MovieChat Forums > Rumpole of the Bailey (1980) Discussion > Favorite Episodes (Spoilers, Beware)

Favorite Episodes (Spoilers, Beware)

posted 11 years ago by jglapin
4 replies | jump to latest

For me, I just watched Series 6 "Rumpole and the Summer of Discontent" and "Rumpole A la Carte". They about do it for me.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS POSSIBLE SPOILERS POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

"The Summer of Discontent" reminded me of the great hat controversy from when I worked in London and showed up at the City office where I worked as a Banker for an American owned bank and broker dealer wearing a "flat hat". Oh, the consternation! My head was cold in a London winter and I wanted something which could be carried in an attaché case. I did not know then that only trade unionists and rural folks wore such a cover. So, it was fun to revisit this issue.

This episode had everyone on strike except Rumpole and in a very light and humorous way showed how all of us who work for a living are in the same boat.

"Rumpole A la Carte" reminded me how pretentious we can get around restaurants. Rumpole stuck to his cause in search of Steak and Kidney Pudding. The character of Chef Jean Pierre O'Higgins was priceless. I knew that guy.

So, what are your favorite episodes?

[–] teeport-1 11 years ago

I don't know all the episodes by name, but like 'em all, really.
Here's a few choice adventures of my all-time favorite TV character...

Rumpole's given flattering attention by an attractive woman and temporarily loses his reason, ultimately discovering the obvious: she's pretending interest only to get away with murder.

Hilda scolds him for a (slightly) off-color anecdote at a dinner party. R indignantly abandons her in mid-commute, attempts to secretly camp in Chambers, then makes himself an unwelcome houseguest with Portia's family.

RUMPOLE'S RETURN: R's no good at retirement or being American, so he welcomes a distress call from across the pond & eagerly returns, only to find himself an unwelcome intruder in his old space. His determined response: "I shall squat!"

RUMPOLE ON TRIAL: The last RUMPOLE ever (sigh), in which a toothache makes him peppery as all getout, he insults the judge even more than usual and winds up in trouble himself. His final toast, in which he salutes the criminals that keep all in his profession "from living in cardboard boxes," probably rings a little too true to be popular.

BTW, there's plenty of spoilers (but no spoiler warnings) in the episode summaries of many of these DVD box sets.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] teeport-1 11 years ago

And how could I forget the episode in which Rumpole bets and wins on a 4-horse accumulator, and before actually having the money in hand, treats himself to a world-class telling-off of Judge Bullingham. Of course the story had to end unhappily, R had about as much chance of actually collecting that 300,000 pounds as the 7 Castaways had of being rescued. And the viewer's heart goes out to him. Even Hilda, in her brusque way, is sympathetic: "you know, Rumpole, if you were retired we might run out of conversation."

If it please your Lordship, let's keep this thread going...

[–] 11 years ago

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