A House Divided. Rita's mother has come to stay, and soon there's talk of this becoming a permanent arrangement. They agree - for the last time in quite a while. After one blazing row too many, can Angelo cook up an ingenious plan to put an end to all the bickering? This episode was first broadcast on Thursday, 19th December, 1991.
The inspiration for this one was a 1972 episode of Steptoe and Son called Divided We Stand - though actually Galton and Simpson themselves may have been inspired by a similar idea done on I Love Lucy back in the 60s. The concept of splitting an entire house in half and the problem of who gets what is a funny one, and I especially like the clever logistics of it here. By that I mean that it's believable that Angelo has cobbled together that barrier with all its crazy automatic bits, rather than just a barbed wire fence or a line drawn on the floor. It's a proper alien's solution that's been thought through to a point, but no further.
Other things I like include Ellie being the voice of reason (even though she takes a back seat for most of the episode), the new hairstyle skit at the beginning, and that old-fashioned music score that evokes the late silent and early talkie era of the film industry (and Laurel and Hardy specifically at one point). It's also easy to forget just how futuristic that CCTV rig would have looked back in 1991.
Libby Morris appeared in Mike and Angelo as Rita's mother sporadically throughout the first four series, but this marks her last appearance in the role. (The same goes for Jade Magri as Ellie, by the way.) She's excellent in this as she throws some real cheap shots at her daughter, refusing to back down when the opportunity presents itself. Libby also notched up a guest part in Spatz, but back in the 50s she had her very own radio show before moving into TV and film.
Stick around at the beginning and end for a lot more Children's ITV continuity and ads than usual. Glenn Kinsey is the presenter, there are promos for Grotbags and The Tomorrow People, two breaks, and an extra intro into a very unsettling episode of Children's Ward which dealt with themes of abuse. Oh, and what's going on with that Lucy Lou doll?!
Many thanks to Lee for providing this recording.
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12 сен 2024
