The last episode I have of this series. Robin’s in 8 more episodes.
His “Fred” character didn’t have too much to do in this one. A lot of glaring whenever Rosie’s boyfriend was mentioned. The subject of the show was morality. After a discussion in her college class, Beryl starts thinking about different kinds of morality in different situations. And from there, all the other characters start dealing with their own ideas on morality, from working in a betting shop to shoplifting to adultery.
Not a bad show, really. Why hasn’t it been officially released?
Haven’t watched this show in awhile because I only have 6 episodes and want to make them last! :) Lots going on in this one. Beryl’s taking a French class in night school and decides to invite a group of fellow students over for a French discussion group. But, as luck would have it, she comes home to find her husband tearing apart and trying to remodel the living room! She also gets into an argument with her employer (the owner of a small inn) and is fired.
Robin’s story: Fred invites Beryl’s daughter Rosie to a classical music concert. She is still in denial about liking such a nerdy fellow and tells him she has other plans. So, instead he takes Millie (I think that was the name?), a rather uncouth gal who works with Rosie at the beauty parlor. Rosie is annoyed and makes disparaging remarks all through tea. Fred is confused, since after all, he HAD invited her first!
The date goes badly. Millie isn’t into classical music. So cute when a surprised Fred says to her, “It's not POP music!” hehe. Mr. Pop Performer himself. She tries to talk him into making out afterward, but again he is confused and leaves without even kissing her goodnight. More to laugh about…a good “confused and naïve Timmy Lea” foreshadowing here…although the girls in his case are just a BIT more aggressive, aren’t they??
In the end, the living room gets done in the nick of time, with Fred’s help, and Rosie winds up daring Fred to giver HER a big kiss. Only to dash off angrily, making him MORE confused. Poor Fred.
Hey, look what I just found! Up on Ebay right now are a bunch of auctions for "doodles" done by celebrities to benefit charity. You can see a larger version of Robin's here and then follow the link from there to bid on it if you want! As of this writing, 2 more days left on it and only 1 bid! OK, so he's no artist but it's cute in a childlike way and wouldn't you love to have something Robin drew???
Feb 20 update: Saw that it was finally won for £20! Congratulations to whoever got it!
Sortof a challenge finding this one, as it’s not available over here. I did find someone in Greece selling authorized copies of it. You could choose your format: Italian audio with English subtitles, English audio with Greek subtitles, a few others as well. I chose the English audio with the Greek subtitles. Which were nonremovable, so just a little bit annoying seeing all that Greek on there but you get used to it after awhile. Only came in PAL format, so again I must thank the DVD hacking code website.
This is of course based on the classic book by Chaucer written way back in the 1300s. According to Wikipedia, It is “a collection of stories written in Middle-English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.”
I did not read the original collection, but I’m assuming this movie “sexed up” the tales quite a bit? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many naked guys running around before in a film! Even Dr. Who’s Tom Baker is shown in all his glory! Actually, that was kinda disturbing to see. Now….who do you think showed the LEAST amount of full-frontal nudity? Yep, our Robin, of course. Yah, he was naked, but discetely kept a few things out of sight. So much for being a “soft-core porn star!”
I was pretty disappointed with the length of his role. There were SO many good looking young guys that he could have played…that had meaningful dialog and a lot to do. Why he wasn’t put into a role like that mystifies me.
We meet his character “Rufus” near the end of the film, in a medievel whorehouse/tavern type establishment. The bedrooms are upstairs off a balcony that overlooks the tavern below. Each room was being “used” and he was one of the guys on top of a bored-looking girl, banging away. He finishes, puts some coins in her mouth, then gets dressed and goes out onto the balcony calling for some food. His request is denied, and he gets annoyed and berates the customers below, then starts peeing on them. I guess they were none too pleased, because in the next scene we see him being carried, dead, down the road outside. And that’s it for him. Not sure what purpose this character even served.
As his part came very near the end of the movie, we (yes, I talked my husband into watching this one with me) had kept our eyes open for him the whole time. I didn’t know how long his hair was going to be, so I almost thought a shorter-haired blond guy was him earlier in the movie until I saw a closeup. In fact, even then I was confused…..because his voice sounded JUST like Robin’s! Was the guy not English and they needed Robin to do his voice? Weird. And weird part two: ROBIN’s voice sounds like it was dubbed in with ANOTHER guy’s voice! Why did they need to do THAT? Puzzling. I hate that. Robin isn’t fully himself without his real voice. Bah. What a disappointment. Tell me what you think. Is it his own voice or not? He did have his “Horror Hospital” style hair though. I’ve added a short clip from it below. I know, bad quality. All I know how to do is the old “digital camera up to the TV” kind of filming.
Anyway, for the funniest account ever of Robin’s “behind the scenes” experience on this movie, reading his autobiography is a must!
UPDATE June 2011: OK, since seeing this I now notice it is available through Netflix on their "Play Instantly" feature! If only I had waited! Aahhhhh!
I did a bunch of screenshots from this movie during the Netflix showing of it. So much better quality than the ones I posted above, eh? Click on each one for a larger view. "Google Images" is just going to be flooded with Robin photos now, isn't it? :)
This is the series I was able to get thrown in with my order of “Please Sir!”. It’s a cute show and I found it fun to watch. Haven’t seen all the episodes yet, but Robin’s is only 5 episodes in. The show is about two guys, Randall and Hopkirk, who are partners (and good friends) in their own detective agency. In the first episode Hopkirk is murdered and comes back as a ghost to help out Randall with all the future cases. I read where it once aired on American TV under the name of “My Partner the Ghost”…I guess to appeal to dumb Americans who need everything spelled right out for us ;)
In Robin’s episode Randall is attending a variety show type performance at a theater. During the mind-reading performance, the performer is shot dead. Randall applies for the job of mind-reader in order to go under cover to figure out who the murderer was. He gets the job, thanks to Hopkirk’s help. Robin has a minor part as an “Act Pageboy” – the guy that runs around backstage at the theater and tells performers when they need to go on. He has a few lines pertaining to that subject, but nothing substantial to the plot. He also has a few scenes of standing around backstage looking puzzled at the goings-on. I kept hoping when police / reporters / detectives were asking questions they’d take him aside to see what he knew and he’d have some brilliant insight into the case. No such luck. He makes the most of the few scenes he was given, though, and acts very enthusiastic.
I liked the two actors who played the title characters. They have very distinct personalities. Kenneth Cope is Hopkirk, the ghost, and was a very youthful looking age 38-39 (born 1931) He’s still alive, and has done quite a bit of acting. But, from looking at more recent photos of him, looks very very old now at age near-80. Mike Pratt, born the same year, seemed much older at the time, had that aging-smoker look. And, unfortunately, died of lung cancer in 1976. Interesting piece of trivia I saw on Wikipedia: his son Guy Pratt was in Pink Floyd for awhile.
Impossible to find ANY reference to this movie online. Go ahead, I dare you! For this entry I’m going to have to rely on the paragraph Robin writes about it in his book. Before filming “Carry On Girls” he spent a month in Lapland doing this documentary about Arctic survival with fellow actor Jeremy Bulloch. They joined the 42 Commando Unit stationed in Bardufoss in the Arctic Circle, north of Norway. He had a lot of fun and enjoyed it very much. Now…how do you SEE this thing????? And where was it originally shown??
2/3/11 update: Well, as it's impossible to contact Robin over the internet, I attempted to contact the other actor in this film, Jeremy Bulloch, who runs his own website. And he responded! His words: "The only film that I can remember with a name similar to Arctic Patrol was a documentary I filmed in Norway. I wish I had a copy of it as it was the coldest weather I have ever known. I have no photos of this apart from a still which I used in my book. Sadly I can't find it.I remember it was one of a number of armed forces documentaries I did in the seventies. I think all copies would have been lost"
This is one of those times where Robin’s role is so small I almost wish I hadn’t bothered with tracking this appearance down! He’s not on screen for more than 10 seconds and has one short sentence to say.
But oh well. It’s a pretty hard film to find, so it’s nice to know that I actually have a copy. Bootlegged of course, from someone I found on the internet. I paid about $10.
It’s about a young guy, Otley, unemployed and evicted from his apartment. He couch-surfs at the homes of various acquaintances until one of the guys he stays with is murdered as he snoozes on the couch. Only he has no idea, since the murderer also knocks HIM out and leaves him to wake up a day later in the middle of an airfield. He then finds himself entangled in a world of espionage! Not to mention also being pursued by the police, who think he’s the murderer!
Robin I think did this film right after “If….” So in my opinion, should’ve really been given a more substantial role. In his book, he mentions he plays a “drug addict”. Which is a bit of a stretch. In reality, he is one of a group of mod-dressed boys being questioned by the police about what is probably pot they have found on them. In the credits he is listed as “The Kid” and his friends listed as “Kid #2” and “Kid #3”. During this time, Otley is trying to get the police’s attention to tell them about a bomb that just blew up down in the subway.
Some humorous parts…the part where Otley takes his driving test was a bit “Confessions of a Driving Instructor”! And the best part of the film was that you get to see a LOT of London! Cool old architecture, Portobello Road: I saw the very stretch of buildings that I took a picture of when I went there in 1990!
STOP THE PRESSES! I actually have a CURRENT Robin appearance to blog about! Hehe. Occasionally I will check into the Twitter website and punch in his name to see if anyone in the world is talking about him. WELL, last time I did that, someone was on saying “Is that Robin Askwith on Hollyoaks?” WTH is Hollyoaks?? I thought, and got to work on searching. Some current UK soap opera revolving around the lives of high schoolers. Hmm! Dashed over to their official website. Typical, they don’t let people outside the UK watch the episodes there. Next stop, YouTube. And some ANGEL of a person actually posts each episode there!
So, quick as that, I got to see the episode with Robin in it! I was never one for soap operas, too overacted and wallowing in heavy drama for my liking. This one seems as dumb as any. But, the kids do wear really cool, super-British school uniforms! Can’t get more British than maroon blazers, gray sweater vests and cute little striped ties. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help me tolerate the modern-day teenaged angst though. Please, I’ll take the Bless This House kids back! Now we have to deal with transgender storylines? OK, back on track: One of the teen girls, Texas, has a mom that had promised to hook up one of her friends (who has some sort of band) with her “old agent friend, Earl”. Bingo, Robin! He comes in, leather jacket and shades clad, all smiles and hair. Lookin’ good! (I dragged my husband over to see and asked, “What do you think?” to which he replied, “Can’t tell, with him hiding behind all that hair!” hehe)
So he meets up with the characters at a pub and after the young guy talks about his band, we find out that the mom and “Earl” had a fling in Texas back around the time the daughter, Texas, was conceived. Daughter gets worried, thinking this may be her…dad? “Earl” makes a joke about it, telling her he can really see himself in her. Which is obviously ridiculous…she has very dark hair and features. Actually, she resembles “Carol” in “Cool it Carol”! At the end of the episode, he comes to their apartment to suggest the mom make her comeback as a singer, then they fall into each others’ arms, much to the girl’s dismay.
I watched the episode after this one and no reappearance of Robin yet. It feels like his part should be back, though. As of this writing, no new episodes have been posted. I will keep checking back there and edit this entry if needed!
GREAT to see something current from him!!!!
1/21/11 Update: Just watched the Jan 7 episode. No more Robin yet. The "Texas" character is busy with her friend's wedding, and her mom wasn't there.
Some force out there did not want me to see this film! It is one of those rare Robin movies available on Netflix – so I ordered it. It arrived cracked. Which almost never happens. Maybe 4 previous discs arrived damaged in the 8+ years we’ve been subscribers. So I login to the site and tried to report it damaged, but they had this quirk in their system where, as it arrived at my house before it was actually DUE to arrive, they didn’t allow me to report it yet…thus slowing down their delivery of a replacement disc. Sneaky. I sent it back and reported it a couple days later. Finally my replacement arrives. ALSO cracked! What the …? Repeat process. 3rd disc arrives. Before I open it I joke to my husband that if this one is also cracked there is something weird going on here trying to prevent me from seeing this movie. Guess what? Yep. I sighed and gave up. I sent it back, but did not report it, worrying Netflix would start suspecting ME of something! I did not re-order it, deciding to lay low a few months and hope my luck will turn next time.
What was it with this movie? Put out on cheaply made discs? I looked through the member reviews and one other person had put down a complaint about how this was the 2nd time they received this disc cracked. Hmmm. Maybe it’s not just me. I wonder if at least a little bit of good will come out of it and Robin will make a few extra cents from each new disc Netlfix has to buy!
But wait….now Netflix has stopped carrying the physical disc altogether. Figures. But they do have it on their “Play it Now” feature! Which is definitely a handy thing for me!
The story: A young couple visit the abandoned mental hospital where the woman’s father used to work as a psychiatrist. Her family had lived in a house on the premises. Now she’s having nightmares of her time there and must go back to investigate. Lots of long scenes of them wandering around the halls, etc. Shades of Horror Hospital! But alas, the young guy is not Robin and thus the first half is pretty dull. Robin makes a mysterious appearance 18 minutes in to the film, but it is not explained who his character exactly is. He’s a junkie who wakes up, realizes something, and goes out to do something. Where exactly is he? On the grounds of the Asylum? It was very confusing. Anyway, once the young couple arrive, the murder starts. The old caretaker is killed, then the young man. We don’t see Robin again until an hour and 5 minutes into the film, then he happily gets quite a bit of screentime. Turns out 3 former hospital inmates (of whom he is one) have all been inexplicably drawn back there this night as well. They have been having the same nightmares as the daughter their whole lives, nightmares in which they have killed the daughter’s mom so long ago. Only we find out that these memories have been planted…by the girl’s father…the doctor! Who shows up himself at this point to explain…but goes on to say that he is NOT the killer either, and doesn’t know who is. Until….one more person shows up…could they be the killer? Hmmm…
Nice psychological thriller. Like I said, the first part is slow-going, but the end really has you thinking and re-thinking after you think you have it figured out. Robin does well in the role of a haggard mental patient-turned-heroin addict. The other characters were pretty dull but he was fun to watch, brought a little bit of humor to his otherwise dark role.
Did a little internet search and came up with this description of this game show, on which Robin was once a contestant: http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Mission_Improbable Mission Improbable...challenges two teams of celebs you've heard of somewhere before to make movie magic (or something) on a budget of £750 given 48 hours, a title, a few production-y type people and three bizarre and random things to try and include in the film for extra bonus points...The films are judged out of 50 by the B-list celebrity judge. Go look at the page...there's a couple more pix of Robin on it. Short-haired this year, must've been just after filming "U-571". Sounds like a lot of fun, I'd love to see how his film turned out!
