mashibinbin
Dedicated Member
Still Open All Hours is a real mixed bag for me.
Arkwright is very much missed and whilst David Jason makes a decent impersonation of him for the majority of it's run it feels just like Granville is doing just that in order to honour his memory perhaps.
His banter early on for Nurse Gladys works well and is a nice continuation of their previous interactions.
He also has a few subtler moments with Mavis that feel much more Granville-y.
Leroy is capable enough but somehow juggling more women than he can manage and keeping all hours in the show. Having him 'settle' for Beth works better as his inability to go much further with whilst her undateable friend is around recaptures Arkwright's previous frustrations.
Mrs Featherstone seemed have been dialled to the extreme to almost League of Gentleman like snaring and keeping Mr Newbould under an iron clad grip. Her reversion to Delphine is both repugnant and hilarious as it is a more effective barrier to Granville's happiness than Madge who has a sharp toungue but sortens quicker than marge in the current heat at the slightest bit of Gastric attention as time goes on.
Gastric himelf is fine enough and injects a fair amount of pathos into a role which had initially as much depth as a kids paddling pool.
For me Eric and Cyril are the nearest to characters that could have been in the original show's run. They develop just far enough to then fall for a new trick the next time around and their continual thwarted oneupmanship against both Granville and their wives is fun to watch.
The show's tone is an uneven one and reminds me of what to have for a wedding:
Something old...from Arkwright's character.
Something borrowed...from old Roy Clarke Scripts.
Something new...from the occasional flash of genius like the camping trip or night to the restaurant.
Something blue...the dialogue on occasion is a little less gentle than you'd expect!
Arkwright is very much missed and whilst David Jason makes a decent impersonation of him for the majority of it's run it feels just like Granville is doing just that in order to honour his memory perhaps.
His banter early on for Nurse Gladys works well and is a nice continuation of their previous interactions.
He also has a few subtler moments with Mavis that feel much more Granville-y.
Leroy is capable enough but somehow juggling more women than he can manage and keeping all hours in the show. Having him 'settle' for Beth works better as his inability to go much further with whilst her undateable friend is around recaptures Arkwright's previous frustrations.
Mrs Featherstone seemed have been dialled to the extreme to almost League of Gentleman like snaring and keeping Mr Newbould under an iron clad grip. Her reversion to Delphine is both repugnant and hilarious as it is a more effective barrier to Granville's happiness than Madge who has a sharp toungue but sortens quicker than marge in the current heat at the slightest bit of Gastric attention as time goes on.
Gastric himelf is fine enough and injects a fair amount of pathos into a role which had initially as much depth as a kids paddling pool.
For me Eric and Cyril are the nearest to characters that could have been in the original show's run. They develop just far enough to then fall for a new trick the next time around and their continual thwarted oneupmanship against both Granville and their wives is fun to watch.
The show's tone is an uneven one and reminds me of what to have for a wedding:
Something old...from Arkwright's character.
Something borrowed...from old Roy Clarke Scripts.
Something new...from the occasional flash of genius like the camping trip or night to the restaurant.
Something blue...the dialogue on occasion is a little less gentle than you'd expect!
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