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More of the scheming Ruth, and her dotty partner-in-crime, Ettie - a pairing that had more than a passing resemblance to Blackadder and Baldrick I thought. I loved it when Ruth asked Ettie what she would like to have as a gift, and instead of something expensive or valuable, she was told "mosquito oil". What a strange scene for Ruth, in the toilet block with Lou keeping nit, while we could make out Ms Ballinger's face in the vague location of one of the lavatories. I know that suddenly she'd become the Queen of Tarts, but I guess this was one sort of throne she'd rather not been seen on. Nice juicy follow-on scene with Myra pushing Ruth's head in the toilet bowl - I couldn't help hoping she'd remembered to flush after using it. And still we hadn't seen her husband, the infamous "Arnie", who everyone seems to think will have unpleasant plans for her now. ( "Hasta la vista, baby"?)
Myra, apart from generally being miserable and unpopular, was still annoyed at Ruth for supplying drugs, and at Daphne for taking them. "Just say no!” she could have chanted to the women - though you might expect the dreadful woop-woop-woooooooop hallucination sequences - always so amusing in Prisoner - would be one of the best deterrents around. Actually, Daphne's performance here wasn't bad at all, and having seen the actress playing such a totally different role as Pippa in H&A, I must admit to being quite impressed with her. Pity the potentially very interesting 'self-harm' storyline seemed to have been forgotten already, and replaced with a more general depression.
Nora's character still had yet to take off it seemed, with this pregnancy thing being her only reason for getting any lines. So she seemed pretty forgettable, and so far the actress had only been able to show us she could do two things - (1) stand with arms folded, and (2) stand with hands on hips. I think I saw her with her arms at her sides at one point during this episode, but I'd probably got her confused with one of the extras.
More unusual camera angles again, some effective, some just odd. In Jenny and Nana's house, I thought the camera angles were quite effective, making the house seem cold, intimidating, and cavernous. Elsewhere, while Ruth was talking to Ettie during mealtime, the scene was shot looking through some stacks of plates, with people walking in front to get their crockery every now and then - very odd, and I'm not sure what this was meant to achieve. Also, the scene of Nana Hartley on the telephone was filmed looking through the iron bedstead at her feet, for some strange reason.
My favourite bit of dialogue was between Jenny and Mrs Hartley, soon after the first 'intruder' incident..
Jenny: "We could put security bars on the window."
Mrs H: "We could. And if the house caught fire I'd be trapped. What then?"
Quite. No doubt if there were a fire, Nana would be found scrambling down the guttering from her upstairs bedroom window. I really did like the scene later, where the shots of Jenny playing on the piano were juxtaposed with the image of Mrs Hartley's stick banging on the floor, while Jenny continued to play. I thought this sequence was very well handled, and built up quite a bit of tension. And I especially liked the fact that, during Jenny's first bit of noticeable assertiveness, Nana was being murdered upstairs. Very creepy, and genuinely surprising. One of the best sequences for a long time, and with no real dialogue in it.
Simon and Pippa were having a shaky time walking through the park, where I'm sure many a bird was just dying to convert her hair into a nice big nest. In fact, their later scene was quite nicely written, I thought. It almost had me sniffing into my Weetabix..
Simon: "I guess I'm just a stupid old man who wanted you so badly I wouldn't even let myself see you for what you are - a spoiled, self-centred brat. I just hope, for your next lover's sake, that you're more honest with him, so he doesn't have to suffer what you've put me through. Bye."
..And off he went. What a great farewell speech! Pity it was almost completely ruined by loud and distracting piano music building to a crescendo in the background.
The mumbling extras were a little more noticeable than usual today, with a new face that looked like a cross between the Les Dawson one, and Lizzie Birdsworth. I also noticed the one called Tammy and her near identical twin were stealing a scene by caressing and fondling each other while standing right behind the main speakers. Blimey, lesbian activity in a prison? Whatever next.
And speaking of unspoken heros in the series, I see the Pink Thing had finally been upstaged by the Lime-Green Thing. Since the episodes of the very early 400s, it had featured prominently in the laundry scenes (being ironed, sewn, or hanging at the front of the rail between the dryers). But it had been barely visible at the farthest end of the rail since about 535, where the Lime-Green Thing made it's first appearance. And to add insult to injury, this episode the Lime-Green Thing was being sewn by Julie in full view of the cameras.
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