The department store comedy moves away from
Dobson & Hawks for one week, when Swindley kindly volunteers to put his
boss, Mr Hunt, up for the night. Like some other ITV sitcom episodes, the more
interesting stuff is before the break, with the second half taken up with
familiar farcical happenings of both men, in their pyjamas, locking each other
out and alarming Dandy Nichols' next-door neighbour.
The chance to see Swindley at home in the Act One set-up, however, gives the episode an unintended tangential depth. We don't normally think about Swindley being a single man, because the plots concentrate upon his position as a well-meaning fussy store manager and don't ever really investigate his possible interest in women. Seeing him in his element at his home-for-one gives him a greater vulnerability and makes the viewer more sympathetic towards him, I think. Its curious to see the objects that he surrounds himself with; a 'Love thy Neighbour' sampler he tells Mr Hunt that he embroidered when he was in the navy, the television with the nine inch screen that he bought in 1953 to watch the Coronation. Most melancholy of all is the cordon bleu cooking set and hostess trolley on which he prepares steak Diane for Mr Hunt (which he must have purchased on a Dobson & Hawks staff discount). Waiting for the inevitable fireball and culinary disaster is funny, but it does set you thinking about whether he's ever had somebody else visit that he could cook for.
The chance to see Swindley at home in the Act One set-up, however, gives the episode an unintended tangential depth. We don't normally think about Swindley being a single man, because the plots concentrate upon his position as a well-meaning fussy store manager and don't ever really investigate his possible interest in women. Seeing him in his element at his home-for-one gives him a greater vulnerability and makes the viewer more sympathetic towards him, I think. Its curious to see the objects that he surrounds himself with; a 'Love thy Neighbour' sampler he tells Mr Hunt that he embroidered when he was in the navy, the television with the nine inch screen that he bought in 1953 to watch the Coronation. Most melancholy of all is the cordon bleu cooking set and hostess trolley on which he prepares steak Diane for Mr Hunt (which he must have purchased on a Dobson & Hawks staff discount). Waiting for the inevitable fireball and culinary disaster is funny, but it does set you thinking about whether he's ever had somebody else visit that he could cook for.
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