Worzel Gummidge



Worzel Gummidge began life as a 1936 children's book called Worzel Gummidge or The Scarecrow of Scatterbrook by British author, Barabara Euphan Todd. It told the story of two kids who are staying at a farm in the country and meet Worzel Gummidge, the farm's scarecrow who can come to life. Nine other books were written by Todd, she later penned a radio show featuring the character and a 4 episode TV show for the BBC in 1953.

The characters biggest success would come several years after Todd's death, in a live-action TV series starring former Doctor and childhood fan of the original books, Jon Pertwee. The show lasted four seasons in the UK and an additional two were made in New Zealand. The Pertwee series had many radical changes from Todd's original stories, such as eliminating his wife, a scarecrow named Earthy Mangold and making another supporting character, Aunt Sally, who was his real Aunt in books, his sort of a girlfriend, and adding the Crow Man, Worzel's creator.

This show provides examples of:

 * Adults Are Useless
 * Cool Old Guy: The Crow Man
 * Secret Keeper
 * Scary Scarecrows: Many adults who remembered the Pertwee series as children.
 * Not so accidental in the New Zealand seasons with a full-blown supernatural villain and Demonic Possession.