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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 131544" data-attributes="member: 23">And it's on to Series Twenty Six. It's a strange relationship I have with Summer Wine at the moment. There's been a definite decline in the Noughties episodes, but it's mostly so gradual that it doesn't jar. And I have such a fondness for the characters and their locale that it's easy to overlook whatever shortcomings there may be and enjoy my continued visits to Holmfirth. The series does seem like it has struggled to find itself post-Compo. And I don't think it has. Alvin's scenes are so Compo-esque that they really serve to remind one that Bill Owen isn't there. Which is a shame, because Brian Murphy is wonderful in the role. Funny, endearing and very sporting (in an episode I watched last night Alvin fell backwards from an inflatable swan into a filthy river, and Murphy can clearly be seen throwing himself into the stunt wholeheartedly). I'm very much enjoying Alvin, but I can't help wishing he was written just a little differently. The triad has officially become the tetrad of Clegg, Truly, Billy and Alvin. Tom is now tagging along with Auntie Wainwright and Smiler and has actually come into his own. He's improving those scenes, seeming somehow to mitigate Auntie's coldness and Smiler's gurning. The Ladies' scenes seem sparser now. Perhaps recognising that in the absence of Thora Hird an important ingredient has been lost. In one of the scenes where the ladies visited Auntie's shop, Nora chose an appropriate moment to remind Glenda that Edie would have told Glenda to drink her coffee. It's the only reference to Edie since she's been gone, and even then it was a vague, passing comment. Edie wasn't mentioned by name, nor was it clear where she was supposed to be even though she was spoken off in past tense. Too frequently, these days, Glenda is used as part of the background of Barry's latest wacky antic. Barry seems to become more overwrought with each passing episode, and it's mostly down to how he's being played. Mike Grady is going broad and cartoony these days to the point where one almost feels the character knows he is in a sitcom and is acting accordingly, with lots of physical jolts and facial mugging. He makes interesting choices in his reactions to others which draw attention to him even when he's in the background. Which on the one hand shows he knows a thing or two about keeping the audiences attention, while on the other hand doesn't seem in the spirit of the ensemble. Gone is any sense of subtlety, and what's left is someone who is very clearly a character being played by an actor who is giving it everything he's got. It detracts from the reality of the series, and that's quite a feat in a world inhabited by so many eccentrics.Louis Emerick has returned as the second policeman, alongside Ken Kitson. It's a nice callback, with him having last appeared some fifteen years earlier. I'm already sorely missing the wonderful chemistry between Kitson and Tony Capstick. A particularly enjoyable element of their magic was their physical counterpoint with Kitson's tall, broad character - always in the driving seat - contrasting wonderfully with Capstick's slight, wide-eyed naïf looking permanently bewildered. I think I'm going to miss Capstick's Policeman #2 more than some of the main departed characters. It's sad to think that his departure was necessitated by Capstick's alcohol related death. What a talent he was - and responsible for some of key northern iconography with a wonderful monologue:[MEDIA=youtube]0Ey7SDGrjiM[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?