Post by rhort on Nov 23, 2012 4:15:30 GMT -5
We begin in Ron’s new flat, a change of location that whilst not unexpected is somewhat surprising in its lavishness, especially in combination with the other things he is planning to purchase, and is having delivered as the scene develops. Ron goes on to reveal that the reason he is spending as much cash as possible is so that Stella will be able to take less in the impending divorce settlement; which possibly explains why he’s bought more than one computer monitor, back in a time when dual-head video cards were rare outside the hardcore geek community. Gary shares something of how the recent events affecting him and Yvonne have apparently brought them much closer together, even indicating that Yvonne seems to need him more, which highlights the ebb and flow of support that their relationship seems to exhibit in general (certainly during the part of it captured by Goodnight Sweetheart). Ron’s attention wanes, as he is distracted by one of the items he’s bought, giving us the excellent “attention span” line.
On to Cricklewood, and the picture of wedded bliss that has apparently descended on the Sparrow household, as Gary and Yvonne sit together discussing matters of seemingly little consequence. Yvonne’s emerging interest in homeopathy standing out as a major plot element in development here, at least for those of us keeping an eye on where things are going. The two of them share some touching moments, especially as they make various jokes about therapists, leading to some big laughs. All this banter leads up to a point where Gary asks Yvonne just how much time she is taking off from work, which then forces her to reveal that she has in fact left her job, basically for reasons of health (in more ways than one).
Meanwhile, in the Royal Oak, Phoebe and Reg are having a fairly in-depth discussion about the fact that Gary isn’t around very much, which is clearly something that is weighing heavily on Phoebe’s mind, given the approaching wedding. As if on cue, Gary then appears, leaving him directly in line for Phoebe’s ire, as she voices her dissatisfaction about his regular absences, and general lack of interest in the wedding. Gary is put on the defensive as she goes on to tell him she has made an appointment with the vicar to discuss the finer details on Saturday lunchtime.
Almost as a form of retreat, Gary heads back to his 90s home, and once again finds himself quickly drawn into a situation where he’s making excuses. During a verbal onslaught from Yvonne, Gary is introduced to the fact that she has booked the ‘Healing Weekend’ away for both of them, and not just for herself, leading Gary into a familiar area, in terms of the panic he experiences when he realises he may have to be in two places at once. Falling back on his tried and tested formula of needing to make a profit at the shop, he claims that a stocktake will be needed, which seems at first to have worked, until Yvonne decides that, not only is Gary right, but that the level of support she needs show on this occasion is to join him at the shop and help.
On to the shop, and Gary and Yvonne stocktaking; at least Yvonne stocktaking, and Gary trying to think up an excuse to get rid of her so that he can rush over to see Phoebe. Ron’s arrival gives the first indication that Gary could get some help, after a fashion, however, Ron proves to be instrumental in removing Yvonne from the shop, as a rare moment of utter brilliance on his part helps persuade Yvonne that she should be somewhere else, and off she goes, leaving Gary free to change and make his way quickly through the portal.
Meeting Phoebe in the pub just in time for the meeting, Gary finds her waiting with Reg, who is clearly angling to be chosen as Gary’s Best Man, given that all the previous choices appear to be posted overseas shortly after being selected. Phoebe shows a certain amount of interest, and displeasure, as to the reasons why Gary’s boss feels that everyone in his department should be single, leaving Gary on the back foot yet again. The meeting with the vicar then holds an interesting challenge for the participants, as organ music, which is so loud that it makes talking inaudible, is being played in another part of the church, meaning that the conversation is forced to take place in short bursts in between the various pieces that the organist is playing. This provides a number of laughs, despite the relatively small amount of dialogue, leading to the details being discussed at high speed, mostly with simple Yes/No answers.
Back to the Oak, and Phoebe is still not happy with Gary, and in keeping with her character of late, is certainly not disinclined to let him know just what she is feeling. Gary’s defensiveness doesn’t seem to help matters, however, he is soon distracted by Reg, who is acting very edgy, convinced that his boss is spying on him in an effort to check certain details of how he is living his life, most specifically about his living arrangements, given the recent changes surrounding his involvement with Margie.
In open retreat, once again, Gary heads back to the shop, finding Ron fielding flack from a very annoyed Yvonne, who wants to know where Gary has gone. For the second time this episode, Ron is extremely helpful, allowing Gary to ‘return’ without Yvonne knowing much about what’s actually going on. I always enjoy Emma Amos’ excellent portrayal of sarcasm, and this scene is a prime example of her at her best, as she subtly has a go at Gary, before breaking into more open hostility for him, and his feeble excuses. As Ron tries to inject a small amount of logic, Gary (as usual) rejects his efforts, and comes back at him with a rather unfair comment about his ‘broken marriage’, leading Ron to delivery the brutal, but honest “Sometimes you can be the pits!” line. This seems to affect Gary greatly, and he is clearly sorry about what he has said, regardless of the truth of it. As the scene ends, Gary seems to really be coming down to Earth with a bump as far as regards his ability to time travel, as many of the realities of the situation are finally coming home to him.
The final scene in the pub, and Reg’s sergeant is talking to Phoebe. Seeing himself as a man of good conscience and moral fibre, he is obviously unhappy about Reg’s living arrangements. As things begin to look as if they will move to a point where action my be taken against Reg, Gary appears, and with a few well-placed words, and a few forged documents, he helps to solve things by making the sergeant believe that Reg is helping with some important war work. Following on from this, he then tries to smooth things over with Phoebe once more, however, it seems that she is very definitely becoming wise to his lines.
I’d give this episode a 75% rating. I’ve always found this to be another episode that doesn’t really go anywhere, mostly filling in with a few on-going plot elements to make it part of the story.
On to Cricklewood, and the picture of wedded bliss that has apparently descended on the Sparrow household, as Gary and Yvonne sit together discussing matters of seemingly little consequence. Yvonne’s emerging interest in homeopathy standing out as a major plot element in development here, at least for those of us keeping an eye on where things are going. The two of them share some touching moments, especially as they make various jokes about therapists, leading to some big laughs. All this banter leads up to a point where Gary asks Yvonne just how much time she is taking off from work, which then forces her to reveal that she has in fact left her job, basically for reasons of health (in more ways than one).
Meanwhile, in the Royal Oak, Phoebe and Reg are having a fairly in-depth discussion about the fact that Gary isn’t around very much, which is clearly something that is weighing heavily on Phoebe’s mind, given the approaching wedding. As if on cue, Gary then appears, leaving him directly in line for Phoebe’s ire, as she voices her dissatisfaction about his regular absences, and general lack of interest in the wedding. Gary is put on the defensive as she goes on to tell him she has made an appointment with the vicar to discuss the finer details on Saturday lunchtime.
Almost as a form of retreat, Gary heads back to his 90s home, and once again finds himself quickly drawn into a situation where he’s making excuses. During a verbal onslaught from Yvonne, Gary is introduced to the fact that she has booked the ‘Healing Weekend’ away for both of them, and not just for herself, leading Gary into a familiar area, in terms of the panic he experiences when he realises he may have to be in two places at once. Falling back on his tried and tested formula of needing to make a profit at the shop, he claims that a stocktake will be needed, which seems at first to have worked, until Yvonne decides that, not only is Gary right, but that the level of support she needs show on this occasion is to join him at the shop and help.
On to the shop, and Gary and Yvonne stocktaking; at least Yvonne stocktaking, and Gary trying to think up an excuse to get rid of her so that he can rush over to see Phoebe. Ron’s arrival gives the first indication that Gary could get some help, after a fashion, however, Ron proves to be instrumental in removing Yvonne from the shop, as a rare moment of utter brilliance on his part helps persuade Yvonne that she should be somewhere else, and off she goes, leaving Gary free to change and make his way quickly through the portal.
Meeting Phoebe in the pub just in time for the meeting, Gary finds her waiting with Reg, who is clearly angling to be chosen as Gary’s Best Man, given that all the previous choices appear to be posted overseas shortly after being selected. Phoebe shows a certain amount of interest, and displeasure, as to the reasons why Gary’s boss feels that everyone in his department should be single, leaving Gary on the back foot yet again. The meeting with the vicar then holds an interesting challenge for the participants, as organ music, which is so loud that it makes talking inaudible, is being played in another part of the church, meaning that the conversation is forced to take place in short bursts in between the various pieces that the organist is playing. This provides a number of laughs, despite the relatively small amount of dialogue, leading to the details being discussed at high speed, mostly with simple Yes/No answers.
Back to the Oak, and Phoebe is still not happy with Gary, and in keeping with her character of late, is certainly not disinclined to let him know just what she is feeling. Gary’s defensiveness doesn’t seem to help matters, however, he is soon distracted by Reg, who is acting very edgy, convinced that his boss is spying on him in an effort to check certain details of how he is living his life, most specifically about his living arrangements, given the recent changes surrounding his involvement with Margie.
In open retreat, once again, Gary heads back to the shop, finding Ron fielding flack from a very annoyed Yvonne, who wants to know where Gary has gone. For the second time this episode, Ron is extremely helpful, allowing Gary to ‘return’ without Yvonne knowing much about what’s actually going on. I always enjoy Emma Amos’ excellent portrayal of sarcasm, and this scene is a prime example of her at her best, as she subtly has a go at Gary, before breaking into more open hostility for him, and his feeble excuses. As Ron tries to inject a small amount of logic, Gary (as usual) rejects his efforts, and comes back at him with a rather unfair comment about his ‘broken marriage’, leading Ron to delivery the brutal, but honest “Sometimes you can be the pits!” line. This seems to affect Gary greatly, and he is clearly sorry about what he has said, regardless of the truth of it. As the scene ends, Gary seems to really be coming down to Earth with a bump as far as regards his ability to time travel, as many of the realities of the situation are finally coming home to him.
The final scene in the pub, and Reg’s sergeant is talking to Phoebe. Seeing himself as a man of good conscience and moral fibre, he is obviously unhappy about Reg’s living arrangements. As things begin to look as if they will move to a point where action my be taken against Reg, Gary appears, and with a few well-placed words, and a few forged documents, he helps to solve things by making the sergeant believe that Reg is helping with some important war work. Following on from this, he then tries to smooth things over with Phoebe once more, however, it seems that she is very definitely becoming wise to his lines.
I’d give this episode a 75% rating. I’ve always found this to be another episode that doesn’t really go anywhere, mostly filling in with a few on-going plot elements to make it part of the story.