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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 442362" data-attributes="member: 23">7.05-7.08 + 1989 Christmas Special: Second Time AroundOnce again there have been planet-sized gaps in my viewing of this latter part of the series, meaning details of those watched a couple of weeks ago have already faded in my mind. Deborah’s brief return in Weekend Off was very welcome, and particularly her interaction with Susan when they both found themselves awkwardly dragged along tailing someone while Jim did the same from another car. It’s difficult to tell whether Jim is being thoughtless or egocentric. Possibly the truth is somewhere in the middle. This wasn’t the only occasion where Susan reached an understanding with one of Jim’s other women. In Old Acquaintance, she blasted Philippa Vale for stringing Jim along, so there’s a sense that the torch is being passed, which is very understanding of Susan since her relationship with Jim only officially ended in the same episode. Susan also had the final line of Series Seven, which has such finality I assume it was intended or believed to bring the entire series to a close. Crozier’s promotion and the suggestion that Peggy will follow him to his new post and Jim leaving Jersey on Charlie’s boat to take a year out - waved off by Susan - all suggest more endings than beginnings.With this in mind, the Christmas special felt a little jarring in terms of continuity. From notes, I understand that Series Eight will pick up from the end of Series Seven, which places this special either earlier in Series Seven or - more probably - at some point later in Series Eight. The special wasn’t the best. It felt clear that a lot of money had been thrown at the episode, with lots of big stunts involving car chases and helicopters, plus flash houses and a full-on soundtrack (overly noisy. It feels like it’s trying to lean into Miami Vice tones). There was some impressive stuff, but it still felt that there was a lot of padding that made the storytelling feel inefficient and a little dull. This is the first episode where I’ve actually fast forwarded due to the number of unnecessary scenes in which nothing happened (the clincher for me was the Slave To The Rhythm section in the gymnasium, which showed a woman working out for the length of the song and ended up looking like a bloated Bodyform advert). Were this episode a little shorter and leaner it could have been a great. Instead it’s memorable for the wrong reasons. On the upside, Andrew Sachs is present and the episode gave Charlie something to do besides the usual grinning and hobnobbing, with his illness adding a low key sense of jeopardy. Terence Alexander had also been serviced a couple of episodes earlier with Charlie showing a more assertive side in speaking up to an antagonist in When Did You Last See Your Father, so I wonder if there was a push behind the scenes to give him some meatier material. I didn’t enjoy that Charlie’s collapse - along with other story elements - was shown on some of the stills during the opening titles. Not only did these stills look cheap, it gave too much away and meant I wasn’t watching unspoilt.On the subject of spoilers, I was disappointed to read a very big Susan-related spoiler about the Season Eight opener. My own fault, perhaps, for reading notes on the Bergerac wiki, but still disappointing.  And if the wiki hadn’t spoilt it, the back of the DVD may have since it alludes to the same thing (albeit with no names mentioned).</blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?