End of series one and tbh this episode is a bit all over the place.
It starts with Harriet taking the kids to London so Freddy can defy medical science by being very well indeed despite not having followed the edicts of the annoying consultant from episode 1. Returning (presumably in triumph, but certainly with great relief due to the horridness of That London) to the peace of the cottage induces Harriet to sing at the piano while Hilly plays. This is a mistake; Harriet (Pauline) is not one of our great vocal talents!
Elsewhere there's a Bugatti found in a barn (which turns out not to be worth a fortune after all), and Blackberry the horse is poorly, as later on is Freddy.
Hilly plays piano in a couple of talent competitions to get the money for the V-E-T & attracts the attention of the Royal Academy, leading to a scholarship offer which no one sensible could possibly think was a good idea, but which both the Boult adults & Lady B actually seem to be taking seriously as an option. Hilly, in London, really??
The very idea seems to be making Freddy ill, though no one wants Hilly to think that. Frankly, Freddy's spot on - the idea of wild child Hilly cooped up in London and being trotted out to perform classical piano now & then makes me ill too!
Hilly's encounter with the higher ups at the RA goes about as well as you would expect.
Hilly 1 - Condescending old people 0 (Yay!)
Jack & Hilly return home to find Freddy has been taken to hospital & a distraught Hilly is evidently blaming herself despite all the pains people have gone to trying to avoid her making that connection. When the letter from the RA arrives with news of the scholarship, she says they've turned her down. Jack's disbelief is palpable but actually it would be perfectly plausible that the Academy might not want to deal with such an awkward customer, no matter how gifted. Whatever the truth, Hilly's not going anywhere and Freddy's feeling better so all is well.
On the classic car front, honesty pays when Jack effectively gets the company a regular American client.
Apparently Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham - writers with several other strong credits to their names - conceived & wrote this first series but due to a row with the producers had their names removed. I do wonder what the problem was? Whatever happened, I really like this first series - it certainly stayed in my memory through all the years when I seemed to be the only person of my acquaintance who remembered it!
It has its flaws, yes, but overall it's lovely bit of escapism which does try to make you think a bit about the countryside & its issues, but mostly wants to make you feel happy. There's nothing wrong with that.
It will be interesting to see what the next episodes are like, given that the writers are changing.
It starts with Harriet taking the kids to London so Freddy can defy medical science by being very well indeed despite not having followed the edicts of the annoying consultant from episode 1. Returning (presumably in triumph, but certainly with great relief due to the horridness of That London) to the peace of the cottage induces Harriet to sing at the piano while Hilly plays. This is a mistake; Harriet (Pauline) is not one of our great vocal talents!
Elsewhere there's a Bugatti found in a barn (which turns out not to be worth a fortune after all), and Blackberry the horse is poorly, as later on is Freddy.
Hilly plays piano in a couple of talent competitions to get the money for the V-E-T & attracts the attention of the Royal Academy, leading to a scholarship offer which no one sensible could possibly think was a good idea, but which both the Boult adults & Lady B actually seem to be taking seriously as an option. Hilly, in London, really??
The very idea seems to be making Freddy ill, though no one wants Hilly to think that. Frankly, Freddy's spot on - the idea of wild child Hilly cooped up in London and being trotted out to perform classical piano now & then makes me ill too!
Hilly's encounter with the higher ups at the RA goes about as well as you would expect.
Hilly 1 - Condescending old people 0 (Yay!)
Jack & Hilly return home to find Freddy has been taken to hospital & a distraught Hilly is evidently blaming herself despite all the pains people have gone to trying to avoid her making that connection. When the letter from the RA arrives with news of the scholarship, she says they've turned her down. Jack's disbelief is palpable but actually it would be perfectly plausible that the Academy might not want to deal with such an awkward customer, no matter how gifted. Whatever the truth, Hilly's not going anywhere and Freddy's feeling better so all is well.
On the classic car front, honesty pays when Jack effectively gets the company a regular American client.
Apparently Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham - writers with several other strong credits to their names - conceived & wrote this first series but due to a row with the producers had their names removed. I do wonder what the problem was? Whatever happened, I really like this first series - it certainly stayed in my memory through all the years when I seemed to be the only person of my acquaintance who remembered it!
It has its flaws, yes, but overall it's lovely bit of escapism which does try to make you think a bit about the countryside & its issues, but mostly wants to make you feel happy. There's nothing wrong with that.
It will be interesting to see what the next episodes are like, given that the writers are changing.
