An Upstairs, Downstairs reunion in this
episode, with Simon Williams joining Alderton and Collins in one of Wodehouse's
golfing stories. As usual in Wodehouse adaptations you lose much of the prose
style but keep the plot, making the experience pleasant to watch rather than harmonious
to read. Along with some enjoyable star performances (especially Pauline
Collins' dim aristocrat), this story's highlights come through atmospheric
coastal location filming, and an ambitious attempt to show progress of the
climactic golf match through cinematic montage and dissolves.
Its very slightly jarring having a studio audience in a literary adaptation, even of a sunny-natured comic tale, as it doesn't share quite the same structure as sitcoms or sketches. Without conventional jokes or reversals of situations it feels like the laughter is a bit randomly distributed. Although it does create a cherishable moment when a Pekingese dog arrives and fetches the golf ball at the final hole, causing one excited audience member to exclaim, "How sweet!"
Its very slightly jarring having a studio audience in a literary adaptation, even of a sunny-natured comic tale, as it doesn't share quite the same structure as sitcoms or sketches. Without conventional jokes or reversals of situations it feels like the laughter is a bit randomly distributed. Although it does create a cherishable moment when a Pekingese dog arrives and fetches the golf ball at the final hole, causing one excited audience member to exclaim, "How sweet!"
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