It's the final episode of the series, and everyone down at the Pink Windmill is determined to have nothing but fun. Meanwhile, Redford is in a creative mood and has gone all fashion-conscious on Grotbags, who's hoping to impress The Magnificent Fred. Will his dressmaking skills cut it, or will someone end up getting the sack? This episode was originally broadcast on Friday, 24th August, 1984.
This is the live swansong for many of the classic "Hi, my name's Catrina" gang (though they had a Christmas special left in them later that year), so it's a real pity that there's no Pink Windmill Kids dance in this one. That's down to the chaos caused by that episode which didn't happen due to the Central props department being on strike, resulting in episodes six and seven needing to be completely re-jigged. Even Boggle's Kingdom is slow and understated, rather than the rip-roaring finale they had planned. See that bit in the opening credits at around 0:19, when [something] comes crashing through the wall, throwing Princess Hortensia forward? Well, that scene doesn't show up until 1985, but it was evidently meant to be in this very episode ( pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa8n8iyWI... ). Instead, we get a love story between Odd Job John and the Princess Myosoto, accompanied by the song Me Japanese Boy, I Love You (by Burt Bacharach and Hal David). Which is all very well, but not how to end a series.
Either way, this is more than made up for by the fun and games, with some manipulation and overt cheating resulting in everybody who takes part winning big. There's also a segment with Rod and Emu washing a car, a reference to early mobile phone technology which seems to have left quite an impression, plus Emu's Choice, which is We Got Us (from the musical Golden Rainbow). So they definitely get away with it all, despite my handful of misgivings.
On a technical note, if you look super-carefully as the camera turns at about 43:01, you can see the end credits being hand-cranked in the background. Meanwhile, Rod knocks his mic off at 4:45 and it stays off for the rest of the segment; the Part Two theme music seems to misfire resulting in only talking and then the last chord being heard; and the cameras have to go massively off-script due to the unexpected second Spin Quiz, leading to some wonky shots there and at the beginning of Grotbags's Grotto. Still, it's impressive that Catrina improvises a brief link as she throws back to Rod - again, this is live television, and such a task would cause blind panic in many, especially at that age. For all the cracks and creakiness we nitpick at, there's no getting away from the fact that this show was a lot more slick and professional than many of its peers. I hardly ever mention director Colin Clews, but now's a great time for us to give him a big cheer. By all accounts, he was the calmest person within five miles of the Central studios.
Anyway, there are some microscopic pieces of Children's ITV continuity at the beginning and end featuring Neil "Art Attack" Buchanan, Sandi "QI" Toksvig, and Andrea "I've Won an Oscar and Several BAFTAs" Arnold - all in character as the cast of No 73 on holiday.
Many thanks to Spencer for lending me this tape.
(To the best of my knowledge, the contents of this video have never been available commercially anywhere in the world. Please also note that I don't monetise any of my uploads. Nevertheless, if you are a copyright holder and have an objection, please don't hesitate to contact me.)
19 апр 2018
