Still Game Series 3
I'm happy to say Still Game has gone from strength to strength as a series. This, its third series, is no exception. In fact, I think it a stronger series than the last one. What I like in this series - as with the earlier two - is the way that other characters in Craiglang have assumed a bigger importance than they enjoyed at the start of series 1.
On the one hand, you might say that F & G get an episode in the bag if they introduce a new character who suddenly returns; but on the other, you can see the wider perspective they bring to the series. Nowhere is this truer than the first episode, 'Hoaliday.' The way we see Jack and Victor is altered, as we see the episode not through their eyes, but almost entirely through those of Jack's daughter, Mary, as Jack and Victor arrive at her family's house in Canada. While there aren't as many laughs in the episode, it is by far the most moving of the series yet. It also compares and contrasts Craiglang and Canada (where writer Greg Hemphill, who also plays Victor, spent his formative years) with considerable care and humour. See the last scene of the show as The Clansman's regulars pass tacky souvenirs around at The Clansman to see what it is I'm talking about.
'Swottin' is one of the best of the series. It shows J & V's attempts to learn 'medical proficiency' at Glasgow University (Where Greg Hemphill is Rector). Why first aid and not the legal profession? Jack answers: 'Naw - we'd be deid by then.' The boys discover cheap beer and a pickled boaby, with hilarious resuilts. Meanwhile at The Clansman, Boaby (the man who 'couldnay get his hole in a barrel o' fannies') decides to hold on a quiz night. But he's got his eye on The Clansman' foxy new barmaid.
'Big Yin' sees veteran actor Clive Russell playing Big Innes who, like Shug in series 1, has a larger-than-life ability. The Neds are terrorising Craiglang, and Innes's is summoned to sort them out. Yet this modern-day Samson has a flaw: 'Whatever you do,' his wife warns the boys, 'Don't give him Miduri...' The episode is my choice for the best one of the series.
'Oot' sees another guest star, this time in the form of Sylvester McCoy. He plays Archie, a reclusive hermit forced to leave the flat in which he has lived in for over half a century in almost total seclusion. Jack and Victor take him in and introduce him to the joys of modern Glasgow, cheesy burgers, and The Clansman. 'Aff' sees the long-awaited appearance of Victor's uncaring son, John. Will things go as smoothly for Victor, as a prank horribly backfires? And, for once, Winston has a legitimate complaint for the social office: ('How would ye like to get yir tongue roond those tootsies?')
Still Game's comedy is as true and real as ever without ever once straining to be Relevant. Still Game is as far from being a gritty slice-of-life or social-issues show. It is the next big thing, and by buying this DVD and the others, you can say you saw it first.Read full review
