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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 443108" data-attributes="member: 23">1991 Christmas Special: All For LoveAfter the tepid close to the final regular episode, the news is much better with this final outing for Jim and the gang. Indeed, it’s best case scenario. Let me count the ways.Firstly, the plot is genuinely interesting. Yes, it feels familiar and treads ground already covered (even in the previous episode Jim was somewhat in the frame, and in the sights of the Bureau), but it’s done well. I’m fairly sure this is the lengthiest instalment of Bergerac, being even longer than the previous two Christmas specials, but unlike some other extended episodes it doesn’t feel as though there’s any filler or padding. Every scene moves the story forwards. Helping even more, the direction is creative without being overly distracting. This is Terry Marcel’s sole time in the chair for this series, and he brings a polish that befits the feature-length. I particularly noticed some symbolic imagery that linked the beginning of a new scene with the end of the scene before. Examples include a scene where Simon Williams’s character runs off to vomit cutting to a cafetière making chunderous gurgling noises; and someone looking at a dead body cutting to a close up of a large piece of meat being cut in a restaurant. Once you spotted these, they were hard to miss. It helps that a good part of the episode was filmed in and around Bath, which is always photogenic. In terms of cast, it’s a fairly full house. OK, Danielle is unceremoniously written out off-screen, but this is used to good effect, with Jim being hurt at finding out about her changed feelings and new fiancé via a Dear Jim letter. That accepted, the latter day cast is all present and correct. Charlie, Ben, Willy, Deffand, Charlie (and Jim)’s secretary Ellie. Ben only has a cough and a spit in this episode, his role partly being taken by a previously-unseen officer, D.C. Ramsden. While I wondered if this is to do with David Kershaw’s availability, there were efforts made to make Ramsden a unique character, with his penchant for food running through a few scenes (in one scene outside the Bureau, he can be seen insouciantly carrying a plate piled high with enough toast to feed a small army). Best of all is the return of Deborah, on her best form. Jim’s alcoholic relapse - his first conscious choice to pick up a drink in the course of the entire series - is the reason Charlie asks her to meet them, and this paired with Jim being used by a woman planning to use his drinking to frame him for murders - brings out the protective tigress in Deborah, which is definitely a good look. Her sparring with Cressida is electric, and the relationships with Charlie and Jim convince as much as ever. There are a few moments in the episode I found quite rousing, each coming from the other characters’ relationships with Jim. Deborah’s warning to Cressida not to hurt Jim is one. Charlie and Deborah helping Jim once he’s effectively on the run is another, with Charlie disposing of an incriminating answerphone message and sending Deborah to Poole to meet Jim. Then there’s Willy, sent by Deffand to arrest Jim, suddenly deciding to tell Deffand he had missed Jim, giving his former colleague time to follow a lead to help clear his name. The grand finale had Jim having the barrel of a shotgun pointed at him, only for Deborah to appear behind the murderess brandishing another shotgun. It’s a feelgood moment that also feels hard won.  And so that’s it for Bergerac, with the series and the characters going out on a high. I’m not quite finished with the series, though. Next up are some audio commentaries from Series One, and my goodness, when I popped the disc in the player in readiness, I got a real reminder of just how long this series has run: everyone looks so young on the menu image.</blockquote>

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