One of the most wonderful things about the Xmas period was B.B.C.-2's long overdue repeats of 'The Goodies', and how marvellous to see them getting ratings of one million ( excellent for a 11.30 P.M. time slot ). Time for a full rescreening perhaps. The series must have come as a shock to those who only know Bill Oddie as a bird watcher.
'Natural Selection' opens at a dinner party at the B'Stard's home. As the wine flows and guests intermingle, the host is having sex with his wife Sarah on the kitchen table. Alan gets chatty with the beautiful Cher ( Joanne Heywood ), only to then encounter ( and be head-butted by ) her fiancée - a rugged Northerner called Ken Price ( Maurice Roeves ). Ken has his eye not only on B'Stard's wife but his Haltemprice seat. Angered at his refusal to hold regular surgeries, his constituents have deselected him. Ken is set to make £50 million when his building empire is floated on the stock market. To stop him, Alan bribes top Tory Julian Armitage ( David Bamber ) with a book of rare stamps ( stolen from Piers ) in order to get mortgage tax relief abolished, thereby deflating the share value of Price's company...
This is a remake of Season 1's 'Passport To Freedom' in which Alan set out to financially cripple Sarah before she could divorce him. Here she joins forces with her husband to bring down the ambitious Price. She is too successful; he winds up taking his own life. The fact that Marks and Gran were blatantly rehashing old material proves they were running out of ideas.
Maurice Roeves' credits include 'Danger UXB' and 'Rab C.Nesbitt'. He was also the voice of B.P. back in the '80's ( until replaced by William Franklyn ). Jeremy Bamber was the headmaster in the best forgotten Steven Moffat-penned sitcom 'Chalk!'.
Funniest moment - Alan and Sarah preparing to have sex in Piers' hospital bed ( having winched him into the air ). "Don't worry!", says B'Stard: "This'll only take a minute!".
'Natural Selection' opens at a dinner party at the B'Stard's home. As the wine flows and guests intermingle, the host is having sex with his wife Sarah on the kitchen table. Alan gets chatty with the beautiful Cher ( Joanne Heywood ), only to then encounter ( and be head-butted by ) her fiancée - a rugged Northerner called Ken Price ( Maurice Roeves ). Ken has his eye not only on B'Stard's wife but his Haltemprice seat. Angered at his refusal to hold regular surgeries, his constituents have deselected him. Ken is set to make £50 million when his building empire is floated on the stock market. To stop him, Alan bribes top Tory Julian Armitage ( David Bamber ) with a book of rare stamps ( stolen from Piers ) in order to get mortgage tax relief abolished, thereby deflating the share value of Price's company...
This is a remake of Season 1's 'Passport To Freedom' in which Alan set out to financially cripple Sarah before she could divorce him. Here she joins forces with her husband to bring down the ambitious Price. She is too successful; he winds up taking his own life. The fact that Marks and Gran were blatantly rehashing old material proves they were running out of ideas.
Maurice Roeves' credits include 'Danger UXB' and 'Rab C.Nesbitt'. He was also the voice of B.P. back in the '80's ( until replaced by William Franklyn ). Jeremy Bamber was the headmaster in the best forgotten Steven Moffat-penned sitcom 'Chalk!'.
Funniest moment - Alan and Sarah preparing to have sex in Piers' hospital bed ( having winched him into the air ). "Don't worry!", says B'Stard: "This'll only take a minute!".
