One of the big ironies of Series Two of AWP was that Arthur Pringle, the pub landlord, often made a a more formidable villain than Ally Fraser. He was also a lot funnier. In "No Sex Please", Arthur has a dastardly plot to get one over on the lads, but when they find out who was behind it, they leave him a nice surprise going-away present.
The lads' strike action proves effective, forcing Ally Fraser to cave in, and use proper building materials. Fraser is also forced to waive Dennis' debt. But when Ally comes up with the offer of a few weeks' work in Sunny Spain, which the lads find impossible to resist... In the meantime, some of the lads return home, and some of them remain at Thornley Manor. The last lot, Oz included, try the impossible – pulling women at the Barley Mow. Barry forces Hazel into a non-ultimatum, but Neville is onto "certainties". Dennis bumps into Marjorie, who has a message for Oz...
This is a so-so episode, AWP by numbers. It does have its moments though: Oz lectures Barry on how to handle his fiancé, "You should have laid the law doon man, bang, early on, y'knaa. You know the way you deal with Alsatians.Terrorise the little bastards when they're puppies, and then when they get older ye get nae beef from them." Barry replies quite rightly that this is insulting to women, and that "you turn complex human relationships into bloody Crufts!" Or Moxey's admission that "It's funny you should say that about footballers... 'cos the only older woman I ever had, looked like Billy Bremner."
The subplot with Mrs Chatterley isn't convincing. She doesn't seem like the type to be married to the customs officer character. It's a good idea badly done, which is unusual for AWP.
High Point: "Wall Meet Again"
Low Point: I would have liked to see Harry Blackburn get more dialogue.
Look out for: Barry's personal grooming; Howard's snack offer.
