Post by rhort on Dec 7, 2012 4:29:22 GMT -5
Carrying directly on from the end of the last episode, we begin with Gary waking up, fully clothed, in his bedroom in Cricklewood. As he stumbles to the bathroom, we are briefly shown the scene at the 40s church, with the organ music playing inside. As Gary stands in the bathroom, he is clearly experiencing a certain amount of confusion, which is unsurprising given what he’s been through recently. Flipping back to the church, Phoebe is waiting with Reg for Gary to arrive, and they are naturally discussing the issue of his lateness. Meanwhile, back in the 90s, the realisation hits Gary, and he immediately flies into a panic.
Arriving at the shop and meeting Ron, Gary dresses for the wedding as quickly as possible, while an incredulous Ron attempts to comprehend how Gary could have forgotten that he was getting married. As they prepare, we are treated to the tale of Ron’s last stint as a best man, giving us some big laughs along the way.
Rushing through the portal, and on the church, Gary arrives in the middle of a funeral, leading to an embarrassing exit, as he then returns to the Royal Oak (which he must’ve passed on the way but didn’t see Phoebe curiously). Upon entering the pub, he finds Reg clearing things away, and for once, the East End bobby is not happy to see him, and he goes on to explain how upset Phoebe was, and that she has gone away, but to where, or for how long, is unknown. Gary talks to Reg about what’s happened, but Reg seems adamant that there is no chance of Gary being able to smooth things over with Phoebe this time, and that he should just leave. As Gary leaves, we are shown that all is not as it appears.
Heading back to the shop, and perhaps more importantly, Ron, a panicked Gary seeks whatever counsel he can find. Ron, as ever, is happy to make suggestions, eventually bringing us to one of his famous “As I see it…” statements. This week’s eagle-eyed viewer moment is the view out of the back window of the shop, which appears to show a building directly adjacent to the back yard, when we know that next to the back yard is simply another back yard. As Ron continues to hypothesise with Gary, his pointing out of the fact that Gary had forgotten the ring when heading for the church, indicates that he may have, in fact, been deliberately messing things up so that the wedding would never take place, perhaps revealing his true subconscious feelings.
Gary does another of his typical retreats, and heads for Cricklewood, where he sits contemplating his various issues in the front room. Yvonne’s arrival sees her usual manner of talking at Gary whilst he’s miles away. When she notices he’s not paying attention, she realises that something is wrong with him, and she attempts to rectify this by applying her knowledge of Feng Shui, the ancient oriental art of moving one’s chair slightly. Moving back onto the offensive, Yvonne is into another verbal assault on her husband, when she sees the necklace he had bought for Phoebe, and assuming that it is a present for her, she figures that he’s bought it for her on the anniversary of them meeting, which brings us onto Gary’s excellent “Remembered what?!” reaction.
Back to the Royal Oak, and Phoebe and Reg are still discussing the issues of Gary missing the wedding. Phoebe says that she can’t face Gary, however, Reg manages to get her to agree to see him the next time he comes, so that she can tell him that it is over, however, when Gary starts knocking on the door just a moment later, Phoebe backs out and runs upstairs to hide. After letting Gary in, Reg tries to convince him that Phoebe is not around, however, the distinctive smell of her perfume gives away the fact that she is much closer than Reg is suggesting, and Gary heads upstairs to see her. After going to some lengths to dodge the items she is throwing at him, Gary finally gets Phoebe to calm down a little, but it is clear that she has well and truly had enough of his excuses. The irony here is that, for once, Gary is telling the plain and unvarnished truth, and Phoebe finds it impossible to believe him. As she calms down further, Gary makes a solemn promise that things will be different, perhaps realising that this might be his last chance.
Waking early back in his bed in Cricklewood, Gary sneaks down stairs and tries to navigate across the front room without turning on the light, only to find that all of the furniture has been moved. As he bangs into things, Yvonne hears him, and comes down to see why he’s up and about so early, which leads to one of Gary’s yammering sessions as he tries to concoct another on-the-fly excuse, choosing to say that he wants to watch the sunrise. On this occasion, Yvonne seems to take it, and suggest that she “might not have anything on later”, leading me to wonder why he ever leaves(!).
On to the shop, and the ever-faithful Ron, helping Gary, once again, to get ready for his wedding. As Gary panics about the cake, Ron allays his fears by producing one from its hiding place under a table, and Gary is about to set off, when Ron points out that he’s still wearing a pair of trainers, giving us something of an indication as to just how flustered Gary must be, given the number of times he’s changed here to go through the portal, and indeed, the number of times he’s changed to go to his wedding.
This time, Gary manages to get to the church before Phoebe does, however, this does not mean that everything goes instantly to plan, and the manner Reg’s arrival, and his attraction of Gary’s attention, signifies that something is amiss. Rushing to her side, out in the graveyard, Gary takes immediately to calming Phoebe down, helping to get her over her ‘cold feet’. Phoebe seems concerned, not only with Gary, but also with a variety of romantic failures she’s experienced in her life so far. As the conversation develops, we can see that there is a definite closeness between them, and it seems that Phoebe is then convinced enough to go through with the wedding, which takes place in the church, not entirely as planned, but better late than never.
The reception at the Royal Oak follows the ceremony, and Reg, not for the first time, manages to mess up the punch line on his joke, but nobody really seems to care. Showing an uncharacteristic reticence, Gary requires some persuading to make a speech, and with some reluctance, he falls back on his tried and tested method of pulling a song from the future into service, which proves something of a hit with the assembled guests. As they retire to bed, Gary and Phoebe discussions bring Phoebe to the issue of Gary remembering their day “in the future”, leading to another moment of panic for him, calming down somewhat when he realises just what she means.
I’d give this episode a 85% rating. Some key moments here, both rounding things off and carrying others on. Not many big laughs, but enough to be going on with for now.
Arriving at the shop and meeting Ron, Gary dresses for the wedding as quickly as possible, while an incredulous Ron attempts to comprehend how Gary could have forgotten that he was getting married. As they prepare, we are treated to the tale of Ron’s last stint as a best man, giving us some big laughs along the way.
Rushing through the portal, and on the church, Gary arrives in the middle of a funeral, leading to an embarrassing exit, as he then returns to the Royal Oak (which he must’ve passed on the way but didn’t see Phoebe curiously). Upon entering the pub, he finds Reg clearing things away, and for once, the East End bobby is not happy to see him, and he goes on to explain how upset Phoebe was, and that she has gone away, but to where, or for how long, is unknown. Gary talks to Reg about what’s happened, but Reg seems adamant that there is no chance of Gary being able to smooth things over with Phoebe this time, and that he should just leave. As Gary leaves, we are shown that all is not as it appears.
Heading back to the shop, and perhaps more importantly, Ron, a panicked Gary seeks whatever counsel he can find. Ron, as ever, is happy to make suggestions, eventually bringing us to one of his famous “As I see it…” statements. This week’s eagle-eyed viewer moment is the view out of the back window of the shop, which appears to show a building directly adjacent to the back yard, when we know that next to the back yard is simply another back yard. As Ron continues to hypothesise with Gary, his pointing out of the fact that Gary had forgotten the ring when heading for the church, indicates that he may have, in fact, been deliberately messing things up so that the wedding would never take place, perhaps revealing his true subconscious feelings.
Gary does another of his typical retreats, and heads for Cricklewood, where he sits contemplating his various issues in the front room. Yvonne’s arrival sees her usual manner of talking at Gary whilst he’s miles away. When she notices he’s not paying attention, she realises that something is wrong with him, and she attempts to rectify this by applying her knowledge of Feng Shui, the ancient oriental art of moving one’s chair slightly. Moving back onto the offensive, Yvonne is into another verbal assault on her husband, when she sees the necklace he had bought for Phoebe, and assuming that it is a present for her, she figures that he’s bought it for her on the anniversary of them meeting, which brings us onto Gary’s excellent “Remembered what?!” reaction.
Back to the Royal Oak, and Phoebe and Reg are still discussing the issues of Gary missing the wedding. Phoebe says that she can’t face Gary, however, Reg manages to get her to agree to see him the next time he comes, so that she can tell him that it is over, however, when Gary starts knocking on the door just a moment later, Phoebe backs out and runs upstairs to hide. After letting Gary in, Reg tries to convince him that Phoebe is not around, however, the distinctive smell of her perfume gives away the fact that she is much closer than Reg is suggesting, and Gary heads upstairs to see her. After going to some lengths to dodge the items she is throwing at him, Gary finally gets Phoebe to calm down a little, but it is clear that she has well and truly had enough of his excuses. The irony here is that, for once, Gary is telling the plain and unvarnished truth, and Phoebe finds it impossible to believe him. As she calms down further, Gary makes a solemn promise that things will be different, perhaps realising that this might be his last chance.
Waking early back in his bed in Cricklewood, Gary sneaks down stairs and tries to navigate across the front room without turning on the light, only to find that all of the furniture has been moved. As he bangs into things, Yvonne hears him, and comes down to see why he’s up and about so early, which leads to one of Gary’s yammering sessions as he tries to concoct another on-the-fly excuse, choosing to say that he wants to watch the sunrise. On this occasion, Yvonne seems to take it, and suggest that she “might not have anything on later”, leading me to wonder why he ever leaves(!).
On to the shop, and the ever-faithful Ron, helping Gary, once again, to get ready for his wedding. As Gary panics about the cake, Ron allays his fears by producing one from its hiding place under a table, and Gary is about to set off, when Ron points out that he’s still wearing a pair of trainers, giving us something of an indication as to just how flustered Gary must be, given the number of times he’s changed here to go through the portal, and indeed, the number of times he’s changed to go to his wedding.
This time, Gary manages to get to the church before Phoebe does, however, this does not mean that everything goes instantly to plan, and the manner Reg’s arrival, and his attraction of Gary’s attention, signifies that something is amiss. Rushing to her side, out in the graveyard, Gary takes immediately to calming Phoebe down, helping to get her over her ‘cold feet’. Phoebe seems concerned, not only with Gary, but also with a variety of romantic failures she’s experienced in her life so far. As the conversation develops, we can see that there is a definite closeness between them, and it seems that Phoebe is then convinced enough to go through with the wedding, which takes place in the church, not entirely as planned, but better late than never.
The reception at the Royal Oak follows the ceremony, and Reg, not for the first time, manages to mess up the punch line on his joke, but nobody really seems to care. Showing an uncharacteristic reticence, Gary requires some persuading to make a speech, and with some reluctance, he falls back on his tried and tested method of pulling a song from the future into service, which proves something of a hit with the assembled guests. As they retire to bed, Gary and Phoebe discussions bring Phoebe to the issue of Gary remembering their day “in the future”, leading to another moment of panic for him, calming down somewhat when he realises just what she means.
I’d give this episode a 85% rating. Some key moments here, both rounding things off and carrying others on. Not many big laughs, but enough to be going on with for now.