Post by rhort on Jul 27, 2012 5:18:28 GMT -5
Series three begins with a passing insight into a little-known WWII strategy by the British, as we hear Wilfred Pickles reading the news. Wilfred came from Yorkshire in the north of England, and was given the job of reading the news on the BBC during the war so as to make it difficult for non-native English speakers to understand him, as he spoke with a broad northern accent; most people learning English would have been taught using the received pronunciation of the Home Counties (sounding like Hugh Grant or Stephen Fry), so this was designed to confuse spies.
In this opening scene, which unusually does not feature Gary, we see Reg and Phoebe showing the high esteem in which they hold Gary’s standard of education, particularly in the mentioning of the fact that Gary would know what ‘tantamount’ means, which also sets off a theme in this episode of lines which recur later on. Reg’s comic relief aspect is highlighted once again with his car story, culminating in the ‘Japanese Motor Car’ line, which always makes me laugh.
Back to the 90s, and there has been something of a reversal of roles between Gary and Yvonne, with the latter’s unemployment sending her into an obvious state of depression, the depths of which cause her to see Gary as “dependable and straight forward”, in stark contrast to her view of him in the past, clearly showing that she’s clutching at straws, looking for some sense of hope. The underlying strength of their relationship is evident, if for no other reason than that they’re still together, and Gary seems to have slipped into the stronger, more supporting position quite easily, however, Yvonne seems to be having some issues accepting it.
On to the East End, and Ron has a new car (first thing a car geek like me would notice), which is a newer model of the car he had in earlier series. The 0171 number on the side of the shop dates this episode, and shows that things have moved on since the 071 number shown in ‘I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good’ (S2E2). The supremely sexy Jayne Mansfield kicks straight into troublemaker high gear right from the outset, and begins the excellent interplay between herself and Gary, and herself and Ron, showing that she is very much like Yvonne in her taste in men. It always occurred to me at this point that Gary might have considered adding a further dimension to his philandering and take her on, although, I think he works out that she’s trouble from the kick-off and leaves her alone, inasmuch as it’s possible to do so with such a tiger. Two outstanding lines in this scene for me were the ‘Overweight Northerners’ and ‘Lou or Elvis’ one, keeping up the comedic pace of this episode in general, something which is evidenced in Gary ‘playing’ with the portal when he finally finds it.
Yvonne’s depression is then played upon, with Gary doing his usual stunt of Olympic calibre unhelpfulness with the ‘Only Yvonne’ comment, setting up another line to come back and bite him on the bum later. Another example here of Gary’s lack of thought when it comes to things with Yvonne, as it emerges that the phone call from the estate agent is apparently the first time she is made aware of his shop plan.
Returning to the 40s and we see the return of the ‘tantamount’ element, as Gary tries to explain the word to Reg, leading to a comic moment. I wonder if anyone else notices that Gary’s coat, bag and hat all disappear between the reframing of the shot at the bar, and the shot where he and Phoebe sit at the table.
Whilst skiing with Yvonne, Gary is clearly lost in thought about what he’s going to do over the Pearl Harbour issue, and it’s always seemed to me that his solution smacks of desperation. I really like the mock up of the 1940s Broadcasting House in this sequence, complete with its own Tardis, it would seem, but I’ve always felt that Gary is steering himself towards a certain amount of trouble with Ed Morrow, and surely it must have occurred to him that Ed would go to some lengths to look into Gary’s background. I really like the way Phoebe takes the mickey, ‘trying’ to fit in with her posh accent, but showing that she really doesn’t take all that sort of thing too seriously. All this ultimately leads to the encounter with Guy Burgess, and Gary’s nod to the fact that he knows what’s going on with him carries the plot brilliantly towards Ed Morrow’s acceptance of Gary’s information, which otherwise might have been handled in a more contrived way, which would have been something I would have hated.
Back to Gary’s new shop, and Ron is pointing himself out as the put-upon underdog, which has been something of an ongoing theme almost since day one, however, this is the first time he’s really asserted the issue. Throughout this episode, I really enjoy Gary’s avoidance of Jayne’s pursuit of him, and Ron’s input (falling off the ladder) brings that to a climax nicely, however, as things move on, Gary finds that the ‘only Yvonne’ line comes back to haunt him.
The 40s scene with Gary bringing the Christmas dinner shows him back in the role of super provider, managing to bring things that nobody else can get, and the inclusion of the Swiss Army Knife is an excellent use of non-contemporary technology, leading to another great line from Reg.
Yvonne’s confrontation with Jayne says a huge amount about how she feels about Gary, given that she has the confidence to face her down in that situation. Previously, Yvonne’s belief in Gary has been at a low ebb for the majority of the time, but it seems that she has gained a certain amount of perspective from her change in fortunes, and I’ve always felt that this has added a level of strength to things between them. The only thing about this scene that bugged me was that, for someone who has worked in an office, you’d think she would know the difference between a computer and a monitor
I’d give this episode a 95% rating. An extremely funny episode, plenty of Ron, and then there's that Jayne Mansfield **DROOL!!!**
In this opening scene, which unusually does not feature Gary, we see Reg and Phoebe showing the high esteem in which they hold Gary’s standard of education, particularly in the mentioning of the fact that Gary would know what ‘tantamount’ means, which also sets off a theme in this episode of lines which recur later on. Reg’s comic relief aspect is highlighted once again with his car story, culminating in the ‘Japanese Motor Car’ line, which always makes me laugh.
Back to the 90s, and there has been something of a reversal of roles between Gary and Yvonne, with the latter’s unemployment sending her into an obvious state of depression, the depths of which cause her to see Gary as “dependable and straight forward”, in stark contrast to her view of him in the past, clearly showing that she’s clutching at straws, looking for some sense of hope. The underlying strength of their relationship is evident, if for no other reason than that they’re still together, and Gary seems to have slipped into the stronger, more supporting position quite easily, however, Yvonne seems to be having some issues accepting it.
On to the East End, and Ron has a new car (first thing a car geek like me would notice), which is a newer model of the car he had in earlier series. The 0171 number on the side of the shop dates this episode, and shows that things have moved on since the 071 number shown in ‘I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good’ (S2E2). The supremely sexy Jayne Mansfield kicks straight into troublemaker high gear right from the outset, and begins the excellent interplay between herself and Gary, and herself and Ron, showing that she is very much like Yvonne in her taste in men. It always occurred to me at this point that Gary might have considered adding a further dimension to his philandering and take her on, although, I think he works out that she’s trouble from the kick-off and leaves her alone, inasmuch as it’s possible to do so with such a tiger. Two outstanding lines in this scene for me were the ‘Overweight Northerners’ and ‘Lou or Elvis’ one, keeping up the comedic pace of this episode in general, something which is evidenced in Gary ‘playing’ with the portal when he finally finds it.
Yvonne’s depression is then played upon, with Gary doing his usual stunt of Olympic calibre unhelpfulness with the ‘Only Yvonne’ comment, setting up another line to come back and bite him on the bum later. Another example here of Gary’s lack of thought when it comes to things with Yvonne, as it emerges that the phone call from the estate agent is apparently the first time she is made aware of his shop plan.
Returning to the 40s and we see the return of the ‘tantamount’ element, as Gary tries to explain the word to Reg, leading to a comic moment. I wonder if anyone else notices that Gary’s coat, bag and hat all disappear between the reframing of the shot at the bar, and the shot where he and Phoebe sit at the table.
Whilst skiing with Yvonne, Gary is clearly lost in thought about what he’s going to do over the Pearl Harbour issue, and it’s always seemed to me that his solution smacks of desperation. I really like the mock up of the 1940s Broadcasting House in this sequence, complete with its own Tardis, it would seem, but I’ve always felt that Gary is steering himself towards a certain amount of trouble with Ed Morrow, and surely it must have occurred to him that Ed would go to some lengths to look into Gary’s background. I really like the way Phoebe takes the mickey, ‘trying’ to fit in with her posh accent, but showing that she really doesn’t take all that sort of thing too seriously. All this ultimately leads to the encounter with Guy Burgess, and Gary’s nod to the fact that he knows what’s going on with him carries the plot brilliantly towards Ed Morrow’s acceptance of Gary’s information, which otherwise might have been handled in a more contrived way, which would have been something I would have hated.
Back to Gary’s new shop, and Ron is pointing himself out as the put-upon underdog, which has been something of an ongoing theme almost since day one, however, this is the first time he’s really asserted the issue. Throughout this episode, I really enjoy Gary’s avoidance of Jayne’s pursuit of him, and Ron’s input (falling off the ladder) brings that to a climax nicely, however, as things move on, Gary finds that the ‘only Yvonne’ line comes back to haunt him.
The 40s scene with Gary bringing the Christmas dinner shows him back in the role of super provider, managing to bring things that nobody else can get, and the inclusion of the Swiss Army Knife is an excellent use of non-contemporary technology, leading to another great line from Reg.
Yvonne’s confrontation with Jayne says a huge amount about how she feels about Gary, given that she has the confidence to face her down in that situation. Previously, Yvonne’s belief in Gary has been at a low ebb for the majority of the time, but it seems that she has gained a certain amount of perspective from her change in fortunes, and I’ve always felt that this has added a level of strength to things between them. The only thing about this scene that bugged me was that, for someone who has worked in an office, you’d think she would know the difference between a computer and a monitor
I’d give this episode a 95% rating. An extremely funny episode, plenty of Ron, and then there's that Jayne Mansfield **DROOL!!!**
