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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 439980" data-attributes="member: 5079">With the week flying by, I didn&#039;t get around to a second viewing of &quot;The Kipper and the Corpse&quot;, but onward to the penultimate episode.Structurally, this is a very satisfyingly strong story.&nbsp; I&#039;m always mindful of what Roger Ebert called &quot;idiot plots&quot; -- stories that could be avoided or quickly resolved if every character didn&#039;t act like an idiot.&nbsp; Sitcoms are especially prone to this, with great leaps taken to get straight to the comedy.&nbsp; I appreciate scripts that logically build, step by step, to illogical conclusions.&nbsp; A good intention leading to a misunderstanding leading to a small lie leading to lies upon lies until chaos ensues.The episode adds a layer of depth to Basil that I hadn&#039;t necessarily noticed was missing.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think there&#039;s been even a slight previous indication that Basil has friends.&nbsp; The Major and the dotty old sisters (?) seem at least reasonably fond of him, but questionable if he reciprocates.&nbsp; Knowing that Basil &amp; Sybil have friends who seem aware of but not particularly bothered by Basil&#039;s eccentricities adds some humanity to the character.&nbsp; That somehow makes Basil&#039;s outbursts funnier to me.This is also the only indication that Basil &amp; Sybil&#039;s relationship might not be only animosity and indifference.&nbsp; Sure Basil&#039;s primary motivation for making the anniversary plans was to avoid Sybil&#039;s wrath, but he also tried to plan something genuinely nice for her.&nbsp; Likewise Sybil&#039;s reaction isn&#039;t just the anger of a burnt out wife, but&nbsp; of being disappointed and hurt that her husband seemingly forgot their wedding date.&nbsp; This redeems the rock bottom ugliness of their interactions in &quot;The Psychiatrist&quot;.This episode answered one of my earliest ponderings of the series: why Polly so often jumps to Basil&#039;s aid or gets dragged into his schemes.&nbsp; Mostly, it would seem, to keep her employer happy and not any innate good will towards Basil.&nbsp; Here, she is quite literally dragged into his scheme.&nbsp; I&#039;ve noted the similarity to the comedy of the Marx Brothers, so I was pleased to see the show make an overt comparison.Terry the cook has, prior to the episode, been given so little to do I questioned why he was even introduced.&nbsp; His kitchen feud with Manuel was one of the better B-plots of the series.The only thing I disliked about the episode was the egregious combover of party guest Walter.&nbsp; I hope that was done for comedic effect of the character and not how the actor wore it in real life.&nbsp; Either way, balding men prior to the minoxidil/finasteride era have my sympathies.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 439980, member: 5079"] With the week flying by, I didn't get around to a second viewing of "The Kipper and the Corpse", but onward to the penultimate episode. Structurally, this is a very satisfyingly strong story. I'm always mindful of what Roger Ebert called "idiot plots" -- stories that could be avoided or quickly resolved if every character didn't act like an idiot. Sitcoms are especially prone to this, with great leaps taken to get straight to the comedy. I appreciate scripts that logically build, step by step, to illogical conclusions. A good intention leading to a misunderstanding leading to a small lie leading to lies upon lies until chaos ensues. The episode adds a layer of depth to Basil that I hadn't necessarily noticed was missing. I don't think there's been even a slight previous indication that Basil has friends. The Major and the dotty old sisters (?) seem at least reasonably fond of him, but questionable if he reciprocates. Knowing that Basil & Sybil have friends who seem aware of but not particularly bothered by Basil's eccentricities adds some humanity to the character. That somehow makes Basil's outbursts funnier to me. This is also the only indication that Basil & Sybil's relationship might not be only animosity and indifference. Sure Basil's primary motivation for making the anniversary plans was to avoid Sybil's wrath, but he also tried to plan something genuinely nice for her. Likewise Sybil's reaction isn't just the anger of a burnt out wife, but of being disappointed and hurt that her husband seemingly forgot their wedding date. This redeems the rock bottom ugliness of their interactions in "The Psychiatrist". This episode answered one of my earliest ponderings of the series: why Polly so often jumps to Basil's aid or gets dragged into his schemes. Mostly, it would seem, to keep her employer happy and not any innate good will towards Basil. Here, she is quite literally dragged into his scheme. I've noted the similarity to the comedy of the Marx Brothers, so I was pleased to see the show make an overt comparison. Terry the cook has, prior to the episode, been given so little to do I questioned why he was even introduced. His kitchen feud with Manuel was one of the better B-plots of the series. The only thing I disliked about the episode was the egregious combover of party guest Walter. I hope that was done for comedic effect of the character and not how the actor wore it in real life. Either way, balding men prior to the minoxidil/finasteride era have my sympathies. [/QUOTE]

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