The Last Video Show

Minder back to its roots here with an episode that is a reminder of the earlier brilliance of the series. Great cast and a very good traditional Minder story set around a video shop and a fine plot with a great twist at the end. Easily the best episode of the final Terry series and they even squeeze in a Terry punch up to remind us that the title of the series was about him rather than his sidekick Arthur.

As a rule the Minder of series 6-10 wasn't as good as series 1-5, but 'Last Video Show' proved to be an exception. A local villain called Jack Last is using some compromising film to blackmail a bent copper, DI Dyer into dropping all charges against him. Due to a mix up at his video shop Arthur acquires the tape and soon has both parties breathing down his neck. Both Ian McShane and Brian Blessed are terrific in this very funny and well written episode, and the ending is top notch even by Minder standards.

With only a few episodes left in Dennis Waterman's run as Terry McCann, the producers really went for it.

Ian McShane guest stars as the well-heeled bad guy. He possesses an incriminating ''get out of jail free" videotape of his nemesis, an inspector at Scotland Yard played by Brian Blessed. The two facing off in the interrogation room is a thing of beauty.

Problem is, the videotape gets put back into the wrong box. And then it gets mistakenly returned by McShane's wife - played by Dennis Waterman's real-life wife, Rula Lenska - to the video rental shop owned by none other than Arthur Daley.

Now the bad guy and the police are after the tape. And the only guy standing between Daley and disaster is his faithful, if grumpy, Minder Terence McCann.

The B-plot, which ties in nicely by the final act, involves stolen home furnishings procured by semi-recurring Ray Winstone. The buyer of the bent gear, Patrick Ryecart, upon being arrested, confidently exclaims, "You can't arrest me. I'm an architect. There's my Porsche."

If that was the writers getting one last great dig into the UK's class system, well done.

Peter Childs as DS Rycott and Michael Troughton as Melish do their best to keep a lid on crime on the manor, only to be foiled by corruption from above.

Arthur Daley gets plenty of funny lines to deliver and we get a short but satisfying punch-up by McCann.

What more could a Minder fan ask for, really.

What an amazing cast for an everyday episode of Minder.

Reassuringly predictable story as ever...

Watching the Arthur and Terry brings back a lot of good memories for those of us who grew-up in Thatcher's Britain.

I can't imagine that many TV companies could afford to give bit parts to the likes of Ray Winstone (pre bulk), Ian McShane (pre Swearengen) and Brian Blessed (pre perma-beard) these days! Admittedly Rula Lenska (then Mrs Waterman) wouldn't break the budget now (especially since celebrity big brother), same goes for Michael Troughton (aka Piers Fletcher-Dervish from the New Statesman). Both put in stirling performances however.

Good fun!

Bit of a classic for some old favourite English actors in this rather amusing episode along the road of Minder in the far and distant past.