Why is Big Day at Dream Acres so bad?

This is just not a good episode the story is weak and the boys did not seem to be engaged as normal ,and the tramp was an annoying person .Still we have had many great episodes to make up for this one thank goodness.
 
and7barton said:
I feel the same way about "A Quiet Drink" - I think both of those shows are pretty dire.
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One interesting scene was one where they go in and visit a pig. On Blandings, when Threepwood is feeling stressed he goes to visit his pig. And in Agatha Christie's "Body in the Library," Colonel Arthur Bantry always goes to visit his pig when he is feeling stressed. Are pigs supposed to be calming?

And in general, perhaps the point of this episode was that there was not a quiet moment to be had in the pub. And perhaps, Roy Clarke was trying out a number of characters to see what worked. And, he was successful, --the backdrop of the pub worked.
 
I think there was way too much slapstick in this one; too many setups to try and get a big laugh. In comparison, another longer feature, Getting Sam Home was done when they still allowed a little bit of dark humor and innuendos to float around in the script, where you could feel on occasion that you were in on a little inside joke at times. I also think Big Day at Dream Acres feels more like three episodes ran together, where as Getting Sam Home actually felt like a full length movie.
 
Personally I feel this episode was probably intended to be a 'Summer Wine Chronicle' novel in the same series as Gala Week and 'The Moonbather' as it shares a similar tone. After submitting it for approval by the publishers Mr Clarke may have been told it would work better as a tv script hence it being more disjointed. Overall tho there's a lot to enjoy and nearly an hour and a half in the company of our favourites is never a bad thing totally.
 
barmpot said:
Doubt it, there are many who do not post their preferences. We are each superbly unique and thus our likes and dislikes are never going to always match. However one character in an episode that we personally find annoying can ruin the whole show.
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For me, there were a few annoying characters in that episode - That screeching woman and her roughneck husband........ Most of the other characters in the pub........ I didn't find any of them funny. Their wisecracking seemed desperate for laughs.
 
Honestly, I never cared for Big Day or Uncle of the Bride. They just seemed like regular episodes overloaded with filler to stretch the running time.

Getting Sam Home, on the other hand is fantastic. It stands on its own, even if you knew nothing about Summer Wine as a Sitcom. The bar was set extremely high with that one and the other two entries just can't compete.
 
I tried watching it a few days ago and fell asleep. The only episode of Summer Wine that I really don't care for. I didn't mind the tramp, but the couple were genuinely awful.
 
I can watch it right through but it does seem to be a bit disjointed in the laughs department. I have also read Alan Bell's book and yes it seems when the tramp is in the scene the dialogue is a bit forced like the others don't want to be there. I found the length of it not too bad. As other people have brought up 'Getting Sam Home' and 'Uncle of the Bride' I found and still find 'Getting Sam Home' a chore to watch because of it's length. I watched 'Uncle of the Bride' on DVD quite a while ago and found it was the same length as GSH yet I wasn't getting restless waiting for it to finish. Maybe it's just I liked the script of 'Uncle of the Bride' more.
 
Oddly I wonder if there are several factors with these specials that make them less enjoyable, one being the lack of much sunshine ,so they look grey and bleak, they are not Christmas Specials so we don't expect this,also the lack of the studio audience laughter track, they could of been shorter running time to make more impact and the story flow better. If I recall in the polls we ran a while back it was Dream Acres that came top of the list for least enjoyable special.
One for me that did not add up was Last Post & Pigeon mainly due to the fact that in many episodes it was stated Compo never left the UK during the war, yet here we have a special referring to his war memories, out of all the specials I think Crums will be hard to beat
 
maltrab said:
One for me that did not add up was Last Post & Pigeon mainly due to the fact that in many episodes it was stated Compo never left the UK during the war, yet here we have a special referring to his war memories
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Only a theory to which I have no substance , but I wonder that given all of the crew and I imagine Roy Clarke knew of Bill Owen's terminal illness so in a twist in the plot from all of the previous episodes , where Compo is basically portrayed as a slacker/chancer who hasn't done a days work in his life, that Roy Clarke decided to break that persona by showing him in a different light as a courageous soldier who fought for his country on the battlefields of France .

In a similar vein after years of chasing Nora , who to all of the other male characters and the audience is a frightening some what less than attractive lady, Roy Clarke offers a complete contrast when we learn that Compo has a beautiful attractive Thursday lady in Reggie Unsworth , leaving the Truly, Clegg, Barry , Wesley and the audience absolutely gobsmacked wondering how Compo would fancy Nora over Reggie .

Is Roy simply paying tribute to Bill Owen /Compo knowing that he will only be with us for a very short time.
 
I am using this thread because the central plot of this episode is in essence the Garden Party and a local publication had been reminiscing about a well loved Geordie Comedian Bobby Thompson who had a smattering of National Fame way back when . He appeared on Wogan and I don't think Sir Terry understood a word as Bobby had a really strong Geordie accent.

The article was re-living some of his famous routines and in one he portrays a pretence that he is on first name terms with the Royal Family .

" Eh was havin me tea and the phone rang it was Philip , Hello Bob , Lizzy's having one of her Garden Parties and she would like you to come along " "Wey when is it cos I can't come doon Tuesday cos she's doin a pan haggerty an em not missin that . No Bob you are fine its Friday . Ok Phil el get the train doon Thursday neet en al see yez Friday.
"So I gans doon, an on the Freeday I heads to Buck Palace , the Guardsman on Sentry says Hello Bob you down for the bash " " Aye" " Well just go through"
"So I stroll through help meeself to a bottle of broon , Charlie says nice to see you Bob Mumsie will be along shortly"
" Wey after a few minutes Lizzy comes over with a plate of stuff an she asks Well Hello Bob would you like a scone or a meringue!"
" Na Lizzy ya right al have a scone" :)
 
and7barton said:
I feel the same way about "A Quiet Drink" - I think both of those shows are pretty dire.
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I think you have to realise that was an early episode and the show was just starting to settle down into the way we like them now. Although I agree it was not one of the best.
 
I also agree that A Quiet Drink wasn't the best one because it didn't have Nora, Wally, Sid and Ivy in the episode. Apart from Compo, Clegg and Blamire, I didn't know who the other people in the pub were.
 
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Fully agree with the entire collection of comments........ The tramp character of totally unlikeable. It's an episode I have only watched a couple of times, for me, saved only by the slapstick wrecking of the house by the donkey. The same house has appeared in several other episodes, such as "That's Not Captain Zero" which I enjoy, so it's not the location that's the problem, just that darned tramp.
 
and7barton said:
Fully agree with the entire collection of comments........ The tramp character of totally unlikeable. It's an episode I have only watched a couple of times, for me, saved only by the slapstick wrecking of the house by the donkey. The same house has appeared in several other episodes, such as "That's Not Captain Zero" which I enjoy, so it's not the location that's the problem, just that darned tramp.
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Alan Bell had a problem with Ray McAnally, who played the tramp. He simply would not take direction, so the episode couldn't even come close to Mr. Bell's usual quality level. It's a pity, because the script was Roy Clarke's usual high quality.
 
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