Mr. Newbold

codfanglers

codfanglers

Dedicated Member
I thought I would pick the brains of other SOAH fans with this one.

What are your thoughts on Mr. Newbold? At first, I really didn't think he fit in with the show. His demeanor makes him appear more distinguished and educated than most of Roy Clarke's male characters, who are usually barmpots or have more simplistic personas. Although, after some time, I got to really enjoy him. For me, it is now comically odd (and rather interesting) that a professional appearing character finds himself in the usual dilemmas.
 
Although I am no fan of this remake hats off the Geoffrey Whitehead and accomplished actor with a wealth of experience who has appeared in a plethora of classic shows so its not really unexpected that he is more than capable of playing this character with aplomb.
 
Mr Newbold was miserable, shy and easily controlled by Mrs Featherstone which didn't fit in with his professional appearance.
 
jetosc said:
SOAH was a comedy that I never really took to at all. A lot of quality actors in it, but for me the script was sadly lacking.
Click to expand...
Yes a lot of fans on here echo your sentiments. I think they recycled some unused LoTW scripts.

Welcome to the forum btw it’s lovely to have you on board. Hoping you’ll be posting lots more :)
 
Mrs. Featherstone was a gold digger. One thing gold diggers do is play two guys off against each other, putting them in competition. Normally it makes for a lucrative dating experience for the gold digger and gives the gold digger time to assess which of the two victims really has the most money and is willing to stretch the farthest for the prize. Under normal circumstances, this is where the gift wrapped key to the Corvette with the big bow around it is presented.

However, these were not normal circumstances and there wasn't going to be a Corvette for Mrs. Featherstone. Mrs. Featherstone, who already had decided on the winner, didn't measure up herself in many gold digger categories and the makeover made her look hideous. However, Mr. Newbold presented nicely as worthy competition for the humbly dressed shopkeeper. He had good posture, was well spoken, well dressed, nice digs, nice car, no vices except Philately and most probably had a few sheckles tucked away in his 401K (Barmpot's translation: few quid in his eunuchs trust). In this vain, he was essential to the show.

She was onto a loser here because both targets were afraid of her, but it made for awkward circumstances and a few chuckles along the way. Everything ended up nicely with Mrs. Rossi in the picture, who was a far better fit for Mr. Newbold.
 
Seymour Upperthong said:
Mrs. Featherstone was a gold digger. One thing gold diggers do is play two guys off against each other, putting them in competition. Normally it makes for a lucrative dating experience for the gold digger and gives the gold digger time to assess which of the two victims really has the most money and is willing to stretch the farthest for the prize. Under normal circumstances, this is where the gift wrapped key to the Corvette with the big bow around it is presented.

However, these were not normal circumstances and there wasn't going to be a Corvette for Mrs. Featherstone. Mrs. Featherstone, who already had decided on the winner, didn't measure up herself in many gold digger categories and the makeover made her look hideous. However, Mr. Newbold presented nicely as worthy competition for the humbly dressed shopkeeper. He had good posture, was well spoken, well dressed, nice digs, nice car, no vices except Philately and most probably had a few sheckles tucked away in his 401K (Barmpot's translation: few quid in his eunuchs trust). In this vain, he was essential to the show.

She was onto a loser here because both targets were afraid of her, but it made for awkward circumstances and a few chuckles along the way. Everything ended up nicely with Mrs. Rossi in the picture, who was a far better fit for Mr. Newbold.
Click to expand...
Very interesting take, Seymour.
 
Barrychuckle said:
Yes a lot of fans on here echo your sentiments. I think they recycled some unused LoTW scripts.

Welcome to the forum btw it’s lovely to have you on board. Hoping you’ll be posting lots more :)
Click to expand...
I would say unused scripts but also a lot of previous props from LOTSW. I have seen most episodes a few times, but just caught the episode with the mangle and the shrinking pants- very familiar props. While predictable, the episode was hilarious. My wife and I were laughing hysterically.

This show has just brought so much joy for me, post-Summer Wine.
 
Onslow said:
Here in the US we take what we can get on our broadcast networks (I hate streaming hunting-and-pecking for shows). In a post-LOTSW world SOAH is appreciated gold!
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I share the same sentiment. Although, I will get BritBox or another service one of these days.
 
For me SOAH was a fun show that milked most situations dry and then some. The performances were all of a high calibre and everyone pulled their weight. The problem was the scripts were not the strongest and it severely missed Ronnie Barker. Without him Granville had to pull off his character traits along with his own and it didn't make an even balance. Mr Newbold however was someone yearning for a quiet life and whilst avoiding directly Granville's machinations was suffering as a result often nonetheless. It's hard to see where he could have gone had it continued as Mrs Rossi would have had to square up to Delphine at some point.
 
mashibinbin said:
For me SOAH was a fun show that milked most situations dry and then some. The performances were all of a high calibre and everyone pulled their weight. The problem was the scripts were not the strongest and it severely missed Ronnie Barker. Without him Granville had to pull off his character traits along with his own and it didn't make an even balance. Mr Newbold however was someone yearning for a quiet life and whilst avoiding directly Granville's machinations was suffering as a result often nonetheless. It's hard to see where he could have gone had it continued as Mrs Rossi would have had to square up to Delphine at some point.
Click to expand...
I agree, I watched it as it had a nice LOTSW familiarity about it like a trusty pair of slippers - however it was never going to be trailblazing...
From what I gather David Jason wanted to star in something for the BBC, clearly they were going to bend over backwards to accommodate him. He came up with the idea of resurrecting the Granville character so it was made around him.

But without Arkwright it was missing the key ingredient, I'm guessing like remaking KUA without Hyacinth.
 
mashibinbin said:
For me SOAH was a fun show that milked most situations dry and then some. The performances were all of a high calibre and everyone pulled their weight. The problem was the scripts were not the strongest and it severely missed Ronnie Barker. Without him Granville had to pull off his character traits along with his own and it didn't make an even balance. Mr Newbold however was someone yearning for a quiet life and whilst avoiding directly Granville's machinations was suffering as a result often nonetheless. It's hard to see where he could have gone had it continued as Mrs Rossi would have had to square up to Delphine at some point.
Click to expand...
I did notice a big change in Granville from OAH to SOAH. In OAH David Jason was a physical actor. His antics on the shop bike were so funny. The touches he put on the scripted scenes were amazing. When doing the dishes in the kitchen sink he suddenly became a U-Boat Commander. Using the dish brush as a microphone, he established radio contact with Fleet Control, ordered the sub to dive, then produced the annunciator dive alarm sound effects. On another occasion, he emerged from the back room sanctorum, grabbed a loaf of bread, slung it on his back, started labored walking as if carrying a heavy load and produced breathing sound effects as if using SCBA. He did both of these scenes in such a natural and fluid manner. These little touches of David Jason’s were magical!

Then he returned in SOAH as wooden as Foggy Dewhurst. Ronnie Barker was much more physical in OAH than David Jason was in SOAH. I still crack up when I see Arkwright galloping behind Nurse Gladys Emmanuel’s Moggy Minor bent over because of a zip at ½ mast! I don’t know whether David Jason smoked or he made too many acceptance speeches at award ceremonies, but his voice had cracked. This threw me to the point where I had to watch SOAH for a while before I actually could recognize him as Granville. I will admit that the new Granville voice made his encounters with Mavis sound tender and sincere. Arkwright never sounded tender or sincere when he confronted the Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, which is probably why she didn’t take him seriously. But what should we expect from the “hard pilloch” as described by the Victor Vac Salesman!

Yes, Mr Newbold was yearning for a quiet life, but that was probably because he didn’t know any other kind existed. I can understand why it would be of tantamount importance to an avid collector that the integrity of the adhesive on the perforations of a Penny Black stamp would significantly affect the value of such a collectible. But if he had met Leroy’s Mother instead of Mrs. Rossi, I bet his life would have changed!
 
I saw Geoffrey Whitehead tonight when Rhode Island PBS television aired the UPSTART CROW episode 'I Know Thee Not Old Man'. Whitehead played the role of Simon Hunt, a Jesuit Priest, during that period in English history when being a Jesuit Priest put your name high up on the endangered species list and the target for religious genocide. I won't spoil the episode for those who haven't seen it, but it further displayed the range of his talents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top