Worzel Gummidge (TV Series) Guy Forks (2021) User Reviews

Loved it...

[skipp-5 · 9/10 · 10 November 2021]

I'm old enough to remember the original series, so perhaps a bit old for this, but it's so "British" and is a lovely watch - the pleasant countryside and stereotypical, traditions that many remember with fondness, bring an hours easy watching that always leaves me smiling.

This was a great episode, Toby Jones in particular totally excelled as "the bonfire committee" indeed all of the actors gave sterling performances and the scenery was just.. well lovely.

Keep up the great work Mr McKenzie and the team, this is first class TV that the whole family can watch together - I loved it!

Guy Forks

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 13 November 2021]

A bonfire night special of Worzel Gummidge. Mackenzie Crook loads it with charm and skirts with the darker aspects of English folk culture made palatable for kids.

The local village committee including the mayor are organising the annual bonfire in the village of Skatterbrook.

The guy for the fire is Worzel's cousin Guy Forks (Paul Kaye) a role he has performed for centuries.

However when Guy clashes with Worzel regarding who performs the most important duties. Both swap jobs. Guy realises that scaring crows is not that easy.

Susan and John find that they need to save Worzel from a fiery end as Guy decides to finish a job that his namesake never managed to complete.

It is all wonderfully daft. Guy Forks relishes being burnt and is then magically reborn.

The kids look older and Worzel even makes reference to it thinking John has shrunk.

I did wonder how the bonfire would be treated. I doubt the children would want to see the central character burnt alive. Wisely Crook keeps it offscreen although Guy Forks does refer how much he likes the flames tickling his feet.

Scarecrow magic even extends to the seasons

[stevelesley · 7/10 · 1 January 2022]

It's bonfire night, 5th November, and the sun is high in the sky, leaves are on the trees and the vegetables are flowering. Some autumn scenes but only without actors, the main scenes were obviously filmed in summer, Kids probably won't notice.

Other than that a pleasant episode. The young actors are fairly tolerable and Toby Jones is good.

Fawkes it up.

[southdavid · 6/10 · 10 November 2021]

Well.. this is really wrecking my reviewing rules. This is down as being part of season two here, but in truth the release schedule doesn't really work like that, as this episode first appeared, in isolation, around Bonfire Night of 2021 - which makes sense given the story. I really liked the first two episodes that appeared at Christmas of 2019. Last Christmas' special, "Saucy Nancy" wasn't quite as good and I'm afraid I felt here than the downward trend continued.

With the 5th of November fast approaching, the village of Skatterbrook set up their bonfire, which is then topped by Worzel Gummidge's (Mackenzie Crook) cousin, Guy Forks (Paul Kaye). Forks firmly believes that his role is much more important than anything Worzel does and an argument between the two causes them to swap jobs, the consequences of which Worzel hasn't thought through. Meanwhile Susan (India Brown) and John (Thierry Wickens) clash with the Village Committee (All Toby Jones) as to what can and can't be burned on a bonfire.

I appreciate that again I'm reviewing what is primarily a children's story as a 40-year-old man, and the principle compliant of mine will be, it's not written for me. I know how that sounds, and I probably wouldn't make the complaint (or have kept watching these) had the first two episodes not been so surprisingly witty and funny that they entirely won me over. Whilst the show is still charming, still a beautifully shot loving ode to English countryside life, that wit was almost entirely lacking in this one. There was a nice little joke about how much Wickens has grown since the recording of the first episode, but unfortunately most of the business with Guy Forks and with the village committee left me a little cold.

The combination of Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook together again naturally brings up fond memories of their sitcom "The Detectorists" that ended a few years back and there is a smart nod to that show in the background of one of the scenes. That said, the stunt of Jones playing all the various members of the village committee didn't really work for me, as they had to be too broad for my taste.

I don't want to sound too negative, as it's a truly heartfelt and lovely show, if it could just recapture a bit more of the wit, that would be great.

Hmm, too much anti-Catholicism in this one

[Dougal16 · 13 November 2022]

I think the annual bonfire night meaning has been lost over the years on British people.

It is an anti-catholic ritual, and the Gunpowder Plot I believe was a conspiracy used to suppress Catholics and Catholicism in Britain (but that's for another day).

The fifth of November is no different to the sectarian Eleventh Night bonfires in the north of Ireland. On that night too, we see anything catholic (or Irish) burnt, all in the name of "entertainment". It's extremely offensive to Irish Catholics. But maybe British Catholics actually participate in bonfire night, I'm not sure. Maybe they don't don't pay attention to, or aren't aware, of its meaning?

I'm disappointed the creators didn't consider this, but as I said, the true meaning has probably been lost over the years. Sure it's all 'a bit of fun', when in reality, it's a catholic being burnt atop a bonfire. Hardly a good message to send to kids.

Again, the 'green' message is being pushed in the episode. Looking after nature, don't pollute, and whatnot, but then they go and light a big fire, polluting the village air.

Anyway, maybe it's just me becoming a grumpy old man, but these details matter to me, so I had to vent. Anyway, I've really enjoyed the new Worzel episodes. But I was somewhat let down with the message in this one.