Shelley (TV Series) Of Mice and Men (1980) User Reviews

Of Mice and Men

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 24 January 2021]

Shelley and Fran are up all night in their new house due to mouse noises.

It makes Shelley ratty the next morning at work. Mainly due to Fran complaining about his marketing job than the mouse.

She is not happy that he is peddling cigarettes because of his marketing job. Shelley ends up quitting and his boss was looking for natural wastage so he did not have to persuade him to stick around.

As it is the start of the third series. Creator Peter Tilbury wanted to get back to basics. That is Shelley back on the dole where he can have a tirade at the Tory government.

It was a novelty to see Shelley at work and being good at it.

The Mouse problem

[ShadeGrenade · 9/10 · 18 December 2009]

Following a Christmas Special, Season 3 kicked off with this episode. Shelley and Fran are spending the night in their new house, which is undergoing renovation. Fran hears something scuttling inside in a bin liner. Shelley admits he forgot to throw the bag out. Their debate on whether to dispose of the rodent mutates into a heated discussion on his job. Fran accuses him of selling heart disease and lung cancer to the public ( Shelley is responsible for cigarette advertising ). While they fight it out, the mouse escapes.

The next day, at work, Fran's words have had an effect on Shelley as he becomes morose and begins insulting his employers. He has chosen a bad time to make an ethical stand though - the firm is experiencing the effects of the recession and needs to make redundancies to stay commercially viable...

Well, it had to happen, didn't it? Jim misses his old life on the dole and, whether by accident or design, gets the push. It seems crazy that a married man with an expensive house to run and family should walk away from what appears to be a well-paid cushy job, but obviously Peter Tilbury had realised that Shelley was funnier out of work than in. The next episode would see a welcome return to the style of the earlier editions.

Shelley's boss Cyril was played previously by John Barron. He isn't here alas, possibly due to unavailability. Mrs.H is seen briefly as Shelley drops in to tell her about his troubles.

Funniest moment - Shelley telling Laurence, a colleague, exactly what he thinks of his job.