Once again the writers came up with a solid plot:
Part 1: Arthur cooks up a scheme to have some shmoe renovate The Winchester. Shmoe takes out a load-bearing wall, Winchester gets condemned, bar owner down the street makes a power move to steal all the clientele.
Part 2: Arthur, Dave and Ray cook up a charity football match to raise funds to fix The Winchester and get Dave working behind the bar again. Pub regulars will play the Ol' Bill.
There are plenty of comic lines for George Cole to deliver. Ray and his semi-recurring girlfriend get substantial screen time. The Shmoe-of-the-Week is kinda fun, as his under-s3xed wife. And the rival bar owner has an interesting angle.
However, it should be mostly played light-heartedly, and for chuckles. Instead and once again, the producers have gone for a heavier tone. They introduced an ominous sound cue at some point in Season 8 for an appropriately gritty episode, but they're over-using it in episodes where it's not appropriate.
So instead of feeling like we're on jaunty ride where it's equally likely Arthur will get a result as he will his comeuppance, we feel like we're in a slow-rolling crime drama. Except the stakes aren't high enough to be genuine crime drama. It's Arthur running a con. Let's all chuckle at his gall. And if we're lucky Ray gets to punch somebody in the boat race.
I get they wanted to continue Minder after Dennis Waterman left. And I get they wanted Ray Daley to be a different character from Terry McCann. But why did the producers change the tone of the show so drastically? I'm starting to lose hope they ever righted the ship, as I binge-watch the Gary Webster years for the first time.
Part 1: Arthur cooks up a scheme to have some shmoe renovate The Winchester. Shmoe takes out a load-bearing wall, Winchester gets condemned, bar owner down the street makes a power move to steal all the clientele.
Part 2: Arthur, Dave and Ray cook up a charity football match to raise funds to fix The Winchester and get Dave working behind the bar again. Pub regulars will play the Ol' Bill.
There are plenty of comic lines for George Cole to deliver. Ray and his semi-recurring girlfriend get substantial screen time. The Shmoe-of-the-Week is kinda fun, as his under-s3xed wife. And the rival bar owner has an interesting angle.
However, it should be mostly played light-heartedly, and for chuckles. Instead and once again, the producers have gone for a heavier tone. They introduced an ominous sound cue at some point in Season 8 for an appropriately gritty episode, but they're over-using it in episodes where it's not appropriate.
So instead of feeling like we're on jaunty ride where it's equally likely Arthur will get a result as he will his comeuppance, we feel like we're in a slow-rolling crime drama. Except the stakes aren't high enough to be genuine crime drama. It's Arthur running a con. Let's all chuckle at his gall. And if we're lucky Ray gets to punch somebody in the boat race.
I get they wanted to continue Minder after Dennis Waterman left. And I get they wanted Ray Daley to be a different character from Terry McCann. But why did the producers change the tone of the show so drastically? I'm starting to lose hope they ever righted the ship, as I binge-watch the Gary Webster years for the first time.