Man About the House: Carry Me Back to Old Southampton

Man About the House: Carry Me Back to Old Southampton
ITV
13 February 1974
Sitcom
DVD
B

Robin fails his cooking exams and considers moving back to Southampton to work in his father's tube-extrusion factory, preferably as an executive.  He and the girls will miss each other, but Larry (Doug Fisher making a welcome return) sees this as an opportunity to move in.  Robin's father (Leslie Sands, who would be back for the final episode) shows up in person to talk Robin out of the move, and to offer to pay for another year of cookery school.  Unfortunately, Robin is unable to stop Larry from telling off his landlord, Mr. Gideon.  (John Carlin, who plays Mr. Gideon, would return as the queeny Barman of the Mucky Duck in future series of this show.)  I have mixed feelings about Chrissy's mixed feelings about Robin (they certainly add to the "no means maybe" myth), but otherwise this is a solid episode, focusing on the various relationships, including between Robin and Mr. Roper.  As for Series Two, it sits right on the B-/B border and it was worth revisiting, even if it did mean going back over a dozen years from where this blog is supposed to currently be.