Victor, Margaret and Mrs Warboys set off for a few weeks holiday in The Algarve. Of course things don't run smoothly, events take a turn for the worse when Victor accidentally pimps Mrs Warboys, and the three seemingly end up in a Prison cell without food or water. So begins a holiday from Hell in Portugal.
It's been a few years since I've seen this, I was in need of a laugh, and this did the job, I had forgotten how utterly hilarious this feature length episode was. Ninety minutes long, filmed on location, it's a sign of how popular the show was, it went from strength to strength.
This was a real big deal, it was watched by a massive audience back on Christmas day 1993, I'm sure The BBC can now only dream of such an audience share.
The opening twenty minutes are simply hilarious, the gags are relentless, but as always there is a serious twist, firstly we see Margaret's fear at turning sixty, her anxiety over ageing. It then takes an ever darker turn as Mrs Warboys gets romantically involved with the dubious Alfonso.
So well performed, it's nice to see Doreen Mantle get more screen time as Mrs Warboys, Richard Wilson gets to do even more slapstick than usual. Annette Crosbie however, gets to play Margaret with a more serious edge, it's quite a sad time of realisation for her, that beach scene is very memorable. The trio are superb.
Too many moments to pick out, but Mrs Warboys driving that Fiat Uno along the mountain side, and Victor's mouthy telephone conversation. I love this episode so much, it saddens me that we simply don't get humour like this anymore. When I was a teen, Christmas was about Only Fools and Horses, Birds of a Feather, and of course Victor Meldrew. I'm glad I grew up with these comedy treasures.
Update, I just watched the HD version that went out on BBC4 for Christmas 2023, fabulous, BBC why not give us a blu ray release.
Hilarious, 10/10.