Mike and Angelo S4E7 (1991) - FULL EPISODE

The Dinner Party. Mr Hope next door has an important business deal he's trying to clinch, and he asks Rita if she'll help out by providing a meal for him and his prospective client. There's only one rule: Angelo is banned. Meanwhile, an attempt is made at canine hypnotism. This episode was originally broadcast on Thursday, 28th November, 1991. One of these days I'm going to get round to counting just how many next-door neighbours the good folks of 7 Larkswood Lane managed to get through down the years, but in series four we got to meet Richard Hope and his daughter Lucy. Richard is played by Christopher Bramwell, formerly a Play School presenter and, a year after this, Penny's dad in T-Bag and the Sunstones of Montezuma. It seems he left the screen behind in the 90s. As for Lucy, that role is taken by Kate Ryan, and as far as IMDB is concerned, Mike and Angelo is her only acting credit. Anyway, this episode is unusual in that it's a rare case of Angelo being the relatively stable influence trying to save the day while insanity reigns all around. Without giving too much away, the accidental hypnotism and 'when I click my fingers' repeating joke is right out of the Looney Tunes book of comedy (and that's no bad thing), while young viewers just love to see adults acting like kids. Speaking of which, Lucy is practically incidental to the story here, making this a children's sitcom that would 100% have worked with no children in it at all. You don't get many of those. The one-off guest star, by the way, is Doyne Bird in the part of Mr Spackman. I also wonder if that's the dog from Woof. Probably not. Look out for some ads at the beginning, some CITV continuity on either side presented by Tommy Boyd, and a nice promo for Knightmare - another of my favourites from way back. (Also, the recording cuts off at the end with almost perfect comedic timing.) Many thanks to Grant for 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.)