LuisaGallo

This is a very underrated show, I really don't know why as it's so much fun! Many people think it's less funny than David Croft's other work such as Hidehi and You Rang M'lord, but I would hasten to disagree. The first few episodes are a little slow to get going, but after that it becomes hilarious! Series 2 is even better than Series 1, and I feel that if it had been allowed a 3rd series, it could have become a huge hit! The sunny setting is great and the characters are all wonderful - the Skinner family run Hatley station & take care of all the other staff - potty Ethel & her equally potty son Wilfred; predatory Vera Plumtree whose husband ("he was an engine driver you know") is now deceased, and therefore she now goes for anything in trousers! May Skinner is also a bit of a flirt, especially when new Station Master Cecil Parkin arrives and she realises that he is in fact her old flame - and possibly the father of her teenage daughter Gloria!!! Harry Lambert is a hilarious character, especially in episodes such as "Action Stations" where the staff all have to do role plays to prepare for the visit of Dr Beeching himself! A great series, full of slapstick fun!

This film is so True to Life!!! Contrary to some of the other reviewers, I have actually met real-life versions of LV and her awful mother! Sadly, these are not just caricatures - LV is a sufferer of Social Phobia or Social Anxiety Disorder (the modern name for extreme shyness!) from which I have suffered myself! And I have met many examples of Mari Hoff - although thankfully, not my own mother!!! (but in terms of scary school teachers & unsympathetic people from my childhood - yes, I have met many a Mari!) This film has me in tears every time, weeping with LV and struggling to take every breath with her. I tense up as I watch her tense up on stage, and long for her to be left alone so that she (and I!) can breathe again! I cannot imagine how on Earth her poor father managed to end up marrying Mari... it is a complete mystery!

As a lifelong Herbie fan, this '97 sequel was a lot better than I had expected! Herbie is every bit as adorable as ever (right down to his cute little beepy voice, which actually seems to imitate words and phrases in some places!) I even kinda like Horace the Hate Bug - although he is evil & beats up Herbie!!! But Horace is still a Beetle, so he's kinda cute too, and he makes me laugh, so he's no worse than an overenthusiastic Rotweiller! I even cried at parts of this movie, where Herbie's owner deserts him & Herbie gets all depressed... One thing I really missed was George Bruns' music! Some of the lines were too similar to the original 1969 Love Bug (which is such a perfect film, it should never have a 'remake') and the Professor Stumpfel thing was a bit too unbelievable (I prefer to stick with Tenessee Steinmez!) Overall however, a brilliant way to bring the Love Bug towards the 21st Century!