New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 379349" data-attributes="member: 23">Sadly, the sequel series has continued to disappoint on this level. The holiday camp setting does seem an effort to give the series a USP, but the execution leaves much to be desired. With Hi-de-Hi! still just a gleam in Perry and Croft's eyes, there's very little out there apart from (as mentioned) one-off episodes of sitcoms, so it does feel very much like a case of trial and error. Where Hi-de-Hi! eventually got it right was having a good-sized ensemble of characters on which to focus.And this brings us on to the problem with Selwyn: there are simply too few regular faces. Apart from Selwyn and Mr Price, there is no ensemble to speak of. One or two actors have popped up in tiny recurring roles, but there's no sense of an ensemble. With the main cast made up of just two, it gives Selwyn's quirks and eccentricities far more of a platform, which isn't a good thing, in my opinion. One quickly tires of him saying "magic" and giving the thumbs up which now seems to follow every second sentence he says. Likewise, running gags with glass falling out of the window every time he leaves Price's office quickly wear out their welcome. Selwyn is certainly not unwatchable. Helping out has been the presence of some familiar faces. From Corrie alone, there's been Percy Sugden, Chalky Whitely and Vera Duckworth. There have also been a few laughs, most of which have come from unscripted moments. A nice example of this came from another running gag where Selwyn's bed (generally with someone sitting on it) collapses every time he leaves his chalet. In the third episode, the actors playing Mr and Mrs Thatcher evidently weren't expecting the bed on which they sat to collapse quite so forcefully. Audrey Maye - the actress playing the very proper Mrs Thatcher - fell backwards onto the bed with her legs flying up, briefly flashing her knickers straight to the camera, evoking huge gales of laughter from the studio audience (who were also presumably given an eyeful) and from Audrey herself. As she struggled to sit back up, she could be seen visibly corpsing, eventually having to lean over so that she was behind the back of the actor playing her husband in an effort to conceal her uncontrollable giggles. Funnily enough, I think I saw the same actress corpse during a scene later in the episode when balls from a bingo machine flew out at the assembled audience, one hitting her on the bonce. I suppose once you've lost it once, it sets something of a trend. But it does suggest that the cast had some fun making the series which in turn has given my own enjoyment a much-needed boost.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?