User Reviews

The penultimate episode of Minder (and a lot better than the finale), in which Arthur suffers a series of 'accidents' which result in several brushes with the law, and begins to twig that malevolent forces are behind them. Meanwhile, behind bars is residing Charlie Knowles, 20-stones of sheer nastiness who harbours an old grudge against Arthur the size of his huge frame; he may be banged up but he has friends in low places and they're tasked to arrange that Arthur gets plenty of porridge. At first Arthur tries to appease Knowles, but when that fails Ray decides to take the bull by the horns and try to save his uncle from prison, or an even worse fate.

This was perhaps the episode where Ray Daley finally came of age - he realises that he can't out-muscle a gangster like Knowles so he uses his wits and cunning instead. Despite initial reservations, Arthur Daley was proud to call Ray 'family' in the end, and unlike with Terry, i think he had a genuine affection for his likeable nephew and saw in him a worthy successor - it would've been nice to see Ray Daley get to do a series of his own, but it wasn't to be.

Psycho gangster Charlie Knowles is in jail on a 20-year stretch for a bungled armed robbery. Out of anger and vengeance, he has his outside man getting all the other gang members stitched up. But there's one more loose end: The getaway car conked out on the motorway. Guess who sold the gang the car?

Before long, Arthur Daley's been stitched up for hit & run, then possession of stolen goods, but it's still not enough to satisfy the old gangster.

Arthur, Ray and Dave take turns sitting awake in the lockup to protect themselves and the goods. Eventually, Ray decides to go confront Knowles after a clandestine meeting with the Ol' Bill.

Pretty good plot that harkens back to the best of the Terry McCann years. Gary Webster as Ray Daley doesn't get to punch anyone, but he uses his cunning. And that's the key here. At the end, Arthur puffs on a cigar, looks up, grins, and says, ''that's my boy."

And that, right there, should have been the rightful series finale.