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Post by jno on May 13, 2015 9:33:16 GMT
Link to episode on minder.org: www.minder.org/episodeguide/S04E04_SorryPalWrongNumber.htm This is not the funniest of episodes but is indeed a very good one. JJ is a hardcore conman and an out and out rogue. I love the way Arthur tells Terry that manning phones is an office job and he is making out he is doing him some sort of favour. This is the first time we see Andrew, Arthur's accountant and I'm not sure that this is the first time we see Arthur under pressure from the VAT man. Arthur's performance answering questions at the Inland Revenue deserves an oscar, especially when questioned about his car - "No, I just use it to take the old folk down to the Darby & Joan Club and people who have to go to hospital." Then to Andrew "And my hobbies?! Making things, wooden things, toys for deprived kiddies." Later back at the Winchester, clearly Arthur is only concerned about the scam and couldn't care less about JJ. He later tells Tony (Vivian Mann) "I owe you nine" and even has a disabled sticker in his car - Arthur is such a crook in this one. The episode seems to take a different turn in the last part with the focus turning to Sprott being on Arthur's back for him taking JJ's scam. Every time I watch it, I always think the ending seems a little bit rushed and if you watch George Cole closely in the very last frame before the credits kick in, it looks very to me like he is about to burst out laughing!
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Post by gustav on Aug 14, 2015 14:26:50 GMT
I wish I had read this post before I watched this episode on ITV4 today. I would have looked out for that. It is a well crafted episode though.
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Post by flashchris on Aug 14, 2015 20:05:02 GMT
I've always enjoyed this episode a great deal although admittedly how Arthur gets around the Railway manager and the IR inspector can seem a bit unbelievable! Still extremely entertaining though and it always cracks me up when Arthur says his Jaguar is "his Uncle Sid's" and that it's "an old man's folly!!"
I agree about the ending and it seems a bit of a strange way to end when Terry says JJ is a con man, what's your excuse to Arthur?
I'll have to watch that ep again and look out for George laughing. I must have seen this ep about 100 times in the last 20 years so I'm amazed I haven't noticed it.
Talking of George laughing, for some reason when he laughs at Terry on The Orient Express telling Chisholm that Interpol are the ones that deliver the flowers, it always seems to me that it is George laughing off the cuff as George does rather than Arthur laughing as per the script. I've often wondered if Terry saying they are the ones that send the flowers was an ad lib as George's reaction is such a natural laugh.
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Post by daz on Nov 4, 2015 22:08:27 GMT
Gave this a watch tonight, another strong episode from series 4, very good.
JJ is a good character, pity we didn't see him again in the series, great performance, as usual from Charlie Chisholm. The comment about Jimmy Saville, when Arthur was speaking with the BR man at the station, must have seemed so innocent at the time.
Watching the kids cycling about on their BMX bikes brought back some happy memories.
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Post by VAT on Jan 11, 2016 19:32:56 GMT
Good episode this one! Love it when Arthur says to Terry outside the telephone boxes "It's alright for you...I've got to go home and change into my Inland Revenue set" "Oh and while you're in there Terry give em a clean will you...they don't half pen and ink" The image of Terry potentially sweeping them out always makes me chuckle... And Arthur doing a runner from Sprott..."Ever seen one of these? (flashing his warrant card)" Arthur - what's that...season ticket to Fulham?"
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Post by daytona355 on Jan 11, 2016 20:10:25 GMT
Lots of fun banter in this one. Watched it yesterday. Arthur's soliloquies to the taxman, and later ripping off the young wannabe gangster are hilarious.
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Post by barrythebook on Jan 11, 2016 21:15:59 GMT
And Arthur doing a runner from Sprott..."Ever seen one of these? (flashing his warrant card)" Arthur - what's that...season ticket to Fulham?" There was a similar scenario in another episode where Chisholm shows up at the Lock-up and shows Arthur a search warrant.
"I'm sure you recognise one of these Arthur?"
"What is it - credit reference?"
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Post by daytona355 on Jan 12, 2016 8:23:29 GMT
The one liners are one of the things that makes Minder so great. I think we all would love to think we can be as quick on our wits as Arthur.
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Post by barrythebook on Jan 12, 2016 20:30:42 GMT
The one liners are one of the things that makes Minder so great. I think we all would love to think we can be as quick on our wits as Arthur.
Totally agree. I look for chances to use sany of Arthurs comical replies in everyday chat myself - I just wish I could deliver them half as well as he did.
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Post by VAT on Jan 13, 2016 18:37:21 GMT
The one liners are one of the things that makes Minder so great. I think we all would love to think we can be as quick on our wits as Arthur. Absolutely! He is so good and natural at the quick fire witty/funny response (another one of my TV heroes Leonard Rossiter was similar imo). (that's why Chisholm is partly such a good oppo I think as he can also be very witty (and great at dry sarcasm) as well - loves dropping in the odd bit of Latin - but he delivers his one liners much slower, more thoughtful like...which contrasts well with Arthur).
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Post by VAT on Jan 13, 2016 18:40:16 GMT
And Arthur doing a runner from Sprott..."Ever seen one of these? (flashing his warrant card)" Arthur - what's that...season ticket to Fulham?" There was a similar scenario in another episode where Chisholm shows up at the Lock-up and shows Arthur a search warrant.
"I'm sure you recognise one of these Arthur?"
"What is it - credit reference?"
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Post by barrythebook on Jan 13, 2016 21:32:19 GMT
The one liners are one of the things that makes Minder so great. I think we all would love to think we can be as quick on our wits as Arthur. Absolutely! He is so good and natural at the quick fire witty/funny response (another one of my TV heroes Leonard Rossiter was similar imo). (that's why Chisholm is partly such a good oppo I think as he can also be very witty (and great at dry sarcasm) as well - loves dropping in the odd bit of Latin - but he delivers his one liners much slower, more thoughtful like...which contrasts well with Arthur). Cracks me up when Chisholm uses a bit of Latin. I think he maybe a bit of a snob actually - he certainly looks down his nose at the likes of Arthur, Terry, Dave and anybody else in the criminal fraternity.
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Post by pr1 on May 15, 2016 17:42:37 GMT
Only Arthur Daley could try to turn three public telephones into a business office!
The scene with Arthur negotiating with the kids was great. Arthur's reaction to Dave's mention of Sean Connery turning into Roger Moore is pure George Cole gold.
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Post by pr1 on May 16, 2016 0:47:19 GMT
During the scene were Arthur is negotiating with the kids at the phone booths look at the background. Several people are standing on a balcony watching.
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Post by barrythebook on May 16, 2016 20:49:44 GMT
I don't like seeing onlookers in the series, it makes the whole thing look rather amateurish imo, this isn't a rare occurrence in Minder. Surely filming angles could have been changed and extras used in a more confined, controllable area to make sure this type of thing didn't happen.
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Post by pr1 on May 16, 2016 21:05:59 GMT
In this example it does seem sloppy. If Arthur and the kids had been yelling at each other it might have attracted attention from the people living nearby and naturally they'd look to see what's going on. Unfortunetly that's not the case and it's just some people watching the filming of a Minder episode.
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arnie
Winchester Regular
"My word is my bond - stand on me"
Posts: 36
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Post by arnie on May 18, 2016 13:56:43 GMT
Its something I've picked up a lot on in latter years and not just in Minder.
I suppose they thought back in the day it might go unnoticed on a 24" push button Pye rental from Granada!!
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Post by syrupapplesnpears on Jul 3, 2016 18:43:13 GMT
I enjoyed this episode a lot. Plenty of Daley duckin 'n' divin' with the taxman, Chisholm on form as usual - and Ethel's nice too; a nice touch of multi-cultural London. Bit of a looker (can I say that?)
It's interesting watching the series and bearing in mind a comment I saw on a documentary about the series where someone said that Minder was 'a love-letter to London'. The way some of the shots are framed - there's a scene in one of the eps where someone leans out of a pub window and the director gets the pub name in, for instance - and the fact that real places were used certainly adds to the vibe. I think it's one of the reasons why the series stands up after 30 years.
Where do I know teenager Tony from? He looks familiar under his hair but I can't place him. And yes, there's a bit of a smirk from Arthur at the very end. What's funny, George? Looking forward to the Orient Express episode for George's laugh - thanks for that!
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Post by Wynn Chester on Jul 3, 2016 18:58:24 GMT
Where do I know teenager Tony from? He looks familiar under his hair but I can't place him. Possibly from Grange Hill as Antoni Karamanopolis? More details of his acting work can be found here
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arnie
Winchester Regular
"My word is my bond - stand on me"
Posts: 36
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Post by arnie on Jul 5, 2016 14:20:39 GMT
Great episode. As already mentioned the one-liners and quips in this are superb - Arthur at his best, surrounded by good characters.
Love it when he says to the printer "Oi Caxton..." and then calling Petal anything floral except Petal..... Brilliant!
You can imagine back in the day there were places like Mo's mail room and a some real chancers like JJ around.
One odd scene though was Dave greeting Sprott so amiably in the Winchester. Given its a members club, and judging by the clientele and Dave's discretion a Plod free one, it seemed a bit unlikely that he would ever have been a member and for Dave so openly friendly to not only the old bill but a bent one at that!
A small quibble in a great episode.
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Post by Wynn Chester on Jul 5, 2016 18:32:51 GMT
One odd scene though was Dave greeting Sprott so amiably in the Winchester. Given its a members club, and judging by the clientele and Dave's discretion a Plod free one, it seemed a bit unlikely that he would ever have been a member and for Dave so openly friendly to not only the old bill but a bent one at that! A small quibble in a great episode. Possibly because he was a bent copper? Not that we find out what he did
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Post by barrythebook on Jul 5, 2016 20:32:09 GMT
One odd scene though was Dave greeting Sprott so amiably in the Winchester. Given its a members club, and judging by the clientele and Dave's discretion a Plod free one, it seemed a bit unlikely that he would ever have been a member and for Dave so openly friendly to not only the old bill but a bent one at that! A small quibble in a great episode. Possibly because he was a bent copper? Not that we find out what he did ...or to possibly keep him sweet and not start asking questions about the clubs members. Chisholm was always treated well in the Winch and i assumed this was to stop him plying his trade.
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Post by gra966 on Dec 18, 2016 12:31:44 GMT
A good episode with all the usual dodgy deals Arthurs comments about the GPO , British Telecom or whatever they are called now would suggest this was filmed around the time of the changeover The scene with the discussion between Sprott & Chisholm was brilliant - some great dialogue The tall guy with the curly hair leading the BMX gang was I think the character in Grange Hill with the Greek name that fell from the multi storey car park Shaun Curry was familiar at the time playing the father of Vince (Paul Nicholas) in the brilliant comedy Just Good Friends The first car JJ flags down at the beginning is a nice white 6 series BMW with the plate TRX900Y - a BMW GB supplied car also keep a look out for a "boy racer" yellow MK3 Cortina parked behind where Sprott is talking to Arthur near the end - these were getting on a bit by then especially as we now see Chisholm in a Sierra !!
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njaustin
Car Lot Browser
And my hobbies? Making things...wooden things...toys for deprived kiddies
Posts: 6
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Post by njaustin on Mar 5, 2017 12:53:01 GMT
This episode may have its inconsistencies but I can forgive them purely because of the terrific acting during the Inland Revenue scene. For me, this is Arthur at his best. I loved the frayed shirt, the comic timing, the lapse from wounded innocent to conniving Daley when his tone changes when he's asking Andrew if he'd told him about the lock-up. Watch Royce Mill's face too. He never says a word but ALMOST steals the scene from George.
Away from the subplot, I love the way the Petal really gets into the phone booth business and hangs up on her boyfriend.
Love it!
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Post by Zimbo on Mar 13, 2017 0:12:11 GMT
A solid episode. The always superb TP McKenna, one of the most used actors gives a great performance as JJ. I liked Dennis' scenes with the black lady at the phone boxes as she helped it. It was very warm. Chisholm, minus Jones and slightly underused in this episode.
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Post by chopper on Jun 13, 2017 12:30:00 GMT
A solid & entertaining episode Great cast,too! They might be cool again these days - but that poor lad on that Raleigh Chopper must've felt left out amongst those BMX's! Even though it was a late edition black - "prismatic " example! These episodes (obviously) have a very mid 80's look about them now.
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Post by billyfarmer on Jun 13, 2017 21:33:38 GMT
A solid & entertaining episode Great cast,too! They might be cool again these days - but that poor lad on that Raleigh Chopper must've felt left out amongst those BMX's! Even though it was a late edition black - "prismatic " example! These episodes (obviously) have a very mid 80s look about them now. A great thing about 1980s Minder episodes, the Nostalgia Factor, I can remember riding a Red Chopper Bike, in the 1980s.
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Post by felixdeburgh on Jun 18, 2017 6:04:33 GMT
This was a sloppy side of Minder in general- an awful lot of scenes one can see people watching filming, even staring and pointing. I don't think the directors ever reviewed the film before processing it! In the scene where Terry is driving JJ and JJ asks if Arthur is "still game for a lark", you can see a few kids running after the car in the background. Presumably the Jag was on a trailer and had just pulled away from stationary. The Sierra Chisholm drives (A62GLD) has a very similar number to the Mercedes owned by Micky The Fish (A64GLD) in High Drains Pilferer. I like this episode a lot and is typical Minder - a dodgy scheme with Arthur trying to justify it and some great dialogue. GC's acting ability shines through once again, particularly in the scenes with his accountant and also the VAT Man. I love the way Arthur slips out of 'character' when told he might find a watch in his lockup. The scene where Arthur tries to act all nonchalant when trying to evade Sprott who's looking at his Jag, is just brilliant. One thing that puzzles me though - if Sprott has just been sacked by the Old Bill, why is he still carrying his warrant card? Not quite the apex of the series but definitely a 4/5.
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Post by thefactory on Jun 18, 2017 9:15:05 GMT
The scene with Arthur negotiating with the kids was great. Agree pr1, there's some great lines in the exchange with Tony when he's trying to extort money out of Arthur for letting him use the phone boxes... "Don't you read the Financial Times no more, Tone?" And "...at the risk of dwelling on the ambiguous morality of the situation...how much?"
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Post by bagofsand on Jul 12, 2017 21:00:52 GMT
Watched it again today, still one of my favourite lines is Terry to the long haired bloke. "Alright Sunshine, now you've had a good time with the phones but if anybody hurts those cars your heads coming off!" Classic stuff!
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