Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Dec 14, 2020 9:52:34 GMT
Last night I watched....
King For A Day
Despite the highly implausible set up - Budgie has to stand in for Charlie to do a deal with an American porn dealer - it is a lot of fun
Budgie revels in his role as stand-in Charlie however inevitably quickly goes too far and is quickly out of his depth. The best bits are when Budgie is in Charlie's office in a sober suit, puffing on a cigar and entertaining King Jorgenson and Queen Jorgenson, the new US business partners for Endell Enterprises.
In common with a lot of episodes in series two, Budgie ends up getting menaced and humiliated by Charlie but, before the ending, there are quite a few genuinely laugh out loud moments.
4/5
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Dec 28, 2020 14:37:44 GMT
I've just finished the series apart from the missing episodes I had from series 1 due to recording and scheduling issues. The last episode was a great ending to the series I thought. Budgies fragile world implodes over not very much at all and it snowballs into the biggest disaster yet. The way he runs from pillow to post only to find yet more bother was gripping drama that had me cursing Bird and also empathising with him for his loss. Even though Budgie's affair with Inga is a kick in the teeth for Hazell she still wants to work things out with the no hoper One can only assume Budge will be back to his old ways when his bruises subside . He doesn't have the nous to learn from his lessons but if he is going to carry on scheming he really needs a new manor to ply his trade and steer clear of Charles Endell esquire. A really good series all round and the tv highlight of the year for me. 7/10 for Budgie
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 24, 2021 8:26:06 GMT
I've got back to Budgie after a bit of a break
I've still got three episodes of series two left to watch having just finished...
The Outside Man
The Outside Man is one of the more knockabout episodes. An Outside Man is a sort of bookies runner which is what Budgie ends up doing at Epsom as a cover for knocking out some nicked transistor radios.
I've seen this episode come in for a quite a lot of criticism online for being too silly but I really liked it.
Jack Shepherd is back as the haplesss DC Leadbetter and his boss the equally incompetent DI Shepherd (George A. Cooper) who, whilst totally lacking credibility, are consistently funny.
Dickie Davis, he of World of Sport, appears as himself and he gets mistakenly arrested along with Charlie Endell.
Budgie, of course, ends up expending lots of time and effort and comes away with nothing.
3/5
The schizophrenic nature of Budgie is curious - sometimes comedic, other times dark and violent. Overall thought it's a wonderful 1970s time capsule with one two timeless TV characters - Budgie and Charlie Endell
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 10, 2021 19:35:10 GMT
Just watched The Man Outside (not to be confused with the episode above The Outside Man)
One of the all time great episodes
Most of the action takes place in a terraced house near West Ham's Upton Park ground. Budgie takes a bullet meant for Charlie Endell. This sounds quite dramatic but most of the episode is concerned with a northern family who have relocated to London to avoid confronting a dark secret in their past
It's a really clever set up and contrasts the more obvious villainy of Charlie with the grey areas of more regular citizens
It feels a bit like a classic Play for Today - with all the cast at the top of their game
Also surprisingly contemporary feel to some of the issues raised
I'm being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers
Really excellent
5/5
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 14, 2021 16:30:43 GMT
Brief Encounter/Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run, Run, RunSeries two ends with a two parter and, in keeping with much of the Budgie universe, this is bleak bleak bleak. Brief Encounter uses the cinematic classic of the same name as its starting point. Budgie is waiting for a train and whiling away the time with a bit of vandalism, trying to nick chocolate out of the station’s vending machine and, when that fails, he resorts to trying to steal the light bulb in the changing room. Charlie’s “friend” Inspector Shepherd catches him in the act but instead of arresting him gives him a pep talk instead asking “Is it worth it?”. Food for thought for most people but not our Budgie As the wait continues he encounters Inga the Stripper from series one. You may recall he flogged her baby for her. Charlie was probably the father! This is the catalyst for an affair with Inga. Budgie tells Hazel he’s got a job doing the night shift.
He manages to get both women pregnant which is when his woes really begin - although a gift for Mrs Endell of a top nicked by Inga from a department store turns a bad situation far worse. Suffice to say this is classic Budgie territory with both women annoyed and Charlie fuming. Laughing Spam Fritter and a team of heavies are tasked with flushing out Budgie who has gone to ground. There is only one outcome and Budgie is left battered, beaten and utterly alone. He always was a doomed character and this ending totally reinforces that inevitable trajectory. Although patchy I have absolutely loved watching this series which I could only vaguely recall from watching it as 10 year old back in the day. Adam Faith and Iain Cuthbertson crated two iconic characters So, a question for the 43tv Massve, is Charles Endell Esquire worth watching? I notice that it has been released on DVD but I cannot find any copies around at the moment but might set up an alert on eBay
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Apr 14, 2021 16:59:11 GMT
Charles Endell Esquire is worth watching. I think it's better than Budgie personally.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Apr 14, 2021 18:16:02 GMT
More interesting thoughts on Budgie Lord E, an exasperating character who never learns from his mistakes ( Budgie, not Lord E ). I would've liked the show to be a lot darker with more threat & less emphasis on humour.
STV used to have a youtube channel with all the Charles Endell Esq. episodes on it, it's long gone unfortunately, looks like only the first episode is on yt. Wouldn't be surprised if talkingpicturestv show it in the future.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Apr 15, 2021 14:57:41 GMT
I hope so Arthur, It would be good to see it.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Apr 15, 2021 19:49:33 GMT
Good post again LE. Unless cost reasoms I'm mystified why STV didn't release Charles Endell Esquire on DVD as planned? Would be very nice to see that one.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 16, 2021 8:21:51 GMT
More interesting thoughts on Budgie Lord E, an exasperating character who never learns from his mistakes ( Budgie, not Lord E ). I would've liked the show to be a lot darker with more threat & less emphasis on humour.
STV used to have a youtube channel with all the Charles Endell Esq. episodes on it, it's long gone unfortunately, looks like only the first episode is on yt. Wouldn't be surprised if talkingpicturestv show it in the future.
Thanks Arthur I'll check out the YouTube episode of Charles Endell Esq
Good post again LE. Unless cost reasoms I'm mystified why STV didn't release Charles Endell Esquire on DVD as planned? Would be very nice to see that one. I think it might have been released as it's listed on Amazon (albeit no copies for love nor money) and with one review
Not one on eBay so perhaps it was quickly withdrawn or, as you suggest, never even released
It is often cited as a very unlucky show as its release coincided with a strike which meant that it's six episodes were shown over 11 months so it never gained any momentum
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