phantom_tollbooth

After a terrible opening trio of episodes of the final series, Dad's Army finally returns to some level of quality. It's a Fraser episode, with the discovery of his hoard of gold sovereigns prompting everyone in town to seek to get their hands on them in some way. Mainwaring's wants them sold to help the war effort (and to get the hefty commission he will get from Fraser depositing in his bank) and the Vicar thinks a generous donation to the upkeep of the church is in order, but Fraser has other ideas. After slipping into a slight pantomime version of the character in series seven, John Laurie has now remembered how to play Fraser, bringing the right level of broadness amongst recognisably real character traits. His blunt denunciations of those seeking his fortune are some of the highlights of the episode and, though predictable, the conclusion is satisfying. I'm not exactly sure why they brought back Fulton Mackay, already used in We Know Our Onions, as a different character, especially since it is a brief role which makes no use of his comic talents, but overall this is a neat little character episode after a barrage of silly slapstick ones.