The lowdown:  'Worzel Gummidge' was based on the series of children's books written by Barbara Euphan Todd,
and starred Jon Pertwee as the scarecrow who comes to life. 'Worzel Gummidge Down Under' sees the story of the
mischevious scarecrow move to New Zealand (or 'Zew Nealand' as Worzel calls it) after his girlfriend Aunt Sally (Una
Stubbs) is bought by the curator of a folk museum and taken to the land of the long white cloud. First broadcast from
4 October 1987 to 16 April 1989, it ran for 22 episodes, with only Pertwee and Stubbs continuing their roles from the
original series. This series retains a lot of the humour of the British episodes, but it is also much darker in places and
features an ongoing plot with the evil Travelling Scarecrowmaker. While many people regard it as inferior to the original,
the enduring charm of Worzel Hedgerow Gummidge and the superb acting of Jon Pertwee makes this series just as 
appealing, particularly for Generation Xers who remember it from their youth.

The episode:  'As the Scarecrow Flies' is the first episode of the series, and picks up pretty much where the original
left off, with Worzel still pursuing Aunt Sally with amorous intentions. He follows Aunt Sally to New Zealand after she
is sold to a museum owner, and stows away in the cargo hold of the plane taking her to New Zealand.  Arriving down
under, Worzel meets the New Zealand crowman (played by Bruce Phillips), who explains that there is a crowman in
every country, and Worzel's Crowman is the original. While Phillips is fine in the role, he is no match for the wonderful
Geoffrey Bayldon from the original series. The episode ends with Worzel taking up his role as a scarecrow in a New
Zealand field, which is the cue for a series of misadventures along the lines of the original. It is hard to imagine new
episodes or a film version of Worzel Gummidge being made now, because it would be hard for any actor to match the
performance of Pertwee.

Trivia: 'Worzel Gummidge Down Under' was originally going to be set in Ireland, but contractual problems meant the
series was instead filmed in New Zealand.

Video Clips:   The "burglafier"    5.8mb         New Zealand crowman    6.2mb
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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