Jo is looking forward to a night out with Philip ( Karl Howman ) even though it means missing one of her many babysitting commitments. Robin and Chrissy decide to stand in for her. They arrive at the posh home of the Randalls, a middle-class couple. Robin is keen to see 'Match Of The Day' in colour, but then finds that the set has gone back to the shop. Worse, the key to the well-stocked drinks cabinet is missing.
As the evening progresses, Robin senses a golden opportunity to make time with Chrissy...
A fair episode. Babysitting plots have featured in loads of sitcoms over the years, from 'Hancock's Half-Hour' to 'On The Buses'. I do not care for them myself ( though 'Dawsons Weekly' had a very good one, entitled 'The Clerical Error' ). As the heavily pregnant 'Podge Randall' is Jo Kendall, one of the regulars on the classic B.B.C. radio show 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'. Her husband ( played by Richard Fraser ) is 'Simon Randall'. Was this a deliberate reference to the 1970 children's sci-fi show 'Timeslip'? Probably not. A young Karl Howman ( the second 'Jakey Smith' in 'Get Some In' and 'Jacko' in 'Brush Strokes' ) gets an early television role as Jo's boyfriend.
As ever, its the Ropers who wind up bagging the lion's share of the laughs. In the funniest moment, they are in bed, and George is reading a Western. "There's a good twist in this. The girl in the saloon has just discovered the Sheriff's gun is full of blanks!" to which the sex-starved Mildred retorts: "I know just how she feels!".
As the evening progresses, Robin senses a golden opportunity to make time with Chrissy...
A fair episode. Babysitting plots have featured in loads of sitcoms over the years, from 'Hancock's Half-Hour' to 'On The Buses'. I do not care for them myself ( though 'Dawsons Weekly' had a very good one, entitled 'The Clerical Error' ). As the heavily pregnant 'Podge Randall' is Jo Kendall, one of the regulars on the classic B.B.C. radio show 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'. Her husband ( played by Richard Fraser ) is 'Simon Randall'. Was this a deliberate reference to the 1970 children's sci-fi show 'Timeslip'? Probably not. A young Karl Howman ( the second 'Jakey Smith' in 'Get Some In' and 'Jacko' in 'Brush Strokes' ) gets an early television role as Jo's boyfriend.
As ever, its the Ropers who wind up bagging the lion's share of the laughs. In the funniest moment, they are in bed, and George is reading a Western. "There's a good twist in this. The girl in the saloon has just discovered the Sheriff's gun is full of blanks!" to which the sex-starved Mildred retorts: "I know just how she feels!".
