is something that does bring him into contact with both Worzel and The Crowman alot of the time and while he is portrayed as being quite dumb he can also be a bit wise something which doesn't really get showcased in this episode but in another episode he does tell The Crowman that if you want succeed in this town you have to be able to do many things as there's not much call for someone who just makes Scarecrows in the town anymore.
Speaking of The Crowman it's in one his scenes that we actually get to find out about this series main villain The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as it's revealed by Rooney that he buys up all of the Mangal Worzel's to make his cheaper scarecrows with. This was a nice touch as you can tell right from how The Crowman talks about him that he and the scarecrow maker have a past with each other and it's one that does get revealed later on in the series and while he has nothing but pure hatred for The Travelling Scarecrow Maker he does have some what of a kinder relationship with Worzel as he does go looking for him when he leaves his post and while the two of them don't really get to spend any screen time together in this episode something which they really should have done to set up there relationship more fully it is nice seeing him care for Worzel and while yews this version of The Crowman doesn't let Worzel get away with much much like the original version did with the original version of The Crowman being more of a father figure to Worzel and this one being more like someone who is forced to look after him but starts to like him anyway and that is something that makes this version of the character alot more interesting as it shows that all scarecrow makers have to like alot of each others scarecrows as they have no reason to with this even being shown when he talks about The Travelling Scarecrow Maker as you can hear in his voice that he really doesn't like him and is really holding back his anger as not to reveal the fact that scarecrows can walk and talk with him even acting scared at the mere mention of him like he knows that that character is up to no good and that is something that does add some level mystery into this shows version of The Crowman.
This episode does also have the only time in which they directly reference the original Jon Pertwee show. As Worzel himself says that he's just left two little children right before he met up with Mickey and Manu and while the show would even directly use footage from the original show in a later episode and even have a photograph of Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman this show never really mentioned the original show all that much which I guess does make sense as you don't really want to remind people of other shows even if the show that your making is a sequel show but at the same time tho it was nice for this episode to reference Jon and Sue as they are Worzel's best friends so it does make sense he would make a reference to them in that way but it would have been nicer if we got to see them even if it was just a quick cameo at the start of the previous episode as that would have made sense given the fact that the previous episode started out in England and in the same village as the original show as well and while Mickey and Manu are good enough characters the fact that this episode does reference Jon and Sue does still remind you of the much more better show with that reference feeling like it was something that the makers of this episode felt like that they have to include as the fans of the original show would still be watching this new show as that reference adds nothing to the overall episode and felt more like fanservice but in the best way possible however what would made the episode even better was if the episode spent alot more time in fully fleshing out it's characters instead of just giving us the bare bones of characters as these are characters that we are goin to be spending the rest of the first series with and therefor we want to get to know more about them and yet when compare Mickey and Manu to Jon and Sue we got to find out more about Jon and Sue just from the first two episodes of that show alone then we did about Manu and Mickey from this episode.
In what was a bit of a shocking thing to see in this episode we don't really get to see an awful lot of Aunt Sally in this episode. Despite her being the main vocal point of the episode with her really only appearing in the episodes final five to ten minuets and that's really it which granted is mainly due to the fact that the episode also had to do some setting up for future episodes and to also introduce the shows new side characters as well but at the same time tho given that she is meant to be a main character in the plot of the episode it is weird that Aunt Sally barely shows up in the actual episode itself while yes granted they do have an in universe reasoning for that as Worzel is first trying to befriend Mickey and Manu before then being told where Aunt Sally is staying and so in that way it does make sense for her to only appear in a smaller amount of the episode but given the fact that the whole reason that Worzel went to New Zealand in the first place was to be with her it would have made sense within the episode to have Worzel find out where she's staying at the same time that he's trying to befriend Mickey and Manu and then have them bond over their expirences in this adventure instead of having them bond before it as that just makes it feel out of character for Worzel not to know where Aunt Sally is and go chasing after her however tho this episode does also mark a first in their relationship as it's the first and so far the only time that Worzel has actually successfully kissed Aunt Sally with that moment being treated as the right amount of silly and seriousness that it really needed but at the same time tho it not having her in the episode a whole lot more makes Aunt Sally feel more like an afterthought when she should have been more of the main focus of the episode.
Now then this episode has / has an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and fifty five seconds. Which is a perfectly solid running time for this episode to have as alot of the episodes for this show do have a similar running time as well with this episode having just amount the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time but in saying that tho this is an episode that really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the episode is more focused on setting up things for future episodes then it is in developing it's plot which does make this episodes plot also feel an afterthought when if the episode just spent more time in developing it's own plot then in setting up things for other episodes then we would have a slightly more better episode however tho this is also something that does effect it's characters as well as while it could be argued that both Worzel and Aunt Sally don't really need any kind of character development due to the fact that they were lead characters on the original show characters like Rooney , Mickey , Manu and The Crowman all needed it as alot of them are getting more screen time in this episode after just making a cameo in the previous episode with there characters really needing to be the most fleshed out due to the fact that they are new characters and while it could be argued that they get there development in future episodes which would be a fair argument to make it's something that should have started in this episode as this is our first real look at those characters but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy 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 comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With there being some really cute and funny jokes in this episode which is something that this show did do really best as those allow the characters to be there usual charming selves and with this episode having two returning characters it does mean that the episode can have some fun with there relationship to each other which is something that this episode does somewhat take full advantage of as the episodes best joke is when Worzel does kiss Aunt Sally which results in him being as giddy as a school boy and her being utterly shocked and appalled that a scarecrow would kiss her which is something that does feel completely in character for both of them as we know that Worzel loves Aunt Sally with all of his heart and would do anything for her much like how we know that she hated Worzel with all of her heart and would do anything to get away from him and so to them act differently to a kiss which was done just to wake her up with anther good joke when after escaping the museum Aunt Sally finds herself working as a local attraction once again getting balls thrown at her whilst Worzel finds himself being hung up onto a chimney with both characters not really being happy with there current predicament with this episode having alot of really good jokes in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst this isn't the best episode of this show it's also not the worst one either as while there is a huge drop off interms of quality when compared to the original show this is an episode that can at times be really fun to watch it just needed more of a focus on it's plot and more Aunt Sally to make it better 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 5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.
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