Once upon a time ( 1984, to be exact ), there was a dreadful I.T.V. sitcom named 'Tripper's Day'. It most certainly would be completely forgotten now except for the fact that its star - the great Leonard Rossiter - died of a heart attack midway through its transmission. The ratings were good enough to justify a sequel, however, hence two years later, we got 'Slinger's Day'. Bruce Forsyth stepped into Rossiter's shoes, and this would be his only sitcom role. He is not bad, but like his predecessor is lumbered with a character who is basically a one- dimensional 'Basil Fawlty' clone. 'New Management' sees Slinger arriving in Supafare for the first time, only to find a drunken party underway ( the staff have mistaken the wrong man for the new manager ). As Slinger comes to grips with the complexities of his new job, a group of 'Save The Whale' environmentalists conduct a protest in the store.
Most of the first series' cast was retained, with two notable exceptions - Gordon Gostelow's hopeless security chief 'Alf Battle' and Pat Ashton's man-mad 'Hilda Rimmer'. One is tempted to speculate they sensed the show was a lost cause. David Kelly ( of 'Robin's Nest' ) was brought in to play new security chief 'Fred'. Thankfully gone is David John's irritating jack-the-lad type 'Laurel', meaning the show could no longer crack that feeble joke at the expense of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Brian Cooke's script for this episode is no better or worse than his previous ones for this series, but later on other writers - including Vince Powell and Andrew Marshall and David Renwick - would be used. These improvements still failed to elevate the show above the status of mediocre.
Funniest moment - 'Dottie' ( Vicky Licorish ), the checkout girl, singing along to Lulu's 'Shout' on her Walkman, oblivious to the fact there's an impatient man standing behind her!
Most of the first series' cast was retained, with two notable exceptions - Gordon Gostelow's hopeless security chief 'Alf Battle' and Pat Ashton's man-mad 'Hilda Rimmer'. One is tempted to speculate they sensed the show was a lost cause. David Kelly ( of 'Robin's Nest' ) was brought in to play new security chief 'Fred'. Thankfully gone is David John's irritating jack-the-lad type 'Laurel', meaning the show could no longer crack that feeble joke at the expense of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Brian Cooke's script for this episode is no better or worse than his previous ones for this series, but later on other writers - including Vince Powell and Andrew Marshall and David Renwick - would be used. These improvements still failed to elevate the show above the status of mediocre.
Funniest moment - 'Dottie' ( Vicky Licorish ), the checkout girl, singing along to Lulu's 'Shout' on her Walkman, oblivious to the fact there's an impatient man standing behind her!
