Broadcast on June 5th 1968, this is the only surviving episode of the black and white series of Barry Cryer's and Graham Chapman's hit office sitcom 'No, That's Me Over Here!'. Strangely, it is not included on the Network D.V.D. Had it not been posted on You Tube, I would not be able to review it.
'Ronnie' ( Ronnie Corbett ) has set his sights on becoming his firm's new Entertainment Secretary. To this end, he invites his boss, the fearsome 'Mr.Robinson' ( Ivor Dean ) to his home one evening for drinks. But, crafty neighbour 'Cyril' ( the excellent Henry McGee ) is also after the same post. 'Laura' ( Rosemary Leach ), Ronnie's wife, has invited her handsome German language teacher 'Jeurgen Richter' ( David Kernan ). Knowing of his boss' disdain for Germans ( he fought in the war ), Ronnie fears that Jeurgen's presence will cost him the post. Ronnie tries his best to conceal Jeurgen from Mr.Robinson, but inevitably the two meet. To Ronnie's surprise, Mr.Robinson describes Jeurgen as a 'very nice chap'. The next problem for Ronnie is attempting to keep his guests off the subject of the war...
It is hard to watch this now and not be reminded of the 'Fawlty Towers' classic 'The Germans'. Like Basil, Ronnie is struggling to keep his guests in line, and resorts to all kinds of subterfuge including smashing his wine glasses. Ironically, Jeurgen admits he left his country because he found it 'boring'. David Kernan, who plays 'Jeurgen', was one of the regulars of 'That Was The Week That Was' and also appeared in 'Carry On Abroad' and 'Zulu'. In a nice twist ending, Cyril gets the Entertainments Secretary post, but, on discovering it involves a tremendous amount of work, soon regrets the appointment. There is no lovely Jill Mai Meredith ( perhaps she joined the show when it went into colour ). No classic then, but midly amusing ( and certainly more enjoyable than the dreadful spin-off 'The Prince Of Denmark' ).
Funniest moment - in his garden, Ronnie tries to use a sheet of hardboard to conceal Jeurgen's arrival from Mr.Robinson.
'Ronnie' ( Ronnie Corbett ) has set his sights on becoming his firm's new Entertainment Secretary. To this end, he invites his boss, the fearsome 'Mr.Robinson' ( Ivor Dean ) to his home one evening for drinks. But, crafty neighbour 'Cyril' ( the excellent Henry McGee ) is also after the same post. 'Laura' ( Rosemary Leach ), Ronnie's wife, has invited her handsome German language teacher 'Jeurgen Richter' ( David Kernan ). Knowing of his boss' disdain for Germans ( he fought in the war ), Ronnie fears that Jeurgen's presence will cost him the post. Ronnie tries his best to conceal Jeurgen from Mr.Robinson, but inevitably the two meet. To Ronnie's surprise, Mr.Robinson describes Jeurgen as a 'very nice chap'. The next problem for Ronnie is attempting to keep his guests off the subject of the war...
It is hard to watch this now and not be reminded of the 'Fawlty Towers' classic 'The Germans'. Like Basil, Ronnie is struggling to keep his guests in line, and resorts to all kinds of subterfuge including smashing his wine glasses. Ironically, Jeurgen admits he left his country because he found it 'boring'. David Kernan, who plays 'Jeurgen', was one of the regulars of 'That Was The Week That Was' and also appeared in 'Carry On Abroad' and 'Zulu'. In a nice twist ending, Cyril gets the Entertainments Secretary post, but, on discovering it involves a tremendous amount of work, soon regrets the appointment. There is no lovely Jill Mai Meredith ( perhaps she joined the show when it went into colour ). No classic then, but midly amusing ( and certainly more enjoyable than the dreadful spin-off 'The Prince Of Denmark' ).
Funniest moment - in his garden, Ronnie tries to use a sheet of hardboard to conceal Jeurgen's arrival from Mr.Robinson.