Post by rhort on Nov 30, 2012 4:08:14 GMT -5
Starting in the Royal Oak, we find Gary wowing his audience, made up primarily of people from the far side of the Atlantic, with another song ‘he has written’. Those assembled seem friendly enough at this point, and one even approaches Gary to enquire if he has an agent, and if he’d be interested in forming some sort of partnership after the War, but Gary declines, naming various films that he has ‘worked on’, leading to a few opening laughs. Moving on to Reg, we find that he is clearly planning some Stag Night shenanigans, chuckling to himself, leaving Gary a little bemused.
Saying goodnight to Phoebe, Gary finds her musing about being married, and their rapidly approaching parenthood. As Gary sings a line from ‘Michelle’ by The Beatles, Phoebe heaps praise upon his incredible talent, with Gary merely shrugging it off. As Phoebe talks about some of the details of the wedding itself, more of the seriousness of events begins to dawn on Gary, leading him to retreat to a place of relative safety during a crisis.
The tranquillity of his hiding place, Ron’s flat, is less calming than expected, as Ron is looking for a new career, in order to further reduce the impact of his divorce from Stella. After a moment or two, this leads Gary to the point where he realises that if Ron isn’t working at the printer’s any more, he will lose access to the cash and forged documents which have become such an integral part of his cover story back in the 40s, which sends him into something of a panic, and draws out an introspective analysis of his current situations, on both sides of the portal.
Perhaps as a direct result of his analytical ministrations, Gary returns to Cricklewood, and spends some time with Yvonne, as she details her findings on her new age envisioning of homeopathy, focussing subtly on how it might affect her personally if she were to become involved in a career in the business, placing the spotlight on another step in her journey to what she might ultimately become (from Goodnight Sweetheart’s perspective at least). Gary seems to be paying attention in a limited fashion, clearly with other things on his mind, but struggling to work out which is more important.
As the convoluted scenario of Gary’s two Stag Nights develops, Gary begins in the Royal Oak, where some of the foreign servicemen seem to have taken against him to a certain extent, and have become confrontational, citing his apparent lack of military service as chief among their grievances. This, in combination with Phoebe’s further concerns about the wedding, and Reg trying to tell a joke, without having any kind of grasp of the meaning of the punchline, leads Gary to be rather unimpressed with the whole situation, causing him to run from pillar to post over the next few scenes, seeking whatever comfort he can from the three different venues at his disposal.
Gary’s first stop is Cricklewood, where he comes across Yvonne being massaged, and stuck with pins in her feet for reasons best known to her. Gary pauses only briefly to enquire what’s going on, before realising that his presence is not really required, so he makes a beeline for Ron’s flat, finding that there is a lot of alcohol available therein, he decides to stay a little longer. As the drinking progresses, Gary’s plan to get through both Stag Nights, then get the ring, then get back to the 1940s is explained, but as the two men banter, Gary decides to try a little of Yvonne’s reflexology out on Ron, leading to a moment of embarrassment between the two of them that causes him to run back to the Royal Oak.
The pub provides no more real support for Gary than either of the other places he’s been, and it seems that everyone there is very drunk, including Reg, who seems to have hit something of a downer, spouting morose dialogue repeatedly. Back to Ron’s flat, where the level of inebriation is instantly evident, and this is then the appropriate juncture for the arrival of the stripper, who has come “from Phoebe”, which initially both confuses and terrifies Gary, which is understandable given how much he’s had to drink. Surprisingly, given that Ron seems to be carrying more weight than Gary, and also that Gary has probably had more to drink, Ron passes out before the stripper’s finale, leaving Gary to slip off, back to the Oak once more.
It’s clearly Gary’s intention to call it a night, however, he is goaded into a drinking contest with one of the servicemen. I particularly enjoyed what I’ve always thought was a subtle reference to ‘Only Fools And Horses’ here, when Gary makes sure he doesn’t fall through the bar by putting the hatch down, raising a big laugh from the audience. As things move on to their logical conclusion, Gary eventually passes out, and wakes some time later to find himself in a heavily damaged bomber over the English Channel, being piloted by a man known as ‘Crazy Horse’. As the last remaining engine cuts out, the pilot is forced to crash land in the sea, and the two men are left marooned in a lifeboat. As Gary’s companion explains that they’re drifting towards Nazi-occupied France, where Gary faces being tortured and executed as a spy, the periscope of a submarine appears, and we are left wondering if the boat is friendly or not. I always thought this would have been a great place to leave this episode.
The final scene in Gary and Yvonne’s bedroom sees Gary returning in a dishevelled state, and climbing exhausted into bed without even waking his wife. The last thing he does before falling asleep is set the alarm clock, to make sure he’ll be up in time the following day. The next morning, Yvonne (unsurprisingly) wakes first, and talks to Gary as she carries out her ablutions, however, realising that he’s out cold, she takes pity on him and decides to turn the alarm clock off, leaving something of a cliff-hanger as the credits roll.
I’d give this episode an 80% rating. Typical example of one of Gary’s over-complicated plans being enacted, with more than enough laughs to keep it going.
Saying goodnight to Phoebe, Gary finds her musing about being married, and their rapidly approaching parenthood. As Gary sings a line from ‘Michelle’ by The Beatles, Phoebe heaps praise upon his incredible talent, with Gary merely shrugging it off. As Phoebe talks about some of the details of the wedding itself, more of the seriousness of events begins to dawn on Gary, leading him to retreat to a place of relative safety during a crisis.
The tranquillity of his hiding place, Ron’s flat, is less calming than expected, as Ron is looking for a new career, in order to further reduce the impact of his divorce from Stella. After a moment or two, this leads Gary to the point where he realises that if Ron isn’t working at the printer’s any more, he will lose access to the cash and forged documents which have become such an integral part of his cover story back in the 40s, which sends him into something of a panic, and draws out an introspective analysis of his current situations, on both sides of the portal.
Perhaps as a direct result of his analytical ministrations, Gary returns to Cricklewood, and spends some time with Yvonne, as she details her findings on her new age envisioning of homeopathy, focussing subtly on how it might affect her personally if she were to become involved in a career in the business, placing the spotlight on another step in her journey to what she might ultimately become (from Goodnight Sweetheart’s perspective at least). Gary seems to be paying attention in a limited fashion, clearly with other things on his mind, but struggling to work out which is more important.
As the convoluted scenario of Gary’s two Stag Nights develops, Gary begins in the Royal Oak, where some of the foreign servicemen seem to have taken against him to a certain extent, and have become confrontational, citing his apparent lack of military service as chief among their grievances. This, in combination with Phoebe’s further concerns about the wedding, and Reg trying to tell a joke, without having any kind of grasp of the meaning of the punchline, leads Gary to be rather unimpressed with the whole situation, causing him to run from pillar to post over the next few scenes, seeking whatever comfort he can from the three different venues at his disposal.
Gary’s first stop is Cricklewood, where he comes across Yvonne being massaged, and stuck with pins in her feet for reasons best known to her. Gary pauses only briefly to enquire what’s going on, before realising that his presence is not really required, so he makes a beeline for Ron’s flat, finding that there is a lot of alcohol available therein, he decides to stay a little longer. As the drinking progresses, Gary’s plan to get through both Stag Nights, then get the ring, then get back to the 1940s is explained, but as the two men banter, Gary decides to try a little of Yvonne’s reflexology out on Ron, leading to a moment of embarrassment between the two of them that causes him to run back to the Royal Oak.
The pub provides no more real support for Gary than either of the other places he’s been, and it seems that everyone there is very drunk, including Reg, who seems to have hit something of a downer, spouting morose dialogue repeatedly. Back to Ron’s flat, where the level of inebriation is instantly evident, and this is then the appropriate juncture for the arrival of the stripper, who has come “from Phoebe”, which initially both confuses and terrifies Gary, which is understandable given how much he’s had to drink. Surprisingly, given that Ron seems to be carrying more weight than Gary, and also that Gary has probably had more to drink, Ron passes out before the stripper’s finale, leaving Gary to slip off, back to the Oak once more.
It’s clearly Gary’s intention to call it a night, however, he is goaded into a drinking contest with one of the servicemen. I particularly enjoyed what I’ve always thought was a subtle reference to ‘Only Fools And Horses’ here, when Gary makes sure he doesn’t fall through the bar by putting the hatch down, raising a big laugh from the audience. As things move on to their logical conclusion, Gary eventually passes out, and wakes some time later to find himself in a heavily damaged bomber over the English Channel, being piloted by a man known as ‘Crazy Horse’. As the last remaining engine cuts out, the pilot is forced to crash land in the sea, and the two men are left marooned in a lifeboat. As Gary’s companion explains that they’re drifting towards Nazi-occupied France, where Gary faces being tortured and executed as a spy, the periscope of a submarine appears, and we are left wondering if the boat is friendly or not. I always thought this would have been a great place to leave this episode.
The final scene in Gary and Yvonne’s bedroom sees Gary returning in a dishevelled state, and climbing exhausted into bed without even waking his wife. The last thing he does before falling asleep is set the alarm clock, to make sure he’ll be up in time the following day. The next morning, Yvonne (unsurprisingly) wakes first, and talks to Gary as she carries out her ablutions, however, realising that he’s out cold, she takes pity on him and decides to turn the alarm clock off, leaving something of a cliff-hanger as the credits roll.
I’d give this episode an 80% rating. Typical example of one of Gary’s over-complicated plans being enacted, with more than enough laughs to keep it going.