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

Your thoughts on this episode.... Catweazle, an 11th century magician, is conjuring in his cave when his enemies suddenly burst in. He flees, casting a spell to make himself fly. However, something goes wrong because the spell transports him to the 20th century instead. Full Cast List...

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Series1.
1. Sun In A Bottle.
Catweazle, eccentric magician /wizard, escapes from pursuing Norman soldiers by jumping into a lake and ends up in 1970 England at Hexwood Farm.
Befriended by Edward "Carrot" Bennett, son of farm owner George Bennett, Catweazle discovers "electrickery" describing a light bulb as the sun in a bottle. He hopes Carrot will teach him " the magic of this new age"

 

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2. Castle Saburac.
Catweazle runs into the farmhouse after being spooked by a welding torch and Carrot hides him away from his father, farmhand Sam ( Neil McCarthy) and the housekeeper.
Carrot gives him a bath to remove the smell of him but the housekeeper bursts in on them. Catweazle finds a place to live, an abandoned army water tank in the woods. A large metal structure accessed by a ladder, like a mini fort christened Castle Saburac.

 

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3. Curse Of Rapkyn.
Carrot wonders if his father's financial troubles are a result of a curse on the farm, he and Catweazle go to local museum and find an old book that reveals a contemporary of Catweazle, named Rapkyn has indeed cursed the farm which was built on a witches coven meeting place. The hunt is on for hidden cursed stones.
With Peter Sallis

 

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4. The Witching Hour.
Bossy battleaxe Susan Bonnington is ingratiating herself with Carrot's father.
Carrot engages Catweazle to get rid of her with magic.
But he's made a mistake, his father is buttering her up to push forward his plans to expand the farm and she's on the council. Can he stop Catweazle's curse striking her down?

 

[michaellevenson]

5. The Eye Of Time.
Catweazle learns about betting on horses and accurately predicts winners. Catweazle meets a gypsy in a shop next to the bookmakers and uncovers a scam.
Meantime, Carrot is discovered by his father hanging around bookies.
With Hattie Jacques

 

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6. Magic Face.
An American photographer accidentally captures Catweazle on film , and visiting Hexwood farm asks Carrot to find this mystery man and ask if he'll pose for pictures.
Catweazle believes his soul has been stolen and must be a slave to photographer Mrs Derringer and ends up in her house . Carrot tries to rescue him

 

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7. The Telling Bone.
Catweazle discovers the magic of the telephone, or "telling bone". He is befriended by the vicar of a nearby village who tries to find out where he's come from and who his family is and where he lives. Talk of Norman invaders, time travel, demons , convinces the vicar Catweazle is dangerous especially when he pulls a toad out of his pocket, his pet Touchwood.

 

[michaellevenson]

8. The Power Of Adamcos.
Catweazle flees the woods in terror, he believes the spirits of the telling bone have brought Norman soldiers to the 20th century to kill him!
But no,... It's the locals in fancy dress for the historical pageant. However Catweazle has dropped his witch-knife, Adamcos, and must recover it or " the blood will drain from me . I will be doomed"
The knife ends up in an antique shop and Carrot helps to recover it.

 

[michaellevenson]

9. The Demi Devil.
A pet monkey is missing from a local Colonel's house.,and Catweazle falls out with Carrot and threatens to blast him with his magic, and casts a spell. When the missing monkey turns up in Catweazle's Castle Saburac ,the obvious misunderstanding occurs. Catweazle pleads with the Colonel to end the monkey's misery and turn him back into Carrot!

 

[michaellevenson]

10. The House Of The Sorcerer.
Sam quits his farm job after arguing with Carrot's father , and gets a job with a nutty professor type nature watcher who has a caravan in the woods. Catweazle is already aware of this naturalist after spotting him tape recording his minion, the toad Touchwood. Listening at the door of the caravan Catweazle hears a screeching scream. Its a recording of a screech owl but Catweazle runs away screaming
" murder! murder!! Sam has been murdered by the demon"

 

[michaellevenson]

11.The Flying Broomsticks.
Catweazle has stolen at least 50 birch brooms in a mad attempt to fly like a bird, by riding them while jumping through fire. The police have found these discarded burnt brooms and believe a satanic coven is operating. Sam gets the blame after admitting accidentally burning a broom while burning trash in the woods. Carrot rages at Catweazle that it's his fault that Sam is in trouble and after Carrot bribes him with a harmonica Catweazle agrees to rescue Sam from the police station.

 

[michaellevenson]

12. The Wisdom Of Solomon.
A really nasty new housekeeper and her son moves into the farm. Carrot is now back at school and Mrs Skinner is reluctantly hired. Carrot and the son Arthur don't get on. Catweazle offers a potion that if Carrot can get them to drink, will reveal their black hearts. Arthur has tittle-tattled on Carrot to his dad about the water tank hideout Castle Saburac, Catweazle is not discovered but is now homeless.

 

[michaellevenson]

13. The Trickery Lantern.
Last episode of series 1.

Spoiler

Catweazle has reasoned that water propelled him from the past, and so it can return him home. After stealing a lantern that Carrot had bought for a birthday present for his father, thinking the Normans will fear it Catweazle wades into the lake for the journey home.
A tremendously poignant ending as Carrot realises his friendship with Catweazle is coming to an end. Surely it was all rubbish? Catweazle can't just vanish.
Carrot ? " it's impossible"
Catweazle" a foolish word thy doubter, thy disbelieving dreg!"

 

[michaellevenson]

Series 2.
1. The Magic Riddle.
For a second time Catweazle escapes the dreaded Normans and ends up in 1971 England, this time in the grounds of King's Farthing, a stately home occupied by Lord and Lady Collingford , their retainers Groome the handyman and Mrs Gowdie the cook.
Cedric, their son returns from a term at boarding school, and is very different from Carrot.
Cedric, a studious clever boy who spent last term composing an opera!
Catweazle follows Cedric into the large stately home and into the boy's bedroom.
Cedric unknown by the family has access to a priest hole via a hidden compartment in his room and is stunned when Catweazle follows him in.
Cedric's great grandfather was a occult follower and Cedric is trying to decipher a riddle written in hieroglyphs on a blackboard that his great grandfather wrote.
Catweazle can read it;
" twelve are they that circle round,
if power you seek they must be found,
look for where the thirteenth lies,
mount aloft the one that flies"
Catweazle states that in order to fly like a bird, you must seek out the twelve zodiac signs gather them and find the thirteenth, and he wants Cedric to help him.
Cedric thinks he is potty and bundle him out of the mansion, but turns a blind eye to Catweazle stealing an ornamental rams head( Aries) on his way out.
The quest begins.

 

[michaellevenson]

2.Duck Halt.
Catweazle casts the runes to find his new home, and ends up in an abandoned railway station called Duck Halt on an abandoned line.
Cedric and Catweazle enjoy an afternoon's country walk when they spy a pub sign " The Bull", being removed by the pub owners and handed to a hardware seller, loaded in a back of a van and driven off. Catweazle is determined to get the (Taurus) sign.

 

[michaellevenson]

3. The Heavenly Twins.
It's Cedric's birthday and the magician The Great Verdanti is hired for the big party.
Catweazle meets him in the woods at the pond fishing.
Verdanti turns up for the party and is surprised that Catweazle is there and ropes him in as an assistant. Hilarity ensues as Catweazle has no concept of stage magic as different to his occult magic.
With Paul Eddington.

 

[michaellevenson]

4. The Sign Of The Crab.
Tearful Ted, career burglar has broken into King's Farthing and steals Lord Collingford's croquet trophies .
Mrs Gowdie tells the police off a suspicious looking tramp hanging around previously. This was Ted in disguise, but suspicions fall on Catweazle, especially as Ted has stashed his ill gotten gains at Duck Halt.

 

[michaellevenson]

5. The Black Wheels.
Catweazle regularly collects trash that he finds "wondrous" and comes across vintage vinyl records. He's no idea what they are ,but sees Cedric playing one and thinks they contain lost voices of people with laryngitis.
When Groome the handyman loses his voice , unfortunate as part of his job is to conduct tourist guided tours of King' Farthing, Catweazle plays doctor trying to get Groome to eat crushed up records to get a new voice!! Hilarious.

 

[michaellevenson]

6. The Wogle Stone.
Property developers and building contractors move onto King's Farthing land and start digging. Catweazle's curiosity almost gets him killed as a mechanical digger almost topples on top of him.
A deeply superstitious developer wants to build a whole new development on part of Lord Collingford's land but his Lordship won't sell up
Catweazle turns to magic to frighten the superstitious developer away with talk of cursed stones and doom to those dare to pull down his beloved Duck Halt.

 

[michaellevenson]

7. The Enchanted King.
Lady Collingford is due to unveil a statue created by local celebrity sculptor played brilliantly by Graham Crowden.
Gobbling ,the sculptor, runs up against Catweazle who thinks his statues are people turned into stone , including an English King , who needs Catweazle to set him free. Utter chaos as the unveiling turns farcical as Catweazle wrecks it . Probably the most simplistically funny slapstick episode. You thought Crowden over acts in Dr Who , you ain't seen nothing until you see his performance in this.