The story...
Gwen and Michael arrive happily at a Spanish villa for a
holiday. All seems well until Gwen discovers some blood in the bathroom sink
but they just dismiss it as left behind after a minor accident and lack of
diligence by the cleaner. However more worryingly they later find a broken window. Then a burly German man (he is given no name on screen) knocks at the
door. He speaks no English and they speak no German but at first it just seems
strange when he walks in and starts drinking straight from their bottle of
wine. However matters then take a very serious turn when he points a gun at
them. Despite their communication difficulties it becomes clear that this man
is dangerous and they need to keep him on-side for however long it takes or
risk their lives.
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| The German (Ray Smith) awaits his moment |
Review
Generally this my least favourite episode of the core series
(the final episode The Party’s Over really being an untypical case) but on a
very recent viewing I found it to be rather better than I remember although
it’s still one of the excellent show’s lesser efforts. It’s an episode I’ve
generally been reluctant to watch, largely due to an unpleasant scene in which
the German finds a live chicken which he wants to eat (it must be stressed the
bird seen on-screen is a prop) and then proceeds to wring its neck. The camera
focuses on his upper half with the bird out of shot but its simulated shrieks
can be heard and the looks of revulsion by Gwen and Michael are highlighted.
The pair are then required to pluck the dead bird, prepare it and cook it for
him. The scene is designed to show his brutality but there is ample evidence of
it elsewhere and the risk is that for some viewers it distracts from the
storyline in general which is otherwise pretty good.
This is a rather tense hostage drama.
There is some similarity early-on with Roger Marshall’s opening script for the
show Did You Lock Up? Both depict a happy married couple on holiday who soon
see their happiness shattered when they encounter evidence of an intruder (in
this case in their holiday home). While
the Astles in the earlier episode had to contend with a burglary and were
understandably very shaken, being in the house with an intruder – one who seems only
too prepared to kill – moves fear to a horrifying level. Typically this was the
show exploring fears felt by us all: we look upon home (including a temporary
one) as a place of safety and refuge and one of our most basic fears is to have
an intruder within it – most terrifying of all a violent intruder.
The language barrier adds another dimension. With the couple
and the German not sharing a common language they have no means of finding out
what he intends to do: his demeanour and actions make clear that he is
dangerous but they don’t know his specific and ultimate intentions. They do
have an advantage of sorts in that they are able to talk about their
predicament – and any possible ways out of it – without him understanding them
but as it turns out that doesn’t help them much. They know they are trapped and
a safe way out seems unlikely. He is a heavy drinker and they hope that
ultimately, he will lose focus or fall asleep but he shows remarkable staying
power – maybe because his own liberty and even his life is at stake. It is an
irony that the fact they are a couple reduces their chance of an escape.
Possibly one of them could try to get away but that would mean leaving the other so
loyalty keeps them hostage. Both are aware that a miscalculated attempt to
disarm the man or escape could be fatal – not just for the one making the
attempt but also for their partner.
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| Anxious times for Gwen (Isabel Dean) |
The fact that all this takes place in or immediately outside the villa intensifies the scene. Unusually for the show a courtyard outside the villa is recreated inside the studio – big enough to drive a car into – but the lack of genuine outdoor scenes or ones set in a different building amplifies a sense of claustrophobia and indeed was a feature of the series as a whole.
The final stages inject some further intriguing themes and
round off a provocative and well-performed if not wholly satisfying episode. The
following week would see another Roger Marshall script but a return to more
humble British setting and one of the very best episodes of all – Come Into my
Parlour.
Notes
The seemingly-peculiar title is taken from a line in the script (something Roger Marshall often did) when Michael tastes the grapes on a tree outside the villa - an ironic remark given the horrors later faced by he and Gwen.
Ray Smith was the only actor to appear in more than one episode of the show - he earlier appeared in the pilot Did You Lock Up?
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