Review CATWEAZLE: "THE SUN IN A BOTTLE" - Episode 01

[michaellevenson]

I liked your review Brimfin, you seem to have got what this show is about already.
Yes CW does seem to have hypnosis powers, and Richard Carpenter throughout leaves it open to wonder if CW 's powers are hypnotic, magic ,or just coincidence.
There's some lovely lines in this show and you picked out probably the stand out ones.
Catweazle spitting out the orange juice, I think was expected, his immediate reaction to something unfamiliar to taste would be that it's poisonous. I like Carrot's deadpan reaction to his Dad asking what's all this mess; "erm...supper", and the father's reply, " sometimes I think you're off your head.

 

[Mad-Pac]

It was reminiscent of MY FAVORITE MARTIAN and shows of its kind, and being dated in 1969, fit right into the same timeframe. 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. Don’t know if the same thing happened in other countries at that time, but it was an amusing and innocent time for us.

I remember My Favorite Martian (And did you know that was made into a movie with Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Daniels in the roles previously taken by Ray Walston and Bill Bixby? - All this without checking imdb). We also had Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muiir, My Mother the Car, Mr. Ed...Oh, yeah, I've watched my fair share of crappy TV shows that looked good back int he day.

Speaking of gimmick shows, I just saw a review of The Good Doctor. So, this guy is a first-rate surgeon and he's also... autistic, and not in the trolling Internet sense. And a few years ago we had Monk, a many who suffered from OCD and was a genius detective. In other words, now the gimmick is giving the character a handicap or a disease and basically make him a superhero because of that.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Yes, I believe that this is actually the only episode I have seen previously and was trying to think where I had seen it.

It turns out it was on this collection of sample episodes from different shows of the genre, which is a nice set to own and one of three or four similar titles of random opening episodes of shows......


View attachment 8042


At least I think that was the episode that was on this set. I will have to double check it. It most likely is this opener though.

But this means that the remaining 25 episodes of the series (whichever they are) are a mystery to me, because I never saw CATWEAZLE back in the day. WORZEL GUMMIDGE, yes, which this reminds me of somewhat, format wise, even down to Bayldon being in it, so I guess I am certainly well acquainted with this style of show.

But I like what I have seen so far.

Have checked now. It wasn't the opening episode.... It was one called THE DEMI DEVIL and I have no memory of it at all.

But CATWEAZLE is proving a great, fun show to watch, with a charm that is just sadly missing from the current crop of shows, in my opinion.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Funnily enough, with all this 70's charm, I was perusing a charity shop the other day and stumbled on this large format book called THE 1970'S SCRAPBOOK by Robert Opie.It is a visually sumptuous guided tour through that decade and is well worth picking up.






CATWEAZLE gets a namecheck when the 1973 annual pops it's head up amongst a cluster of all the other SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and SPACE 1999 annuals etc....

 

[ant-mac]

CATWEAZLE gets off to a strong start with the opening episode, THE SUN IN A BOTTLE. It opens by showing us Catweazle in his native time and place - eleventh century England - going about his daily routine. Then, after he runs afoul of some Norman soldiers, he falls into a lake to emerge from a pond several centuries later, although from his - and the viewers’ - perspective, it’s almost instantaneously. This has a rather jarring effect on the viewers and perfectly illustrates to them the effects that the jump through time must have had on Catweazle himself.

Geoffrey Bayldon is absolutely perfect as the time travelling wizard from the past and he is ably supported by a strong and talented regular cast in the form of Robin Davies as Edward “Carrot” Bennet, Neil McCarthy as Sam Woodyard and finally, Australian acting legend, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Carrot’s father, Mister Bennet. I’ve heard CATWEAZLE described as a children’s TV series, but I disagree. To me, it’s simply a well-made family TV show.

4/5.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Australian acting legend, Charles "Bud" Tingwell

I have to hang my head in shame and say that I don't really recognise him outside of this show - and I wouldn't have known he was Australian if they hadn't mentioned it in that lovely short documentary where Bayldon and Davies return to the farm.

I shall rectify this immediately by chasing up Tingwell's other credits though.

He is certainly a sterling actor in the show - as are the entire cast.

I am loving the cameo appearances, as we go along, from the cream of the acting profession at the time. You don't pull big names like that if your show is crap.

Part of the fun of viewing these episodes is seeing who will pop up next.

I am banking on a Diana Dors/Alan Lake appearance at some point, and will be surprised if Una Stubbs doesn't appear, along with Barbara Windsor perhaps.

 

[ant-mac]

I have to hang my head in shame and say that I don't really recognise him outside of this show - and I wouldn't have known he was Australian if they hadn't mentioned it in that lovely short documentary where Bayldon and Davies return to the farm.

I shall rectify this immediately by chasing up Tingwell's other credits though.

He is certainly a sterling actor in the show - as are the entire cast.

I am loving the cameo appearances, as we go along, from the cream of the acting profession at the time. You don't pull big names like that if your show is crap.

Part of the fun of viewing these episodes is seeing who will pop up next.

I am banking on a Diana Dors/Alan Lake appearance at some point, and will be surprised if Una Stubbs doesn't appear, along with Barbara Windsor perhaps.

After the end of WWII, Tingwell worked in Australia and England. After work prospects dried up down under, he moved to England to continue his acting career. He eventually returned to Australia in the early 1970s to take on a leading role in the long-running Australian police TV series, HOMICIDE.

He also had a long career in films.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Yeah, I was just scrolling through his credits on IMDB. He sure was prolific.

Everything from Home and Away, to Dracula Prince of Darkness, Out of the Unknown, Home and Away - and even a voice in Captain Scarlett and Thunderbirds!

Sad, but not unexpected, to see that he left us in 2009, but was working to the end, with his final credit in 2010.

 

[michaellevenson]

Yeah, I was just scrolling through his credits on IMDB. He sure was prolific.

Everything from Home and Away, to Dracula Prince of Darkness, Out of the Unknown, Home and Away - and even a voice in Captain Scarlett and Thunderbirds!

Sad, but not unexpected, to see that he left us in 2009, but was working to the end, with his final credit in 2010.

Sadly all the regulars from both series are deceased, Moray Watson and Elspet Gray from series 2 most recently. The only exception is Gary Warren, Cedric , is still around.

 

[ant-mac]

Sadly all the regulars from both series are deceased, Moray Watson and Elspet Gray from series 2 most recently. The only exception is Gary Warren, Cedric , is still around.

Yes, I'd noticed that...

Oh well, time moves on for us all.

 

[Doctor Omega]

"Catweazle" The Sun in a Bottle (TV Episode 1970) ⭐ 7.9 | Adventure, Comedy, Family

24m

www.imdb.com