Last of the Summer Wine (TV Series) Who's That Mouse in the Poetry Group? (2005) User Reviews

Crazy, but funny.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 3 September 2021]

Alvin wants to be an astronaut, he gets help, reluctantly from Nora Batty, meanwhile, Smiler is compared to a well known intellectual, efforts are made to make him look intelligent.

I found this funny, lots of fluff and bizarre events happening, but somehow everything manages to link up well. I'm normally a massive fan of the duo of Howard and Marina, but here it's another double act that makes it, that of Alvin and Nora, the pair seemed to be having plenty of fun, it's hard not to enjoy.

A good episode for Smiler too, his scenes with Marina were funny, the dressed up rat almost added a degree of surrealism over in the corner.

I wonder if Roy Clarke had watched something bizarre and eaten lots of cheese on the eve of writing it, it's totally insane, but it's funny,

7/10.

Who's That Mouse in the Poetry Group?

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 13 February 2020]

Roy Clarke has cranks up the whimsy in this episode and he has given his sprawling cast something to do.

Smiler pretends to be an intellectual because he looks just like a professor on television. I always thought Stephen Lewis was great as Smiler. I only realised watching this that Lewis never bothers with a Yorkshire accent, he sounds like he turned up from the east end of London.

Of course when Smiler impresses Marina at a poetry group, Howard becomes jealous but Marina never notices him as Howard is dressed as a mouse.

Although the cast have something to do, it never feels organic just random. Alvin is spinning around a chair pretending to be an astronaut. The men suddenly act like statues in the middle of a field.

Singer Jess Conrad makes a cameo appearance as a walker who sees the men standing still.

Truly has a great line. "I married for love but realised I got the wrong address."

Far from a ratty epiosde

[professoritterrohl · 9/10 · 18 April 2019]

Many people gave up on the series when Bill Owen passed away but if anything the series got more adventurous at this point with multiple silly and fun storylines. In this episode we see: Alvin training to be an astronaut in a swivel chair, Smiler trying to act intellectual and the gang doing a pretty decent job at pretending to be statues. The story culminates at the poetry club where Smiler puts in a whimsical performance as an intellectual and Howard disguises himself as a giant stuffed mouse in order to spy on Marina. It sounds silly and it is; but its a typical episode from this era and shows there is a lot of life left in the series. A genuinely funny episode and recommended.