As an adult and as a child I have seen many films and television programmes. I have watched sensational violence in such classics as Robocop, Threads, Evil Dead, V, First Born and Dawn of the Dead. These fascinated me and made me love film.
Yet only one thing would make me cry, shout, scream at the television...my brother would even lock me in the room cos he knew I hated it. I was petrified and would have dreams that no other film would achieve. Worzel Gummidge.
regards
poor you:-( i loved it
shareI loved it. Bought the DVD, watched it again after 26 years and thought:
This is spooky stuff! It is actually quite scary.
So weird ... I was talking about this show at the weekend with my younger brother and we wondered, with so much stuff being remade, who would you cast in a remake? So, who could play Worzel, Aunt Sally, The Crowman, etc?
shareRobin Williams would be a natural for Worzel.
shareNow not a big fan of remakes if the origional was the best it could have been.
Funny on one hand yet a little spooooooky on the other. GREAT
If we have to have a remake may I suggest (after a year of childrens programmes) Justin Fletcher from Tikkabilla fame and the voice of Jake and Doodles in The Tweenies. His language skills are superb and his features are very good.
Obviously Worzel would be best portrayed by Chris Tucker - He could be contemporized as a Street talking , rapping, ass kicking scarecrow YO!
shareI wouldn't know who'd make the best WG in possible modern remake, but hey, people, I've seen some episode on TV early 80-ies (i was born in happy hippy 1968) and I kinda liked it. Then, in mid-80-ies, there came Wes Craven's Freddy Krueger... Watching Nightmare on Elm Street I felt like I saw Worzel's TRUE face! So, RObert Englund would be my obvious choise. But Christian Bale (or Chris Walken perhaps?) would do just fine, too... Michael Madsen (he even has MAD in his name!). This list might be endless, but I'd like to see Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore write their version of Worzel. THAT could really scare bejesus out of us all. God help us (but I'd love to see that!)...
S***t, it's half past midnight here, I work tomorrow, and I still have to write an article on current movies for local newspaper. And I'll have to try to sleep after that... One, two, Worzel's coming for you... Three, four, you'd better lock your door (did I mention I live on my own?)... Five, six, grab your (Crap, I'm an agnostic!)
itll happen. depp and burton. it will be set in a cotton field in the deep south. and there'll be plenty of song and dance.
you mark my words.
hey i loved it too. can you buy the dvd from the shops? if not where can i get it??
shareGo to amazon.co.uk they have all the series on DVD!
shareyou wouldn't see shows like this made today kids who were born inthe 60's 70s had the Best Range of shows unlike the kids of today half which are animated shows
back then the shows are real classics :)
i got it from amazon.co.uk has the uk series, the series made in New zealand and the christmas Special ignore the buy boxset and the christmas Special together
the boxset looks so cool ;) worth getting rather then buying the individual series sets also its region 0 .
I don't remember it being scary. But I haven't seen it in a quarter of a century so maybe I've just forgotten.
Just a painted face on a trip down suicide row
DVD's by Delta Music [email protected]
just got a three disc set from a charity shop love'em
Worzel used to terrify me too. I still remember one vivid nightmare that involved Worzel walking up my stairs towards my bedroom..ugh! I purchased the DVD boxset recently (Amazon if you wanna know)amd I was really surprised at how scary it actually is, especially the first episode which puts many a horror movie to shame. Dafthead is pretty terrifying too ("You ain't putting ME on no bonfire!") as is that crazy cackling female scarecrow who beats Worzel to a pulp in a scene Hitchcock would be proud of.
That said, you have to applaud the makers for that. Scarecrows and other inanimate objects coming to life is a terrifying concept when you really think about it and they didn't shirk from acting on it. It's fantastically macabre and I love it now.
Ah, glad it isn't just me. I used to watch this when I was little and enjoyed it but found it quite unnerving, but just recently I found some clips on Youtube and it is even creepier than I remembered ... his voice, his hands, his facial expressions. Deeply disturbing.
shareIt certainly had a macabre visual sense and atmospheric music; the cackling female scarecrow was Earthy Mangold I think, the head removing is pretty freaky and one episode 'The Trial of Worzel Gummidge' looks like Night of the Living Dead with all the scarecrows heading for the barn.
Mark Gatiss for Worzel. Only Christopher Eccleston could play the Crowman. He'd also make a great Catweazle if thats ever remade.
I watched it when it was first on the tv and tbh i don't think i really found it scary.I remember being fascinated by all the different heads he had (alright maybe i thought it was a bit scary!)I went to see it at the theatre in London in about 1981 and loved it:)
My kids have it on video and they love it as well:) Weve got the first episode on now and i can see what you mean about its scary factor, especially when the 'dummy' turns round and looks at the children.
I went to see it as a child at the theatre when they did the 1981 show. I remember loving it, because this was my favourite programme - but I do remember being a little worried when Jon Pertwee (as Worzel) came out into the audience.
I wish current children's TV executives would take the time to watch Worzel Gummidge because its the kind of live action fantasy kids show younger generations could really do with these days. There were definately moments where it scared me, the trial where all these creepy scarecrows lumbered across the fields at dusk was really disturbing, I also used to find Aunt Sally really unpleasant and thought it was sad when she managed to get rid of Dolly Clothespeg who genuinely loved Worzel (in fact it caused Dolly Clothespeg to become a very unhinged and nutty killer in Emmerdale!).
I bought a few episodes on VHS about five years ago, and actually thought I would find it very dated and not as good as I had remembered it to be, but it was just as brilliant. What was great about it was it was really funny!
'Worzel Gummmidge' didn't worry about making sure kids TV was educational and (lets face it) boring and safe, it used fantasy characters and magic in a real setting. It also made great use of well loved British stars (of the day) like Una Stubbs, Joan Simms, Barbara Windsor, Lorraine Chase, Bernard Cribbins and Beryl Reid (who was brilliant as Worzel's Mum). At the end of the day, it taught kids a much better lesson about life than many of today's kids shows. Worzel was naughty but always learned the error of his ways (usually via The Crowman), but he also loved animals and even Aunt Sally!
I don't think they should re-make this show, I think ITV should show it again at it's original slot of 5.30pm on Saturday so today's kids can watch it everyweek! It really hasn't dated!
Wow...I went looking for an image of Worzel today as I thought of him while doing my hair (yeah, it looked that bad!)
I can't believe I found this thread, and some of the posts are recent!! I loved Worzel, I'm so happy to read I can buy it on DVD. It was such a great show for children. I remember being sorely disappointed every time I saw a real scarecrow when I went to visit my grandparents in the country and there was no hint of life to them :( I remember really not liking Aunt Sally, I really think she scared me more than Worzel, she was just a bit too devious for my liking!! I loved the changing heads...Even as a kid I couldn't sing and wished I had a singing head . I live in Canada now, and would dearly love to see this and some of the other brilliant childrens shows from my childhood on TV here, much better than the unoffensive cookie cutter drivel they have on now. Great show...can't believe I haven't thought about it in yrs!
THIS SHOW USED TO SCARE THE BEJESUS OUT OF ME, AND YOU KNOW WHAT????
IT STILL BLOODY DOES!
This show is freaky!!!
My kids love it, i dont think they ever found it even slightly scary.I remember when i saw (can't remember the name)it at the theatre in London there was a character called something 'beetroot' who i found a little bit scary being 6 at the time.I seem to remember he had a great big red face (as you do!!).
The part in 'The Trial Of Worzel Gummidge' where all the scarecrows advance over the countryside is really creepy, especially some really tall guy with lanky long arms. I think it's the poor visual quality of it that makes it look good. The whole countryside thing aswell...almost like The Wicker Man! :)
shareThe Wicker Man? Absolutely!
Fantastic Programming... & Kudos To The Comparison Of "The Trial" Episode & Night Of The Living Dead... Akin The First Episode Where Worzel Comes To Life in The Rain.
On a Completely Unrelated Topic; The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" (1970) Has Many Wicker Man-Esque Shots Amongst The Crowd.
Long Live Jon Pertwee.
"Oh God, Did You Eat All This Acid?"
I recently brought the whole series of Worzel on DVD from Bid-up Tv for £30. I'd never seen it before but now I'm addicted! I love it. I've only got a couple of dvd's left to watch now- I'm gonna be sad when I've finished watching them.
I think people are forgetting that this was a kids tv show. It may have a few slightly (very slightly) scary scenes in it but on the whole it is a comedy show. It's supposed to be fun and silly.
I find it hilarious how Worzel never learns his lesson with Aunt Sally. And she is such a funny character, how she can turn on the charm one minute, then be nasty the next. She is brilliant how she stuffs her face with cakes, when she is always pretending to be upper class, talking about marrying princes etc.
I think Worzel is just plain ugly rather than scary.
And they shouldn't ruin the show by making a remake in my opinion.
-"I think Aunt Sally's awful".
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The obvious choice to play Worzel....is Johnny Depp.
He (Worzel) is one terrifying *beep*
This scene is stuff of nightmares:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiwKujeThD4&t=21m42s
ROCK STARS HAVE KIDNAPPED MY SON