User Reviews

After the previous episode If the Cap Fits... essentially rehashed the idea of earlier episode A Stripe for Fraser, the notion of another episode in which the bank is bombed may have caused concern that Croft and Perry were running out of ideas. Fortunately, The King Was in His Counting House couldn't be more different from the previous bomb in the bank episode Something Nasty in the Vault, and this interestingly structured episode emerges as a little gem. The first half focuses on a disastrously stale party thrown by Mainwaring at his house. It's both hilarious and a bit painful to watch the well-meaning Mainwaring realising that it's impossible to break down the barrier established by rank, even as he gets everyone to call each other by their first names (his attempt to address Fraser as "Jim" showcases an amazing line delivery from Arthur Lowe). Though anything breaking up the party surely comes as a relief, a bomb on the bank leads to the platoon spending all night having to count thousands of pounds to then be taken to the safety of the Eastgate branch. This switches the tone of the episode from cringe comedy to a gentler kind of farce, punctuated by a nicely judged moment of slapstick to finish. Although it's multiple strands could make it seem a bit unfocused, The King Was in His Counting House works really well as something loose and experimental, as well as very funny.