As anyone who's seen Thick As Thieves
might agree, not everything that Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais wrote
was solid gold, even at the height of their powers. This story of gambling
mania in a Welsh valleys village is pleasant enough little playlet, but doesn't
really have much emotional purchase beyond passing the time engagingly.
The comedy is at its most stimulating when it investigates death rather than gambling, with the lead character's father, Grandpa Owen (an opportunity for Barker to double), manipulating his family on his deathbed, the most dramatically interesting element. The effect used to convey this character's death in a filmed insert - a shaft of light projecting from Grandpa Owen's window and moving towards the sky - is the most surprising moment in the programme, and a bold device to deflect potential complaints of trivialising death.
One of the more interesting aspects is seeing how well Ronnie Barker acquits himself playing Welsh, especially as an authentic supporting cast (including Emrys James, Margaret John and the inevitable Talfryn Thomas) risks exposing any shortcomings. He sounds alright to me, although I did notice that on a couple of occasions when his character gets a worldly-wise punchline intended to deflate floridity and pretention, he sounds like Fletcher for two or three words before correcting himself mid-sentence.
The comedy is at its most stimulating when it investigates death rather than gambling, with the lead character's father, Grandpa Owen (an opportunity for Barker to double), manipulating his family on his deathbed, the most dramatically interesting element. The effect used to convey this character's death in a filmed insert - a shaft of light projecting from Grandpa Owen's window and moving towards the sky - is the most surprising moment in the programme, and a bold device to deflect potential complaints of trivialising death.
One of the more interesting aspects is seeing how well Ronnie Barker acquits himself playing Welsh, especially as an authentic supporting cast (including Emrys James, Margaret John and the inevitable Talfryn Thomas) risks exposing any shortcomings. He sounds alright to me, although I did notice that on a couple of occasions when his character gets a worldly-wise punchline intended to deflate floridity and pretention, he sounds like Fletcher for two or three words before correcting himself mid-sentence.
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