6.18 - Wish You Were Here

[peabody]

Discuss, review and rate Wish You Were Here.

Written by Tony Williamson
Directed by Don Chaffey

[cyberrich]

Wish you were here merits a good 7/10. I quite like this one though it's way down my list of faves (about 28th/33). I always feel as if I'm watching an elongated Monty Python sketch for some reason. Maybe it's the bikini-clad ladies who keep stepping out from behind those bushes. Clearly a 'Prisoner' pastiche, and lacking in anything more than it's single idea of it's borrowed plot. Quite a fun episode nonetheless, but maybe one that doesn't stand up to too many repeated viewings. Rich.

[anti-clockwise]

I thought this was one of the worst Tara episodes. She did little fighting. The whole episode was dreadful IMHO. Rich was very generous. I give it a 3/10.

[Rodders]

I agree. I actually think this is the worst out of the 33. It mistakes slapstick for subtlety. A great idea wasted.

[darren]

This was one of the last episodes I saw from this season so by this stage it was more like a list ticking to say I'd watched it. It did little to engage me. Linda Thorson isn't really given much to get stuck into unlike say All Done With Mirrors. Superficially, she has some awful outfits as well.

It's got one of my bugbears where the exterior isn't a good match for the interior set so constantly seeing the reception just over emphasises it. The design is rather faceless and colourless. It's a very un-vibrant hotel which quickly aids the episode in becoming dull. I expect a certain style to The Avengers, this episode doesn't deliver it.

Don Chaffey did some superb work on season 6 though he doesn't seem very inspired by this one but it's hardly surprising. Tony Williamson did some good stuff for The Avengers but this episode is rather one note. It's a gag about the hotel preventing guests from leaving by creating accidents but it quickly becomes irritating rather than fun or engaging.

And the tag scene is awful (plus it has a door in Steed's apartment that leads out on to the street!).

5/10

[Rhonda]

7 from me. Like the hotel grounds.

[Avengerholic]

Watched this one again (after many, many years) this morning, still one of the most silly, tedious and visually boring episodes in the entire series. That scene where the hotel staff are trying to push open the kitchen door is a joke ! And had Tara really wanted to leave the hotel, then are we really supposed to accept that a wet hair do would have stopped her ?? - A ridiculous story all round 1/10.

[Ian Wegg]

Well I was really enjoying this. I thought it was a good premise with some great actors and some very good humour. It was heading for a 9 or 10 ... until about half-way, around the scene where Creighton-Latimer becomes involved, at which point it fell off a cliff. The humour becomes too silly, the characters change before your eyes, the hotel staff become suddenly incompetent. The girl in the bushes routine is pure Benny Hill while a lot of the rest reminded me of those silent shorts that Ronnie Barker did in the 70's.

It started with so much promise so I'm really disappointed with this.

After much thought I've divided my score equally between the 2 parts.
(50% x 9) + (50% x 1) = 5.

[Lee]

Another story which has had no comment for a few years. Reading the previous reviews this seems a little unpopular. This has always been a favourite of mine from series 6, and with two deaths (I think) perhaps is a more light hearted episode. Howeve, I did watch out for some the the criticisms here with an open mind.

I think the premise of the story is fresh and different. Kept in a hotel as a prisoner, where the jailers serve you cocktails and offer you every assistance. Everyone else can come and go, but you are trapped. It has an interesting premise. I kept thinking of The Man With Two Shadows and wondered how this would have worked in season 3 with more subtle comedy and perhaps a little more menace. However, it is where it is and I think it still works quite well.

I love the opening scene. Well directed, too. You are made to think they are in some kind of incarceration point, with no furniture to give it away. They discuss escape and are sweating a little. Only when the waiter comes in and the angle changes and you see they are in a hotel does your perspective change. There has been discussion about the lack of use of shadows in the colour episodes, yet this one uses the technique regularly, with this opening scene being quite effective.

The supporting cast in the hotel are very good. Many faces here have appeared before, and others (eg Richard Caldicott) are recognised by their voices from some of their extensive radio work. Derek Newark puts in what I think is a final appearance in the series and is more of a threatening presence than he is previously (eg From Venus With Love). He mainly observes the action until becoming more involved later. In facts, the only weaker character is Mother's nephew, who is there for the comedy relief. Another bumbling upper class twit. At least this one seems to have a little more about him.

Addressing some of the criticisms of others, yes, it does seem that Tara wouldn't really have let a bucket of water stop her from getting away, but we also don't know what else may have happened off camera, and I also think she would have planned and strategised other ways out on her own without discussing things with her uncle and co. My wife also said when it came to the staff trying to open the kitchen that they didn't seem to be trying very hard.

However, it didn't spoil my enjoyment. I think the concept is quite original, the acting quite good, and watching it on Blu-Ray made it seem quite colourful. There was a large reuse of previous musical cues, with quite a few cropping up from series 4 and 5.

Overall, I give this 7.

[dissolute]

I love that opening shot, with the shadow of the decorative arch near the bar suggesting they're in a prison cell. It reminds me of Dr No, with the shadowy web in his interview room, every time I watch it. Great work by Don Chaffey.