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Post by nostradamus on Sept 30, 2011 9:46:32 GMT -5
Not a negative thread as such, but which episode gets under your collar enough to post here? I'll wager Series Five comes into it at some point..
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Post by jrichard88 on Sept 30, 2011 10:02:13 GMT -5
I'll just copy and paste my response from the "Least Favorite Episode" thread on the old board, as it summarizes my feelings quite nicely:
Oddly enough, my least favorite episode in the series directly followed one of my favorites. I thought Series 5's "When Two Worlds Collide" was brilliant and absolutely hilarious, but "Mairzy Doats", the second half of the two parter, left a lot to be desired to me.
Even though Gary did deserve SOME comeuppance after the way he'd treated Ron for 4 years, Ron's behavior in the episode was completely unjustified and made him very unlikeable to me as a viewer. In spite of all his hardships at that point, that behavior made it very difficult for me to feel sorry for him. Not to mention, I really think they could've done more with the idea of Ron in the past. When the previous episode closed with Ron showing up in the Royal Oak at long last, with the "Finally made it, mate!" line, I thought I was in for an uproariously funny follow-up episode. Sadly, I was mistaken.
For me personally, that episode is the only low point in an otherwise fantastic comedy series.
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Post by ibindere on Sept 30, 2011 10:44:05 GMT -5
And here's my response on the old boards....
The only episodes i'm not really keen on are the ones where Gary gets tricked into going to France and gets captured by the Nazis. Its like watching an episode of 'Allo 'Allo (which i cant stand). Silly fake French accents, silly fake German accents, wobbly sets etc. Not up to the usual GNSH standards of quality I feel !!
And the only other one I struggle with is the one where Ron manages to get back to the 40's and they all go out on a bender in the west end and Ron makes a complete tit of himself; getting drunk, flashing his money around, offending the women and then getting Gary tied up down in the air raid shelter etc. For some strange reason this episode actually distresses me. I get so freaking cross with Ron. Its like he's finally managed to go through the portal after years of wishing he could, and then he acts disgracefully and almost deliberately tries to blow Gary's cover. I find myself shouting at the TV in rage!
As much as I love Ron, in this episode I almost wish Gary would punch his lights out!
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Post by tintwistle on Sept 30, 2011 13:32:28 GMT -5
Here, borrowed from the old site, are my feelings about an episode that IMO does not meet the high standards of GS:
I am not fond of "How I Won the War." This one seems to me a weak episode, with substandard writing, acting, and special effects (that swinging tree trunk), not to mention the inept extras trying to portray Nazi troops. It went for cheap humour and fell flat. I consider it to be almost embarrassingly bad.
Just my personal opinion, though. I realise that many people seem to quite like it.
Tintwistle
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Post by nostradamus on Sept 30, 2011 13:39:09 GMT -5
Heh.
The usual suspects rise to the surface.. :-)
I have recently fallen out with The Leaving Of Liverpool a little. There are some good moments, but also some hackneyed stereotypes to endure. Just my own opinion, of course..
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Post by jrichard88 on Sept 30, 2011 14:17:14 GMT -5
Heh. The usual suspects rise to the surface.. :-) I have recently fallen out with The Leaving Of Liverpool a little. There are some good moments, but also some hackneyed stereotypes to endure. Just my own opinion, of course.. I think the usual suspects are popping up because GS failed so rarely. It was such a consistently well-written show that the mediocre episodes are clearly identifiable, and almost universally agreed upon by fans.
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Post by nostradamus on Sept 30, 2011 16:46:38 GMT -5
Heh. The usual suspects rise to the surface.. :-) I have recently fallen out with The Leaving Of Liverpool a little. There are some good moments, but also some hackneyed stereotypes to endure. Just my own opinion, of course.. I think the usual suspects are popping up because GS failed so rarely. It was such a consistently well-written show that the mediocre episodes are clearly identifiable, and almost universally agreed upon by fans. Absolutely. In a two-horse race that would pitch the series 1-3, against 4-6, the inevitable delight of the love affair that is/ was the first three would presumably endear more than the expanded sci-fi that 4-6 offered.. It's purely a matter of opinion; I love the first three series for the above reason, but the final three have more colour and depth, albeit sporadic in their final delivery. The finer points deserve some debate long into the night.
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Post by jobsta on Sept 30, 2011 17:38:51 GMT -5
I've never been able to warm to "The 'ouses in-between'. Apart from some lovely eye candy in that episode, I just find the addition of another time era unnecessary and not really relevant.
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Post by ryan1992 on Oct 1, 2011 16:52:19 GMT -5
I've never been able to warm to "The 'ouses in-between'. Apart from some lovely eye candy in that episode, I just find the addition of another time era unnecessary and not really relevant. I concur ;D
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Post by nostradamus on Oct 2, 2011 11:19:01 GMT -5
I've never been able to warm to "The 'ouses in-between'. Apart from some lovely eye candy in that episode, I just find the addition of another time era unnecessary and not really relevant. I concur ;D Yep. Those expanded storylines from Series Five onward are not to suit all tastes. I personally have come to like the episode in question; but place Mairzy Doats in front of me and I would be found in the same camp for sure.
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Post by jobsta on Oct 2, 2011 11:55:18 GMT -5
Part of me wishes they had just stayed in the pub and got on with the silliness. I quite like the episode where Gary goes to entertain the troops, which seems to be a regular on the hated list. Funny that!
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Post by nostradamus on Oct 2, 2011 16:34:05 GMT -5
Part of me wishes they had just stayed in the pub and got on with the silliness. I quite like the episode where Gary goes to entertain the troops, which seems to be a regular on the hated list. Funny that! Exactly where I was heading..
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Post by jobsta on Oct 2, 2011 17:51:34 GMT -5
There is enough content in these shows to keep things ticking along! As witnessed by the amount of time I spent watching the bloody things! hehe
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Post by nostradamus on Oct 2, 2011 19:06:02 GMT -5
There is enough content in these shows to keep things ticking along! As witnessed by the amount of time I spent watching the bloody things! hehe That's the skinny..
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Post by constabledeadman on Oct 6, 2011 16:49:43 GMT -5
The one where the becomes loads of gary's. I think it gets a bit stupid where they keep just missing each other etc. Did not enjoy that one and always skip it on the dvd.
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Post by nostradamus on Oct 11, 2011 17:17:20 GMT -5
The one where the becomes loads of gary's. I think it gets a bit stupid where they keep just missing each other etc. Did not enjoy that one and always skip it on the dvd. Heh. I rather like this later episode, I know it's a little kooky and all but I found the plot entertaining first time around and it kind of stuck with me. I will however mention that I have never really cared for the passage of play that makes up the Mainwaring and Pike interplay during Gary's visit to the bank. I accept that it is tongue-in-cheek and quite well done, but it makes me wince just a bit more than it probably should.
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Post by jobsta on Oct 11, 2011 20:30:43 GMT -5
I quite like Mines a Double also. It's especially nice when you know the 'Secret' as to spotting normal and bad Gary.
I must admit to not knowing who Mainwaring and Pike were when I first watched the series and although I now do know, I initially saw them as rather insignificant slapstick characters, and I am afraid that feeling sticks with me.
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Post by jrichard88 on Oct 11, 2011 20:55:11 GMT -5
I quite like Mines a Double also. It's especially nice when you know the 'Secret' as to spotting normal and bad Gary. I must admit to not knowing who Mainwaring and Pike were when I first watched the series and although I now do know, I initially saw them as rather insignificant slapstick characters, and I am afraid that feeling sticks with me. Yeah, mark me down as a fan of that episode as well. It was fun to see them play with some sci-fi elements outside of time travel. That, and I always get a chuckle out of Gary's line at the end of the episode: "I've pulled myself together". Cheesy, but funny. And I'll also confess to not getting the Dad's Army reference right off the bat, having never seen the show before. I've been watching clips on YouTube and it seems like a very funny show. Maybe I'll look into buying the DVDs
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Post by kellimarie on Mar 17, 2012 11:24:05 GMT -5
'How I won the war' this looked like it was written for something to do on a boring sunday afternoon, I always bypass that episode now. 'We don't want to lose you'... 'But we think you have to go'... 'Have you ever seen a dream walking' Sorry guys but I think, out of the 58, these 4 episodes are the worst, talk about writers block. And yes, I did like Maizy Doats which worked for me, why? After years of helping Gary and wishing he could go back, he got his chance but he got so excited by this, he was like a child on christmas morning and lost control, especially after meeting Phoebe in the shop.
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Post by jrichard88 on Mar 19, 2012 4:11:48 GMT -5
I couldn't disagree more as it relates to "Have You Ever Seen A Dream Walking". After years of lying to and using the people he cares about the most, it finally comes back to haunt him in a series of guilt-ridden dreams, and I thought the whole episode was pulled off brilliantly.
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