Post by rhort on Aug 24, 2012 3:41:46 GMT -5
We begin with another insight into Gary’s moneymaking exploits, as he once again sells something he paid virtually nothing for at a massive profit, however, here we are shown that the buyer is extremely pleased with his purchase, even indicating it as something of a bargain. The scene is then brought down somewhat with Ron’s depression, shown here to be following an unsurprising path which has lead him to using alcohol to lend him the support he is obviously missing elsewhere in his life. Aside from the excellent “Kate Adie” line, there are few real laughs here as the serious nature of the subject matter demands, and Gary, whilst trying to show at least some consideration for Ron, really only brings his own arrogance to the fore, however, we see here that Gary’s cockiness firmly sets up the theme for the episode, and this is established as we move quickly through the following two scenes, where Gary is found to be wanting in both timeframes.
As Gary discovers an aspect of Yvonne’s life that it seems he knew absolutely nothing about, it will probably not come as any sort of shock to those familiar with the story so far that the state of Gary and Yvonne’s marriage is noticeably lacking, particularly in socialisation and communication. Gary seems visibly concerned with this, but this is perhaps only in part due to his natural concern as Yvonne’s husband, but partly because he was perhaps thinking that only he was keeping things secret, and this leads to his typical reaction when he’s not all together in control of any given situation. Yvonne, on the other hand, does seem rather to take things with a degree of sorrow, as perhaps it is also dawning on her that there is something fundamental missing from their marriage.
When Gary visits Ron in his office, right from the start, with Ron’s apparent confidence, we can see that something is not quite going to go right here, and Stella’s entrance confirms this. To me, Stella seems here to be trying to project a false image of her feelings, as she attempts to show that she is unconcerned with the fact that Ron was out all night, however, she makes the effort to come down to the printers’ to find out if he’s there, and I think this means she cares quite deeply for him in reality, and that she’s stubbornly refusing to let this show in order to maintain the upper hand, in many ways mirroring the manner in which Yvonne often tries to deal with Gary. The path which Ron is on of late seems to be making him view Gary’s life in a slightly different light, and in some ways, I feel this could be helpful to him, as I’ve always thought that part of his depression is down to the way in which he views the adventures Gary goes through as being so much better than his own life. The “Velcro” line rounds this scene off nicely for me.
Gary’s return to the 40s finds him discovering that his life there has echoes of his contemporary existence, as Phoebe is basically doing exactly the same thing as Yvonne. Gary’s jealousy is evident right from the outset, just as in the past when any man has shown interest in Phoebe, and he is quick to begin working on sorting things out for himself. Phoebe seems quietly impressed with Gary’s despatching of the two ‘airmen’, however, she still seems intent on giving him something of a hard time, only coming around after it seems that he’s put in the required amount of effort, which has been lacking of late.
Back to the 90s for the final scene, and a fantastic outfit for Yvonne!
Ron’s drinking is not helping the situation here, and creates several embarrassing moments for him, not least of all the one involving Stella’s boss. The ‘Wales’ homophone joke shared between Gary and Ron shows the boys getting back to the basis of their relationship, forgetting about their other issues for a moment, but possibly setting themselves up for trouble later, as Yvonne and Stella show some solidarity for each other. The "men" line finishes things well, but doesn’t, I feel, make up for the general lack of humorousness in this episode.
I’d give this episode a 55% rating. Not enough big laughs for my taste, and the main theme seemed a bit contrived at points.
As Gary discovers an aspect of Yvonne’s life that it seems he knew absolutely nothing about, it will probably not come as any sort of shock to those familiar with the story so far that the state of Gary and Yvonne’s marriage is noticeably lacking, particularly in socialisation and communication. Gary seems visibly concerned with this, but this is perhaps only in part due to his natural concern as Yvonne’s husband, but partly because he was perhaps thinking that only he was keeping things secret, and this leads to his typical reaction when he’s not all together in control of any given situation. Yvonne, on the other hand, does seem rather to take things with a degree of sorrow, as perhaps it is also dawning on her that there is something fundamental missing from their marriage.
When Gary visits Ron in his office, right from the start, with Ron’s apparent confidence, we can see that something is not quite going to go right here, and Stella’s entrance confirms this. To me, Stella seems here to be trying to project a false image of her feelings, as she attempts to show that she is unconcerned with the fact that Ron was out all night, however, she makes the effort to come down to the printers’ to find out if he’s there, and I think this means she cares quite deeply for him in reality, and that she’s stubbornly refusing to let this show in order to maintain the upper hand, in many ways mirroring the manner in which Yvonne often tries to deal with Gary. The path which Ron is on of late seems to be making him view Gary’s life in a slightly different light, and in some ways, I feel this could be helpful to him, as I’ve always thought that part of his depression is down to the way in which he views the adventures Gary goes through as being so much better than his own life. The “Velcro” line rounds this scene off nicely for me.
Gary’s return to the 40s finds him discovering that his life there has echoes of his contemporary existence, as Phoebe is basically doing exactly the same thing as Yvonne. Gary’s jealousy is evident right from the outset, just as in the past when any man has shown interest in Phoebe, and he is quick to begin working on sorting things out for himself. Phoebe seems quietly impressed with Gary’s despatching of the two ‘airmen’, however, she still seems intent on giving him something of a hard time, only coming around after it seems that he’s put in the required amount of effort, which has been lacking of late.
Back to the 90s for the final scene, and a fantastic outfit for Yvonne!
Ron’s drinking is not helping the situation here, and creates several embarrassing moments for him, not least of all the one involving Stella’s boss. The ‘Wales’ homophone joke shared between Gary and Ron shows the boys getting back to the basis of their relationship, forgetting about their other issues for a moment, but possibly setting themselves up for trouble later, as Yvonne and Stella show some solidarity for each other. The "men" line finishes things well, but doesn’t, I feel, make up for the general lack of humorousness in this episode.I’d give this episode a 55% rating. Not enough big laughs for my taste, and the main theme seemed a bit contrived at points.
