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Cherry Pop

'Hold the Sunset - Series One'
(John Cleese, Alison Steadman, Jason Watkins, et al / DVD / NR / 2019 / BBC Home Entertainment)

Overview: Edith and Phil are two neighbors who are keen to start a relationship and a new life abroad. Those plans are disrupted when Edith's immature, fifty-something son Roger moves back home after leaving his wife and children.

DVD Verdict: I feel it only right and just that I first point out that about halfway through the first episode I was very, very saddened that the great Python himself, John Cleese had come out of his comedy retirement to play this kind of character in such a lame sitcom!

But then, something wondrous happened … I rewatched it a couple of nights later and suddenly I was chuckling to myself! So, as there are only six (6) episodes here (unlike the American sitcoms and their 22-24 run per season), I binge watched the entire first season!

They were hilarious, in their slow, black comedy stylings and with the additional of external characters coming into play, really started to feel like I had welcomed a new family into my TV-viewing life.

Now, sure, the whole A couple in retirement, pensioners at that, get ready to sail off into the sunset when one (or more) of their all-grown kids boomerang's back home and into their old bedroom(s) comedic plot line before, but the problems and laughs it brings here do grow on you, trust me!

EPISODE 1 - BUBBLY
Edith's dreams of retirement to the sun with her long-term suitor Phil are shattered when her 50-yearold son Roger arrives home, seeking to recapture the happiness of his boyhood.

EPISODE 2 - BIRTHDAY
Edith is about to celebrate her 70th birthday, and Phil and Roger are determined to outshine each other with their gifts. However, Edith is far from impressed with her son's present - tracking down the family's former cleaner. Meanwhile, Roger tries to disrupt his mother's new romance by bringing up Phil's past.

EPISODE 3 - THE MARRIAGE COUNSELLOR
Mrs Gale gives herself the task of being an unofficial marriage guidance counsellor to Roger and Wendy, whom she advises to practice being nice. Edith and Phil seize the chance to get away for the weekend, but they soon receive an alarming phone call from their cleaner, who has hijacked their house as a venue for a party.

EPISODE 4 - THE BURGLARY
As tensions grow between Roger and Wendy, a midnight break-in brings Edith face to face with a ghost from her past. How can she explain the raffish Bob to Phil?

EPISODE 5 - ROGER THE CARER
Bob gives Roger the idea of applying to be a paid carer for Edith. The trouble is, Edith is perfectly well, so who can Roger persuade to stand in for her?

EPISODE 6 - OLD FLAMES
Phil is worried that Edith's old flame Bob may be gaining ground, and that his own one-time floozy Desiree may put in an unwelcome appearance.

The first couple of episodes do make you wonder if you've got the will power to get through the rest, but things spark up when the family's previous cleaner, Mrs Gale (Anne Reid) shows up. Bringing color and chaos to the house in seconds flat, she soon becomes a staple of the family dynamic (as shown to her full character extent in the third episode).

In the fourth episode, we get the comedic black comedy timing of Cleese up against the burglar of the title, Bob (the one-armed thief, played at his scruffy bearded best by James Cosmo). Someone who I thought would be done in the one episode, he pops up again in the final two; not always welcomed though, of course!).

For it is he who tries to "help" and convince Roger (Watkins) that what he needs to do is "care" for his old mum; whilst getting paid by the government for doing so! Then, come the final episode, Phil's one-time floozy Desiree (a rather seductive and sexy Shobna Gulati) is welcomed into the fold by his current love, Edith!

In what seems like an end of series episode, given the fact it's way more about a missing lottery ticket and a coming together of minds between Phil's two ladies from his life, I was blown away (happily) to discover that there is a second season of Hold the Sunset that has been commissioned by the BBC.

Oh, and on a final note, and for those loving this show, there was also a special Christmas episode screened by the BBC this past Holiday season! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of a Bloopers reel.

www.BBC.com





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