Post by rhort on Feb 8, 2013 4:33:05 GMT -5
It’s not surprising to find this episode starts where the last one ended, however, there’s a very clever use of a phonecall taken by Lieutenant Commander MacDuff instead of a (frankly annoying) “Previously on Goodnight Sweetheart” to fill in the details of the story so far, and it leads very nicely to the excellent “The sparrow has landed” line.
Meanwhile, in France, Gary is met by a member of the French resistance, who prefaces her initial conversation with “I shall say this only once!”, which is a reference to British 80/90s sitcom, ‘Allo, Allo’ which had a character who was a French resistance operative who said that almost every time she spoke. At this point, the question that always existed in my mind is, how come Celeste knows that Gary isn’t DuPont, right from the start, despite MacDuff’s “watertight security”? Leading Gary into a nearby café to get him off the streets, Celeste expands on things a little, however, the arrival of a squad of German soldiers cuts things short, and Gary is immediately taken into custody.
Back in London, and the Royal Oak sees DuPont brought in to effectively assume Gary’s role as Phoebe’s husband whilst Gary is away. Phoebe is naturally concerned about the level to which the cover story will need to be enacted, however, a letter from Winston Churchill spells out in no uncertain terms just what is expected, and she feels honour bound to comply.
Gary’s prison cell provides no respite from the mounting problems, as he tries vainly to prove he isn’t DuPont, however, this only leads to him discovering that he will be tortured regardless, either to find out what DuPont knows, or to find out why he’s here impersonating him.
In Cricklewood, Yvonne is ranting at Ron, further bemoaning Gary’s absence. Ron, ever on the defensive, recounts some of the details of his own sad life, almost as an excuse for his lack of any sort of control over Gary. Yvonne concludes her tirade with the decision that Ron will need to look after the model who is helping to promote her products, and she backs this up with an offer of £200 for him to do it, which causes him to seize upon the opportunity to push for more money, which he manages with a certain degree of success. The scene then climaxes with the outstanding “Snack and a sick bag” line.
Celeste’s arrival at the prison cell highlights her role as a double agent, and she outlines her plan for Gary the next day when he is to be transferred for interrogation. The plan involves Gary making a scene whilst he is in the street, which will then give the resistance a chance to rescue him, thus permitting his safe return to England via a boat they will have waiting for him. Gary shows a certain amount of worry about this, until he remembers that he is wearing the jacket Ron gave him underneath his shirt. In view of this, Celeste’s plan is altered to encompass the use of a pig’s bladder full of blood, to be hidden under Gary’s shirt to give the illusion that he has been shot. Celeste then leaves, telling the Germans that Gary has given nothing away and that they will need to take him for further interrogation in the morning.
In the bedroom of the Royal Oak, Colonel DuPont’s plan to try and seduce Phoebe is well underway, however, Phoebe is having none of it, and has made plans of her own, meaning that all DuPont’s smooth talking and champagne is failing dramatically. As she leaves to head for her alternative sleeping arrangements, the Colonel thinks his luck is in for a moment and that she has returned, however, when it’s Reg who comes in, he finds that the evening is ending very differently from the way in which he had intended.
As Ron waits in the limo outside the hotel for Simone, the throng of press photographers distracts even him from her arrival, as she sneaks in, and the two drive off together. Ron’s verbose nature kicks into high gear as he attempts to engage her in smalltalk, which simply comes out as the babblings of a fool, however, as the conversation develops, it seems that Simone is quite taken by him, given that she has found someone actually capable of listening to her for once. Despite Ron’s apparent plans to see if he can get anywhere with her, it is in fact she who pounces upon him, leading to a surprising outcome.
Gary’s final moments alone in his cell give him the time he needs to prepare for his escape, and as the German soldiers lead him out into the street, the locals are waiting, and they take full advantage of Gary’s lead, causing a scene and giving him the opportunity to run. As the German officer shoots at him, Gary falls down, and this helps to cause a moment of surprise, allowing Gary to escape.
Taking Simone back to her hotel, Ron, unsurprisingly presses her for a further date, but she doesn’t seem interested, and treats the whole thing as merely an entertaining temporary diversion. Reflecting for a moment, Ron still seems quite pleased with the way things worked out, even in light of the fact that he doesn’t think anyone will believe him, should he choose to tell them about it.
Arriving back at MacDuff’s office, Gary’s debrief doesn’t seem to take much time, given the lack of seriousness that MacDuff appears to give the matter. His attention is fully focussed, however, when Gary pulls a gun on him, threatening to shoot him for all the trouble he’s been put to; the comical thing here being that if MacDuff knew Gary in the way that the viewer does, he’d have known that Gary is not the sort of person who could kill someone in cold blood like that. The cowardly nature of MacDuff shines through, however, as he bribes Gary with a bravery medal, causing Gary to give up the gun, which MacDuff then shoots himself in the foot with, providing a final comic moment for the excellent Timothy West.
In a fantastic moment of irony, the remainder of the episode revolves around Gary’s attempts to generate enthusiasm around the retelling of the story of his ‘mission’, which completely underwhelms first Phoebe, then Ron and then Michael, but all for different reasons. His visit to Ron also causes Gary to, once again, ignore his friend, as he tries to tell him about how his weekend went.
I’d give this episode a 90% rating. Encore!
Meanwhile, in France, Gary is met by a member of the French resistance, who prefaces her initial conversation with “I shall say this only once!”, which is a reference to British 80/90s sitcom, ‘Allo, Allo’ which had a character who was a French resistance operative who said that almost every time she spoke. At this point, the question that always existed in my mind is, how come Celeste knows that Gary isn’t DuPont, right from the start, despite MacDuff’s “watertight security”? Leading Gary into a nearby café to get him off the streets, Celeste expands on things a little, however, the arrival of a squad of German soldiers cuts things short, and Gary is immediately taken into custody.
Back in London, and the Royal Oak sees DuPont brought in to effectively assume Gary’s role as Phoebe’s husband whilst Gary is away. Phoebe is naturally concerned about the level to which the cover story will need to be enacted, however, a letter from Winston Churchill spells out in no uncertain terms just what is expected, and she feels honour bound to comply.
Gary’s prison cell provides no respite from the mounting problems, as he tries vainly to prove he isn’t DuPont, however, this only leads to him discovering that he will be tortured regardless, either to find out what DuPont knows, or to find out why he’s here impersonating him.
In Cricklewood, Yvonne is ranting at Ron, further bemoaning Gary’s absence. Ron, ever on the defensive, recounts some of the details of his own sad life, almost as an excuse for his lack of any sort of control over Gary. Yvonne concludes her tirade with the decision that Ron will need to look after the model who is helping to promote her products, and she backs this up with an offer of £200 for him to do it, which causes him to seize upon the opportunity to push for more money, which he manages with a certain degree of success. The scene then climaxes with the outstanding “Snack and a sick bag” line.
Celeste’s arrival at the prison cell highlights her role as a double agent, and she outlines her plan for Gary the next day when he is to be transferred for interrogation. The plan involves Gary making a scene whilst he is in the street, which will then give the resistance a chance to rescue him, thus permitting his safe return to England via a boat they will have waiting for him. Gary shows a certain amount of worry about this, until he remembers that he is wearing the jacket Ron gave him underneath his shirt. In view of this, Celeste’s plan is altered to encompass the use of a pig’s bladder full of blood, to be hidden under Gary’s shirt to give the illusion that he has been shot. Celeste then leaves, telling the Germans that Gary has given nothing away and that they will need to take him for further interrogation in the morning.
In the bedroom of the Royal Oak, Colonel DuPont’s plan to try and seduce Phoebe is well underway, however, Phoebe is having none of it, and has made plans of her own, meaning that all DuPont’s smooth talking and champagne is failing dramatically. As she leaves to head for her alternative sleeping arrangements, the Colonel thinks his luck is in for a moment and that she has returned, however, when it’s Reg who comes in, he finds that the evening is ending very differently from the way in which he had intended.
As Ron waits in the limo outside the hotel for Simone, the throng of press photographers distracts even him from her arrival, as she sneaks in, and the two drive off together. Ron’s verbose nature kicks into high gear as he attempts to engage her in smalltalk, which simply comes out as the babblings of a fool, however, as the conversation develops, it seems that Simone is quite taken by him, given that she has found someone actually capable of listening to her for once. Despite Ron’s apparent plans to see if he can get anywhere with her, it is in fact she who pounces upon him, leading to a surprising outcome.
Gary’s final moments alone in his cell give him the time he needs to prepare for his escape, and as the German soldiers lead him out into the street, the locals are waiting, and they take full advantage of Gary’s lead, causing a scene and giving him the opportunity to run. As the German officer shoots at him, Gary falls down, and this helps to cause a moment of surprise, allowing Gary to escape.
Taking Simone back to her hotel, Ron, unsurprisingly presses her for a further date, but she doesn’t seem interested, and treats the whole thing as merely an entertaining temporary diversion. Reflecting for a moment, Ron still seems quite pleased with the way things worked out, even in light of the fact that he doesn’t think anyone will believe him, should he choose to tell them about it.
Arriving back at MacDuff’s office, Gary’s debrief doesn’t seem to take much time, given the lack of seriousness that MacDuff appears to give the matter. His attention is fully focussed, however, when Gary pulls a gun on him, threatening to shoot him for all the trouble he’s been put to; the comical thing here being that if MacDuff knew Gary in the way that the viewer does, he’d have known that Gary is not the sort of person who could kill someone in cold blood like that. The cowardly nature of MacDuff shines through, however, as he bribes Gary with a bravery medal, causing Gary to give up the gun, which MacDuff then shoots himself in the foot with, providing a final comic moment for the excellent Timothy West.
In a fantastic moment of irony, the remainder of the episode revolves around Gary’s attempts to generate enthusiasm around the retelling of the story of his ‘mission’, which completely underwhelms first Phoebe, then Ron and then Michael, but all for different reasons. His visit to Ron also causes Gary to, once again, ignore his friend, as he tries to tell him about how his weekend went.
I’d give this episode a 90% rating. Encore!