A medieval English magician tries to escape the invading Norman armies of the 11th century and inadvertently sends himself 900 years into the future where he must survive and work out a way to return to his own time.
Both witty and inventive with a solid turn from the late Geoffrey Bayldon, this fun show entertained a generation of children and adults. Well written by the talented Richard Carpenter, there is also a nostalgiafest going on here for middle aged adults looking at how relatively unspoilt the English countryside was just half a century ago and may bring back some memories of their youth.
No nastiness here, just good fun and whilst we watch Catweazle learn about modernity we also learn a little about us too.
A good cast helps pad the show out too. Personally I found series one to be more interesting than series two and the show was starting to flag a little by the middle of the second series, although the wonderful Peter Butterworth does help partially redeem it, but it it is still a darned sight more watchable than the majority of family centric TV shows these days. The innocence of a bygone era coupled with a 'famous five' sense of adventure and well written characters kept this show ticking along. Some fun cameos help with the nostalgia value as well.
Good clean fun and hugely inventive.
