I haven't found a working link, so if you have one, let me know. Meanwhile, I'l continue my observations of the pilot.
CATWEAZLE’S GREATEST WRITING FLAW AND WHY THE SHOW IS NO LONGER WHAT YOU THINK WHAT IT IS
OK, OK, I admit this is a clickbait title, an exaggeration. Especially considering that some of you have already touched the subject at least marginally, so it’s not like nobody saw it coming. But still I have a theory I’d like to take to its last consequences and once you’ve understood it, you’ll realize it makes a hell lot of sense.
Let’s start with the show’s basic premise and, from that, extrapolate to what we can assume was the writers’ intention. I’m going to quote some of your comments while I do that.
Back then, on American TV we have what are now labeled “the gimmick shows” with beings like witches, genies, and Martians using their magic powers every week while keeping their identities secret. (…) Plus we have the whole “fish out of water” routine as Catweazle gasps in amazement at our modern technology. And thus is the concept set up in the pilot episode.
Took the words right out of my mouth, at least as far as the ichthyological part is concerned. I’m no ichthyologist, but “fish out of water” is literally the first expression that came to my mind as I thought of describing this show. The concept tries to obtain humor and drama from the fact a person is a stranger in a strange land. Say, we have an Indian trying to understand White man’s society where he now finds himself. Or a cowboy among Indians. Or an Indian in London. Or a Londoner in India. Or an Indian (native) in India (India).
In this scenario, the “fish” can be from a more technologically advanced society, but is often from a more primitive one. They don’t understand fundamental things even when a kid does, and that’s funny, of course, because people who look stupid are funny and we should make fun of them. When the “fish” is advanced, he’ll learn some valuable lesson from the primitive ones and will become more humble. But if the “fish” is more of a noble savage, then he’ll get to teach them a valuable moral lesson and everybody else will be humbled.
OK, back to the show. The “fish out of the water” concept applies. And notice that Catweazle comes to “our” time by
coming out of the water. That can’t be a coincidence, and the writers wouldn’t use such a powerful symbolism at random.
The writers must’ve thought how an ancient man who believe in magic would fare in the modern, vibrant, technological society of the 1970s. So much so that even a kid who doesn’t look particularly brilliant (but conveniently knows a lot about history that happened one millennium ago) knows that Catweazle is being stupid. Look, CAtweazle thinks a tractor is a dangerous beast. Ha, ha! That’s stupid. (In fact when I think of 1066, I think of early humans hunting mammoths and Neanderthals, so yes that’s very primitive.) Catweazle doesn’t understand electricity and can’t even pronounce the word. Funny! Catweazle is under the assumption a mini thermonuclear reaction is happening inside a light bulb, therefore it must contain the power of a star. Hilarious!
Carrot, who here is just a surrogate for the target audience, knows that Catweazle is wrong and is talking nonsense. After all, the kid (Carrot the character and the kid watching the show) has learned in school how electricity works, why combustion engine vehicles move and how light bulbs are built. And he probably has asked his father about that stuff, so he knows that he can take satisfaction from the fact he knows way more than an old man like Catweazle.
But in order to create this “fish out of water” situation, Catweazle had to be brought to present time. Perhaps someone suggested a time machine, but then that would require actual rational thinking and lots of explanations that would shift the focus of the show, so that idea was discarded from the writing room. The answer is simple; it’s that simple trick that always help a writer when he has no idea how to explain something. MAGIC!
Magic is great because you don’t have to explain or understand anything. Magic happens out of the blue and there we have the plot contrivance we wanted. And at some point the writers thought it would be fun if Catweazle were magical himself so their case would be water tight: magic happens because Catweazle is a wizard, though a rather incompetent one.
However, that’s when the writers’ premise falls apart. If Catweazle had come to the 20th century because of a scientist’s time machine or, you know, alien science, then he could make the stupid assumption he wanted about modern technology and he would still be the laughing stock school kids watching the show think he is. No matter what,. He would always be wrong.
However, that’s not what happened. Well, before I continue, I must point out that Catweazle, the show, happens in an alternate universe whose natural laws work very differently from those in our universe. There is MAGIC, it’s a real thing, it is used by people, and a thousand years ago it was mastered quite well by some people at least. So, not only there is magic, but also, Catweazle is the source, or conduit, of such magic.
So, here how the story should be told. Catweazle is running from his enemies, the “Normals,” and unintentionally goes to the future. It should be noted that magic is not an easy thing to master and there are other wizards that are much more proficient than Catweazle, have more money and resources to improve their skills, or have the support from a member of the Nobility, probably someone from the “Normals.” But still, Catweazle does very impressive things.
When he gets to the future, he realizes that the people have forgotten all botu magic, though it surrounds them. The problem is that they think there’s a mundane explanation for every magic feat he sees, and that fills him with concern. Those future people have no idea what they are dealing with and, be honest, how would you react if you traveled to the future and saw children playing with nuclear artifacts in blissful ignorance? Wouldn’t that drive you mad as well?
So, Catweazle immediately understands how dangerous electrickery is, and he knows that tractors may turn against their owners any moment if they inadvertently perverts the spell that made them alive in the first place. But what really scares him to death is the fact that at any moment all little suns kept in bottles may go critic and blow up this entire planet just because these future people are children playing with fire.
OK, wait a minute, I know how electricity, and light bulbs, and internal combustion engines, and telephones, and radios work, and it’s not magic. It’s science. Oh, yeah? You see miracles all around you every day, but because a teacher or a scientist makes up an explanation that would don’t really understand you just start accepting the supernatural that easily? Without questioning? OK, now you’re going to tell me you believe Earth is a ball and the moon landings are not fake, right? You’re a lost case.
In case you needed further convincing, I say this: your society may have produced telephones, cars, and incandescent light bulbs. But can you time travel? NO! Can you fly just by saying a few words? NO! Can you do a Jedi mind trick and possibly give a kid permanent brain damage to a boy who’s not so smart to begin with? NO! Then, shut up and listen to Catweazle, your new leader. The ONLY man in the world who sees things for what they are: magical and dangerous.
Of course, there was that final scene in episode one in which Catweazle tried to light a kerosene lamp by flipping a latch, which was hilarious because it made poor Catweazle look as intelligent as my cat, who taps on a door knob or always pushes doors to open them (even when they have to be pulled instead) and simply can’t figure out what went wrong. It would have been a stroke of genius on eht part of the writing team if Catweazle had actually managed to light the kerosene lamp by means of his magic of association and analogy; that would really blow everyone’s minds. Instead, they went with the “logical” and “grounded” approach. However, we can still argue that Catweazle is not very competent as a magician, he doesn’t understand how magic has evolved 900 years later, and is probably just making some basic mistake.
But YOU shouldn’t make the mistake of laughing at Catweazle’s reactions to technology because there’s no such thing. In this alternate reality, IT’S ALL MAGIC! And basically humanity is doomed.
Catweazle is a much more evolved human from a distant past, now trying to bring humanity back to the pinnacle of enlightenment. Unfortunately man became stupid after so many centuries, so Catweazle's task is a very daunting one. These images illustrate his challenge:
