Back in the mists of time I was a big fan of last of the summer wine, as were my mates, we'd sit usually with a drink and watch the weeks episode and have a laugh and chill out.
Recently I've been rewatching the series, and I've noticed something I missed watching it weekly.
While the earlier series were very clever, the later series became so formular you could write an episode in your sleep, more or less every episode is the same with a slightly different theme.
Scene one. Usually Compo either looking out of his window telling Nora Batty her brush was noisy or he'd be trying some daft trick to get a cuddle with her.
Scene two. Normally Cleggs house, Clegg will be either cleaning his shoes, finishing breakfast or ironing, at this point Howard will arrive with some silly idea and Cleggs trying not to get involved.
Scene three. Foggy usually in the street or a bus stop telling some passer by about silent killing, or the Burma jungle.
Further scene will vary order but include the cafe, the ladies drinking coffee, howard and Marina hiding, Wesley the mechanic coming out of a smoking garage and having to either make the trio something or give them a lift. Eli either saying something daft because he's mistaken someone, or having an accident on his bike. Auntie Wainwrights shop and often the two policemen seeing something they didn't expect.
The plot what there was of it varied but was just an excuse to link together the set "scenes" Why the writers did this when the earlier series were so different and varied I don't know, I suspect they got bored and couldn't think of anything new to do. Which was a shame, the actors must have got really bored doing the same thing week after week, often with the same lines.
This is a pity, the actors were very good and convincing, and the series was very good in the earlier days, sadly not so good later. I'm not getting into the much later series after foggy finally left which only had Clegg, as far are I'm concerned these wern't really proper last of the summer wine.
