High Stakes: Series 1, Episode 6 – “Dream Team” (2001)

 

Let’s all take a moment and be thankful for the unstoppable force of new Who; if the meteoric rise of mssrs. Tennant and Smith is any indication, PC will never be forced to take roles in cheesy Brit-coms like High Stakes ever again.  Thank goodness.

 

The show is centered around the work at a London bank, with the higher-ups and their satellites getting the main focus.  In “Dream Team,” head honchos Bruce and Nicholas attempt to recover a sizeable loan from a go-getting muckety-muck.  They are, by and large, wildly unsuccessful, seduced by his schmoozing and extravagant living.

 

PC plays Michael Calderwood, loanee and all-around snake.  He’s a slippery fellow, with a forceful conversation style that serves as a sleight-of-hand for everything he’s actually doing.  It’s not long before Bruce and Nicholas are asking how high when he tells them to jump, despite the obviously untrustworthy vibes clouding up his office.  Everything is big ventures and jet-setting and friends in high places, obscuring the evidently rotting foundation of his company underneath.

 

It’s not a good show or a good role, but PC admirably gives it his all.  The toothy grins, energy, and blatant oiliness remind me of Pilfrey from Fortysomething.  I’ll give him credit for not phoning it in.

 

A couple of familiar faces show up amongst the regular cast.  Elizabeth Marmur, in addition to appearing in Steven Moffat’s Coupling, had a supporting role in Neverwhere.  There’s also Richard Wilson, who was Dr. Constantine in the gas-mask zombie two-parter from series 1 of Who.

 

Accent Watch

 

Scottish, a bit light.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Naw.  It’s the type of show that people who hate sitcoms use to justify their opinion.

 

PC-wise – Not necessarily.  Nothing worth PC’s talents.

 

Warnings

 

Nothing of note.