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The Worst Witch
(Recapturing The Magic)


a journey with


Karl S. Green


Prologue - Tuesday 31st October 2006

"When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"

William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1

A long time ago, back in the 1980's, I, like a lot of other children my age, read the "Worst Witch" books by Jill Murphy. In fact, I can credit Jill Murphy's books with helping me learn how to read in the first place. I also happened to like the books a lot. I remember on one occasion when I was about 8 a boy in my class found a copy of "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch" in our classroom's collection, and I snatched it out of his hand - that was wrong of me, I know. What made it worse was that I already knew the full story as I had an audiobook of it which I had listened to several times.

I also remember watching the 1986 film adaptation that featured Fairuza Balk, Tim Curry, and Diana Rigg as Miss. Hardbroom (who also happened to look just like one of the teachers at my school!). Although I only think I saw it once, as I could only vaguely remember it later on.

I then, like a lot of other children my age, grew out of the "Worst Witch" books, moving onto reading bigger and longer books. Whilst I still had fond memories of Mildred Hubble and her friends, they slowly faded from my mind.

Then, almost a decade later, in late 1998 when I was 17, I was looking through the "Radio Times" - a major TV listings magazine in the UK - and I saw that ITV were going to be showing a TV adaptation of "The Worst Witch". With my memories of the books being stirred up once more, I decided to watch it, and set my video to record.

Little did I know then what repercussions that decision would have.

What I saw was fantastic - the producers had been able to capture all of the magic of the books and added so much more. As well as bringing Jill Murphy's original characters to life, they added some new ones. As well as adapting her original plots, they went on to add their own. It was a truly great show that was, quite simply, magical.

And now we come to the show's star, Georgina Sherrington. Now, let me just say this now so that we can get it out of the way. Yes, I did happen to like Georgina. Yes, I did like her a lot. Yes, I did think about her a lot. And, yes, I will admit that some of my thoughts concerning her were... well, I'm sure no one actually needs me to finish that sentence, let's just say that I was a young single guy at the time and leave it at that.

And, whilst I'm here, let's get the admittedly slightly creepy bit out of the way quickly. Yes, she was 12/13 during the first series, and I was 17/18 when I watched it. Yes, she was too young for me to... And, yes, I did get a lot of comments regarding this age issue. Let me just say now that I no longer have any thoughts of, ahem, that nature concerning girls of that age group, your honour. I am older now, and they are far too young for me.

Right then, so we've established that I liked the show, a lot, and that I liked the star of the show, a lot. This was also the time when the Internet was really starting to take off. I proceeded to do searches on the Internet for information the show, and for information on Georgina Sherrington. What I found was precious little.

At this time I had my own little website. There wasn't much on there, just some stuff about me, and some "Final Fantasy" related material. So I thought, "Why don't I make a page on 'The Worst Witch'?"

Little did I know then what repercussions that decision would have.

So, off I went and made my page. Now, I will admit at this stage that part of my mind was thinking, "If I make a page on 'The Worst Witch' Georgina Sherrington might find it and I might be able to get in contact with her and I might be able to meet her and she might like me and I might get to go out with her and I might..." and I'm sure that you can all complete that train of thought by yourselves without any further assistance from me. But let me say here that I was not seriously thinking that this would actually happen, I was just dreaming. The main reason for making my "Worst Witch" page was not to try and get Georgina Sherrington to fall in love with me - it was for me to share my love for the show.

Let me just reiterate that point - I did not seriously expect to be able to contact Georgina Sherrington, your honour.

So, my page was there, for all the world to see. And, slowly but surely, other people began to find it. The page grew, and, eventually, it became bigger than the "main" part of my website!

The next key event took place in the summer of 1999. One day, when checking the Worst Witch message board on my website, there was a very interesting message. It was almost too good to be true. There was actually a message from two of the stars of the show, complete with E-mail addresses, and one of those stars was none other than Georgina Sherrington herself.

Now, I know what you're all thinking at this stage - that the message had to be a fake. The star of my favourite show, that I was secretly in love with, wouldn't just waltz onto my site and provide me with her E-mail address. I mean, what are the odds? However, let me just say that the message was genuine, and there was something that clinched it for me, but, due to my painstaking attention to chronology, I will explain a bit further down.

Now, who can tell me what you do when an actress that you fancy leaves her E-mail address on the message board of your website? Yes, that's right, you send her an E-mail, which is exactly what I did.

And she replied.

My heart lept for joy when I saw that first E-mail from her. Could it be that my dream, my impossible dream, actually had a chance to come true? The impossible had already happened. The impossible was becoming possible. This certainly wasn't a normal experience.

Little did I know then that my Worst Witch Internet experience was to become stranger still.

Now, we corresponded with each other, and it soon became clear that it was genuinely her. And here's what clinched it. All of her E-mails came from an "Anne Sherrington", and, as we all know, up until this point we've known her as "Georgina Sherrington". I asked her about this once, and she explained how she came about her name, that "Anne" was her first name and "Georgina" was her middle name. Her explanation for why she goes by her middle name was credible, but I won't go into that here as it's not my place to divulge that information.

"But," I hear you cry out, "How did this prove that it was genuinely her?" Well, here's my reasoning. If you were someone out to play a practical trick on me, to make me think that the unobtainable love of my life had actually visited my website and was in contact with me, and you set up an E-mail account in their name, you'd set it up under the name of "Georgina Sherrington", wouldn't you? The fact that this account was set up under the name of "Anne Sherrington", and there was a credible explanation for her having this name, convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that it was genuinely her.

So, I was in contact with Georgina Sherrington herself.

Things didn't change spectacularly. My life went on, and I got the occasional E-mail from Georgie (which is what she signed her E-mails off as). I did ask if I could visit her on the set, but this was not to be. I even asked if there was any possibility of us meeting up off set (I said that she could choose the venue and was welcome to bring anyone she wanted with her), but, unsurprisingly, she declined. But, hey, there was no harm in my asking! When she said "no", I accepted that and was happy to simply be in contact with her, which is more than what most people get regarding their teenage crushes. (Not that this was just a crush, of course. I was head over heals...)

However, I would just like to state something for the record here. In hindsight, I believe that it would have been wiser for Miss. Sherrington to not have left that message on my message board with her E-mail address. Whilst I did greatly appreciate the fact that I was able to be in contact with her, and I still think fondly of that contact, when you consider her young age at the time I feel that it would have been more prudent of her to not have left a message with her E-mail address on the message board, your honour.

So, life went on, and things were good. But then things started to change.

There was one Canadian gentleman who had visited my website, and had made a Worst Witch website of his own. He was a regular visitor to the chat room that I had on my site, but he was becoming a bit of a handful. And then, after two fateful chats, one where I was a bit off colour, and one where I accidentally sent a private message to him instead of to someone else, well, let's just say that we weren't friends anymore.

He then proceeded to have a go at me on various websites, and everything soon became out of hand. One such website was the CITV website, which had a message board on the show. I was a regular contributor to this board, as was our Canadian friend. However, someone (not our Canadian friend) started accusing me of being a "con" (although what I was supposed to be conning people into was never, to my memory, stated on this board). At first our Canadian friend leapt to my support, but after the fateful chats, he joined in with calling me a con.

This message board did get noticed. When I moved house earlier this year I came across this page from the Radio Times (click to enlarge):



The specific part of the page is:



Although I have to confess that this is dated around the same time that the fallout with our Canadian friend started.

This was not all that took place, but I won't go into all of the ins and outs of the troubles that then took place. However, I will discuss a few "highlights".

At one point, someone (not our Canadian friend) took my picture from my website, and added a Hitler moustache and devil horns to it. When I recognised the moustache as being Hitler's (and said as much), I was accused of being some sort of Nazi sympathiser. I stated that this was nonsense - it quite clearly was a Hitler moustache (especially when you consider the devil horns - the additions to the picture were clearly meant to connotate evil). It was also absurd to suggest that I'm a Nazi sympathiser when you consider the fact that I come from a Jewish family. (Once I had stated this fact someone, not our Canadian friend, responded "No wonder you're such a f*****g queer with only half a knob," which I believe says far more about the person who stated it than it does about me.) When our Canadian friend had this picture displayed on one of his message boards, and I then got the message board shut down, he didn't quite seem to understand exactly what it was that he, and the pictures producer, had actually done wrong.

I also had numerous of what I can only describe as hate pages made against me. There were several called "Greebworld" that I believe our Canadian friend was responsible for, and there was also a page (that I don't believe our Canadian friend was responsible for) that stated that I was "evil" and that I "killed puppies by squeezing their heads until they popped." Anyone who has known me for anything longer than two seconds can confirm that I am not a puppy killer, your honour. This particular page ended with a call for my death.

But that was not the worst incident. In the summer of 2000 someone went to a sick adult chat room pretending to be me. This chat room allowed people to post pictures, and these pictures included images of bestiality and paedophilia. My impostor posted my picture there, and provided a link to my message board (a message board that was dedicated to a children's TV show). They provided my E-mail address, saying that I had just come out of the closet, and asking people to send me porn. At one point they also implied that I was a paedophile, with interests in girls aged 10 and younger. Unfortunately, I was never able to prove conclusively who was responsible for this despicable act.

So, in the summer of 1999 I was thinking that an impossible dream might actually come true. By the summer of 2000 I was having to deal with the darker side of the Internet. What a difference a year makes.

Despite the constant harassment that I was receiving, I still persevered with my website, determined not to let people spoil things for me. And I was still getting the occasional E-mail from the lovely Georgie Sherrington, so things weren't all bad.

Things carried on like this for another year. But by the summer of 2001 the harassment was starting to get too much for me. Barely a day went by when there wasn't something unpleasant said about me on the Internet. At this time I was at University, and in September 2001 I was starting my final year. But my website was taking up too much of my time - not only did I spend time working on the site, but I was also having to spend time checking what was being said about me on the Internet and dealing with all of the trouble. I had to put an end to the trouble somehow. And there was only one solution.

Towards the end of September 2001, I took down my website.

This was not a decision that I took lightly. Over the previous months many people had suggested that I should take down my site because of all of the grief that it was giving me, but I was determined not to do this. But eventually it did get too much for me. I had a clear decision to make - I could either concentrate on my website or on the final year of my degree, I couldn't do both. As my degree was clearly the more important of the two, the website had to go.

What happened next went exactly as I had expected it to. People made a lot of comment about the disappearance of my site, but, eventually, all the talk about me died down, and I could enjoy my Worst Witch website retirement in peace.

But the dream had now ended, and had been over for some time.

I got my last E-mail from Georgie in December 2001. Things between us didn't end badly, we simply lost contact with each other, as is often the way with Internet friends.

Since then I finished my degree, achieving second class honours, division one, or a II(1) as it's commonly referred to. Not long after graduating I got a job as a Civil Servant in London. I've been promoted twice, and have now been able to afford to move out of home. Life is pretty good for me at the moment.

As to Georgie Sherrington, she is now studying at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA. I admit that once I found out that she was there (by Googling her name) I did send her an E-mail, but she didn't reply. I did say in the E-mail that if she didn't want to talk to me again, that would be fine, I would understand that, and I wouldn't bother her again. I took the fact that she didn't reply to me as a very clear sign that she doesn't want to talk to me again, and I was fine with this. I have since stayed true to my word and I have not E-mailed her again, your honour.

Oddly, there are still some remnants of my site on the net. Since I took it down, someone set up a site similar to it, primarily preserving the episode guide. This obscure tribute is located at http://geocities.datacellar.net/paydenthia8210 (Edit 27/01/2007: Site has since been taken down - see today's entry below.)

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what this page that you are now reading is all about. Well, you've read this far, so you're probably a friend of mine, or very curious, or a very dedicated Worst Witch fan, or Georgie Sherrington, or a combination of any of these. But, whatever you are, thank you for putting up with me this far. It is much appreciated. Now, allow me to tell you what the purpose of this page is.

I still very much love the Worst Witch (I am talking about the books and the show here, not the Worst Witch herself!). It still has a sense of magic about it. But, over the years of the troubles on the net, some of that magic has been lost.

The Worst Witch isn't about wanting to marry an actress, or about con artists, or Nazi sympathisers, or homophobic anti-semites, or hate pages, or puppy killers, or death threats, or paedophilic perverts. It is simply about magic, a magic that goes back to our childhoods. I feel that some of that magic has been stolen from me, and I intend to get it back.

And here's how I intend to do it. As much as I love the show, I don't watch it all that often. I don't like watching a show so much that you can quote every episode word-for-word. I like for there to be a long gap between watching the same episode of a show, so that when you come to watch it again you can still feel a sense of freshness. It's been a long while since I last watched the show, so I've decided that going back to it will be a good way to try and recapture the magic.

So this is what I am going to do. From 27th January 2007 I'm going to watch one episode a day. I will work my way through all three series of the Worst Witch, as well as its first spin-off, "Weirdsister College". I won't be going through "The New Worst Witch" as the second series of this second spin-off is currently being shown on ITV, and I have mislaid my tape of the first series. (Something always has to get mislaid when you move house! I'm sure it must be in one of these boxes somewhere...) Each day, having watched the episode, I will share my thoughts about it on this page, and you are welcome to join me on this journey.

You may ask why I've chosen to start on 27th January. Well, on that date in 2000 I did a pretty major update to my site, and it somehow seemed an appropriate date to start this journey. It also happens to be my birthday.

Now, I daresay that some of you are thinking that I'm just doing this page to try and get Georgie Sherrington's attention, and that I hope she might contact me again. I can assure you that this is not the case - although, if you are reading this Miss. Sherrington, the address is KarlSGreen@hotmail.com ;o) But, seriously, I am not expecting any further contact from Georgie - I have long since moved on. Don't get me wrong, I do still like Georgie, but I am fully aware that there is more chance of England winning a penalty shoot-out than there is of Georgie falling in love with me. (Would this be a bad time to mention England Vs. Spain in Euro 96?)

Others of you might be saying that I am just doing this to get attention in general. Again, this is not the case. If you are not interested in reading my thoughts on the Worst Witch, that is fine. Thank you for reading this far, please step off of the bus now.

Let me assure you, your honour, my only intention here is to try and recapture the magic that I once felt, and to share my feelings with others.

(N.B. I believe that it is the practise of blogs to add the latest entry to the top of the page. However, in order to assist the reading of this page to newcomers, new entries will be added at the bottom, so please scroll down on each day of the journey.)

During the journey, you are all welcome to E-mail me at the above address to share any comments that you may have. And, unless you have any objections, I may add some of your comments to this page.

Well, it's Halloween tonight, and it's late. The witches will out and about soon. I hope that you will all join me again on 27th January 2007, when I begin my quest to recapture the magic...

Onward, ever striving onward
Proudly on our brooms we fly,
Straight and true above the treetops
Shadows on the moonlit sky

Ne'er a day will pass before us
When we have not tried our best,
Kept our cauldrons bubbling nicely
Cast our spells with zest

Fearless witches never flinching
Through the dark and dismal night,
Ghouls and ghosts and nightmare monsters
Run away in fright

We are the girls with skills in sorcery
When in flight quite a sight to see,
We're young witches and proud to be
Learning our craft at Cackles' Academy.

School Song from "The Worst Witch" TV adaptation



Day One - Saturday 27th January 2007
"Battle of the Broomsticks"

Well, here we are, three months later. Today is my 26th birthday, and it is also the first day of my journey to recapture the magic of that very special show, "The Worst Witch". I'm delighted that you've decided to join me! Now, are you all sitting comfortably? No? Well, sorry, I'm going to begin anyway...

"Battle of the Broomsticks" is probably the episode that I have seen the most, but, even so, I've only seen it about 5 or 6 times in total. And we're really going back to the beginning here, back to autumn 1998, over 8 years ago. And everything seems fresh and new. As I hadn't watched "The Worst Witch" for some time, I was able, to some extent, to be able to see it as though I was watching it for the first time.

Before I get into the episode itself I need to get one thing out of the way. (I've been thinking about this paragraph for three months now, and it still isn't going to be easy to write.) Those of you that have read the intro to this journey will know that I like the star of the show, Georgina Sherrington, a lot, but that I am a little older than her. I am, in fact, 4 1/2 years older than her. Now, I am 26, and so having a interest in a girl who's 21 1/2 isn't a problem. However, when the show first started, I was 17, going on 18, and so the age gap then would have been a problem. In this episode she was 12, going on 13, so you can imagine just what my friends were calling me at the time. Now, as I have stated, I am now 26, but Georgie is still 12 going on 13 in this episode. However, I am pleased to tell you that this time I was not having any thoughts of a, well, you know... I saw a very young girl. Yes, she was very pretty and very sweet, but very young, and, certainly, without a shread of doubt or hesitation, too young. And, as anyone who knows me at my place of work can testify, I have eyes for girls around my own age, and older...

Anyway, that's more than enough about, well, that topic. Let's move onto the episode concerned. I felt that the episode works really well in helping to establish the setting and characters. It focusses more on it's own original storyline about the broomstick aptitude test, rather than adapting one from the books.

We meet a fair few of the characters from the books - Mildred, Maud, HB, and Miss. Cackle. Miss. Drill I believe was briefly mentioned in the books, but Miss. Bat I think was a new addition, who worked really well, and we also have Mr. Blossom. Amongst the students we have the new additions of Jadu Wali and Ruby Cherrytree. Whilst it was a nice idea to add these characters, as the series went on both of them, particulary Jadu, were woefully underused. We also briefly meet Griselda Blackwood and Fenella Feverfew from the year above our heroines, who would feature more in later series. Finally, we see Drusilla Paddock in the background. Whilst there is a brief mention of Drusilla in the books, here she is seen as being Ethel's friend, and she later becomes a fully fleshed out character, so we can count her as a new addition.

We get a really good sense of the beginning of the long standing friendship the Mildred would have with the others, as well as the antagonism she would face from Ethel. Add in the strictness of HB and the kindness of Miss. Cackle, we know where we stand with all of the characters.

The episode zips along quite nicely, not lingering on any point for too long. Everything for the series ahead is set up well, and we get a good impression of what life at the school is like. From HB's potions class, to Miss. Cackle's spells class, to the brief discussion about the school food, and the student's late night escapade. And, of course, by the end we're all routing for Mildred to succed at the aptitude test, which, of course, she does.

I noticed that the music was really helping to add to the magical atmosphere of the show - just hearing that school song can really take me back. And the special effects stand out as well, particulary where the whole class is hovering on their broomsticks in the yard (with my film & TV degree hat on I can appreciate that it would have taken quite a bit of effort to achieve that shot).

Overall, everything in this episode sets up the rest of the series nicely. When I first saw it in 1998 I was hooked, and wanted to see more. I could begin to feel the magic of those books once more, and now, in 2007, I can feel it calling again. OK, starting to sound strange now, best round this entry off!

But, before I go, in my intro I mentioned about an obscure tribute site that had been set up some time after I had shut down my original site. Well, in the intervening three months, that tribute site has since been taken down for reasons unknown. The main part of the old site that it preserved was the episode guide. And so I've decided to re-upload the original episode guide, complete with original colours and formatting, as well as the individual credit lists that my friend Pierre J.-L. Plourde provided for the site. You can access them all here:

http://geocities.datacellar.net/karlsgreen/wweguide.html

Well, that's all for today. I hope you'll all join me again tomorrow for the next installment. But here's my final thought on todays episode - did anyone else spot Algernon Rowan-Webb towards the beginning...


Day Two - Sunday 28th January 2007
"When We Feast at the Midnight Hour"

Episode two and the series is now starting to get into its stride. We're presented with another original story here, which works well, playing on the idea of bad food at boarding schools. Drusilla gets to speak for the first time in this episode, but I think it would have been better if we'd been given a proper introduction to her. But, she's here now and is working fine as Ethel's friend. Mr. Blossom gets more to do in this episode, and we get the first appearance of Annette Badland as Mrs. Tapioca (or, maybe she's a Slitheen in disguise...)

The main thing that I was noticing in this episode was the performance of the adult members of the staff, particulary Una Stubbs as Miss. Bat who put in a wonderful performance throughout the series. The best scene in this episode (for me) was where she was encouraging the students to eat their fish by the "here comes an aeroplane" method that mothers use with their young children, but whilst her eyes are closed all of the girls put their fishes into Mildred's bag.

Amongst the students we got the first use of the expession "extreme" which recurred throughout the series - I counted about five uses here.

My special effects shot of the episode was the shot where Mildred's class were all casting spells to change what their hats look like - again a lot of effort would have gone into this shot which only lasts a few seconds.

Now, to be honest, I didn't feel the magic as much in today's episode as I did in yesterday's, but then a lot of this episode took place at night and so the lighting was dark, and I associate magic with sunny days. Please don't look at me like that - I'm eccentric, OK?

Well, overall, another good episode that has done its job well. Tomorrow we'll start moving into the adaption of the stories from the books themselves, so I do hope you'll join me again then.


Day Three - Monday 29th January 2007
"A Pig in a Poke"

"We just came to have a look at you're great page and thought we'd point out the one mistake on you're episode guide episode 3 is called pig in a poke!! not pig in the hole!"

Georgie Sherrington and Emma Brown, on the original Worst Witch message board for this site, on 25th August 1999

Three episodes in and we move onto an adaptation of a story from one of the books, although with the addition of Frank Blossom's nephew, Charlie. Again (and this is likely to become a recurring phrase during this journey) this was another good epsiode that works well.

I've mainly been concentrating on the little details this time. There was one scene where Charlie was missing and the staff were splitting up to search the school. After Miss. Cackle told everyone where to look, she said they'd meet back at 5.30. The other staff all looked at their watches - excepts Miss. Hardbroom, who, of course, would have no need for such modern devices! Also, during the search, when Miss. Cackle and Miss. Hardbroom were in the kitchen, Miss. Cackle was about to go and look in a cupboard, when Miss. Hardbroom calls her back, which links in well with the preceeding episode.

Meanwhile, on Drusilla watch, all we really got with her in this episode were a few snide looks and comments, but I'll be keeping an eye on her, she comes into her own eventually. Also, on Jadu watch, she gets something to do in this episode, namely looking up the correct reversal spell in "The Big Book of Spells". Again, another character I'll be keeping an eye on.

The performance of the episode goes to Kate Duchêne as Miss. Hardbroom. Whilst already having given some great performances in the preceeding two episodes, for me she really came into her own here. It's not just her presence that is great, even her imminent presence is as well, such as when you have a shot where the children are being mischievous, and there's a large open space where you just know she'll be appearing any second...

I really am enjoying this journey you know. It's really great to be able to go back and enjoy the show for what it is. I now have something to look forward to every day, well, for the next fifty days anyway!
Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow it will be Hallowe'en at Cackles' Academy...


Day Four - Tuesday 30th January 2007
"A Mean Hallowe'en"

The fourth episode continues to adapt the first of Jill Murphy's books, with some more of its own additions, specifically the broomstick display becoming a play about about Baron and his peasants.

I wasn't concentrating on too much detail this time. I'm wanting to enjoy the show, not analyse it! The whole point of this journey for me was to simply enjoy the show once more.

But Jadu watch and Drusilla watch are still in full force. On the Jadu front she still isn't getting much to do. Granted, she gets to read part of the narrative in the Baron play, but this is alongside Ethel and Maud. She hasn't really done anything by herself yet. None of this is the fault of the actress, Harshna Brahmbhatt, she hasn't put a foot wrong, and put in a good performance in this episode with what little material she had.

Meanwhile on the Drusilla front we get to see more of her in this episode, as she is given a leading role in the play. Her character is continuing to develop, which would stand her in good stead in future episodes and series.

But, as to performance of the episode, I'm giving it to Georgie Sherrington. I felt for Mildred throughout this episode, from failing the potions test, to her determination to improve, and culminating in the disaster at the Hallowe'en celebrations display.

The episode ends with Mildred saying that she's going to run away, and tomorrow we'll find out what happens to her when she ventures out on her own, so I do hope you'll join me then.


Day Five - Wednesday 31st January 2007
"Double, Double, Toil and Trouble"

"Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble."

William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1

We start today with a reprise of yesterday's episode, with Mildred stating that she's going to run away. Shortly afterwards we get a shot of Miss. Cackle and Miss. Hardbroom walking through the school, with Miss. Cackle saying how displeased she was with Mildred. I was impressed with this shot, which was quite a long take as we follow them through the school - and it's not always as easy as it looks to achieve a shot like this.

Immediately afterwards we see that Mildred has heard all of this, and, as she's about to leave the school, we get a nice string rendition of the main theme, which adds to the emotion of the scene.

From then on the episode continues on at a swift pace as we see Mildred thwart the plans of Agatha and her cronies. The episode slows down towards the end, but makes up for this with a nice end scene with Mildred being applauded by the rest of the school - I was smiling with her in this scene!

Performance of the episode once again goes to Georgie Sherrington, as she convincingly conveys Mildred's emotions throughout the episode, whilst also taking charge once she's back at the academy.

This has been my favourite episode so far, but there's still another 48 to go. I hope that you'll join me again tomorrow, when Cackles' will acquire a new student...


Day Six - Thursday 1st February 2007
"Monkey Business"

Episode six and we move onto adapting "The Worst Witch Strikes Again", where Enid Nightshade joins the cast. We don't get to see her doing an awful lot this episode as we're mainly following Mildred as things start going wrong for her from day one of the second term.

There were two main departures from the book in this episode. First, we have the dream sequence at the beginning, where Mildred is humiliated in front of the whole school. Dream sequences are hard to do, and to come off really effectively they need to be quite complex. This one doesn't manage that, but, as it's a children's show it doesn't need to be too sophisticated, just as long as it gets it point across, which it does, with everyone chanting "Worst Witch" at the end. The bit where Miss. Cackle tells Mildred to rise, and Mildred then stands up and then literally rises into the air was a nice touch.

The second departure from the book was Mr. Blossom's war against the fungus. It doesn't actually contribute too much to the episode, as it merely leads to him discovering the monkey earlier on (for those of you who are reading this but aren't familiar with the show, in this episode Enid turned her cat into a monkey). I'm sorry, but to be honest, it felt like it was simply padding for the episode.

As to performance of the episode, I'm once again giving it to Georgie Sherrngton, to give her a hat-trick. No, I'm not biased! Georgie really came into her own over these last three episodes as she confidently takes charge of the series.

Well, I am feeling the magic of the show once more, which is really nice, I'd missed it. Tomorrow we'll continue with the adaptation of the second book, so I do hope you'll join me then.


Day Seven - Friday 2nd February 2007
"Miss. Cackle's Birthday Surprise"

Episode seven and the adaptation of "The Worst Witch Strikes Again" concludes, and here we get to see more of what Enid can do. I really felt sorry for Mildred here, as she kept getting into trouble because of Enid.

One of the key departures from the books here is how the story is being linked into the rest of the series. In the book there is a threat of Mildred being expelled if she doesn't behave, but here it is translated to her not being aloud to go on a school trip, which is where we will be in the next episode.

On Jadu watch there's not much to report - she got a line during the cross country run, but that's it. However, on Drusilla watch, she got more to do, now being firmly established as Ethel's friend. And she'll develop further as a character as the show goes on, you'll see...

Performance of the episode was a tough one here, as so many people put in good performances. But I've decided to give it to Emma Brown as Maud Moonshine. There's a lot for her to do in this episode, from falling out with Mildred, to being tempted to the Dark Side by Ethel and Drusilla, but coming back to the side of good as she saves Mildred and Enid from a fate worse than death, and Emma got all of this across extremely well throughout the episode.

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow we're going to Canada, and so I do hope you'll be joining us then.


Day Eight - Saturday 3rd February 2007
"The Great Outdoors"

"The Worst Witch" was a UK/Canada co-production, and so, occasonally, an episode would be filmed in Canada, and this is the first of them. After a brief scene to set up the scenario (and write out anyone who couldn't make the trip to Canada) we find ourselves in the great Canadian outdoors.

Just a brief word on Jadu watch - she was in it, she didn't do much. It seems a great shame to have her there as a character, but then hardly ever use her.

Meanwhile, on Drusilla watch, this is the first time that we see her step out as a character on her own. We see her being made "trailblazer" (thus rising her station above that of her comrade, Ethel), and she continues to lead throughout. Her character develops as she becomes accustomed to this role. But the development doesn't stop there, as, towards the end of the episode, she becomes injured and, after being rescued by Mildred, is reliant on the help of others. By the end of the episode there are signs that she can be tempted away from the Dark Side when she admits that Mildred saved her life. And Holly Rivers, who played Drusilla, conveyed all of this superbly thoughout the episode, and so she gets my performance of the episode.

There were plenty of nice touches in this episode, particularly Miss. Hardbroom's adaptation to the real world, and Miss. Drill's attempts to hid the fact that HB is actually a witch ("I had to tell him that you had trained in an oriental art of silent running!").

Overall, this was another fun episode, and it appears that it may have been fun to film as well. There was a nice end scene of everyone around a campfire by the river, eating marshmallows. Just picture that scene now, and what it would have been like to be there, in the cool open air, the sun in the sky and everyone enjoying themselves. Just feel that magic...

Well, goodbye for now, until tomorrow.


Day Nine - Sunday 4th February 2007
"The Heat Is On"

We're now all back at Cackles, where the hot weather is affecting everyone. In this episode we also get told about the Dr. Foster's effect - where magic can end up making things worse. There was also a brief mention of it in the previous episode, when Miss. Hardbroom refers to the double Foster's effect.

On Jadu watch she got a few more lines here. She's now firmly engrained as a member of the group. Now, all she needs is a chance to branch out on her own and properly develop as a character...

Meanwhile, on Drusilla watch, she has now returned to the Dark Side, but doesn't appear to be entirely comfortable as Ethel's sidekick, questioning her on more than one occasion during this episode.

Again, there were many good performances in this episode, such as Annette Badland's second appearance as Mrs. Tapioca, as well as Clare Coulter as Miss. Cackle and Kate Duchêne as Miss. Hardbroom. But my performance of the episode goes to Una Stubbs as Miss. Bat. I believe that there was only a brief mention of Miss. Bat in the books, but she has been elevated to a major character in this series, and Una did an amazing job in portraying her eccentricities, and this a key episode where that shines through.

Well, the first series is going along nicely. I hope that you'll join me again for the next installment tomorrow.


Day Ten - Monday 5th February 2007
"Sorcery and Chips"

We now move onto what is a real ensemble episode, with many characters getting a look in. Unfortunately, both Jadu watch and Drusilla watch have reported in to say that there wasn't much for them here.

However, we get to see a connection between Ruby and technology. She's appeared in earlier episodes with bits of tech, and this is the first time that it becomes a significant part of the story. This would eventually become the main issue for her character, and so she's not just a character that sits around not doing very much.

As to the episode itself, it didn't feel that the story was that fantastic. I mean, it was OK, it wasn't terrible or anything, but it didn't really do much to convey the magic that show posesses.

Fortunately, that is more than made up for by the performances of the cast. It's a tough one to pick out a performance of the episode. For example, we have Poppy Gaye as Griselda Blackwood, who's already made a few appearances in this series and will continue to pop up from time to time, and this was a good episode where we get to know her. Then there was Una Stubbs as Miss. Bat - I particulary liked the bit where Bonzo had everyone hypnotised in the potions lab, apart from Mildred and her friends. Mildred moves Miss. Bat, who is sitting on a chair with wheels on it, out of the way, and Una doesn't react at all, she's completley motionless, and doesn't even changed the glazed expression on her face - that is not easy to do! But I'm going to give performance of the episode to Emma Brown as Maud Moonshine, particulary for the scene where Mildred wakes Maud up, but she is under Bonzo's influence, which I thought Emma did really well.

Well, that's all for today. I hope that you will join me again tomorrow, where we will be having cake at Mrs. Cosie's Tea Room...


Day Eleven - Tuesday 6th February 2007
"Let Them Eat Cake"

"I have a feeling that this episode was also filmed in Canada. Why? Well, different film stock is used, that is, the picture looks more glossy than usual. Also, towards the start of the episode we learn that Ruby Cherrytree has the flu and so can’t come out with the other girls. Ruby also didn’t go on the camping trip in Episode 8. Ruby may have been written out of these episodes possibly because the actress that played her, Joanna Dyce, wasn’t able to go to Canada, but I can’t be certain about this."

Karl S. Green, Entry for Series 1, Episode 11, "Let Them Eat Cake", in Worst Witch Episode Guide

"also you guessed well about the canadian episodes jo (ruby) couldn't make the canada trip due to dancing last year but enjoyed it a lot this year."

Georgie Sherrington and Emma Brown, on the original Worst Witch message board for this site, on 25th August 1999

As you can tell from today's quotes, we're back in Canada for this episode, and it's another great ensemble piece. It's also a good episode if you want to feel the shows magic.

Drusilla watch and Jadu watch are both pleased to report that both were featured here. Jadu was actually given some lines here! That's "lines" - plural! A character with such potential. Now, if they could just give her some more lines... (Why do I do this - I have seen this show before, I know what's coming! I've got to sustain this until towards the end of the third series!) Drusilla also had plenty to do, appearing here firmly as Ethel's sidekick, although, if she wanted to, she could act as Ethel's conscious, and bring her to the side of Good, but she doesn't do so here...

The story here is a pretty decent one, about a corrupt business man trying to buy a tea room that's near the academy so that he can build a polluting incineration plant on the site. This man is wearing brown boots, which we see a few times, and which Mildred notices, and helps her to realise that something dodgy is going on when he turns up in the tea room later. And, of course, eventually our girls get the better of him, and the Tea Room is saved to appear in another episode further down the track...

Also, if you keep your eyes open, you'll spot a microphone creeping into shots a couple of times, which, unfortunately, is a great sin when filming something. Not that I would ever make a mistake like that, of course. Nope, never have. I never would do anything as bad as that. Stop looking at me like that! Look, I did my best, OK? It wasn't my fault! We were rushed when making "Closed Eyes"! We had to film practically the whole thing in one day, and foot-and-mouth was just around the corner, and where we were filming became out of bounds soon afterwards! We're all allowed to make mistakes once in a while!

Er, yes, well, anyway... This was another tough one to pick a performance of the episode, as there were so many people doing good things in it. But I've decided to give it to Georgie Sherrington, as she continues to shine in this episode.

That's all for today. Now, what do we have tomorrow... What's that? Guys? At Cackles?! I'm not liking the sound of that...


Day Twelve - Wednesday 7th February 2007
"Sweet Talking Guys"

"This isn’t one of my favourite episodes. Why? Well, let’s just say that my surname isn’t 'Green' for no reason....."

Karl S. Green, Entry for Series 1, Episode 12, "Sweet Talking Guys", in Worst Witch Episode Guide

Well, I've got so much to say about this episode, and so little time to say it in! But I'll do my best...

I remember when I first saw the listing for this in the "Radio Times" that I wasn't feeling too happy about it - wizards at Cackles. You see, when I was very young, about 8 or so, I sometimes thought what it would be like to be a wizard at Cackles. At one point I even tried recording a story on my tape recorder about it...

OK, you can stop laughing now! I was young and foolish back then (whereas these days I'm just old and foolish). Anyway, fast forward 10 years or so, and there, in black and white in the "Radio Times", was confirmation that my childhood fantasy was going to be visualised on screen - but not with me as a wizard, of course. I wasn't jealous. Of course I wasn't. Why would I get jealous? I never get jealous, me! No, honestly I don't! Stop looking at my surname! I was fine with it, completely fine! No problems here! No problems whatsoever. Excuse me a minute... *sounds of faint sobbing coming from the corner*

Anyway, I also remember an early E-mail from Georgie where she said she wasn't too sure about what I meant exactly with my comment that forms todays quote. Hold on, I'll just go and check what I replied with. *looks up E-mail* Yep, I pretty much said the same thing as I've just said above. Not an easy E-mail to write I can tell you - I really liked her by this point! (Bloody hell, I even gave her my postal address! I had it bad...)

She also asked what my views were on the episode, and I said that, as to the episode itself, it was a good episode, and I'm going to echo that sentiment here.

The episode features the pompous Grand Wizard visiting the academy to give the girls a speech - on himself. With him are three apprentice wizards, two of whom are out to get one over on the girls. They keep score throughout the episode as though it were a football match. The episode culminates with a debate about whether or not wizards are better than witches, but the wizards cheat by talking a potion that makes them speak more confidently. There's a nice bit where, long before Derren Brown became particulary well known, Mildred got the information out of Merlin Langstaff a.k.a. Loppyluggs (the third wizard) about what they were up to, just by reading his facial expressions. (Derren Brown is cool - I even use his name as a verb! As in, "to Derren Brown something out of someone". Or "stop Derren Browning me" if someone is trying to get something out of me that I don't want to say, such as if I like any particular girl...)

On Drusilla watch, of particular note here is that this is an episode where her and her comrade Ethel have to join with the forces of good to defeat a common enemy. Drusilla can be good if she wants to...

But, great news on the Jadu front, as she had a decent part to play in this episode! Namely, she was second speaker for the girls during the debate. Great stuff! Shame it took another two series before this idea for her character came to light again...

Performance of the episode is a little tricky here. Georgie was great in this episode, especially after Mildred had taken the potion herself and spoke so confidently in the Great Hall. But, as much as I love her, I'm going to give performance of the episode to Terrence Hardiman as Grand Wizard Hellebore. He did a great job in getting across the sheer pomposity of the character, along with the great power and authority that he posesses, and stole most of the scenes that he was in.

And so another great episode, and a must see for recapturing the magic of the show, I really felt it in this episode. The final score between the boys and the girls was declared as being 4-4 after extra time. And, talking of football, I'm off to watch England play Spain, where I'll be hoping for a slightly better result (come on England!). I hope to see you all here again tomorrow.


Day Thirteen - Thursday 8th February 2007
"A Bolt from the Blue"

Right, I'm not going to talk about the football today (stupid bloody England team!). Instead, I'm just going to concentrate on what is the last episode of the first series, and it's a great one to end on.

It's the end of he school year, and classes are starting to wind down. Mildred has passed her first year, just, with a C--. But then along comes Agatha Cackle to try and spoil things.

When Agatha Cackle (pretending to be her sister, Amelia) says that she's going to have Mildred expelled, I really felt for Mildred. Even Miss. Hardbroom leapt to her defence. But, of course, Mildred and her friends work out what's going on, and save the day. Mildred has a grade increased to an A+, which she thoroughly deserves.

This works really well as an end-of-season episode, particulary as it refers back to previous episodes, namely "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble", and "Miss. Cackle's Birthday Surprise". And we get to see all of Mildred's friends band around her to help her, and just how spiteful Ethel and Drusilla can be, although they do repent afterwards.

On Jadu watch, she gets a few lines to say here. In fact, she has more to do than her comrade, Ruby, who's merely a background character here. And, on Drusilla watch, here she is just acting as Ethel's sidekick, with not much more to do beyond that. Hmm, let's see what happens with these two over the next couple of series...

As to performance of the episode, it goes to Clare Coulter, as both Amelia and Agatha Cackle. She was able to convey both the kindness of Amelia and the sheer wickedness of Agatha with ease, without which the episode simply would not have worked.

Well, that's the end of the first series. I've really been enjoying this journey, as I can truly feel the magic of this special show once again. We are now a quarter of the way down this path, but time always marches on, and things inevitably change in its wake. I hope you'll all join me again tomorrow for the start of the second year at Miss. Cackle's Academy for Witches...


Day Fourteen - Friday 9th February 2007
"Old Hats and New Brooms"

"Well, here we go again..."

Mildred Hubble, "The Worst Witch", Series 2, Episode 1, "Old Hats and New Brooms"

Well, we begin series two with a great episode, and I hardly know where to begin! Mildred is now at the start of her second year, but things are starting to go wrong from day one.

With the episode touching on the start of the third of Jill Murphy's books, "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch", we see Mildred simply talking to a first year girl, and then making her cry. (I had that effect on a girl once - only I didn't even have to talk to her!) We later find out that this new girl is Ethel's sister - in this adaptation of the book that information is held back until towards the end of the episode, which would have created a nice effect for anyone who was watching this show and wasn't familiar with the books.

And, talking of Ethel, as Felicity Jones wasn't able to return for the second series, the role was recast and Katy Allen took over the part. Credit should go to the writers of the show for making the effect to provide an explanation for the change - with Ethel having a "witchover". "The Worst Witch" is one of only two shows that I can think of that bothered to explain why a major character now looked completely different because the role had to be recast - the other show being "Doctor Who".

Moving onto the teachers, we find out that Miss. Bat has recently returned from Inner Mongolia, although Miss. Drill insists that there is no such place. Well, sorry Miss. Drill, there is. Don't believe me? Well, click here then:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Mongolia

So, whilst Miss. Bat may be, well, bats, her simple logic of "if you have an Outer Mongolia then you must have an Inner Mongolia" turned out to be right - although I'm not sure if the writers actually realised this!

We also find out that Miss. Gimlet, who was to be the second year tutor, has vanished. Vanished? I don't remember her from the first series? Ah, yes, that's because she wasn't in it, but was reffered to in "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch", therefore the reference here in this episode. By the way, we're told that she's gone to the Inner Hebrides, which clearly follows on from the Inner Mongolia idea. Was this a writer's joke, trying to mention places that "don't exist"? I'm really sorry to have to do this, but, yes, the Inner Hebrides actually exist as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Hebrides

Moving on, we end up seeing Miss. Bat and Miss. Drill competing to become the second year tutor, as they share the lessons. They both end up losing control of the classes, although we have Ethel and Drusilla to thank for that. This eventually ends up with them sharing the tutoring of the first year, and Miss. Hardbroom tutoring Mildred's class for a second year.

Miss. Bat and Miss. Drill lost the chance to tutor the second years because of how they had been doing it so far. But, wait a minute, don't all of the teachers take each of the classes for certain lessons? That's what we had last series, wasn't it? How much extra would the class tutor actually have to do? Looks like a plot hole to me, guv.

Also, we've been told so far that there are three years in the school - we eventually find out that there are five. This episode implies that each class has a different class tutor. We only have four teachers, two of whom have never been a class tutor before. We know that Miss. Hardbroom is a class tutor, and we can assume that Miss. Cackle may be one as well. Who are the others? Another plot hole, methinks...

I know I'm sounding like I'm having a go at the writer of this episode, Martin Riley, but I don't mean to! These are plot holes, yes, but they aren't major things that spoil the enjoyment of the show. It's just that I'm a bit of a perfectionist, that's all. If you put these things to the back of your mind then there are plenty of good things in this episode, so let's talk about those.

It was a good re-introduction to Mildred and her friends, as well as Ethel and her comrade Drusilla. Anyone joining the show at the start of the second series will know exactly where they stand, with a story that progresses nicely at a good pace. And the added dynamic of Sybil and Clarice also helps with this.

There were a few nice shots that caught my eye. During the sequence where Miss. Bat and Miss. Drill were taking it in turns to take the class, there was a nice transition from Miss. Drill's class to Miss. Bat's - it's hard to describe in words, but trust me, it did work well! It was where the first shot ends with Miss. Drill starting a turn, and the start of the next shot has Miss. Bat finishing a turn. Another good shot that I liked was where Mildred and the gang march towards Sybil's room, and then we see Ethel and Drusilla - again, I felt that this shot worked really well.

But, I'm afraid that minus points have to be given for the final shot, with the school singing the school song and the camera panning round to Mildred, simply because it's too similar to the final shot of the last episode of the first series. However, some of those points can be given back, because of the more worried expression on Mildred's face, as she fears what is to come for the year ahead.

Meanwhile, on Jadu and Drusilla watch, there is not much to report. Jadu did her job as part of the group, and Drusilla did hers as Ethel's comrade. Jadu watch and Drusilla watch have now both agreed to only report in when, er, there is actually something to report in. Watch this space...

We also get to see a bit more of Fenella and Griselda, who are in the year above Mildred's, and who we saw a bit of in the last series. It's good to see them again, and we'll get to see more of them as the series goes on. On a seperate note, Poppy Gaye, who playes Griselda, looks a lot like a temp I had working for me back in September. I once told this temp about the whole "Worst Witch" thing, and her first response was, "Oh, I know her." You know the Worst Witch? "Yeah, she was in my school." You know Georgie Sherrington? "Er, not her, it was one of the other girls in the show." Which one? "It was the blonde one that did everything right." OK, which one was that then? "Oh I don't know..." I could get some pictures of the cast up on my screen. "Well I'm not going to look at them!" Well, the conversation didn't go exactly like that, but you get the general jist of it - trust me, it was a bit of an odd one, and took me quite by surprise. Anyway, my temp was really cool. *sigh* She left the country in the end. That's another effect I sometimes have on girls...

Anyway, we now come to the performance of the episode. Again, this was a tricky one, because there were just so many good peformances here. But I'm going to give it to Una Stubbs as the ever eccentric Miss. Bat. She was a real asset to this show, and Miss. Bat was my favourite of all of the teachers throughout all of the various "Worst Witch" series.

Overall, this was a really good episode, despite the plot holes. The magic is back for a second series, which will continue tomorrow, and I hope you'll all join me again then.


Day Fifteen - Saturday 10th February 2007
"Alarms and Diversions"

On to the second episode of the second series, but before I saw it I got to see an interview with Emma Brown (who plays Maud Moonshine) that I had recorded. It was always nice to see the actresses out of character, and Emma came across as a really nice person.

As to the episode itself, it continues with adapting the third book, "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch", specifically the fire drill incident. However, as with many of the books original storylines, the TV adaptation expands it further, such as adding in a genuine emergency incident, where Mildred helps to save Sybil from a tornado. As to how the tornado got there in the first place, first Enid cast a spell to send it towards Ethel, who then sent it back, only far more powerfully than she had expected. However, this was reminisent of the storm that brewed up in last season's "The Great Outdoors", but other than that the whole expansion bit worked a treat.

The Bat/Drill storyline is continued here, but just seems to fizzle out by the end. Elsewhere, Ethel and Drusilla are working much better as a double act this series, and Katy Allen appears to have settled into the role og Ethel well. We also got a really good sense of Mildred's gang, especially when they were all in the kitchens doing the washing up. Although, there was one scene where Ruby and Jadu simply walked through the scene, leaving us with the original troika of Mildred, Maud, and Enid. For a brief moment I thought they had turned on them, but this obviously turned out not to be.

As to performance of the episode, it goes to Jessica Fox as Enid Nightshade, the girl who's talented at her magic, but always seeming to get Mildred and Co. into trouble, particulary in this episode. Jessica really gave us a good sense of this mischief making character.

Well, that's all for today. Sorry this entry was done quite late, and is relatively brief. I'm really quite knackered at the moment - I seem to be trying to do too much these days. But I am enjoying this journey, and this was another good episode that helps me along the way. It's good to just sit back and enjoy this show. I hope you will all join me again tomorrow.


Day Sixteen - Sunday 11th February 2007
"It's a Frog's Life"

Well, I got to see today's episode earlier today (and, please note, that, whilst I'm writing this, I'm listening to commentary of England v. Australia in the cricket - where it looks like England might actually win something. Austalia are 141-8, needing 70 more to win...). In the CITV studio when this episode was being shown was Kate Duchêne, who plays Miss. Hardbroom, and it goes without saying that she is a lot nicer in real life than HB is. She was judging a competition where viewers had set in pictures/models of what they thought would be a worst witch. For one creation she said she liked the green face, which HB certainly wouldn't have approved of - somthing that HB had explicitly stated in an early episode of the first series.

On to todays episode itself, which continues to adapt "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch". Mildred spends most of this episode as a frog, after she had insulted Ethel's sister, calling Sybil a weed. She then meets Algernon Rowan-Webb, who was once a wizard, but was turned into a frog many, many years ago. He can only be turned back by another wizard...

There were some nice flashback parts in this episode, where Algernon explains how he came to be a frog - I particulary liked the bit where he longed for crumpets for tea...

Other parts I liked were the scenes where everyone was trying to catch Mildred whilst she was still in froggy form. These were funny, and worked really well, especially with the music from "Eye of Toad" being played.

The episode zips along at a nice pace, but Jadu and Ruby are pushed even more into the background - with barely a line between them. Towards the end, when Mildred is restored to human form, it is just Maud and Enid assisting her. And they are only confronting Ethel, and so Drusilla isn't here either. In other words, we are left with just the original characters from the book - but then any more than that would have overcrowded the scene.

There was another slight plot hole in this episode, where Maud and Enid take Mildred to Ethel to be restored, as though she was the only one who could do it, although it was established in the previous series that the person who casts the spell to turn someone into an animal doesn't have to be the one who lifts it - see "A Pig in a Poke". But I daresay it's necessary here, otherwise the Algernon Rowan-Webb plotline (which is from the book) would have trouble working properly.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Mildred hearing Algernon from her window, and saying that he will have crumpets for tea again. This was only a short scene, but I really liked it, as it was very atmospheric, and it is atmosphere that helps to create magic...

Finally, performance of the episode goes to Katy Allen as Ethel Hallow. She's now made the role her own, and really gets the spitefullness of Ethel across. I've also noticed the way that she also acts with her hands when casting a spell - noticable here in the scene where she restores Mildred.

Well, that's all for today (and England have won the cricket!). Will Algernon ever get restored? Well, let's see tomorrow...


Day Seventeen - Monday 12th February 2007
"Crumpets for Tea"

"...are my eyes deceiving me or are you not the girl who ruined the broomstick display last year?"

Grand Wizard Hellibore, "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch", and "The Worst Witch", Series 2, Episode 4, "Crumpets for Tea"

Four episodes into the second series, and we now see the conclusion to the adaptation of "A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch". But, before that, my tape had caught Harshna Brahmbhatt and Joanna Dyce in the CITV studio, who play Jadu Wali and Ruby Cherrytree respectively. The man on Jadu watch notes that there's a hint of what Jadu's character trait could have been. When asked about their characters, Joanna said that Ruby was very high tech, and Harshna said that Jadu gets really excited all of the time.

On to the episode itself, which sees both Mildred and Ethel banned from a masterclass with Grand Wizard Hellibore (played by a different actor than before - Richard Durden). The main things that were catching my attention in this episode(apart from that microphone that creeps into the first shot - and thus really spoiling it! Tut tut!) were deviations from the book. For starters, in the book there was no masterclass given by the Grand Wizard. Instead Mildred has to present Algernon to the Grand Wizard at the Hallowe'en celebrations. Secondly, in the book it was at the Grand Wizard's request that Mildred and Ethel are barred from the celebrations because of last year's fiasco - whereas in the adaptation Miss. Cackle and Miss. Hardbroom ban them from the masterclass because of the recent Sybil-is-a-weed-oh-no-now-I'm-a-frog incident.

Also, in the book it is Griselda Blackwood that Mildred kidnaps so that she can take Algernon to the Grand Wizard, whereas here it's Drusilla. In this adaptation the seed of the kidnap idea is planted earlier on - where Ruby finds a large beetle in her bed, but all of the girls are too afraid to pick it up. All, that is, apart from Drusilla. Mildred then uses this as a way of getting Drusilla into her room, which then links back to the book. Also, Drusilla watch has reported that the fact that Drusilla was willing to help Mildred remove a bug from her room shows that there was potential for her to be turned to the good side - but that kidnapping her probably wasn't the best way of going about it!

Plot-hole watch has also spotted something - the Grand Wizard is furious when he sees Mildred in the Great Hall. In fact, what he says is pretty much word-for-word what is in the book - including the emphasis on the word "ruined". However, in the previous series "Sweet Talking Guys" he didn't seem to this problem with Mildred. But, hey, I guess the adaptation required it...

The episode ends with Algernon being restored, and finally getting crumpets for tea. There was a lovely bit at the end where he spots a fly and licks his lips when he sees it land in his honey, but Mildred shakes her head to let him know that it's not a good idea.

My overall feeling on this episode was that it was fairly good. It wasn't a fantasic one, but I still enjoyed it, and it can still help in recapturing a little of the magic.

Finally, performance of the episode was a little tricky for this one, but it goes to Holly Rivers as Drusilla Paddock. She showed Drusilla's kindness to insects, and struggled just the right amount when Mildred was tying her up - not too much as to make Georgie's job too difficult, and not too little - which would have made it look too easy.

Well tomorrow we have a visit from OFWITCH, so I do hope you'll join me then.


Day Eighteen - Tuesday 13th February 2007
"The Inspector Calls"

OK, I actually meant to start writing this entry about 2 hours ago, but I got carried away on the internet! So apologies if this entries comes across as a bit of a rushed job - after this I need to eat some food, and I want to watch "Whose Line is it Anyway?" on Five US, and, at some point, I need to get some of thing called "sleep". I remember sleeping, seems so long ago now... *yawn*

Anyway, we start with a scene away from the academy, although we're not entirely sure where - is it the Witches Guild, or the offices of OFWITCH? Either way, witch schools are failing, and so the worst of these are going to be inspected. When the staff at Cackles find out that they are to be inspected they begin to panic. I remember when my school was having their regular OFSTED inspection they certainly didn't panic about it. In fact, they had a laugh about it instead, with some of the teachers doing a version of the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, only they were four OFSTED inspectors!

Anyway, back to the witches. (I've just started two paragraphs in a row with the word "Anyway" - that's how quickly I'm writing this!) The decide that it's best to hide Mildred away for the day, because of the trouble that she tends to bring withb her. We see a conversation between Mildred and HB, which could pass for a philosophical discussion:

HB: ...as if you don't exist.

Mildred: But I do exist Miss. Hardbroom.

(I loved the way Georgie delivered that line!) So poor Mildred is left in her room all day. At least she has her friends to help her, well, some of them...

Did anyone spot Jadu or Ruby in this ep? They appear in the cast list for this episode which you can access via the episode guide, but I don't actually remember seeing them in the episode. If they were there they must have been pushed so far into the background that I didn't see them...

But we do get to see some of the girls from the other years in the school, namely Sybil and Clarice from the first year, and Fenny and Gris from the third year, as Sybil has become besotted with Mildred, and Fenny and Gris try to help out. It was nice to see these other characters, as they all develop a bit more in this episode.

The story for the episode itself wasn't that great, particulary the resolution of it. But it does provide some nice opportunities for us to see other characters (although at the expense of two woefully underused characters), and some nice setups, such as Miss. Bat struggling to impress the inspector, and Miss. Hardbroom actually being afraid - if she's afraid of something then you know it's bad! And it's for this portrayal of fear that Kate Duchêne gets my performance of the episode.

And that's all from me today, I'm off to get some food! I hope to see you all again tomorrow.


Day Nineteen - Wednesday 14th February 2007
"Animal Magic"

Yes, I'm a bit late with this entry today. Karl had to go shopping, otherwise Karl goes hungry. And this isn't exactly my favorite day of the year - I HATE Valentine's day! The last time I sent a Valentine's card was some years ago, and that was an E-mail card to the lovely Georgie Sherrington (I just couldn't resist not doing it!), although she never opened the card... *sob* *sob* And it's probably best that I don't talk about the card I sent before that one, although that wasn't to Georgie, it was long before I even knew of her existence... Still, today does mark 11 years of insanity for me, and the men in white coats still haven't caught me!

Ahem, yes. Sorry, the fact that I'm not eating or sleeping as well as I should be at the moment is having its effect on me. On to today's episode, which sees Algernon Rowen-Webb visit the academy. Because of an ancient title that he holds, he declares a half-day holiday, and calls it an upside-down day, with games instead of lessons, and two students (Fenny and Gris) as teachers. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tapioca is having trouble with a mouse in the kitchens, the wizards from "Sweet Taking Guys" are back for trouble, and, at the end of the day, Algernon and Hellibore have a shape changing competition.

There were a couple of bits that I had problems with in this episode concerning exposition, which is where you impart information to the audience that they need to know for their understanding. The first bit was early on in the episode, just after the girls first saw Merlin again. They had a rather unrealistic conversation to explain exactly who the wizards from the last series were, presumably for the benefit of anyone who hadn't seen that series. The second bit came at the end of the episode, where Algernon says that he wants a place by a lake, and he'll invite Mildred and her friends to stay there. Again, this conversation didn't feel natural, and seemed to just serve the purpose of setting up the next episode...

And there was another bit that I didn't like. When they were playing "Hide and Sack", Mildred and Merlin were hiding. Together. Behind a door...

Not jealous... I'm not jealous... I'm not, I'm not, I'm not... I am NOT jealous... No, I am *sob* definately *sob* *sob* not jealous... *sob* *sob* *sob* *sob* *sob* (And on Valentine's day as well!)

(I've just gone and checked my archive of "Worst Witch" related text files to see if I had a record on what I said about this episode on the CITV pinboard when it was first shown - I don't. But then I started to look at some of the other text files that I have, which I really shouldn't be looking at, as some of the things that were said are too upsetting. There was even one with more swear words than I could be bothered to count. Messages from the Dark Time of my Worst Witch internet experience...)

No, we're not going to think about the Dark Time *shudders*, the purpose of this journey is to put all that behind me, to forget about it, and to recapture the magic of this show, and this episode really helps to do that! It was a really fun episode, and despite the poor bits of exposition and, ahem, "Hide and Sack", I really enjoyed this episode, and I'm putting it up there with my favourites.

As to performance of the episode, this was a really tough one. I really liked Paul Copley as Algernon Rowan-Webb, he was so fantastic in the role! But he was beaten to my performance of the episode by the tiniest of margins by Annette Badland as Mrs. Tapioca. She was great fun to have in this show, and especially in this really fun episode!

Well, that's all I have to say about this fun episode! Put the memories of the Dark Time away, and think of the good things about the show. I hope you'll all join me again tomorrow for our next trip to Canada. And my request for you all, no, my order for you, is to HAVE FUN! Because when you're having fun and laughing, with a smile on your face, there will be sunshine in even the darkest of storms... (yes, I really need to eat some food and get some sleep now!)


Day Twenty - Thursday 15th February 2007
"Carried Away"

Yes, a late entry again. I am just so tired at the moment. So, I'm going to have to keep this short I'm afraid, I need my beauty sleep, and with a face like mine I need all the beauty sleep I can get!

After Mildred has had Tabby taken away from her at Cackles, we're off to Canada again. Well, the film crew and cast are anyway. The characters are off to Algernon's riverside retreat for a break, as we adapt the fourth of Jill Murphy's Worst Witch books, "The Worst Witch All At Sea". I didn't read this one as a kid as, by the time it had been published, I had grown out of the books, but I eventually read it around about the time that the show started.

As ever, the adaptation goes beyond the story in the book as we have, well, that boy, Merlin, cropping up again, now a very accomplished apprentice wizard. And he'll have more to do in the next episode...

We also see some girls going swimming here, namely Ethel and Drusilla, and can I just say that their hair seemed to dry remarkably quickly... And, regarding the regulation swimsuits that they were wearing, whilst we don't see Mildred going swimming in this show, we do see Georgie wearing one of these costumes for the cover of the re-issue of the book, holding Tabby in her arms. When I first saw that cover I had never before been so jealous of a cat...

Meanwhile, plot-hole watch has reported that it seemed very odd that Ethel and Drusilla didn't spot HB in the boat. But then this was something that stemed from the book, I've just checked it. No, I'm not staring at the cover! (Damned cat...)

Well, as to performance of the episode, erm, do I really have to do this? Do I? *sigh* As much as it pains me to have to do this, and looking at this in a purely objective and unbiased way, I have to give it to Guy Witcher as Merlin Langstaff. Yes, despite the fact that I longed to be in Merlin's place for reasons which I believe I have firmly established in this journey by now, and even though I'm still not over "Hide and Sack" from yesterday (Why! Why! Why! *sob* *sob* *sob*), he did do a good job at portraying the character. There, I said it. The dude did good. And at least he wasn't that cat...

Right, I'm going to crawl into bed now and, assuming that I survive another day, I will be back here again tomorrow, and I hope you will be too.


Day Twenty-One - Friday 16th February 2007
"The Dragon's Hoard"

"You're a mean and spiteful girl, Drusilla Paddock."

Maud Moonshine, "The Worst Witch", Series 2, Episode 8, "The Dragon's Hoard"

"You're really quite clever, aren't you Millie!"

Drusilla Paddock, "The Worst Witch", Series 2, Episode 8, "The Dragon's Hoard"

Well, I end the week with another late entry, and I'm so tired right now it's amazing that I'm still awake! But I'm going to do my best here, so here goes...

Before I got into the episode, my tape had caught an interview with Katy Allen (Ethel Hallow) and Holly Rivers (Drusilla Paddock). In it they reveal that an upcoming episode has a basketball match where all of the Cackle's girls have to work together...

On to todays episode itself, which sees the adaptation of "The Worst Witch All At Sea" conclude. However, there is one major addition - that of the Dragon Lord, which becomes the main story of the episode. I felt that this story was working well - up to a point. The tension kept building throughout the episode, and it kept you guessing as to how the situation would be resolved. It even had elements of humour, such as when the Dragon Lord steps out of the house, saying that Miss. Cackle thinks that she can defeat a Dragon Lord by smashing a vase over his head. (Well, er, it was funny when I saw it, OK?!)

However, it all seemed to end cheaply, with everyone being friends at the end. Rowan-Webb keeps he house, the Dragon Lord keeps the treasure, and Mildred keeps the amulet. I'm sorry, but I think this story could have been resolved better...

But, one of the main things to note in this episode is Drusilla. Whilst Rowan-Webb is getting the girls to recite a ballard, Drusilla and Maud duck out. Maud questions Drusilla about the whereabouts of Mildred, and Drusilla spills all. Then, they see the Dragon Lord, and from that point on they start working together. We really get to see that Drusilla can be one of the good guys, when she wants to be...

Finally, as to peformance of the episode, this is a tough one. Katy Allen did a good job as Ethel, who distracts the Dragon Lord to help give the others a chance of escape. Then there's Holly Rivers as the good Drusilla. But I'm going to give it to Paul Copley as Algernon Rowan-Webb. As I've stated before I thought he was great in this role, and it was a great shame that we didn't get to see more of him in the show.

Well that's all from me today, but I'll be back tomorrow. But first I need to get some slee...ZZZZZzzzzz.....


Day Twenty-Two - Saturday 17th February 2007
"The Genius of the Lamp"

Oh dear, it seems that even on the weekends I'm doing these late in the day! I didn't sleep too well last night, so I'm still really tired. So, again, I might have to keep this short.

This time before the episode my tape caught Jessica Fox, who plays Enid Nightshade, in the CITV studio on Christmas Day 1999, where they were showing the very first episode again. Unfortunately, they didn't get to do a proper interview with her, and so all that she really talked about was what the first episode was about.

As to today's episode itself, it's the first one where Mildred and Co. don't appear, as we see what everyone else is getting up to whilst the second years were in Canada, er, I mean at Algernon's riverside retreat. The Bat/Drill rivalry that we had at the beginning of this series is touched on again, but this plotline had mainly fizzled out by now, and I believe that here is where it dies with a whimper.

The main storyline here is about how Sybil is really unhappy being at Cackles, and what her friend Clarice does to help cheer her up. She ends up making Sybil a magic lamp (well, it was a torch actually), which is able to give her anything she wants, but the power goes to Sybil's head. Each time she uses the lamp, it sucks power out of the things, and people, outside of her room. When she eventually decides to give up the power, the lamp is having none of it, as we are informed that they tend to develop a mind of their own. But then the storyline is nicely resolved, by simply removing the batteries!

I quite enjoyed this episode, which gives us a chance to see the first and third years again. By this point the show had such a large cast of characters it was hard to get to see and know them all.

Finally, we come to my peformance of the episode, which was a little tricky. Charlotte Knowles did a good job as Sybil Hallow as she takes the lead in this episode, although we had to get past the crying bit at the start - I don't think she cries very convincingly - but other than that, a good performance. But my performance of the episode goes to Georgia Isla Graham as Clarice Crow, who did a stirling job as the mischief making but well meaning friend. There was one bit that stuck in my mind, which was early on when they're in the kitchen and Clarice was suggesting to Sybil that they should use magic. She indicated this with her hand, but Georgia also acted with her eyes, and that stood out for me.

Well, that's all for today. I'll be back again tomorrow, along with Mildred and the gang, and I hope you'll join us too.


Day Twenty-Three - Sunday 18th February 2007
"Up in the Air"

What's this? A boy wanting to join Cackle's Academy? Sound remarkably like a dream I once had as a child...

Here we see Frank Blossum's nephew, Charlie, making another visit to Cackle's Academy, only he now says that he wants to join as a pupil. He says it's because they do magic here. It's suggested that he could go to a wizard's academy, but he rejects this idea because they don't fly broomsticks. Of course, the idea that he would be the only boy at an all girl's school had nothing to do with it! (Come on guys, I'm sure that's one fantasy we've all had during our teenage years...)

The story progresses nicely, with the girls doing what they can to try and help Charlie join the school. This is also a good episode for special effects, from the object-shapeshifting Charlie sees in the courtyard when he arrives, to Fenny and Gris flying into the courtyard, to all of the numbers flying around when Mildred's and Enid's plan to help with Charlie's maths test goes horribly wrong. You can tell a lot of effort went into all of this.

The main thing that sticks out in this episode is that there are a large number of cast members that get something to do, and, as they all do it well, it's really hard to try and pick out a performance of the episode. From Kate Duchêne's portrayal of HB's disgust of the idea of a boy at Cackles, to Una Stubbs batty Miss. Bat, to Jessica Fox's mischief causing Enid, to Emma Brown's concerned Maud, and Georgie Sherrington's helpful Mildred - I could go on. But I'm going to give it to Nicholas Pepper as Charlie Blossom, who I feel had improved the performance of this character since his appearance last series.

The episode ends with Mildred, Maud, and Enid doing a peformance of a song about the school's founder being a highwaywoman, which is much more upbeat than the preceeding traditional founder's day song. I have to say that it was a treat, and the biggest highlight of the episode! I think I'll be humming it all day...

Well, that's all from me today. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for the basketball episode...


Day Twenty-Four - Monday 19th February 2007
"Fair is Foul and Fouls are Fair"

(You know, I'm still humming that song from yesterday!) Today we have what is generally known as the basketball episode. We've already heard a little bit about it from Holly Rivers in an earlier interview, where she revealed that the girls all had to work together...

This is a very enjoyable episode with a well structured story. Yes, OK, the story is about as predictable as the result of a penalty shootout featuring England, but that doesn't matter. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!

If you've been reading this journey regulary you'll know that I've been keeping a watch on Drusilla. Not from the bushes late at night with a pair of binoculars, of course, because that would be called "stalking"... apparently. No, I've simply been keeping an eye on how the character has been developing, and this is a really good episode for her. We see her stepping out from Ethel's shadow and doing a bit more of her own thing, as she really gets into the basketball match. She even challenges Ethel directly on a couple of occasions. On the other hand, another character that I've been keeping a watch on is Jadu. She was in this episode, but didn't really have much to do. So, on one hand with Drusilla, we have an additional character to the books who has been developed really well, and, on the other with Jadu, we have a character that simply appears to have almost been forgotten about, which is a great shame really, as there was great potential to be had here.

And finally, we have my performance of the episode, and for this episode I have no hesitation in giving it to Berwick Kaler as Frank Blossom. There's a saying in film and TV land that there are no small parts, only small actors. Whilst he doesn't appear in the show all that often, when he does he makes the most of it. I thought the bits of him trying to keep up with the score were hilarious!

Well, that's all from me today. I think it's really about time that I went to bed, I spend too much time on this computer sometimes... I hope I'll see you all here again tomorrow.


Day Twenty-Five - Tuesday 20th February 2007
"Green Fingers and Thumbs"

Today the effect that the whole Worst Witch internet experience has had on me is starting to really hit home. I was on the first day of a training course, and, oddly, it came up on more than one occasion (although sometimes indirectly) - I had only meant to mention it the once as part of an introductary exercise. The effect that this show has had on me is certainly unusual - no TV show should effect a viewer's life as much as this one has mine...

Anyway, on to today's episode, which sees Mr. Blossom entering a gardening competition - and I am not going to be making any mention of Mr. Blossom's marrows...

It was again interesting to watch Drusilla in this episode, as it appears that she's a little unsure as to whether or not she should continue to follow her leader, Ethel. Whilst she initially seems happy to do what she says to get Mildred into trouble, there are times when she seems uncertain, particulary when it all goes wrong.

This episode ended with what I thought was a lovely scene. It's the start of Mildred's potions exam, which she has to pass otherwise she'll get kicked out of school. All throughout the episode we see her preparing for it. Before the exam starts we see her saying to herself "I can do this" over and over to reassure herself. The exam starts and she turns over her paper, which says that she has to make an potion to enlarge plants - which is a potion that she had made earlier in the episode to help Mr. Blossom win the competition. We see Miss. Hardbroom give Mildred a brief, split-second look, as she knows that Mildred has already made the potion recently, and then Mildred says "I can do this" once more to herself, this time thoroughly convinced that she will actually pass this exam.

And finally, we have my performance of the episode. Special mention should go to Kate Duchêne as Miss. Hardbroom, who for me came across as particulary terrifying in this episode. But my performance of the episode goes to Georgie Sherrington as Mildred Hubble, another strong performance from our heroine.

Well, that's all from me for today. I hope you'll all be back tomorrow for the conclusion of the second series...


Day Twenty-Six - Wednesday 21st February 2007
"The Millennium Bug"

We now arrive at the final episode of the second series, which sees everyone preparing for the 1000th aniversary of the first stone being laid in the castle that eventually became Cackle's Academy. The idea of the castle's millennium linked in well with the actual millennium, as this episode was first broadcast in early 2000.

As with the last episode of the first series, this episode is a really good one to end the series on. Most of our cast members get a look in, including the first and third years. And everyone has to work together to stop the school's premises from being sold - even ethel agrees to go with one of Mildred's plans!

This episode also contains one of the best scenes in the entire history of the Worst Witch. Mildred has already found Miss. Hardbroom in the kitchens, and saw her sign her letter of resignation. Mildred asks her why she's leaving, and we then cut away to something else, before returning to the scene in question. In it Miss. Hardbroom is convinced that Mildred dislikes her, and Mildred explains just what it is about Miss. Hardbroom that she doesn't like. Some of these things Miss. Hardbroom wasn't aware of, but I believe that she comes to accept them in the end. She also mentions a couple of things about Mildred that annoy her. We get a sense that, even though the two characters don't tend to get along, deep down they each care for each other, and may even need each other - Mildred needing Miss. Hardbroom to help her improve as a witch, and Miss. Hardbroom needing Mildred to show her that her strictness, her hardness, isn't always the answer. This scene was also helped by the fact that there was no incidental music during the scene. We just have the two characters talking to each other, resolving their differences. A brilliant scene.

The episode ends with the upbeat song "Spell Power", with everyone (including Miss. Hardbroom) singing and dancing in the Great Hall. We get to see all of the characters, and we end with a pan across the second years, ending with a close up of Mildred. And so ends the second, excellent, series.

As to my performance of the episode, without a shadow of a doubt I'm giving it to Kate Duchêne as Miss. Hardbroom. Yesterday we saw the really strict and terrifying HB, but today we also saw that she, too, has a softer side, which Kate was convincingly able to show us.

We've now reached the mid point of this journey. I'm really enjoying going back and experiencing this show once more. As I said yesterday, for some reason it has had a profound effect on my life (by the way, I didn't mention it once on my course today, so the show hasn't completely taken over my life). For reasons that I can't quite explain, this show really does mean a lot to me. And tomorrow I continue to strive onwards with the third, and final, series of "The Worst Witch", and I do hope that you will be there with me.


Day Twenty-Seven - Thursday 22nd February 2007
"Secret Society"

Well, here we are at the start of the third series. With no more books to adapt (at the time that the show was made in 2000 - the fifth book, "The Worst Witch Saves The Day", wasn't published until 2005) this series contains entirely new stories throughout. There have also been some cast changes. In this episode we see that Fenella Feverfew has had a witchover, changing from Julia Malewski to Emily Stride. Also, Miss. Bat has left (and will be sorely missed), and her replacement is Miss. Crotchet, played by Polly James.

I don't feel that this episode works as well as a season opener as the first episodes of the previous two series were. They both started as "the first day of the new school year", whereas this one just has us somewhere near the beginning of the year.

Other things that didn't work so well are that we see that Clarice and Sybil are there for this series (which is a good thing!), but they only have background roles in this episode. Also, we don't get a really good introduction to Miss. Crotchet, and the character doesn't seem to work too well here, but then she has a big job to do in trying to replace the irreplaceable Miss. Bat. Finally, the bit where our girls are having to climb the ladder blindfolded in order to join the cauldron club seemed a bit forced - they all took far too long to get up that ladder.

But there are some good points. It looks like Fenny and Gris are going to have more to do as they are in the "secret society" of the title with Mildred and co. And the whole Miss. Drill storyline worked really well, with Miss. Hardbroom not showing the respect that she should show for her colleague. (HB needs to respect the fact that they both have their own strengths to bring to the school, and when she accused Miss. Drill of joining in the dancing, rather than having a go at her, she should have actively listened to what her colleague had to say about the matter rather than focussing on her own agenda... Er, sorry, I've been busy training all week!)

The show was also nicely bookended with Mildred and co. dancing. At the start of the show Miss. Drill is relutant to join in, but by the end she is more than happy to, helping to demonstrate the change that her character has gone through in the episode.

I also have no shame in admitting here that Georgie Sherrington is now looking particulary gorgeous. Yes, yes, yes, she is still young here, but I can assure you that I'm not thinking what you think I'm thinking! There are girls that I know who are around my own age that I reserve thoughts of that nature for...

Er, ahem, yes, sleep depravation beginning to set in now - starting to write strange things. So I should just quickly move on to my performance of the episode. It goes to Claire Porter as Miss. Drill, who we saw go through a significant change in this episode, expertly portrayed by Claire.

Right, I think it's about time that I went to bed. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow, when our girls will be out on work experience...


Day Twenty-Eight - Friday 23rd February 2007
"An Unforgettable Experience"

Well, it's the end of another hectic week for me (one where I've spent most of it training), and it's another very late entry, so I'm going to do this as quickly as I can.

The episode opens with some awful bits of exposition, and it does it not once, but twice! First, we have Miss. Cackle and HB telling Mildred and Maud about going on work experience, then, after Ethel and Drusilla have joined them, we have Mrs. Cosie explaining that she won't be there for a couple of hours and what she wants the girls to do. This was all to get the girls where the writer wanted them - in the cafe on their own. However, we get told all of this information, rather than shown it, which is what you need to aim to do with necessary exposition.

The episode then proceeds with Ethel causing problem after problem, culminating in a food fight, which may have been the writer's second idea for the episode (or, possibly, the first...) However, there are a few other elements thrown into the mix.

We have Miss. Drill taking the rest of the third years on an assault course, we have a group of (very stereotypical) Japanese tourists turning up at the cafe, and then they're followed by Chief Wizard Hellibore with Gaz and Baz in tow. Finally, we have Miss. Cackle and HB approaching, and if things aren't sorted out by the time that they get there our girls will be in trouble.

The main problem that I have with this episode is that it all feels too crowded, with too much going on. What would have made it better would be to remove Hellibore, Gaz, and Baz, as they didn't really add much to the story. I'd then use the time saved here to improve the exposition at the beginning of the episode, to show us what we need to know, rather than tell us. Perhaps have HB pick some girls at random to do the work experience, and then have Mrs. Cosie do something that means she suddenly has to leave - maybe do something to ruin a major ingredient and she has to go out to get some more.

It's not all bad though. We actually get to see Ruby and Jadu doing something in this episode. They are actually a part of the story, and not just there in the background. It's good that they actually had something of substance to do in this episode, because, of course, they're not just ethnic token characters, are they...

And, of course, I think it goes without saying that I liked the waitress uniforms, and one person in particular in a waitress uniform. Although, it doesn't quite seem right that this should be in a children's show...

Another thing that may have helped the episode would be to move it to later in the series' run. After the setting up of the new society in the preceeding episode I'd have liked to have seen some more development on that in this episode.

As to performance of the episode, whilst most people who are in it had a fair amount to do, there was one performance that stuck in my mind. It was Joanna Dyce as Ruby Cherrytree. Whilst she rarely gets that much to do, and doesn't have a leading role in this episode, she did well with what she was given.

OK, so this isn't going to go down as one of my favourite episodes, but there are still plenty more to go, and I hope you'll all join me for the next one (after I've had some sleep) tomorrow.


Day Twenty-Nine - Saturday 24th February 2007
"Which Witch is Which?"

"For evil to triumph it only requires that good people do nothing."

Lucy Fairweather, "The Worst Witch", Series 3, Episode 3, "Which Witch is Which?"

Well, it's another very late entry, and so again I'm going to have to have to write this quickly. For the second episode in a row we get to see Ruby actually doing something, and here she has a leading role in the episode, where she combines magic with science. To help Fenny and Gris with their history project she turns a pinball table into a time machine (although, personally, I'd prefer a blue police box...)

However, things go a bit pair shaped, and rather than just seeing the past, two of its characters, Lucy Fairweather and Harriet Hogweed, are brought to the present, which leads to serious problems for the castle. Lucy Fairweather has to be sent back to the past, otherwise the castle will be destroyed. There's just one problem however - both witches claim to be Lucy Fairweather...

This isn't the first time that the name Lucy Fairweather (as well as Baron Overblow, who is referred to in this episode) have been mentioned. We first heard of her exploits back in the fourth episode of the first series, as the first year's perform a play about Lucy at the Hallowe'en celebrations, and I think it's nice to have this reference to the first series in the third.

We also see another cast change in this episode, with Mr. Blossom being replaced with Mr. Blossom - well, Frank Blossom's brother actually.

At one point Lucy Fairweather (that is, the real Lucy Fairweather) says the line that I've quoted above. It didn't seem particulary original, and so I had a look on the net to see where it comes from. It appears that there are many permutations of it, and it is generally attributed to Edmund Burke, an Irish political philosopher, Whig politician, and statesman from the 18th century. However, there is no firm evidence that he actually said it, and so it may just have been a paraphrase of some of his ideas. For more details see:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke#Probable_misattribution

(From that link you'll find two further links on research conducted on this quote.)

As to this episode itself, I thought it was a good one. There's no horrid pieces of exposition like we had yesterday - compare Miss. Drill's request for volunteers to go hiking to the information about the work experience that we had yesterday, along with Fenny and Gris setting up the alarm for DOBS, to see exactly what I mean about showing as opposed to telling the audience something that they need to know. The rest of the episode zips along nicely, and resolves itself well, with HB and Mildred having to work together to work out who the real Lucy Fairweather is.

Finally, my performance of the episode goes to Ursula Holden Gill as Lucy Fairweather. There have been some top guest actors in this show, and Ursula did a good job here with the historical Lucy.

Well, that's all from me today. I hope you'll join me again for tomorrow's quiz...


Day Thirty - Sunday 25th February 2007
"The Witchy Hour"

Just before this episode my tape had caught an interview with Polly James who plays Miss. Crotchet. In the interview she said that, whilst she's not a witch, she is a teacher (she can teach domestic science). She also said positive things about the girls on the show, saying that they're all different, and they're all very professional.

On to the episode itself and the first thing to note is that now Jadu has a little bit more to do, as it is thanks to her and Mildred that Cackles' has been chosen to appear on "The Witchy Hour", a radio magic quiz. However, she doesn't get a leading role as Ruby had yesterday, but there's still time...

In this episode we get to see Stephanie Lane as Deirdre Swoop. Whilst it's not a particulary large role in this episode, she would return as the same character in both spin-offs of "The Worst Witch", namely "Weirdsister College" and "The New Worst Witch". Stay with me on this journey and we'll be taking a look at "Weirdsister College" in due course...

As to this episode, I felt that the story was OK. It wasn't fantastic, but it was alright. I personally would have liked to have seen more of the Icy Stevens/Miss. Hardbroom storyline, but then I'm just a soppy romantic... Also, I felt that the idea that Mildred had become enchanted and was able to photographically memorise the books that she had read whilst coaching the team was a bit contrived.

But the highlight of this episode was the magic fight out in the yard, with handheld camera work and special effects combining together to bring the scene to life.

Finally, as to performance of the episode, I'm sticking with the guest cast and I'm giving it Charmian May as Miss. Pentangle, who really came across well as the posh headmistress of a posh school.

That's all from me for today, but I'll be back tomorrow, when we'll have a student teacher in the classroom...


Day Thirty-One - Monday 26th February 2007
"Learning the Hard Way"

Right, I'm going to do something a little different with this entry, and, admittedly, a bit lazy, but I'll come to that in a second. First, here are a few of my thoughts on this episode having just seen it again.

I really liked this episode. Despite the fact that HB was a little too mean to Mildred early one, and a slight plot hole in the scene of the forest (which will be explained in a bit), I did really like it. Why did I really like it? I'll explain a little later on... Also, this episode contains the first reference to Weirdsister College, which would be the title of the first "Worst Witch" spin-off that came in the following year.

Now, here's the lazy bit. Back when the series was first shown I would write reviews of each the episodes, and I believe I posted them all on the CITV pinboard. I've uncovered what I originally wrote for this episode - in an E-mail that I sent to Georgie Sherrington on 7th December 2000. I've kept all of the E-mails that I sent or received to/from her, but then I'm an E-mail hoarder, I keep loads of E-mails. But the E-mails to/from her are the only ones that I've bothered to back up. They mean a lot to me, a memory of the really good parts of my Worst Witch internet experience...

Sorry, getting a bit side tracked there. My original review was split into sections, and I'm going to cut and paste each section here individually, and then add any extra comments that I'd now like to make:

General Impressions: I liked this episode! I liked this episode a lot! It seemed to have everything a traditional Worst Witch episode has! Mildred being made to feel small and winning through at the end, Ethel opposing everything she does, HB being cruel as ever, Cackle being kind. It's not really easy to explain, it just had everything that I love about "The Worst Witch"!
Yes, this episode had the magic that I am seeking on this journey. And, yes, I used exclamation marks a lot in those days! Just wait 'til you see my review of the Christmas episode...

Minor Problem With The Plot: I have just one minor problem with the plot in this episode. During the outdoor potions lesson, what was the actual lesson? What were the students supposed to be learning? It appeared to me that all that they were supposed to do was to spread out and take some of a pre-prepared potion to turn into trees. It wasn't quite explained what the point of this exercise was, although my guess it was something to do with how well they turned into tress or something like that. This was just a minor plot problem though and it doesn't really spoil the episode.
Yes, I was a bit of perfectionist as well.

Minor Lighting Problem: Lighting a scene can be a pain and I don't understand it at all. But I just thought I'd mention that in a scene in a classroom where all the students were talking to each other, it was intercutting between a shot of Mildred (with some others in the background) and a shot of Ethel and Drusilla. The lighting with the shots of Mildred looked fine, but for the shots of Ethel and Drusilla it didn't look quite right, it certainly didn't match the shots of Mildred! It seemed a bit too bright to me. But then this is just a minor problem and I've gone on about it too long already!
Yes, I was a real perfectionist! Although, when watching the episode this time I have to admit that I didn't spot this problem today. This may be because I was watching it from a VHS tape - yes, ancient I know - and the quality of the recording wasn't fantastic. Before long kids will say "What's VHS?" just like they would say "What's Betamax?" if you asked them about it today...

Best Performance Of The Episode: As ever, good performances from all. Performances that caught my eye in this episode were Jessica Fox during Enid's impersonation of Miss. Cackle, Emma Brown during the first scene where Maud spoke up to HB about Mildred, and Georgina Sherrington during the scene on the steps where she talks to Gabrielle Gribble about the assessment. But, for me, the best performance of this episode was Rebecca Clarke as Gabrielle Gribble. The character went through an awful lot this episode and Rebecca reflected this well throughout the episode. From emulating HB when she first met the third years, to her best attempts to liven up the class during the outdoor potions lesson, to her shock when she couldn't find them, to her reaction to when she found out what had happened, to the scene on the steps with Mildred and Maud, to the late night potions class, and finally to the evaluation. We saw Gabrielle as strict (which we could tell was unnatural for her), to panicking when the class vanished, to eventually being the nice person that she is. In my opinion, Rebecca Clarke has been the best guest star on "The Worst Witch" ever!
Yes, my performance of the episode is going to Rebecca Clarke as Gabrielle Gribble, definately one of the best guest stars the show has had. And yes, I will admit that I do quite fancy her... But that's not the reason why I've given her the performance of the episode. As mentioned above, Gabrielle went through a range of emotions and states, and Rebecca portrayed all of them wonderfully. For me, she made the episode.

In her reply to the E-mail that I'm cutting and pasting this from Georgie agreed with me that Rebecca was really good in the episode. Dammit! I know what I should have done! I should have asked Georgie if she knew anything about Rebecca, crucially (a) was Rebecca single, and (b) did she have her phone number. Please excuse me whilst I go and kick myself...

(OK, OK, I know that Georgie was hardly likely to have given me her phone number, even if she had it. But a boy can dream...)

Best Scene Of The Episode: This is tough one this week! I particulary liked the opening scene in the potions lab, particulary when Maud spoke up for Mildred to HB. And I also liked the scene in the woods during the outdoor potions class. But for the best scene of the episode this week I'm going to go for the scene where Mildred and Maud speak to Gabrielle on the steps to try make amends. This scene was a significant turning point in the episode, and worked really well, as we all know that Mildred would try and do the right thing in the end!
Sorry, I'm still kicking myself from the last paragraph. But, yeah, that was a good scene!

High Angle/Low Angle: The scene on the steps was also interestingly shot. Have you ever noticed that sometimes in school/college/university the teachers are raised above the students, that they're standing on platforms looking down on them? No? Well, neither have I! But my point is that it's not an accident when that happens, it's intentional, as it puts them in an authorative position. This idea also translates into films & TV shows. The scene on the steps used a low angle shot (camera looking up) for Gabrielle and high angle shots (camera looking down) for Mildred and Maud. Although at this point in the narrative it would appear that Mildred and Maud are in a more authorative position as they are helping the upset Gabrielle to get a good evaluation, the choice of shots helps to reinforce the fact that Gabrielle, as the teacher, is really in the more authorative position. She can say no to Mildred and Maud's idea and that would have been the end of that. A good way to shoot this scene I felt!
And, additionally to that, Georgie was getting to be quite tall at this point, and so this technique helps to reinforce the fact that Mildred is still a child. And, yes, I did a Film and TV degree! Can you tell?

And Finally: A really, really good episode! Everything worked well in this episode! OK, I know I've said that there was a minor problem with the plot and the lighting in one scene, but these really were minor problems which I feel I've said way too much about! They don't really spoil the episode at all! The episode had everything a good Worst Witch episode has, and everyone, both in front of and behind the camera, did a really good job in this episode!
Absolutley, a great episode! Definitely one to remember, and one that definitely helps me to recapture the magic of the show.

Right, that's all from me today. I'll be back here tomorrow, but right now I'm off to dream about what might have been. Rebecca was so lovely... *sigh*


Day Thirty-Two - Tuesday 27th February 2007
"The Hair Witch Project"

When watching this episode again today I had no memory as to what the story was from having watched it before, so I got the opportunity to see it with fresh eyes. This is the main reason why I don't tend to watch the shows that I like over and over again, to the point that I can virtually quote them from memory. It's much more enjoyable this way.

The story was pretty good, with its various strands. I wasn't able to figure out how it would resolve itself (but then I am suffering from a cold at the moment, so my brain is a little sluggish).

There was another plot hole though. Enid's and Drusilla's project turned out to be a spell to change someones hair and clothes. That's "project", something that had to be worked on, and, in this story, something that hadn't been done before. But cast your minds back to episode two of this series, "An Unforgetable Experience". In that episode Ethel didn't seem to have any problems in changing people's clothes, hair, and even the interior design of a whole cafe - and she didn't even have to utter any words to cast the spell! Maybe this is just me being a perfectionist again...

One of the key things about this story is about how everyone works together. Drusilla splits from Ethel and ends up working with Enid, and she worked with her quite well! I always said that girl would do good if she turned away from the Dark Side. But, even more surprisingly, Ethel helped out Mildred and co., and they did the same in return! Wonders will never cease... And, eventually, all three projects come together in the end, to resolve the story in a satisfying manner.

Oh, and can I just say, I wasn't liking the goth look...

As to my performance of the episode, I'm giving it to Jessica Fox as Enid Nightshade, who really got across the fun-but-talented nature of the character.

Right, I think I'd better go to bed now, this cold isn't getting any better! I'll be back here (hopefully) tomorrow with the next installment, so I do hope you'll join me then.


Day Thirty-Three - Wednesday 28th February 2007
"Just Like Clockwork"

I am really not feeling well today - I even had to leave work early, and when I start taking time off sick you know it's serious! So this will be a really short entry I'm afraid.

This episode wasn't fantastic, but it was OK. It's not up there with the greats, but it's not down there with the rubbish. I hope I'm making sense! (It's hard to think straight with this cold!)

The writer's are really running with the Ruby-and-tech thing this series, she's become a much more developed character. Pity they didn't find something to do with Jadu throughout the series, but the show's not over yet...

There appeared to be a slight plot-hole in this episode, with Ruby building a teleportation device. We already know that teleporting from one place to another can be done by magic, so why bother doing it with tech? Well, one explanation is that Ruby likes tech, but that isn't specifically expressed as a reason for her doing this in this episode. Mistress Broomhead states that an experienced witch like her can do it by magic effortlessly, but the girls wouldn't be anywhere near as good as her to be able to do it themselves. But, still, surely learning how to do it by magic would be easier than trying to do it by tech? But then, it did become a major plot device for the episode, so I guess it will do.

One scene that stuck in my mind in this episode was the scene where Mistress Broomhead was trying out the telportation device, and started to go a bit power mad with it. This would have been such a complicated scene to film, and would have taken a very long time, but it was time well spent as the whole effect worked brilliantly.

OK, I really can't carry on much longer (damn cold!), and so here's my performance of the episode - it goes to Kate Duchêne as Miss. Hardbroom. She can really get across what Miss. Hardbroom is feeling when she's put in a position that she doesn't like or isn't familiar with.

Well, that really is all from me today, it's about time that I went to bed! Especially as it's Christmas tomorrow...


Day Thirty-Four - Thursday 1st March 2007
"Cinderella in Boots"

Poor Karl's been home sick today - but I'm feeling a little better now. And today we have the Worst Witch Christmas Special episode, which was first broadcast in the UK on Christmas Eve 2000.

And can I just say that this is one of my favourite episodes of the show. There is just so much going on, with a large number additional characters other than the main cast (with Fenny and Gris from the fourth years, Clarice representing the second years - although we don't have a Sybil, Baz and Gaz, Hellibore, Charlie Blossom, and Mr. Blossom's brother, Mr. Blossom). Unlike "An Unforgettable Experience" all of these extra characters helped to add to this episode, rather than overcrowd it.

At the centre of the episode is a Cackle's Academy performance of Cinderella, with some interesting casting - with HB as the fairy godmother, and Ethel as the back end of a cow. And, of course, we have Mildred as our Cinderella - and, in my opinion, Georgie looked absolutely gorgeous in this episode!

The play has some nice "magic" touches to it, with Maud (as the wicked stepmother) appearing out of thin air (I thought that was too difficult for third year girls...), the coach riding off into the painted backdrop, and (the best "magic" bit), the boomerang cake!

Of course, not everything goes to plan, as Ethel wants the part of Cinders for herself, and so gets Mildred "electrified" so that she's unable to go on stage. Eventually, our girls remove Ethel's partner in crime, Drusilla, from the role of the prince, replacing her with Charlie. He gets told that all he has to do is marry Mildred, to which he responds "How?"...

Er, ahem, yes, well it goes without saying that we get our Cinders back in the end, with Hellibore agreeing that she's our girl.

For me, everything in this episode worked well, a fantastic Christmas episode - for any day of the year! The Christmas magic is there...

With such a good episode it's hard to pick out a performance of the episode, but I've decided to give it to Terence Hardiman as Chief Wizard Hellibore. As Hellibore was at first unsure as to what a pantomime was, he soon got into the swing of things, and I liked how Terence carried this off.

As I've already said, this episode was first shown in the UK on Christmas Eve 2000. On Christmas Day 2000 CITV had a load of stars in it's studio, and amongst them was Georgie Sherrington and Katy Allen. Georgie had forewarned me about this appearance - the last time that she had appeared in the CITV studios she didn't realise exactly what day it would be shown (she thought she was going to be recording bits rather than appearing live) and so I ended up missing it, but she made amends for that here. She didn't think it would be how I would envisage a Christmas morning, but it was absolutely fine, I was more than happy to spend Christmas morning watching her on TV as herself, as I always liked it when I got to see her as Georgie Sherrington as opposed to Mildred Hubble. I think that this was the only such appearance that I managed to catch on tape (although I have seen a few other bits downloaded from the net). She appears to be just as lovely in real life as she is as her character.

Anyway, as to the links themselves, there was one where they were interviewed. They revealed that, whilst their characters didn't get on, they were good friends in real life. They had known each other since before "The Worst Witch", and lived quite close to each other and would also sometimes go shopping together.

Well, that's almost all from me for today. As a special Christmas treat I thought I'd share with you - complete and unabridged - what I had originally written for (what I believe was) the CITV pinboard immediately after having seen this episode for the first time over six years ago. Now, I should explain that I don't think I had been to bed the night before, and whenever I do that I tend to be a little hyper first thing in the morning (before I burn out and feel exhausted for the rest of the day). I deliberately didn't read this original review before writing what I have done so far today, so let's see how the me of 2000 compares to the me of 2007. Be warned, if exclamation marks offend you, look away now:

Well, fans of "The Worst Witch" get an early Christmas present in the guise of a Christams special! And "special" certainly is the right word to describe it!

General Impressions: Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Yes, I liked this episode a lot! Cackle's putting on a pantomime! What a great idea! And it worked so well! The added dimension of magic really helps to make it stand out from other shows that put on pantomimes!

Best Performance Of The Episode: Oh, come on! You don't seriously expect me to pick one performance out from all of the others in this one do you?! Everyone, without exception, was great! Even in their pantomime roles! It all worked so well! Brilliant!

Best Scene Of The Episode: Whoa, this episode had so many good bits in it! HB as the fairy godmother! Maud as the wicked step-mother! The Grand Wizard understanding the concept of a "pantomime"! There were so many good bits that if I listed them all I think I'd end up listing every bit of the episode! But the part that stood out for me the most, although it was somewhat brief, was the bit where Maud convices that Mildred is Cinderella, and not to let Ethel get the better of her! That was so lovely! Oh, it was all so brilliant!

A Cast Of Thousands (well, OK, maybe not quite that many!): It was so nice to see just about every member of the cast present in this episode! (The only person I couldn't spot was Sybil.)

The Funniest Episode Yet: Whilst the show has so many funny bits in it, this episode had more than usual! And that's no bad thing! Just what a Christmas special needs! HB trying to find the fairy Godmother within her! Ethel being told that she's the back end of a horse! Charlie not being able to get a word in! Baz and Gaz worried about being forced to wear the frocks for a month! The list is endless! Brilliant!

Anything Else: My only problem with this episode was that it felt a little rushed, but, what the hey! It was still great!

And Finally: As if you hadn't guessed by now, I thought that this episode was brilliant! And yes, I know I've used the word "brilliant" a lot here, and I know that I've ended just about every sentance with an exclamation mark, but I thought the episode was so good it was deserving of it! It truly was a brilliant episode! A great idea, that was extremely well written! So take a bow, writers of "The Worst Witch"! And the acting was superb! So take a bow, cast of "The Worst Witch"! And the filming, the directing, and the editing, and everything else that happens behind the camera was excellent! So take a bow, crew of "The Worst Witch"! In my honest opinion, this was the best episode of "The Worst Witch" ever! It just goes to show just how truly great the show is! Everyone who's involved in making it deserves to give themselves a pat on the back! You've all done extremely well with it!

Well, I could go on forever here! The episode's put me in such a good mood! (That, and the fact that I haven't been to bed tonight! I'm normally fairly hyper early in the morning when I haven't been to bed the previous night! I almost certainly won't be quite so hyper this evening! I'll probably be zombiefied!) This really was a great episode of a great series! And there are still 6 episodes to go! I can't wait for them! OK, I'd better stop writing now before I wear out my exclamation mark key!

Merry Christmas everyone! Merry Christmas!

Oh dear, I was starting to sound a bit like that sketch from "The Fast Show" (Aren't witches brilliant?). And I was right about being a little hyper! But the me of six years ago and the me of today are in agreement that this was a great episode (although the me of today was able to pick out one performance from the many great performances that the episode had for my performance of the episode). But, yes, this episode and everything and everyone in it was, indeed, brilliant.

Well, Christmas is now over - again - and tomorrow it will be business as usual once more, so I do hope you will join me again then.


Day Thirty-Five - Friday 2nd March 2007
"Art Wars"

I'm still not feeling too well today - I've got worse during the day. I forced myself into work, and did my best to make it through the day, but in the end I had to wave the white flag and go home early. So this will be another short entry I'm afraid.

In this episode we see artist Lynne Lamplighter visit the academy for "Art Week", where the girls are encouraged to create something artistic. It's decided to make it a competition, which Ethel becomes determined to win - via her comrade Drusilla.

The main incident in this episode though is the falling out between Maud and Mildred. Maud says that she really wants to be an artist, and, whilst she's drawing a portrait of Mildred, Mildred tells her that it's really good. When Mildred goes off to do some art of her own it turns out that she's really good at it (which we'll see more of by the end of the series...). However, Maud gets annoyed when she finds out about this, as she feels fed up when Mildred turns out to be good at something, when she had felt that Mildred had tried to make out that she wasn't good at art at all.

The actual scenes where they fall out didn't seem quite right to me - the reason for the falling out didn't seem strong enough. It felt very much like the writers were forcing them to have a falling out, when the characters didn't really want to over something like this (I'm sorry if this is sounding a little odd - anyone who's written fiction can tell you that sometimes characters can seem like they have a mind of their own!). However, the aftermath and the make up worked well.

This episode comes in as a slightly-above-average episode. There was a good turn for the teachers here - Miss. Cackle was on top form, both being kind, and demonstrating her powers with the holo-model of Mildred. With HB we get to see her softening up a little as she gets to grip with her art. And Miss. Crotchet gets to display her eccentricities (although, it has to be said that she's no Miss. Bat).

As to my performance of the episode, it goes to the actress who played Lynne Lamplighter. Unfortunately, this is the only episode of the show where I don't have a credit list in my episode guide (my friend who made the cast lists missed this episode). I tried searching on the web, but came up with nothing. I eventually tried to read it off of the tape, but ITV did that annoying thing that many TV channels do of shrinking the credits to the point where they are almost totally unreadable. I was able to get Mary as the first name, and I got the first part of the surname as "Woodb", but after that it's a blur, so apologies for not knowing her name! But, whatever it is, she did a good job of getting the character of the kind, creative artist across.

Well, that's all from me today, I going to go and try and shake this cold off. Hopefully I'll be back here again tomorrow, and hopefully you will be too.


Day Thirty-Six - Saturday 3rd March 2007
"Power Drill"

I'm feeling a little better today, but I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE having colds! Anyway, lets *ACHOO" get on with today's episode...

First my tape caught an interview with Claire Porter in the CITV studio, and then we got to see an episode centred around her character. This episode was a bit slow to get going, with the girls trying to give Miss. Drill a potion to (temporarily) give her magical powers. We saw the bit where Mildred made the potion more powerful than it was supposed to be by putting in too much powdered spiders eggs, but then we had a whole sequence where the girls decided to give Miss. Drill a second dose - surely this wasn't neccessary for the plot as we already had the potion being more powerful than it was meant to be?

There were also a few plot holes with this episode. First off, we're told in this episode that Miss. Hardbroom prefers to obtain spell ingredients from "Hags and Horrocks" rather than picking them fresh - but this contradicts what we see in the first series when she takes the girls out to pick ingredients at sunrise.

But proberly a bigger plot hole concerns Miss. Drill not having any witches powers. How does one normally obtain witch powers? Maybe from coming from a witch family perhaps. But it had long been established that Mildred herself isn't from a witch family, so how did she come by her powers? Well, I daresay that explanations could be given for this, but they aren't done so here.

OK, OK, I know that I'm being a bit of a perfectionist here - this is a kids show and plot holes like this aren't going to be a major problem for the shows target audience. But when I'm ever writing anything I tend to keep any details like this in mind, as stories can create a better effect when there aren't any plot holes. Of course, when writing very long stories, or even a series of stories, keeping track of all of these details, even when they're written down elsewhere, can be a tricky task...

And, another thing. How on Earth did Miss. Drill fail to twig that Mildred and co. were up to something?! If anyone at work started treating me the way that they were treating her, or were otherwise acting strangly, I'd be wondering exactly what they're up to...

So, overall I felt that the episode was a little slow, and didn't quite gel together. But it did have some nice parts - the effects shots at the beginning with all of the witches coming into land was good. And I also liked the part where Miss. Drill was getting out of control. I'd have like to have seen some more loss of this control, and less build up in the beginning.

Finally, my performance of the episode goes to Claire Porter as Miss. Drill, who showed us another, previously hidden, side to the character.

Well, that's it from me for today. Tomorrow it'll be more wizards again, as there are rumours that Cackle's Academy is going to merge with Camelot College...


Day Thirty-Seven - Sunday 4th March 2007
"Better Dead than Co-ed"

Yay! I think my cold's getting better now! I'll be fighting fit again in no time. But, enough about me, here are my thoughts on today's episode.

This is the last episode where we get to see the semi-regular male characters of Charlie, Baz, Gaz, and Hellibore. At the centre of the episode is a plan to merge Cackle's Academy with Camelot College, which our girls hear being blurted out (in outrage) by Miss. Hardbroom at lunchtime. Our girls - or rather Enid - come up with a rather ingenious way to put the teachers off. Enid has sussed that Baz and Gaz fancy Mildred - because when a boy really fancies a girl they tend to pick on them rather than reveal how they really feel, apparently. So, after a bit of truth potion, they get the boys to invite Mildred to a secret party, where they are fighting over Mildred, and they arrange their teachers to see this.

I felt that the story was a really good one - even if I was jealous of the fact that other guys were fighting over Mildred! The story progressed nicely and worked well. There were also some humourous bits, the most memorable being "I see you don't call it the staff room." "No, that's the room where we keep the staffs..."

We also see that Charlie has enrolled at the college, and is the new person that Baz and Gaz pick on now that Merlin has left. Also, whilst Mildred is put off by the idea of Baz and Gaz fancying her, at the end Charlie asks her to dance, and she is delighted to do so. A possible romance here perhaps? If so it was never followed up, and Mildred would eventually find another fella (unfortunately, it's not me...)

As to my performance of the episode, it goes to David McCallum as Benjamin Greengage, deputy head of Camelot College. Whilst he doesn't get an awful lot to do in the episode, he made the most of every line and action that he was given, and so we got a really good feel as to what his character was like.

So, another good episode for recapturing the magic, even if it does have those boys! (No, I love you more Mildred!) Tomorrow we'll see what was happening back at Cackle's whilst the third years were visiting Camelot College...


Day Thirty-Eight - Monday 5th March 2007
"The Lost Chord"

Today we have the second episode that didn't feature Mildred and co., and so it's another chance to showcase the year-belows (Sybil and Clarice) and the year-aboves (Fenny and Gris).

Unfortunately, the story in this episode isn't that fantastic, centering on a supposed Austrian music professor going by the name of Von Raffenburg. It took a while for any hint of conflict to appear in the episode - the running time of an episode is approx. 25 mins, and I didn't spot anything that remotely hinted of conflict until about 8 mins in, when he tried to play something on the violin, and Sybil sussed him out as suspicious (although she appeared to be the only one that did). I'm sorry, but it's conflict that drives drama!

And there are some things that just don't seem right. Fenny and Gris agreed to help Von Raffenburg to create the lost chord, even though they knew it was from a forbidden spells book, and that they would have to sacrifice their newly won trophy. They were talked into it because Von Raffenburg said it would be a gift for Miss. Crotchet, and that it would be a wondrous sound. I'm sorry, but Fenny and Gris are smart enough to not fall for that, surely? Characters being forced by the writers into doing something that they wouldn't actually do, methinks!

But it gets worse. Miss. Crotchet is told that the only way the lost chord can be created is by following the instrctions in the forbidden spells book - the book that she had decided to not tell Von Raffenburg about as she knew it would be bad news. So, in assembly, when Von Raffenburg presents her with the lost chord, why didn't she ask "Where did you get that from?" No, instead, she just rung the damn bell! Why didn't Miss. Drill stop her? Miss. Crotchet has discussed the matter with her so she too would have known that it was bad news. No, she doesn't stop her, instead she just stands there! In fact, why did Von Raffenburg even bother presenting the bell to Miss. Crotchet in the first place? Why not just ring the thing himself? I'm sorry, but the story here just doesn't make sense!

I know when discussing plot holes in previous episodes I've said that this is just a kids show and they didn't matter too much, but those were plot holes that didn't detract too much from the episodes - the episodes were still enjoyable and made some sort of sense. But these plot holes are too large - kids these days are smarter than most people think and I daresay most of them would have seen straight through this episode. The story simply didn't work, and should have been developed more before it went into production, or even scrapped altogether in favour a story that did actually work, and didn't have characters acting as they shouldn't and even being downright stupid.

Sorry, I'm ranting a lot there. Yes, whilst I'm afraid that this is a poor episode, there are still some good parts, and that's what we should be focussing on when going on a journey to recapture the magic of this show. The song that the girls were singing in the show was quite good, and it can easily be believed that they won a competition with it. We also got a really good chance to see what Miss. Crotchet is like, as she daydreams about Von Raffenburg. And it's always nice to see the year-belows and the year-aboves (even if Fenny and Gris were acting out of character). It would have been nice to have seen more of them, in a better episode...

As to my performance of the episode, well, it was a little tricky for this one. It's now been a couple of hours since I watched the programme, and the performance that is sticking in my mind is Charlotte Knowles as Sybil Hallow. Sybil has grown up as a character, and is not as weak as she was in the second series. Here she is stronger, and at times taking the lead to help save the day, and this is expertly portrayed by Charlotte. If only we could have seen more Sybil in the third series...

Well, we're nearly at the end of "The Worst Witch" with just a mere two episodes to go. And rumours have it that the writers remembered that they had a character called Jadu...


Day Thirty-Nine - Tuesday 6th March 2007
"Unfairground"

Well, I said that conflict drives drama, and boy did we have conflict in this episode! The teachers have a crackdown on discipline after Mildred and co. escape to a fun fair after their exams, with some help from Fenny and Gris. After the school becomes like a prison camp, the majority of the students become extremely unhappy, and want to have their voices heard when it comes to the running of the school. And leading our girls is Jadu!

Yes, after thirty-eight episodes Jadu finally gets a leading role, where she gets to demonstrate that she is a good public speaker. It was a great shame that she didn't get a leading role before now, because if this aspect had been developed earlier (we briefly get to see her public speaking back in the first series episode "Sweet Talking Guys") we'd have had a much more developed character for the show, rather than someone all always seemed to just be in the background. But she's here in the foreground for the series finale, so let's enjoy it whilst we can.

Also, moving away from Jadu watch and onto Drusilla watch, she appears to have finally turned away from the Dark Side! There have been times where it appeared that she wanted to join Mildred and Co. in the past, but here, when Ethel gives her the ultimatum of being with or against her, she sees the light and leaves Ethel, as what Mildred and her friends have to offer (trying to change the academy for the better) is far better than what Ethel has. So yay Drusilla!

The story in this episode worked really well, with the audience firmly falling on the side of the students against the teachers. Everything keeps building up, until we get the strong cliffhanger at the end, with Mildred and Jadu being told that they are effectively being expelled...

My performance of the episode goes to Harshna Brahmbhatt as Jadu Wali. It's taken a long time for her to be given something to show what she can do, but when she was given it she did it well!

So, tomorrow we have the last episode of "classic" Worst Witch. Will Mildred and Jadu be expelled, never again to return to Cackle's Academy? Well, let's see tomorrow...


Day Forty - Wednesday 7th March 2007
"The Uninvited"

After the reprise of yesterday's episode we see Mildred and Jadu being left in an "Isolation Room" by Miss. Hardbroom, where they are instructed to copy out chapters from a book until their parents come to collect them at the end of the week. We then see their friends - including their new friend Drusilla - come in to see how they are. Their friends are determined to help them stay at the academy, and they will go to any lengths.

They come up with a cunning plan to get Mildred and Jadu to save the school from disaster, but first they have to create a disaster for them to save the school from. The decide to summon up a unicorn, but instead they inadvertently summon up the wicked witch from "Sleeping Beauty", who proceeds to put everyone to sleep.

But Mildred saves the day by bringing to life a picture of Prince Percy that she drew, and returning the wicked witch back to the pages of the book that she was summoned from. After witnessing her extraordinary talent, the teachers agree that she and Jadu can stay at Cackles, where they are elected as Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl.

(Very briefly, my performance of the episode is going to Diana Payan as the uninvited witch, who provided us with a really scary adversary.)

This was a fitting end to the series, with Mildred being able to show that she is a very special witch indeed. After she has saved the school Miss. Cackle takes her to one side to have a talk with her, but we don't see what it is that she says to her. I think it's good this way, as there is some mystery that remains, both about what Miss. Cackle said, and about Mildred's powers. It's also nice to see all of Mildred's friends banding together to help save her and Jadu, and especially her new friend Drusilla - although we do see Drusilla patching things up with Ethel right at the end, but this is good as well as they had been friends for a long time.

I think that the series ended at the right time. At the time people questioned why I welcomed the end of the series at this point. It was because I didn't want the show to go beyond it's natural lifespan - three series was right for this show. We can remember the show for how good it was. If they had continued with it in it's current form there were only so many more things that they could have done with it, which would have seen it decline and we could have had a series of really bad episodes, and the show going out on a whimper rather than the bang that it did go out on.

But this is not the end, as the following year we had "Weirdsister College: The Further Adventures of The Worst Witch", where we see Mildred go off to university. We are now three quarters of the way through this journey of mine, and it's time to leave that most special of shows, "The Worst Witch", behind, and see what the future has to bring...


Day Forty-One - Thursday 8th March 2007
"The All-Seeing Eye"

OK, I know that I'm really late with this entry - I've been getting carried away on the net. As it's now way past my bed time, I'll unfortunately have to keep this short.

This is the first episode of "Weirdsister College", which sees Mildred heading off to Uni in Cambridge. The only other returning regular character from the original show is Ethel, who's played by Felicity Jones (the Doctor never reversed his regenerations...) However, Kate Duchêne makes a wonderful and unexpected guest appearance, giving Mildred some advice when she approaches the all-seeing eye, and this appearance helps to bridge the gap from the old series to the new.

There's a whole host of other characters that we meet - including boys, the most noticeable of which is Nick Hobbes. Mildred takes pity on him, appearing to even ike him a little at first, and so uses her ability to bring drawings to life to help him avoid the all-seeing eye and get into Weirdsister. But this turns out to be a mistake when she discovers that he was just using her, which upsets her. She then cuts off her pigtails, which one of her roommates, Cas Crowfeather, said made her look like a kid.

Also from the old series, reprising her role from "The Witchy Hour" is Stephanie Lane as Deirdre Swoop, although she seems much nicer here. Also, we have Charmian May who played Miss. Pentangle in the same episode of the original series, but here she plays Prof. Alicia Thunderblast, the head of Weirdsister College. Sadly, I found out today that this would be one of her last roles before she passed away in October 2002.

Seeing this episode today for the first time since it was first broadcast (as I will be doing throughout this series) it seemed OK, doing it's best to set up the new scenario. I've been going through some of my E-mails from Georgie today, and she was very excited about filming this show. The idea is that it is a completely different show, aimed more at a teenage audience. She also went on to say that the first four episodes are mainly to help fully set up the new series, and then things really get going from episode five, so let's see what happens...

My performance of the episode goes to Felicity Jones as Ethel Hallow. This was a much stronger performance that when we last saw her back in the first series of "The Worst Witch", and I had no problem in adjusting to the old/new Ethel.

Well, that's all from me for today. Hopefully I'll be a bit more awake tomorrow (which is actually today already) for the next entry, and I do hope you'll be able to join me then.


Day Forty-Two - Friday 9th March 2007
"Never on Friday"

Karl very tired. Karl only get six hours sleep last night. Karl not get to work until 10.45. Karl not leave work until 6! Karl spending too much time on Internet. Karl getting addicted to "Whose Line Is It Anyway" clips on YouTube...

Er, yes, well, anyway, in today's episode we get to see Mildred's new shorter hair style, and she gets a new wardrobe partway through the episode - and can I just say that Georgie is looking lovely! We also get to meet a new member of staff, Dr. Andy Starfinder from America.

As for the story in this episode, it didn't really work for me. The first bit that sticks in my mind was Dr. Starfinder's first lecture, where he successfully tries to get everyone excited about what he wanted them to do, with everyone applauding him within minutes. This didn't seem quite right with me - I don't think we ever applauded our lecturers when I was at Uni, and certainly not within the first few minutes of them speaking. It would take quite a bit before I became impressed with a lecturer, well, apart from Catrin, but then she was gorgeous... Ahem, yes, well getting back to the point, I guess this was needed for the plot, but it just didn't seem to run true.

But the main problem that I had with this episode was the main plot element of the bus spell, taking away all of the magical backwash. Why have we never heard of this backwash before? And why did it have such a powerful effect, effectively helping to undo much of the magic that had been done? Surely we would have seen something like this back at Cackle's!

But the worst bit was where the Beetle confronted Starfinder, and she didn't bother telling him why it was so important that he didn't do magic on a Friday. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the bus spell - surely Thunderblast would have told him about it before he joined...?

All that said, the episode is doing it's job of continuing to set up the series. We have a solid introduction to Starfinder, and we're getting a sense of Uni life, with things such as the messy dorm.

My performance of the episode is going to Eric Loren as Dr. Andy Starfinder, as he gave us a firm introduction to the character from the word go.

Well, that's 2 of the 4 "setting up" episodes down, I hope you'll join me for the next one tomorrow. (Karl go bed now...)


Day Forty-Three - Saturday 10th March 2007
"The Gargoyle"

(You know, I seem to be doing these entries later and later each day...) Onto the third of the four "set-up" episodes, and here's where we see a bit more of Hobbes character and what he is capable of. At first he seemed to be going a bit mad when he was pacing up and down muttering to himself...

We also see Starfinder taking an interest in Mildred's special powers, and Ethel is chosen as his research assistant. At one point it seemed that Mildred and Ethel were almost on the brink of being friends, until Ethel finds out that Mildred had gone to see Starfinder without telling her.

The main problem with this episode for me is that it seemed to go by so slowly. There seemed to be so many scenes where not very much happened. First there was the tea pouring scene, and then I can't remember what happened for about the next five minutes because pretty much nothing happened!

There was also a superfluous bit near the end. Mildred was asked how she knew what the gargoyle was doing i.e. the opposite of what it was told (I forget exactly what she was asked - but then this was a very forgetable episode) and she then explained. I'm sorry, but this explanation simply wasn't necessary - we, the audience, had already figured this out, and I'm surprised that the characters hadn't and needed to ask.

My performance of the episode goes to Georgie Sherrington as Mildred Hubble. Whilst this was a poor episode, she still put in a good performance with the material that she had been given.

There's not really much more that I can say on this episode. Well, I was told that the first four episodes were mainly to help set up the new show, and we kinda got that here with the Hobbes thing. There's just one more episode to go now before the set-up is complete...


Day Forty-Four - Sunday 11th March 2007
"The End Of Misery's"

Well, we have another S-L-O-W episode here, as the four episode set-up concludes with us taking a closer look at Misery's, the cafe that's near the vicinity of Weirdsister College.

The writing of the episodes hasn't been that fantastic so far in Weirdsister, but here there was some effort to try and seed something early in the episode, only to pay it off later - specifically Millie and Cas running back to college before curfew, and then running again at the end of the episode before Misery's gets shut down, and there was also Starfinder's experiments with time. The "Starfinder - Starfinder - Starfinder" bit worked quite well.

We also get more of an introduction to Ben Stemson, who works at the cafe, and who we see Mildred hugging in the opening titles. It seems that he likes her as more than a friend, and it may not be one-way traffic. I'm not sure if I'm going to like where this is going... (he writes as though he hasn't seen this show before! Deep breaths, Karl, deep breaths...)

My performance of the episode is going to John Rogan as Professor J. Shakeshaft. He's fast becoming my favourite teacher at Weirdsister.

Well, again, a short entry from me, there's not really an awful lot more that I can say on this one. But, as I have refered to several times already, Georgie stated that she felt that the first four episodes merely help to set up the new world, and that she likes what comes next. Well, let's find out for ourselves from tomorrow...


Day Forty-Five - Monday 12th March 2007
"All That Jazz"

You know, Georgie was right, things do start to pick up from the fifth episode! I know that I've said that some of the previous episodes were a bit slow, and whilst the pace in this one wasn't that fast, it still had a steady and constant pace, without loads of scenes that go nowhere. The story in this episode works reasonably well, but who knows what on Earth Ethel was up to - first she forces Mildred to build up too much magical energy, and then she seems to loathe her for it...

Whilst this episode does work well on it's own, it also fits in well in the overall story-arc of the series. We see hints of the relationship issues between Mildred-Ben-Ethel-Hobbes which will be resolved later in the series. We also get some focus on Hobbes character - we know he's up to something, and he's trying to "recruit" others for whatever it is, but what "it" is we just don't know, not yet at least...

In the earlier episodes I was a bit concerned that the incidental music wasn't working right - it would play in places where it shouldn't, and there wasn't any when perhaps there should have been. It wasn't as good as what we had in "The Worst Witch". But in this episode it was working fine! The key scenes of note concerning the music were the scene where Mildred first experiences what the extra magical boost can do, and the scene in Misery's with the snakes.

My performance of the episode is going to Bobby Barry as Nick Hobbes. His portrayal of the character has improved a lot in this episode, especially when compared to "The Gargoyle" episode.

Well, that's all from me for today. The new series is now picking up a little, so it will be interesting to see how it progresses (remember, this is the first time I'm seeing it for over five years, and so I can't remember too much about what exactly happens!). I hope you'll join me again tomorrow.


Day Forty-Six - Tuesday 13th March 2007
"Dreamcatcher"

Today's episode opens with Mildred dreaming about Hobbes, and she admits that she has a bit of a thing for him. (There are no prizes for working out who has appeared most often in my dreams, although not recently it has to be admitted.) We also have a secondary plot concerning the college's caretaker, Joe Denton.

Again, we have a plot that is rather slow. The main aim of this episode appeared to be to have Mildred torn between Hobbes and Ben, and eventually being put off Hobbes and getting together with Ben. But what they had was too lightweight to fill up the episode's length. And so we get this whole secondary storyline about Joe Denton wanting to leave, and it is given too much screen time. The two plots do cross paths, first at the beginning with Hobbes taking all the hot water, and then later as Mildred's friends see what Hobbes has been using Cas's dreamcatcher for - namely to create dreams in people's minds, and it is this that puts Mildred off. But this doesn't justify how much time in the episode it took up.

In my opinion, the whole Joe Denton thing could have been scaled down a lot, and the time that it saves could have been used to show us how Mildred is with Ben, who we didn't actually see that much in this episode. And so we could have really seen Mildred being torn between Hobbes and Ben. But, that said, at least the episodes plots kind of make sense and tie up neatly at the end, getting us to where the writers wanted us to be. They just could have taken us there by a better route.

At the end of the episode, after Mildred has chosen Ben, we see her... *sob* We see her... *sob* We *sob* see *sob* her... *sob sob* k...k...k...k...k...KISS HIM! *sob sob* On the lips! *sob sob sob* I don't know how I'm going to cope! *sob sob sob sob sob*

Well, er, seriously, I did first see this over five years ago, and I was fine! Sorry to disappoint you all, but there was no mental breakdown! Come on, I mean it was bound to happen. Mildred was away at University, and it wouldn't be very realistic if there weren't any relationship issues in the show. A girl as lovely as her was bound to catch the attention of the guys. And now, five years later, Georgie is currently away at University, and... well, I don't particulary like going down that train of thought, but I'm fine with it. As stated in the prologue, I am more than aware that my chances with Georgie were/are/always will be incredibly slim, and so I have long since moved on. If she has found someone, then I'm happy for her. Just don't tell me who it is, in case they "accidentally" fall out of a window...

Er, ahem, yes, well, got a bit sidetracked there! Getting back to the show, my performance of the episode goes to Charmian May as Prof. Alicia Thunderblast. Even though her character was in the "B" plot, she still gave a sterling performance!

And that's all from me for today. There's now just one week to go on this journey of mine, and I hope you'll join me again tomorrow.


Day Forty-Seven - Wednesday 14th March 2007
"Dr. Foster, I Presume"

We now have an episode that focuses on the Foster's effect that we have heard so much about since the first series. However, there are numourous things about this episode that don't work.

First off, this episode talks about the Foster's effect as being something specific, something that can be boiled down to a formula, with specific consequences. But this appears to go against what we've seen before, with the Foster's effect simply being the unexpected consequences of magic being used for selfish or trivial ends. It also goes against the first episode of Weirdsister Collge where Starfinder likens it to a superstition.

As to Josie, was there seriously anyone who couldn't work out that she was Dr. Foster from the very moment that she first appeared? And I'm sorry, but the whole excuse-me-madam-I'm-looking-for-doctor-so-and-so-oh-you're-the-doctor thing is just such a cliché, and one I daresay most of the audience saw coming a mile off.

Then there's the temporal paradox. The staff hear Dr. Foster calling out for help, so they do a spell to bring her to Weirdsister. They then found out that the scream that they heard was from when they were bringing her to Weirdsister, with it having travelled back in time. But if all this is so, this means that she screamed because she was being brought to Weirdsister against her will, and she was brought to Weirdsister because she screamed - so where did the whole thing start?! I'm sorry, but if you're going to write a story that uses temporal mechanics you need to make sure that it actually makes some sort of sense! Remember, cause and effect!

There was also a "B" plot in this episode, regarding Mildred's insecurities about Ben going away. I'm sorry, but this didn't appear to have anything to do with the main plot. At least yesterday's "B" plot crossed over and affected the main plot. But with this episode it distracts our attention from the main plot, thus making the episode unfocussed.

I think I've just about covered everything here. I think it was a nice idea to delve deeper into the Foster's effect, but the execution of that basic idea failed dismally. The episode was unfocussed, the plot (where it made sense) was predictable, and it didn't fit in with what had already been established previously.

On the plus side though, Mildred looked nice. And John Rogan as Prof. Shakeshaft was again good in his role this episode. Whilst he didn't get an awful lot to do, what he did get he did well, as we get to see a little bit more of his character. It's for this reason that he gets my performance of the episode. Looking ahead, I see that episode eleven (to be seen on day fifty-one of this journey) appears to focus on his character, and so that's one I'm now looking forward to.

Well, that's all for today. Hopefully we'll have a better episode tomorrow...


Day Forty-Eight - Thursday 15th March 2007
"The Seventh Sense"

Yes, well, today's episode was better than yesterday's, but it wasn't fantastic. The plot felt like it was meandering along, and I wasn't quite sure as to where it was going. At first the main element of the plot is people's concern for Mildred, and what others (Starfinder/Hobbes) want from her. It then merges into Ben finding out that she's a witch and how he handles it. There's also a slight "B" plot concerning Ben's mother who believes that she has the "seventh sense", which allows her to see into people (which is what Starfinder, Hobbes, and Ethel were trying to do magically, with Mildred as their guinea pig), at it seems that she may have also helped to heal a sick Tabby.

Whilst the plot does meander, at least it ties things up and concludes in a satisfying manner, with the series story-arc plot concerning Ben being progressed, and it remains to be see how this will pan out...

So it was a reasonable, passable episode, but I would have a preferred a more focussed plot, and not one that merges from one thing (people's concern for Mildred) to another (Ben finding out Mildred is a witch). To have a switch like that it would have been better to have a scene where Ben see's that Mildred is a witch suddenly, ideally by seeing her forced to use some magic, rather than the gradual method that we had here.

My performance of the episode is going to Georgie Sherrington as Mildred Hubble, as we see her stand up to Starfinder and Hobbes, feel upset for Tabby, and worries about Ben's reaction to her being a witch.

That's all I have to say for today, a very short entry I know, but it is very late. But I will be back tomorrow, and I hope you will be too.


Day Forty-Nine - Friday 16th March 2007
"The Golden Cauldron"

OK, this is a very late entry from me (it's already "tomorrow" as I write this), and so I'm afraid it's going to be a short one.

This episode continues the trend of slow-moving, unfocussed episodes that Weirdsister has, although it's not as bad as some others have been. "The Agonies" are a nice idea, but they don't work too well as a bit more thought could have gone into what these challenges could actually have been. Also, it's not clear how they are scored - there seem to be several teams that score points, but at the end we are told that the witches won them by "two agonies to one".

Meanwhile, looking at the series' story-arcs, we see Mildred and Ben try to work things out, and Ethel splitting from Hobbes. It still remains to be seen exactly what it is he has planned, and now he stands alone...

My performance of the episode goes to Jenny Galloway as Veronica Dewdrop aka The Beetle. To be honest, I didn't really like the character of The Beetle as she didn't really seem to "work" for the series (I'm talking about how the character was written, not performed), but she does appear to fit in with this episode, and Jenny did well with the material that she was given.

That's it for today I'm afraid. I'll be back tomorrow (which is techically later today as it's now 1.30 a.m.) where an old friend will be visiting Weirdsister...


Day Fifty - Saturday 17th March 2007
"Good Friends"

Mildred receives a visit from her old friend Enid Nightshade in what is the best episode of Weirdsister College. But before we meet Enid again Mildred is taking part in a ceremony where she has to give up something that's very important to her in order to progress to the second year. She offers up a stuffed toy that she's had all of her life, but it is rejected. It appears that she may have to give up Tabby in its place...

The pace in this episode is fine (despite the distraction of Ben, Tim and Azmat's magic tricks), as we see how Enid's changed since Cackle's. We eventually find out that she wasn't happy at her uni, and was eventually kicked out. Meanwhile, Mildred is under pressure from her friends to tell Enid that she can't stay - this is during their examination period. Eventually Milded and Enid fall out, only for them to part on good terms, with a new kind of friendship.

The key theme of this episode - and the reason why I feel that it is the best episode of the series - is the progression from childhood to adulthood. Mildred and Enid may long for things to be as they were when they were back at Cackle's, but time only flows in one direction and they have now grown up, and it is now time to move on. Both characters undergo significant changes during the episode.

The past is symbolically given up at the end of the episode, when, at the recommencement of Mildred's ceremony, Enid offers up her old friendship with Mildred in place of Tabby, although she says that they will have a new kind of friendship.

I'm giving a joint performance of the episode for this episode, going to Georgie Sherrington as Mildred Hubble, and Jessica Fox as Enid Nightshade. As stated earlier, both of their characters underwent significant changes throughout the episode, and they both portrayed these changes superbly.

That's all for today. We are now nearly at the end of this journey, and I do hope that you will join me again tomorrow.


Day Fifty-One - Sunday 18th March 2007
"Shaky Foundations"

Well, I said that I was looking forward to this episode, and I wasn't disappointed! As the title implies, this episode focuses on Prof. Shakeshaft. Throughout the series it has been implied that he is hundreds of years old, having been born in the middle ages, and here we find out what the truth behind that is.

He is thinking about a long lost love called Allison, who he knew back in the 15th Century, and he longs to see her one more time. Other teachers are concerned for him, as he is not performing at his best. He is given some time off to rest, and Mildred offers to stay with him to keep an eye on him. One night she sees him go down to the foundations of the college, and follows him. He explains that he's wanting to go back to 1492 to see Allison once more.

Mildred helps him complete the time travel spell and they succeed in travelling back in time (and, unknown to them, Hobbes has followed them). They're at Shakeshaft's engagement party, where a colleague of his tells him that they have succeeded in creating an elixir of life. Against Allison's wishes, he takes the potion, which causes the end of their relationship.

Mildred tries to change things, to prevent him from taking the potion, but what is done, is done. Shakeshaft is content with having seen Allison one more time, and they return to the present. Also, Hobbes takes a copy of the formula, without anyone's knowledge...

This was quite a gentle episode, with the conflict necessary for the drama to take place being there quietly in the background. It felt a bit like an old episode of "Doctor Who", with John Rogan not looking unlike William Hartnell's Doctor, and Georgie could easily pass as a young Susan. The dynamic between Shakeshaft and Mildred worked really well. The episode was enjoyable to watch, as you find out about Shakeshaft's character, and are left wondering exactly what Hobbes is up to.

That is a question that is left unanswered, and I daresay that it will be resolved before the series is over. Also, what happened to the other guy who also took he elixir...

My performance of the episode goes to John Rogan as Prof. Shakeshaft, a character coming to terms with what he had done in the past. John really made us feel for and emphasise with the character in this episode.

Well, that's all from me for today. The series ends with a two-part story, and we'll have the first of those tomorrow. I do hope you'll join me then.


Day Fifty-Two - Monday 19th March 2007
"The Whisperer"

In today's, penultimate, episode Hobbes shows his true thirst for power. He uses the information that he brought back with him from 1492 to help Starfinder to complete his machine to contain the magical backwash. Behind Starfinder's back he creates a large number of Sorcerer's Eggs that the machine creates as a by-product. He then uses these eggs to try and gain more power for himself, but things don't go according to plan...

This episode was satisfactory. It serves its main purpose of building things up for the big end-of-season finale. There were a few problems with it though. First, Hobbes was able to create all of the necessary eggs far too easily - Shakeshaft at least should have been able to figure out what Hobbes was up too long before he and Starfinder found out together. What I want to know is why he gave that book back to Hobbes? And why, at this stage, he didn't try and do more to try and stop him?

The episode also suffers from a few poor pieces of exposition, where things that we have already been told are repeated - the scene where Mildred explains things to Ben sticks in the mind as an example of this.

But, that aside, it does build up to a cliffhanger, with a mysterious figure dressed in white appearing as Hobbes tries to use the Eggs. We can safely assume that this is Guy, Shakeshaft's colleague from the previous episode. We can tell that he is evil, but just what does he have in store for Weirdsister...

My performance of the episode once again goes to John Rogan as Prof. Shakeshaft. He really took charge of all the scenes that he was in, as Shakeshaft fears that the mistakes of the past will be repeated in the present.

Well, that's all from me for now. We're now on the home straight of this journey, as tomorrow will be the final day. How will it all end? I do hope you will all join me again one last time for tomorrow's special final entry.


Day Fifty-Three - Tuesday 20th March 2007
"The Gate of Power"

The series ends with Weirdsister being threatened by Shakeshaft's old colleage, Guy De Malfeasance. He talks about being trapped in the walls of Weirdsister for over 500 years, and he blames Shakeshaft for this. He also talks about a world within those walls called Syrd Whisper, which contains great power, power which he intends to obtain for himself.

This episode was an alright episode to end on, as we get a sense of the real threat that our characters face. Most of the main characters from the series make an appearance, as they all (eventually) work together against Guy. However, it all feels a little rushed, as though there's so much more the writers of he show wanted to do, but couldn't. But there were some nice parts, particulary the atmosphere that was created during the crisis.

The episode ends with Guy defeated, but Shakeshaft warns we will need to be forever vigilent, as we see a shadowy figure materialise outside Weirdsister, implying that Guy escaped. What did he do next? We will never know, as this is the end.

But Guy was a good villain, certainly more menacing than the antagonists that we got in The Worst Witch. This came across well on the screen, which is why the actor that played him gets my performance of the episode (unfortunately I don't have his name).

And so we reach the end of our journey. The Worst Witch would return a few years later with "The New Worst Witch", but I shalln't be going through those episodes - I've mislaid my tape of the first series, and my tape of the second series is incomplete. But this feels like a good place to end this journey.

But did I achieve my aim of recapturing the magic? Well, yes, I feel I have. During the three series of "The Worst Witch" I could feel it again numourous times, and whilst it wasn't as strong in "Weirdsister College", it was there in places, you just had to stick with it.

Also, during this journey, I have looked at the various files and E-mails that I have that relate to that time. When I look at the ones that record some of the horrid things that were said about me, and in some cases done to me, (see the prologue for what I mean) I do feel down as they soured the whole experience for me.

But then I look at the good things that happened, the positive things that people said. The whole experience was very strange, but it certainly wasn't all bad. The obvious highlights were when cast members were in contact with me, and one cast member in particular. The fact that I was in contact with Georgie Sherrington, if only intermittently over a period of two and a half years, means more to me than words can say. OK, I didn't get to go out with her, but I was in contact with her, and got to know her a little, which is far more than I had ever expected when all of this started back in 1998.

Some people may feel that I am obsessed with "The Worst Witch" and/or Georgie, but this is not the case. OK, I know that the fact that I've written over 30,000 words about the show on this very page doesn't help my case! But it doesn't, and never has, ruled my life. I accepted when the show ended, without thinking about it endlessly day after day. And I don't have any deluded thoughts about having a relationship with Georgie - for the record I know that this will never happen, and this is something that I have long since moved on from.

Don't get me wrong, I do still like her. She is still a beautiful and intelligent person. It's just that I will admire her from afar. I will live my life, and she will live her own, seperate, life.

One day she may well appear in a play in London. If that were to ever happen, I'll be there on opening night. I won't be lurking around the stage door, or try and make any attempt to meet her. I will simply admire her performance, bask in her magic, and remember the good parts of my experience, my old contact with her.

I don't know what everyone who has read this page thinks of me, or what comments have been made about the various things that I have said. But that doesn't matter. It's not what other people think that's important, it's what I feel about myself and this show that are important. And I feel good.

"The Worst Witch" was a magical show which we can safely say has touched me. I will remember all of the good things connected to it - the stories, the characters, the feelings, to everything that happened outside of the show such as the positive reaction to my website, and, of course, the E-mails I got...

I'll leave you with one final thing. Back during the days of my original website I wrote a series of fanfics based on "The Worst Witch". These fanfics created the idea of anagramagic - spells made from anagrams. A spell would consist of two lines, with the words and letters of each line jumbled up. When unjumbled, there would be a word that would appear in each line which summed up the main feeling of the spell. In the final fanfic (which was actually called "Final") Mildred was asked what it was that she longed for the most. By this point in my writing the fanfics the stories were becoming more connected to me, and so I was asking myself what it was that I longed for the most. The spell that Mildred cast was:

"Migorag Sipneth Flothes Toceni,
Whutorn Rewocei Dalesin Latisphet!"
I didn't reveal what this spell actually meant, leaving it as a puzzle for the readers. As I took my website down five months after putting the last fanfic up, it may well be that no one worked it out. There was also a slight mistake, so first I will correct that mistake and then cast the right spell:

"Migorag Sipneth Flothes Toceni,
Whutorn Rewocei Dalesin Latisphep!"
And the meaning of the spell is thus:

"The thing I long for most is peace,
I wish upon this world eternal peace!"
This journey has enabled me to be at peace with myself. My world, for now at least, is at peace. I will treasure the good memories that I have of everything to do with "The Worst Witch", as I continue on into the next chapter of the greater journey that is life.

And so this is goodbye. I would like to thank you all for joining me on this journey to recapture the magic. Safe journey to you all, until our paths cross again...

Remember the stories from our childhood,
The light, joy, and magic they brought to us.
The memories that will forever last.
The stories that helped us to grow, that would
stay with us, always echoing the past.
Remember the stories from our childhood.
If you ever doubt the future you should
remember the magic you once felt, cast
your mind back, don't let childhood die so fast.
Remember the stories from our childhood.

Copyright © Karl S. Green, 2006, 2007

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