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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 252906" data-attributes="member: 23">Victoria Wood (November 1989) <img src="https://s2.dmcdn.net/v/SZBoJ1Vpq4Q19CHci/x1080" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 421px" /><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P4N_HF6Y1mI/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 421px" /><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gkWCwr7xdfU/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 841px" />It’s many years since I’ve watched these and I started the first one with a degree of reservation having read that she series was poorly received and Vic herself later said it wasn’t as well written as it could have been. Turns out I’m really enjoying them. From the moment I saw Vic’s silver Vauxhall Nova, the series just clicked with me. After the sketches and stand up, I’m feeling ready for more story, and the setup of this series hits the spot. The location work is very welcome, and these episodes feel like little mini films. Each episode is one unique story that follows an arc. And the next episode has a completely new premise with all new characters (often played by actors who’ve played different characters in other episodes, in common with Vic’s sketch shows and films).For example, Enid - Anne Reid’s character is forthright and cutting in Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah - while she plays the more timid and reserved Sheila in The Library. Perhaps the most stark contrast were Julie Walters’ characters. In Mens Sana, she’s the gently spoken, vacuous Nicola whose attempts to posh up and sound clinical are very reminiscent of Vic’s beautician from The World Of Sacharelle:Then in Over To Pam, Julie was the title character whose sympathetic, caring image was at odds with the monstrous, tyrannical diva offscreen. Victoria refuses to concede her place in the dining queue to the entitled Pam. After “don’t you know who I am?” fails, Pam claims she has diabetes and needs pastry, which leads to a moment that’s ingrained in my head from previous watches (I’d thought it was an As Seen On TV sketch) in which Vic, verbally cutting Pam down to size, stops speaking long enough to lick the last two croissants to ensure Pam doesn’t have them. Vic herself who is more or less the same character in each episode: a version of herself. She’s called Victoria, and works in television comedy. She speaks, acts and dresses consistently and even drives the same car. Each of these three episodes her playing a good Samaritan, supporting a friend who is in a situation they find intimidating (going to a fat farm, meeting men through video dating and appearing on TV) even though her schemes to help frequently go wrong. Her regular troupe of actors is mostly present and correct. During As Seen On TV, I was struggling to place where I recognised Meg Johnson from. Now that I’ve watched her final appearance, I’ve finally realised she was Eunice on Corrie. Another familiar Corrie face appeared in The Library, which featured the rather bizarre sight of Dennis Tanner boring Valerie Barlow silly while on a date in a tearoom. Other new arrivals have been Liza Tarbuck as the world’s most slovenly housekeeper in Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah, who seemed very much a proto Twinkle from dinnerladies. Three episodes down, I’m halfway through this series. There’s so much I’d forgotten and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the second half of the series brings. </blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?