Post by rhort on Feb 22, 2013 4:28:03 GMT -5
Arriving at the Mayfair flat with some wallpaper, Gary calls out for Phoebe, but finds he is alone. Phoebe follows him in just a moment later, having been upstairs at Noël Coward’s with Michael (apparently in a small pram despite the fact he’s way too old for that now that he’s walking surely?). When Gary asks Phoebe what she’s been up to, she’s a little cagey about the details, but Gary doesn’t seem to notice at this point, and is more concerned with what she thinks about the wallpaper. Phoebe, on the other hand, is keen to make sure everything is in place for Margie’s 40s birthday next week, and despite Gary’s protests, she is most insistent that he keeps his promises as regards not only his presence, but the provision of a quantity of biscuits too.
Back the shop, and Gary is just finishing up on a crime prevention visit from Reg’s 90s counterpart, who reveals that Reg is actually still alive, at 97 years old, living in a nearby rest home. As the implications of this are just starting to sink in, Gary is distracted by Yvonne, who appears with a copy of her new autobiography, with an inscription for Gary. As Gary reads through the book, paying particular interest to the photographs, he finds that the only picture of him is a cropped shot showing only his hand at his and Yvonne’s wedding. As he investigates further, he finds that the book contains some references that may play a little fast and loose with certain interpretations of reality, shall we say?
I’m still not really used to seeing the West End flat in the 90s, and so there’s still something unusual about seeing Ron here, and I find much amusement in the combination of his “born to live in Mayfair” line and the fact that he’s sitting there eating a Pot Noodle. When the building doorman appears to complain about Gary having parked his car in a resident’s parking space, he goes on to tell the tale of the man who used to live in this flat back in the war, who is explained away as Gary’s grandfather, however, as the story develops, it seems that he was killed in a traffic collision just outside the building. Having only been very young at the time, the doorman still remembers the details, such as the man from flat 15, and the date on which the accident occurred, and naturally Gary is quite keen to hear about it. This week’s Eagle-Eyed Viewer Moment is in this scene, with another brief sight of the sound mic in shot (upper right of frame above Ron in the doorway). As Gary and Ron come back into the flat, Gary suddenly realises that the wallpaper hasn’t changed, and wonders if he has stumbled across a vision of his own destiny.
Just going to take a moment here to point out the mentioning of the flat number, which I’ll come back to in a couple of episodes.
In an effort to try and make some sense of things, Gary rushes off to the rest home to see if he can catch up with Reg and try and find out what happened. Upon his arrival, Reg instantly recognises him, however, it becomes apparent quite quickly that this doesn’t mean Reg can be of much help, as whilst he seems to be physically in excellent shape for a man of 97, his mind hasn’t held up in the same way, and he is clearly afflicted with some type of dementia, as he appears to drift in an out of cognisance with reality, meaning that ultimately, he is of little or no help to Gary, given the urgency of his current issue.
Back to the 40s and the Mayfair flat, and Gary finds Phoebe setting out some flowers, and he starts to become a little suspicious about where they’ve come from. A moment of personal triumph in this scene, as it seems, according the a fortuitous homophone in the dialogue at least, that Phoebe gets a bit over me at times! Fame at last!
Gary’s plan at this point revolves around him trying to get out of having to be anywhere near Mayfair at the time of the accident, in order to avoid it completely, however, Phoebe is digging her heels in somewhat about giving him any leeway on this matter.
Finding himself back in Cricklewood as Yvonne returns from another day at work, Gary asks her how things are going, leading Yvonne to paint a picture of just how busy things are for her. As they talk, they arrange to have the day together on Tuesday, when Yvonne has a book-signing, which they then plan to end with a meal at The Ritz, followed by an overnight stay. They are then interrupted by a phone call from Ron, who tells Gary he needs to see him right away, so Gary makes his way there, only to find that Ron has come up with a plan for how to avoid Gary’s fruit-based fate. I always enjoyed the way that conversational direction towards foxhunting brings out Ron’s working class opinions, and help to show something of the difference in background that the two of them have. Despite already having begun to implement his own plan, Gary instantly sees the simple brilliance in Ron’s plan to get rid of the flat in order to make himself not “the man in number 15” any more, and decides to put that into effect as soon as possible.
Heading off back through the portal, and then right back to the same physical space he was in before, Gary is desperately trying to persuade the estate agent who sold him the flat to sell it again, before next Tuesday, however, the agent tells him that will be very difficult, and then suggests that he might like to lease the property instead, however, given the time frame that Gary requires, he says that even that would be difficult, until Gary tells him that he will offer the property rent free, prompting the estate agent to ‘make a call’. While he’s doing that, Gary overhears Phoebe coming in through the front door, making some sort of plan with Noël Coward that they apparently shouldn’t let Gary find out about. As an incredulous Gary starts to put the pieces together, in the wrong order it has to be pointed out, they eventually reveal that Phoebe has been taking singing lessons in preparation for Margie’s birthday party. As the plans for said party unfold, Noël takes an interest in an evening in a traditional East End pub. At this point, the estate agent returns to say that he has found a tenant who can move in immediately, providing Gary with some much needed relief.
Back to Cricklewood, and Gary and Ron have got down to the thorny issue of the ethical dilemma they’ve created by having someone else take on the flat, and potentially leading them to their death. As the conversation ends with a hearty manhug, Yvonne appears and the two men make a reference to wrestling styles in order to cover up what was happening. Ron makes a sharp exit, leaving Yvonne to give Gary another present, this time a briefcase, and remind him about the book signing. Gary tries to get out of having to come, but Yvonne is most insistent.
Once at the book signing, however, and Gary’s attempts to get her attention in order to make his excuses and leave highlight the fact that she’s so busy signing books that she probably won’t notice if he slopes off, which is exactly what he does, making straight for 1940s Mayfair. When he arrives at the flat, he is surprised to find the estate agent himself there, together with an unseen female companion in the bedroom, who it turns out isn’t his wife. Given the more conservative views prevalent at that time, he’s naturally keen to see that word of this doesn’t get out, so he takes a moment or two to try and impress upon Gary some of the circumstances of the situation, and Gary certainly does what he can to give the impression that he fully understands. Whilst they are talking things through, a screech of tyres out in the street draws attention to the fact that the accident is happening right now, and in fact it is the resident of flat 16 who has been killed after all.
Margie’s birthday party at the Royal Oak seems to be in full swing, with Noël singing at the piano, entertaining everyone to great effect, including Reg, who subsequently offers him a tongue sandwich(!). Gary knows that he needs to leave and get back to see if everything is alright with Yvonne, but Noël’s insistence that Phoebe sing causes him to stay a while longer and watch her performance.
Slipping back to Cricklewood, seemingly at just the right moment, having given Yvonne just enough time to calm down a bit, but not so late as she had gone to bed, Gary finds his wife watching Crimewatch, which reminds him to check and see if the 90s Reg is in it. Once that’s out of the way, however, Yvonne’s suggests that they retire to the bedroom for some Greco-Roman wrestling of their own, which is certainly how I’d like to end the day!
I’d give this episode a 90% rating. One of the main stories that I always remember from this series, and some unusual scenes for ‘Reg’ make it just a bit different.
Back the shop, and Gary is just finishing up on a crime prevention visit from Reg’s 90s counterpart, who reveals that Reg is actually still alive, at 97 years old, living in a nearby rest home. As the implications of this are just starting to sink in, Gary is distracted by Yvonne, who appears with a copy of her new autobiography, with an inscription for Gary. As Gary reads through the book, paying particular interest to the photographs, he finds that the only picture of him is a cropped shot showing only his hand at his and Yvonne’s wedding. As he investigates further, he finds that the book contains some references that may play a little fast and loose with certain interpretations of reality, shall we say?
I’m still not really used to seeing the West End flat in the 90s, and so there’s still something unusual about seeing Ron here, and I find much amusement in the combination of his “born to live in Mayfair” line and the fact that he’s sitting there eating a Pot Noodle. When the building doorman appears to complain about Gary having parked his car in a resident’s parking space, he goes on to tell the tale of the man who used to live in this flat back in the war, who is explained away as Gary’s grandfather, however, as the story develops, it seems that he was killed in a traffic collision just outside the building. Having only been very young at the time, the doorman still remembers the details, such as the man from flat 15, and the date on which the accident occurred, and naturally Gary is quite keen to hear about it. This week’s Eagle-Eyed Viewer Moment is in this scene, with another brief sight of the sound mic in shot (upper right of frame above Ron in the doorway). As Gary and Ron come back into the flat, Gary suddenly realises that the wallpaper hasn’t changed, and wonders if he has stumbled across a vision of his own destiny.
Just going to take a moment here to point out the mentioning of the flat number, which I’ll come back to in a couple of episodes.
In an effort to try and make some sense of things, Gary rushes off to the rest home to see if he can catch up with Reg and try and find out what happened. Upon his arrival, Reg instantly recognises him, however, it becomes apparent quite quickly that this doesn’t mean Reg can be of much help, as whilst he seems to be physically in excellent shape for a man of 97, his mind hasn’t held up in the same way, and he is clearly afflicted with some type of dementia, as he appears to drift in an out of cognisance with reality, meaning that ultimately, he is of little or no help to Gary, given the urgency of his current issue.
Back to the 40s and the Mayfair flat, and Gary finds Phoebe setting out some flowers, and he starts to become a little suspicious about where they’ve come from. A moment of personal triumph in this scene, as it seems, according the a fortuitous homophone in the dialogue at least, that Phoebe gets a bit over me at times! Fame at last!
Gary’s plan at this point revolves around him trying to get out of having to be anywhere near Mayfair at the time of the accident, in order to avoid it completely, however, Phoebe is digging her heels in somewhat about giving him any leeway on this matter.Finding himself back in Cricklewood as Yvonne returns from another day at work, Gary asks her how things are going, leading Yvonne to paint a picture of just how busy things are for her. As they talk, they arrange to have the day together on Tuesday, when Yvonne has a book-signing, which they then plan to end with a meal at The Ritz, followed by an overnight stay. They are then interrupted by a phone call from Ron, who tells Gary he needs to see him right away, so Gary makes his way there, only to find that Ron has come up with a plan for how to avoid Gary’s fruit-based fate. I always enjoyed the way that conversational direction towards foxhunting brings out Ron’s working class opinions, and help to show something of the difference in background that the two of them have. Despite already having begun to implement his own plan, Gary instantly sees the simple brilliance in Ron’s plan to get rid of the flat in order to make himself not “the man in number 15” any more, and decides to put that into effect as soon as possible.
Heading off back through the portal, and then right back to the same physical space he was in before, Gary is desperately trying to persuade the estate agent who sold him the flat to sell it again, before next Tuesday, however, the agent tells him that will be very difficult, and then suggests that he might like to lease the property instead, however, given the time frame that Gary requires, he says that even that would be difficult, until Gary tells him that he will offer the property rent free, prompting the estate agent to ‘make a call’. While he’s doing that, Gary overhears Phoebe coming in through the front door, making some sort of plan with Noël Coward that they apparently shouldn’t let Gary find out about. As an incredulous Gary starts to put the pieces together, in the wrong order it has to be pointed out, they eventually reveal that Phoebe has been taking singing lessons in preparation for Margie’s birthday party. As the plans for said party unfold, Noël takes an interest in an evening in a traditional East End pub. At this point, the estate agent returns to say that he has found a tenant who can move in immediately, providing Gary with some much needed relief.
Back to Cricklewood, and Gary and Ron have got down to the thorny issue of the ethical dilemma they’ve created by having someone else take on the flat, and potentially leading them to their death. As the conversation ends with a hearty manhug, Yvonne appears and the two men make a reference to wrestling styles in order to cover up what was happening. Ron makes a sharp exit, leaving Yvonne to give Gary another present, this time a briefcase, and remind him about the book signing. Gary tries to get out of having to come, but Yvonne is most insistent.
Once at the book signing, however, and Gary’s attempts to get her attention in order to make his excuses and leave highlight the fact that she’s so busy signing books that she probably won’t notice if he slopes off, which is exactly what he does, making straight for 1940s Mayfair. When he arrives at the flat, he is surprised to find the estate agent himself there, together with an unseen female companion in the bedroom, who it turns out isn’t his wife. Given the more conservative views prevalent at that time, he’s naturally keen to see that word of this doesn’t get out, so he takes a moment or two to try and impress upon Gary some of the circumstances of the situation, and Gary certainly does what he can to give the impression that he fully understands. Whilst they are talking things through, a screech of tyres out in the street draws attention to the fact that the accident is happening right now, and in fact it is the resident of flat 16 who has been killed after all.
Margie’s birthday party at the Royal Oak seems to be in full swing, with Noël singing at the piano, entertaining everyone to great effect, including Reg, who subsequently offers him a tongue sandwich(!). Gary knows that he needs to leave and get back to see if everything is alright with Yvonne, but Noël’s insistence that Phoebe sing causes him to stay a while longer and watch her performance.
Slipping back to Cricklewood, seemingly at just the right moment, having given Yvonne just enough time to calm down a bit, but not so late as she had gone to bed, Gary finds his wife watching Crimewatch, which reminds him to check and see if the 90s Reg is in it. Once that’s out of the way, however, Yvonne’s suggests that they retire to the bedroom for some Greco-Roman wrestling of their own, which is certainly how I’d like to end the day!
I’d give this episode a 90% rating. One of the main stories that I always remember from this series, and some unusual scenes for ‘Reg’ make it just a bit different.