Worzel Gummidge (TV Series) Calliope Jane (2021) User Reviews

Calliope Jane

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 18 February 2022]

Mackenzie Crook channels everyone's inner childhood as Peregrine's travelling fair comes to Scatterbrook.

Worzel would love to go to the fair. The children Susan and John will certainly be attending.

When they learn of a legend of an organ at the fair sends humans to sleep when played. The children have a chance to let Worzel enjoy the fair.

The key is Calliope Jane who knows how to play the organ but she is in a museum along with Aunt Sally. Soggy Bogart wants Jane to escape so he and his gang could also go to the fair.

A slight but enchanting tale. The Braithwaites now regard the Susan and John as their own as they become closer as a family unit.

Mr Peregrine (Bill Bailey) descended from a generation of fair owners has memories of his own childhood. When one night he woke up and saw scarecrows and dolls enjoying the funfair. A memory he has always wanted to relive.

Then there are the simple pleasures of Soggy Bogart and his gang on the merry go round with motorbikes. It is just their kind of transport.

Season Two Review.

[southdavid · 7/10 · 1 April 2022]

It's increasingly difficult to categorise these reviews, as the scattershot approach that the BBC has to releasing these makes in interesting to decide when I'm reviewing episodes individually or not. For the record, what I'm reviewing here are the two episodes that made up the 2021 Christmas releases, "Twitchers" and "Calliope Jane".

A storm brings a rare flock of Choughs to Scatterbrook and whilst Worzel (Mackenzie Crook) is looking forward to scaring a rarity, the news gets out and a group of birdwatchers come. This puts Farmer Braithwaite (Steve Pemberton) at odds with an old nemesis, Lee Dangerman (Aaron Neil). Then the fair comes to town, and Calliope Jane (Nneka Okoye) sees an opportunity to escape the museum. Along with Aunt Sally (Vicki Pepperdine) and the biker gang, they try to feed a piece of slot music into the machine that will automatically send the humans to sleep.

My reviews for the last few episodes of Crook's "Worzel Gummidge" reboot have largely been, it's still charming but lacking the genuine humour that the first couple of episodes provided all the way back in 2019. I genuinely laughed out loud as some lines in those ones, and though I still feel a romantic longing for the countryside (which is ironic as I hate being outside) and there is a genuine warmth to the show - that humour has never quite hit again to the same level.

The performances are still good, I really like the kids and their relationship with Braithwaite and his wife, played by Rosie Cavaliero, is touching. There's a real throwaway moment in one of the two episodes when they refer to them as their mum and dad and another show might have made a much bigger deal out of it.

It's still worth watching - but I'm again sad that it hasn't reached the heights it was once at.