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The first half of the episode seemed to be dedicated to a departure - a character who'd featured in the most prominent storyline recently. A big farewell party being thrown with tasty petits-fours by Ray, a big “we'll-miss-you” speech, and even after all this, a further tear-jerking scene leading up to the character walking out of the series. And the character? Aussie the cockroach, of course, who seems to have got a bigger send-off than Bea Smith, Doreen Burns and Lizzie Birdsworth. Mind you, when you think of some of the people who hadn't left (Yemil, Sam Greenway, Marlene) it makes you wonder if his character wasn't so uninteresting after all.
Meg impressed me (and the police) when they handed her an absolutely huge album with pages and pages of criminal photos, and the man she recognised happened to be on the first page. Wow. Bet they were glad they didn't have to wait for hours for her to wade through thousands of petty criminals.
I have to say I was a bit surprised at the programme's negative attitudes towards Downs Syndrome babies. I accept that some people might not want to go through with having a DS baby, but this seemed to just keep pushing home how terrible it would be, and how "nobody wants to adopt them". I couldn’t help wondering how many people in the television audience would have had family members with Downs Syndrome, and how they must have felt about this rather insensitive portrayal.
Marlene: (Obviously embarrassed) I'm a virgin.
Bobbie: (Loudly) I can't hear ya.
Actually, I thought this was a nice little scene, with lots of gentle humour, which worked particularly well for the actress playing Marlene. She seems to have a good way with gentle comedy.
Sam Greenway, that Rebel Without A Point, was still whingeing annoyingly, and even the addition of hairgrips in her fringe didn't make her any closer to interesting. "I gotta see her!" she droned about her mother, and I suddenly felt like writing a letter to the Department begging them to let her go and do it. Never mind about finding a mother, just find some kind of half-interesting storyline. When she heard about Myra's escape (the comedy fete one) she asked "Weren't you scared?" If you have the guts to walk around in daylight in a panto frock and a lampshade on your head, I guess there wouldn't be much that would scare you. "You wouldn't have believed it!" says Jude. I still don't, and I saw it with my own eyes.
I love how Joycie was able to correctly deduce that the Greek-looking man's wife was Yemil, after the very brief description, "very beautiful, short dark hair like mine.." Well, thinking of all those women there must be in H block, B block, D block, maternity, etc, it stands to reason. Yemil is of course the only one with short (?) dark hair who is very beautiful. Hmm..
Myra surprised me, by asserting her 'modern' beliefs as right, while completely dismissing Yemil's traditional beliefs - telling her she was "wrong", trying to force feed her, then getting involved and talking to her husband - generally assuming she knows best. A bit Bea Smith, I thought. But even so I like the idea of Myra not always being the most good or enlightened character, just because of who she is.
I almost fell off my settee with shock, when Bobbie held up the chair Yemil had been sitting on, and there was a strange brown thing left in the middle of it. I hoped it was the half-chewed toast she'd pretended to eat. "Food's very hard to come by, especially where you come from," said Myra to Yemil, sternly. But where does she come from? I don't think it's been said - she looks Greek to me, yet we often hear snake charmer music, and she carries around the mysterious prayer book. Well, she did until this morning. I hope she hasn't forgotten all about it already.
I guess those were bruises on Myra's face. Unfortunately, on my little television set, it looked more like she'd eaten a sticky choccie pudding without using her hands.
And we suddenly realise what the attraction is with Geoff, when we overhear him telling Lexie, "It's a long one, lady".
So Lexie had arrived at last, and I was surprised at how tiny she was! Loved the scene with Joycie trying to induct her while she was singing along to a loud stereo set. Then being Joycie, rather than switch it off, she took it from her and put it to one side, while it continued to play loudly.
Interesting that the card sharp turned out to be a Boy George clone. Possibly Culture Club's best known pop video was for Karma Chameleon - set on a paddle steamer, featuring a con artist using a deck of cards, I seem to remember.
I loved how she was standing with her hat off, when an arm appeared from off camera, holding out the hat above her head, as if trying to sneak It back on without anyone noticing. Hilarious!
I see mute extra Tina Murray was desperately trying to get her big break again. In the background, while the focus was on the mural (yaaaaawn), she was doing some strange kind of comedy routine with a ridiculous pink party hat. Putting it on, and for an even funnier encore, taking it off again.. all with lots of mugging and laughing.
The mysterious pink garment was still very evident in the laundry, this time with Pixie folding it. I'd still love to know what it is, where it's from, and why it's in the laundry every day being mended, folded, or hung between the driers - when does it get a chance to be worn? Makes me wonder how many sheets/outfits the props department actually have for the laundry.
So the fumigators arrived, with Meg and a silent officer (looking like a little lost sheep) present. Meg said something like, "if you need any extra help, Officer Radcliffe is here", which made me laugh at the thought of Officer Radcliffe humping cylinders of highly dangerous insecticide around and spraying noxious chemicals around.
Some unusual camera angles and effects this episode. First of all, the effect of what looked to me like sunlight streaming through windows on the wall of the corridor (which looked great, but I'm not sure I've noticed sunny windows in any of the corridors since the very first few episodes of the series). Secondly, the shot of the top of the sliding security gate as it was slid open. And thirdly, the nice shot of a trainer being put on the floor under the bed, panning to the deadly air freshener wired up next to it.
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