Mike and Angelo S3E7 (1991) - FULL EPISODE

Brett Shrinks. Rita needs to get a wardrobe up the stairs, and Angelo has just the invention to help: a device that can alter the size of whatever it's pointed at. Clever stuff, and not at all dangerous - unless some unsuspecting guest accidentally turns it on himself. This episode was originally broadcast on Wednesday, 2nd January, 1991. The commonly held wisdom regarding Mike and Angelo is that the early years were more of a drama series with funny moments, while later on it turned into a madcap sitcom. Well, on this channel, we've already come across later editions with highly emotional stories, and now we have our earliest example yet of a farce. (Chances are there may be even earlier ones, but time will tell.) Or maybe "farce" is too strong, but there's definitely that fundamental plot point of desperately trying to keep one particular character from discovering what's gone wrong while trying to put it right - and it's done very well. I like how the situation keeps developing, with the cat, Philippa, the vacuum cleaner, and all the other innocent actions such as throwing away an empty milk carton. It's mostly very natural, rather than forced, is what I'm trying to say. Before I forget, you can see behind-the-scenes footage of this very episode being made in this ITV Schools documentary: https://youtu.be/KKBhiUHezOY?t=62 I don't know for certain what the inspiration was, but it's worth considering that it was made within a year of the UK release of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. (Grammaticists: shouldn't it be "Honey, I Shrank the Kids" or "Honey, I've Shrunk the Kids"?) Some of the blue screen shots are very impressive for their time, though others - particularly the 'punchline' at the end - are rather more what you'd expect from the era. That said, I like that Angelo's invention looks more clunky and home-made and less polished than many of his later efforts. Other things to look out for are Angelo's deafening shout and general noisiness, what I think may be a nod to Lady and the Tramp, the Oliver Hardy catchphrase, "Why don't you do something to help me?", and mentions of Italian footballers Schillaci and Baggio in a joke exactly mirrored on Father Ted a few short years later. Have we mentioned Alessia Gwyther as Philippa before, by the way? She was a regular in the early series, and this must be one of her last appearances on the show. She'd previously been in A Little Princess, and went on to do an episode each of The Return of the Psammead, Calling the Shots, and Poirot - no idea what she's up to now, but I hope she's doing well for herself. Many thanks to Lee providing this recording. (To the best of my knowledge, the contents of this video have never been available commercially anywhere in the world. Please also note that I don't monetise any of my uploads. Nevertheless, if you are a copyright holder and have an objection, please don't hesitate to contact me.)