Worzel Gummidge fans it has been a really long time since I last reviewed an episode of this show not for a lack of trying tho. As quite literally every single time that i've tried to get this review off the ground something has always come up to prevent me from reviewing do it well now i'm finally able to get back to reviewing episodes of Worzel Gummidge once again and so then join me as I review the episode that sees our beloved scarecrow take the water with the episode in question being called simply just "Captain Worzel" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when Worzel thinks that Aunt Sally is being held against her will he and Saucy Nancy attempt 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 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 this episodes plot being filled to the brim with all of the wonder and whims that you expect from his show with the episode being just really charming on the whole with this being where the episodes plot shine through as while yes this plot is something that could be seen as being a bit thin as all it is is Worzel making a mistake when Aunt Sally a wooden doll was going to be sold to be in a Museum it's that kind of simple natured plot that really does allow for the plot to be as good as it is as alot of what makes this episodes be that good is due to the fact that the plot does allow for the characters to be there charming and that is somethin that it wouldn't be able to do if it was a more deep and thought provoking plot as then the episode just wouldn't have the room for things like that but due to the fact that the plot for this episode is as simple as it is it does allow for those things to happen and not every single thig needs to have a deep and thought provoking plot in order for it to work as sometimes all it needs is just a simple plot and that's exactly what this episodes plot is in all of the best ways possible 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 and Laurence Harrington as Cyril. Also starring in this episode is Norman Mitchell as P.C. Parsons , Michael Ripper as Mr. Shepherd , Geoffrey Bayldon as The Crowman , Kate David as The Cashier , Blake Butler as The Boatyard Owner , Dame Barbara Windsor as Saucy Nancy , Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally and Keith Smith as Mr. Pursglove.
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 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 this episodes acting being as wonderfully good as you'd expect it to be and having been away from the show since late last year just now coming to it it did make me realise just how good the acting not only in this episode but in this show as a whole really was as these actors had truly define who these characters were as people as while yes many of them did appear in the original books alot of them however weren't and were therefor more well known for being in this show with all of this episodes actors really getting the tone and spirit of the show as while yes this was a kids TV show and therefor no one would have blamed these big named stars if they chose to phone in there performance it's the fact that they didn't do that and instead treated it as if they were working on a feature length film with this being due to the fact that the shows director James Hill also made sever theatrical films and helped to foster that kind of environment on set with him always demanding the best of his actors and it's something does shine through in the performances in this episode with the best actor in the whole entire episode being Jon Pertwee as the man is just so good in this show and in this episode as well with him being being able to capture Worzels more child like innocence in one scene and then hit you with something heavy in the exact same scene with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode 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.
Where this episode either rises to the occasion or falls flat on it's face is with it's characters as they do have to do alot of the heavy lifting in this episode. As the plot of this episode is wafer thin in the first place and therefor the episode does rely alot more on it's characters to be there usual charming selves and that is something that they are in this episode with them all bein just as delightfully charming and funny as you'd want them to be in the episode with the only thing that does hold the characters back a bit is the fact that Saucy Nancy isn't her usual saucy self in this episode as while yes this was due to the fact that in her previous episode she did get married to Worzel's cousin they quickly undo that in this episode by having her explain that he left to go about being a pirate instead of returning to Australia like he has said he would do therefor there was no reason for her to not be her usual self in this episode as while yes she does have some fun banter with Aunt Sally which is as over the top as you'd expect all of the fun wordplay and innuendo that was with the character in her first and even previous episode is now gone all together and yet even so characters like Worzel and Aunt Sally are still really charming and still do bounce off of her really well with all of the characters truly getting a moment to shine in this episode be it from Mr. Shephard arguing with both the landlord and P.C. Parson at the start of the episode to Worzel putting on his cousins head and talking with an Australian accent this episode whilst it's not the best episode of the show by far it is one that does show just how god that these characters could still be even in a fairly decent at best episode of the show.
If you liked the banter that Aunt Sally and Saucy Nancy have had in all of their previous appearances together then your really going to love this episode as they argue with each other all the time in this episode. With them arguing over every little thing and all of the time it is something that does feel true to who they are as characters as while Saucy Nancy does have Worzel's best interests at heart Aunt Sally is only looking out for herself and yet even so it is still fun seeing both of these characters all the while Worzel is just doing the best that he can do to keep both of them happy and much like with her first appearances Saucy Nancy ends up ripping of Worzels arm which granted was done by accident but it is still something that does make this show stand out alot more as alot of the episodes in this show did have Worzel loosing limbs or getting ran over by a combine harvester or in the case of the first episode quite literally almost dying when he falls down a hill at the local tip and while those things are indeed really scary for a kid here in this episode it was played more for laughs which was most likely done as a way to tone down the scariness of the show and while it could be argued that that did work the episode still shows Worzel taking of his head to replace it with his cousins which was something that did scare little kids and while none of that does have a huge impact on the episode was does is showing Aunt Sally and Nancy arguing as it's because of that the Aunt Sally goes on to have a sulk thus leaving her on the narrow boat with her owner in the first place as even Worzel couldn't get her to stop sulking as if he did then she could have explained to him what was going on in the first place this ending the entire episode.
What could be seen as being a shocking move is the fact that even tho the episode does build up The Crowman as being someone who will play a big role in this episode. He does infact only appear in about two maybe three scenes all together both at the start of and near the end of the episode and that's really it which for someone who is meant to be a main character in the show and is someone who Worzel both fears and admires isn't really alot of time for this character maybe the makers of this episode just couldn't figure out a way to include the character in a meaningful way or maybe Geoffrey Bayldon was busy filming something else at the time and couldn't really commit to being in the episode alot more then he was either way it is odd that the character isn't in the episode alot more especially since he is always the one that's getting Worzel out of trouble even if it's something that does anger him alot of the time with character of Mr. Shephard instead getting alot more screen time which is something that does make alot of sense as he is owner of Aunt Sally afterall and he is the one that is trying to sell her but at the same time tho it would have been fun seeing both the The Crowman and Mr. Shephard interact in the episode as the two characters very rarely if ever interact in the show and it's something that could have provided some great comedy for the episode as both characters do have there moments of being really funny and yet for one reason or another despite The Crowman having his ways of knowing that Worzel got himself into trouble at the end of this episode he blames Aunt Sally when she did nothing wrong in the episode at all.
With Mr. Shephard basically being a main character in the episode we do get alot of scenes with him and the boatyard owner. Which was something that the episode could have dine without as while they were needed to get across the plot of the episode and to set up why Aunt Sally is on this one particular spot on the narrow boat in the first place alot of there scenes are just them repeating the same pieces of information and just going over the same joke as both Mr. Shephard and the boatyard owner both have things that go missing in the episode as the boatyard owner has Saucy Nancy walking about and Mr. Shephard has Aunt Sally doing her usual thing and yet both of those characters just don't do anything that's entertaining with each other other outside of there first interaction where the boatyard owner after asking Mr. Shephard if he knows how to drive a narrow boat then finds out that alot of Shephards relatives worked on boats something Mr. Shephard has obviously made up with the boatyard owner basically calling him out on that which was a fun interaction and it's the only time that one of there scenes together was actually entertaining to watch as alot of the time there scenes together even tho they are needed for the episode just feel like there lacking where as Mr. Shephards scene with Mr. Pursglove was a highly entertaining scene as even tho he believed that he would be getting money for Aunt Sally it infact turns out that Mr. Pursglove had no intention of paying him and was going to let Aunt Sally stay u his museum for the honor of it and that's really it which was a really entertaining thing to find out as the only thing that Mr. Shephard wants for his Aunt Sally is some decent money for her due to the fact that she's an antique.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty six minuets and four seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show to have in the first place with the episode really having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet even so the episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely in one respect as the episode doesn't take the time that it really could have done to fully develop it's plot as the episode doesn't really take the time to explain things like why The Crowman doesn't catch up to Worzel in this episode despite the fact that earlier episodes of this show did exactly that something that could easily have been explained by showing The Crowman struggling to keep up with Mr. Shephards car and yet for one reason or another the makers of this episode put alot more focus on giving us these wacky situations with Worzel , Aunt Sally and Saucy Nancy when that is time that could have been spent on giving us a more well thought plot but to be fair this episode however to be fair tho the episode doesn't really take the time to give it's characters any kind of character development and while that might be seen as being a bad thing here it's not as this show doesn't really give it's characters character development in the first place with this episode being more focused funny and giving it's characters funny things to say and do then it is giving it's character development which in this case is something that does work really well for the episode as this episode is one that doesn't really demand that the characters get any kind of character development 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 gave 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' actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode having alot of really good jokes in it with this being more due to the fact that the episode did put alot of focus of giving us some really funny jokes and it is something that does pay off in the final episode as it does allow for all of these really funny actors to be just as funny as we the audience know that they can be with the best joke in the whole entire episode being when Aunt Sally and Saucy Nancy are arguing as they each force Worzel to sit up and stand up which might not sound funny but the thing that makes it funny is the fact that we get to see Jon Pertwee make some really funny faces all of which are more funnier then what they really should have been with it being something that does hit home the fact that Jon Pertwee can be a really funny man as he doesn't always need funny things to say to make him funny as he can get a laugh out of people just by doing things like putting on a shockingly good Australian accent or by pulling a funny face both of which are things that he does in this episode and both of which are really funny with this episode having alot of really jokes in it all of which work due to the fact that they feel true to who these characters are as people as well as bein really funny in there own right in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst yes there are better and more funnier episodes of this show this episode is one that is still really funny as it allows it's characters to just be these funny characters and not have alot of focus on drama or have that deep of a plot which is something that really does work 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 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 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 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.