The Writers

[tintwistle]

It's almost a given that Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran should have written some of the best episodes of "Goodnight Sweetheart." After all, they created the series and developed the principal characters.

Those two aside, I would have to say that the scripts of Gary Lawson and John Phelps are next most impressive. That pair wrote no fewer than four of my very favourite episodes, notable for inventive quirks that keep the audience guessing:

"Who's Taking You Home Tonight?" (Gary tries to eat simultaneous meals with Yvonne and Phoebe)

"When Two Worlds Collide" (A bomb opens the time portal, and Phoebe and Yvonne meet in Gary's shop)

"Have You Ever Seen a Dream Walking?" (Gary drifts in and out of sleep, never quite knowing which is his reality)

"Mine's a Double" (Good Gary and Bad Gary vie for the wives' favours)

Of course, that is not to say that everything Lawson and Phelps touched necessarily turned to gold. For instance, I was disappointed to see that they also penned "The Yanks Are Coming," a shallow, predictable tale of racial tension, complete with a stereotypical Southern bigot. That effort was unworthy of their talents.

All in all, though, L&P have a great track record, for which I feel much indebted. Wow, those are some brilliant eps!

[malcolm]

I would agree with "When Two Worlds Collide" and "Have you Ever seen a Dream Walking", but I never took to the three Gary's or the simultaneous meals. The latter just felt that it was stretching things too far and the thought of having to eat so much put me off - though the same thing was done in the Vicar of Dibley only worse.

The 'Ouses in Between remains my favourite and I see that a Geoff Rowley gets some credit as a writer with that episode.

I just wish we had seen more of the 1880's and of course Marie Lloyd but that is because I like Music Hall so much. That was a terrific series quite some years ago - ah I see it ran from 1953 to 1983 and was called The Good Old Days. It was one of those shows that everyone talked about and the MC became very popular with his long and eloquent intros.

If only one of the TV channels would bring this back. We used to have some Music Hall restaurants in Melbourne and they were so popular. The meal that came with it wasn't very good, but nobody complained because the show took all the attention.

I have been very busy last few days driving to various medical appointments, but will get back to It's A Lovel Day Tomorrow shortly.

Does anyone know if Chris Ettridge can sing? Doesn't matter he is going to get a voice when I conjure his Isambard Deadman up again.