Hey_Sweden

An elderly, recently retired schoolteacher (Edward G. Robinson) has a plan to steal $10 million worth of diamonds out of a vault in Rio de Janeiro. He goes to a criminal mastermind (Adolfo Celi) who puts together a team of specialists (Klaus Kinski, Riccardo Cucciolla, Jorge Rigaud, Robert Hoffmann) to pull off the job; as part of the job, playboy Hoffmann must seduce a frosty secretary (Janet Leigh) who possesses a key crucial to their plans.

Although mostly predictable in terms of twists, the ending is still quite delicious, and the director, Giuliano Montaldo, is able to generate an effective amount of tension once the actual heist is under way. He & his screenwriters don't really set out to "reinvent the wheel" in terms of plot, but the film is still VERY WELL put together, and it milks a ton of atmosphere from its exotic setting, which adds a degree of freshness. The international cast is splendid, even if Celi and Robinson have little more than "special guest star" roles. Kinski, as usual, is quite amusing, especially in scenes where we can see how he & Hoffmann do NOT get along.

All in all, this shows lovers of the heist movie formula quite a good time, and it's boosted even further by another great Ennio Morricone soundtrack. One of my favorite bits: the fact that Celi has a huge assortment of files on experts in just about EVERY field.

Eight out of 10.

Basil & Sybil will be away for the weekend, deciding to leave the normally reliable Polly in charge. But SHE decides to take a nap, and a typically fumbling, English language-challenged Manuel has to try to step up. All of this while a team of builders - whom Basil likes to use for no other reason than that they come cheap - manages to screw up a job involving putting in / removing doors.

'The Builders' is downright hilarious at times, with Manuel rating as my absolute favorite character; Andrew Sachs just nails the role. Overall, this farce and slapstick-heavy episode does a memorable job of skewering the whole construction business. Guest star David Kelly ("Waking Ned") is a treat to watch as the boss of the cut-rate O'Reilly company; naturally, Stubbs (James Appleby, a veteran of British television), the man whom Sybil would prefer to utilize, has to point out some truly shoddy workmanship.

Some of the most riotous moments involve Basil just completely blowing his top and venting at his employees. "Don't panic!" "What else is there to do?????" And Basil, of course, ends up making a fool of himself trying to pull the wool over his wifes' eyes.

Great fun; a solid follow-up to the pilot episode.

Eight out of 10.