mapleleaves

This was a fun movie - not just for the Shop Around the Corner/You've Got Mail storyline, but the satire on Thanksgiving cooking. I strongly suspect all the disasters that people called in about have actually happened at some point.

I'll grumble about the details - the sign at O'Hare doesn't just say "Chicago International Airport" and extravagant custom hardware like Abby's doorknob are more inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright than Daniel Burnham. And whenever someone talked about cottage cheese, the container of Daisy brand was taken out and placed squarely in front of the camera (almost poking fun at the obviously paid for product placement)

Great film, enjoyed watching! Will watch it again next time it's on.

This series ran from 1972 to 1985, but as British series typically only do six or seven episodes in a season, there are only sixty-nine episodes in all.

The series focuses on the relationship between the staff of the ladies' department and the gentlemen's department in a mid-priced department store in London. Also involved in the humor and bickering are the floorwalker, the department manager, and the owner of the store. There were several cast changes, but most of the crew stayed on through the entire run.

As Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock, the floorwalker) points out in interviews, this show is appealing because it's about shops. Everybody knows what goes on in a shop. We see the bickering for display space, the outrageous lies told to clinch a sale, and the petty squabbles as management institutes ridiculous rules.

The one flaw to the series is that continuity stank. The departments in question bounced from floor to floor over the years, not because they were moved, but because the writers forgot where they were supposed to be!

A blessing to fans of the series is the new DVD collection which includes 34 episodes from the first five seasons. There were four Christmas episodes that are rarely shown on television, and two are in the time frame of this set. Also included is "Top Hat and Tails," which had been "lost" for twenty-five years. Once you see it, you'll understand why someone "lost" it until just recently (there's a scene that was surely considered inappropriate at the time).

This series has its down moments, but every episode brings laughs and joy. The quick wit and hilarious physical comedy remain timeless, even as the clothes seem more dated and the political references get stale.

I actually saw the one episode of this show when it ran in 1985. The premise was acceptable, a variation on the prince-and-pauper role-swapping story. I think there was a show around the same time where a couple buy an enchanted lamp that grants them the wish of swapping bodies, but doesn't give them the ability to switch back.

The problem with using this situation in a half-hour sitcom is that there is only so much you can set up in twenty-two minutes. And the writers weren't up to the task - most of the episode was filled with bathroom jokes as "Charlene" tried to figure out the physiological aspects of being a woman.

It wasn't Suzanne Somers' fault this show was a stinker. And it wasn't the concept that was bad, either - Blake Edwards used it in his movie "Switch" several years later.