Nicholas Cecic

I received a letter from Joe Maplin this morning. It's in his own words as usual, so I'll read it out: Right you lot, get a load of this... Hi-de-Hi! was a sitcom by David Croft and Jimmy Perry (the masterminds behind other classic Britcoms such as Are You Being Served? and It Ain't Half Hot Mum) who based Hi-de-Hi! on their experiences working at Butlins holiday camps. Hi-de-Hi! is set at Maplins holiday camp during the 1959 and 1960 seasons and we get to see the entertainment staff (the Yellowcoats) at work and behind the scenes as they entertain (and cheat) the campers. Hi-de-Hi! has an ensemble cast of fun characters, Jeffrey Fairbrother (Simon Cadell) the meek entertainments director, later replaced by Squadron Leader Clive Dempster DFC (David Griffin) who was Jeff's complete opposite being outgoing and womanising. Then we have the Yellowcoats, Ted Bovis (Paul Shane) the camp host who always found a way to cheat the campers, Spike Dixon (Jeffrey Holland) the camp comic who was constantly trying to stop Ted's efforts at cheating, Gladys Pugh (Ruth Madoc) the head Yellowcoat who had the hots for both Jeffrey and Clive, Fred Quilley (Felix Bowness) the sarcastic riding instructor, Yvonne and Barry Stuart-Hargreaves (Diane Holland and Barry Howard) the snooty ballroom dancers, Julian Dalrymple-Sykes (Ben Aris) a pig farmer who took over for Barry when he abandoned Yvonne, Mr. Partridge (Leslie Dwyer) the drunk old Punch and Judy man who hated kids, Uncle Sammy Morris (Kenneth Connor) a tramp and childrens entertainer who took over once Mr. Partridge faked his death and Sylvia Garnsey (Nikki Kelly) Gladys' nemesis in the Yellowcoats. Rounding out the main cast was Peggy Ollerenshaw (Su Pollard) a slightly potty chalet maid with dreams of becoming a Yellowcoat. There were also several other Yellowcoats who, whilst still prominent, didn't get as much screen time and were often replaced every few series. Them being Stanley Mathews (David Webb), Bruce Mathews (Tony Webb), Gary Bolton (Terence Creasy/Chris Andrews), Betty Whistler (Rikki Howard), Mary (Penny Irving), Val (Gail Harrison), Tracey Bentwood (Susan Beagley), April Wingate (Linda Regan), Dawn Freshwater (Laura Jackson) and Babs Weaver (Julie-Christian Young). Hi-de-Hi! ran for eight years from 1980-1988 and constantly remained a barrel of laughs, but still managed to make you feel for the characters, especially Peggy, who never gave up her attempts to become a Yellowcoat no matter how many times she'd be rejected or embarrassed. All in all, Hi-de-Hi! was a fine show, and one I'll come back to time and time again. Goodnight campers! 10/10.

Are You Being Served? is a comedy film, that despite still being rather funny, suffers one major flaw- it had great potential, but was held down by poor choices and occasionally, poor writing. Are You Being Served? was a film based on the 1972 - 1985 series also titled Are You Being Served?. The TV series was a comedic hit and was loved by many, although the quality seemed to slip downwards starting in Series 6 and becoming more noticable from Series 8 onwards, with several main cast members leaving and being replaced, and more filler being prominent in the episodes. The film came out though, between Series 5 and 6, when the series was at its prime, leaving many faults more noticable. One of the movie's biggest faults in the writing was it's unoriginality with several jokes and scenes taken from older episodes. For example the entire passing notes scene is taken from the Series 1 episode, 'Dear Sexy Knickers...', the switching tents scene bears quite a resemblance to another Series 1 episode, 'Camping In' along with a joke about the American Air Force taking Mrs. Slocombe flat on her back is stolen practically word for word, and the scene early in the movie about Mr. Humphries and Mr. Lucas having to come up with clever ways to measure a Saudi Arabian sultan for pants without touching him is the same concept as a scene from the Series 4 episode 'Fire Practice', except not as funny. Alongside the writing flaws is the movie's pacing problems. The plot is about the staff of Grace Bros. Department Store going on holiday to Costa Plonka in Spain while the store is redecorated, and then getting stuck due to a civil uprising. This sounds great, until you realise 85% of the movie is the first night at Costa Plonka, with most of the action just being taken from earlier episodes (see above). The civil uprising, which was foreshadowed several times throughout the film, was only really the last 10-15 minutes at the end, with a rushed conclusion of Young Mr. Grace showing up in a tank. However, despite the issues with originality and pacing, the main cast of the show reprise their characters and do a wonderful job. John Inman plays the camp Mr. Humphries, Mollie Sugden plays the dignified, but occasionally crass Mrs. Slocombe, Frank Thornton plays the strict, ladies-man Captain Peacock, Trevor Bannister plays the cheeky Mr. Lucas, Wendy Richards plays the young, sensible Miss Brahms, Arthur Brough plays the old and crotchety, but kind Mr. Grainger, Nicholas Smith plays the officious Mr. Rumbold, Harold Bennett plays the frail Young Mr. Grace and Arthur English plays the quick-witted Mr. Harman. Also joining the main cast are Karan David as Conchita, a young waitress at Costa Plonka who falls in love with Mr. Humphries, Glyn Houston as Cesar Rodriguez, a terrorist who lusts over Mrs. Slocombe and Andrew Sachs of Fawlty Towers as Don Carlos Bernardo, the manager of the hotel. The cast all do a great job, however some characters don't get as much screentime as others. Mr. Grainger only gets a few jokes about not understanding air travel and racism towards the Germans, Mr. Rumbold got no truly stand out moments, Mr. Harman only popped in now and again until the climax, and Young Mr. Grace was only at the start and the end. Are You Being Served? wasn't a bad movie, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who aren't die hard fans of the show. 6.5/10.

Come Fly with Me is a spiritual successor to Little Britain with Matt Lucas and David Walliams' hilarious sketch comedy in full force here. Every character from the greedy head of FlyLo, Omar Baba, to coffee kiosk employee, Precious are great and the comedy, while more toned down than Little Britain, is still on point. However, I have two complaints: 1. The series never got a second season, one was planned, but Matt Lucas didn't want to do it. 2. The characters of Mickey and Buster, the airport celebrity photographers, weren't very funny and their scenes tended to drag on much longer then they should of. That being said, Come Fly with Me was an enjoyable watch from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to fans of Little Britain. 9.5/10.

"The Bouquet residence! The lady of the house speaking!" This show is an absolute gem and a must watch for fans of classic Britcoms, Patricia Routledge steals the show in every scene as the incredibly snobby, yet still somehow loveable Hyacinth Bucket, sorry, Hyacinth Bouquet. Every character is great and memorable, including: Hyacinth's long-suffering husband, Richard, Hyacinth's neighbours who are terrified of being invited 'round for coffee or one of her trademark candlelight suppers, Elizabeth and Emmet, Hyacinth's sisters, Daisy and the trampy Rose, Hyacinth's brother-in-law and Daisy's husband, Onslow (who only cares if he's got beer, crisps, bacon butties and if the telly's working), Hyancinth's eccentric father, known only as 'Daddy' and that dishy vicar and his wife. This show is just classic and I would recomend to all fans of classic British television! 10/10.

Pokémon Platinum, is in my opinion, the best Pokémon game to date (beating Heart Gold and Soul Silver by just a bit). Pokémon Platinum is the third version to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and just blows those games out of the water! This game has faster speed, an upgraded Pokédex (more than just two fully evolved fire types in the main story), better story and the Distortion World, where Giratina lurks and the rules of physics don't apply! This game is also good as it is just the right amount of challenge and fun. I played through the game with an Empoleon, an Espeon, a Houndoom, a Porygon-Z, a Crobat and a Giratina (replaced by a Primeape in the post-game). The post game is also fun with a new island to explore, the Stark Mountain side-quest, facing the old gym leaders and allies in the Battleground and the entire Battle Frontier. A great game for the Nintendo DS! 10/10.

Out of the three Seth MacFarlane animated shows, American Dad! remains the best. It's humour isn't purely for disturbing shock value (Family Guy) or bland and forgettable (The Cleveland Show). American Dad! follows the life of American CIA agent, Stan Smith, who lives in Langley Falls, Virginia, with his family: His ditzy wife Francine, hippie daughter Hayley, nerdy son Steve, idiot son-in-law Jeff, East-German trapped in the body of a goldfish Klaus and whichever character Roger the alien's dressed up as this week. Since it's conception in 2005, American Dad! has remained a great show (even if the older seasons were better). I would recommend American Dad! to fans of Seth MacFarlane's work and of adult animated comedy in general. 8.5/10.

Shrek 2 is an oddity, as it is one of the only times I can recall in cinema history where the sequel is better than the original! (We don't talk about Shrek the Third or Shrek Forever After for good reason) Shrek 2 is about Shrek meeting Fiona's parents and Fiona's parents reaction to her staying as an ogre (they were not aware of the ending of the last film) and the wicked Fairy Godmother trying to set up Fiona with her son, Prince Charming. Donkey is also there. This movie is great as builds off the worldbuilding in the last film, which took place in Duloc and Shrek's swamp, Shrek 2 takes place in the glitz and glamour of Far Far Away, the 16th Century's own little version of Hollywood. The movie is funnier than the original and introduces great new characters, such as Puss in Boots, the Fairy Godmother, Fiona's parents and Prince Charming. Shrek 2 is a movie for the ages and will remain the best Shrek film forever and ever. 10/10.