Last time we ended with me asking why it’s George giving Anne a cuddy back (other regional variations are available!) – I have since worked out it’s because George is ‘as good as a boy’ and so wouldn’t expect the boys to do it over herself!
Today, we start with us grappling with YouTube’s algorithms and enjoying the opening credits.
Stef: Hang on, need to find part 2.
Fiona: Hold on, it wants me to watch Hike next.
Fiona: Aww, we get the opening credits this time.
Fiona: I do like them.
Stef: They are good credits.
Stef: I mean, I do like the 70s song, but this is more in keeping with the time period.
Fiona: Yeah.
Stef: Forgot we’ve got a recap.
Stef: Spose on the telly there was a week in between episodes.
Fiona: Thirty years ago, we would have…
Fiona: Yes. Had to wait a week.
[George is marched off by Block for breaking the vase at the end of part one. She locates the very obviously labelled FIRE ESCAPE ROPE and tells the others she’s going to use it to escape. Anne thinks that sounds dangerous.]
Stef: Julian and Dick must know she’s being punished. They wouldn’t step in, would they?
Stef: Handy fire escape rope.
Stef: Anne, the voice of reason.
Fiona: Had to have an excuse for it somehow.
[Quentin arrives and Mr Lenoir discovers George is short for Georgina, and says he will let her out at once. Quentin says “No, no, no, girl or not she must stay in her room until she apologises.”]
Fiona: ‘Oh no, I treated her like a boy, the poor little girl.’
Stef: Lol
Fiona: Very feminist, Quentin.
Stef: At least he’s got equal opportunity punishment.
[Quentin gathers the children to tell them the bad news that Timmy’s disappeared.]
Stef: Why is Sooty there?!
Stef: This is a family meeting, surely.
Fiona: Poor Quentin.
Fiona: He does seem genuinely upset.
Stef: Jeez. Quentin can be taken in so easily.
Stef: I think when he’s not working, he’s quite fine with Tim.
Stef: And he probably doesn’t *like*upsetting George.
[George escapes and sees Barling and Block talking together and reports to the others. She’s desperate to get to Timmy, but her father has been given Pete’s room and so Pete says he’ll sneak in at night.]
Fiona: Is there only one street in the town?
Stef: Yes
Stef: They probably only shot in one street.
Stef: Supposition – big word for Julian.
Stef: Quentin isn’t in the room in the day!!
Stef: No mention of the warning alarm being disconnected.
[Pete sneaks in that night and sees Mr Barling kidnap Uncle Quentin. George comes through a moment later and they’re all gone.]
Fiona: That’s it – shine your torch in his face.
Fiona: That won’t wake him.
Stef: Why are they fully dressed?!
Fiona: Chloroform really doesn’t work like that.
Stef: Nope.
Fiona: Which spoils so many plots.
Stef: That was a very, very quick disappearance.
Stef: For two people.
Fiona: It is faithful to the book at least.
Stef: Three, including Barling.
Fiona: OK, they skipped some of the catacombs stuff, but they’ve had everything else.
Stef: Spose catacombs might have been very tricky to do.
[The others appear and we see Quentin and Pete being carried through the catacombs.]
Fiona: Everyone is dressed in the night.
Stef: “Where’s Pete?” What about Uncle Quentin?!
Fiona: How undignified for Quentin.
Stef: That’s a bit stupid for Julian.
Fiona: He sounded like that ad, “Calm down, dear it’s only a commercial.”
Stef: Absolutely.
[Block finds George out of her room in the morning.]
Stef: “How did you escape?” NEXT TIME YOU LOCK SOMEONE IN A ROOM, DON’T LEAVE THEM A ROPE LADDER.
Fiona: Haha, sound advice.
[Mr Lenoir interrogates them on the stairs. George says she doesn’t know where her father is and Pete’s gone too. Mr Lenoir demands an explanation from Julian who says Uncle Quentin is gone and Pete too. He then takes them to another room where they refuse to speak if it’s in front of Block.]
Stef: They just told you that!
Fiona: Julian repeats the exact same as…
Fiona: Stop beating me to it!
Stef: Sorry.
Stef: It’s cause he’s the oldest.
Fiona: And a boy
Fiona: Then you’re a fool
Fiona: (For trusting Block)
Stef: Absolutely.
Fiona: HE’S DEAF
Fiona: How does muttering in his ear work, then?
Stef: “Little bit of lip reading.”
Stef: No idea.
Fiona: He wasn’t looking at his mouth.
Stef: I know.
Stef: He’s mad.
Stef: In a different way to Barling.
Stef: “If we have discovered nothing by lunch time” THEY’RE CHILDREN.
Fiona: Very competent children.
Stef: Mostly.
Stef: Mr Lenoir doesn’t help his case for being shifty.
[After finding out that Mr Barling has gone away they investigate Pete’s room and the window seat. Mr Lenoir comes to tell them that Block denies everything & takes Uncle Quentin’s briefcase away.]
Stef: Health and safety danger.
Fiona: Yes, go jump on the secret bottom.
Stef: Like magic.
Fiona: Always ends well.
Fiona: Well, of course, he doesn’t.
Fiona: He couldn’t possibly be lying.
Fiona: Moron.
Stef: Absolutely.
Stef: He shouldn’t be taking anything from the room.
Stef: Anne, the voice of reason, yet again.
[Pete manages to wake Uncle Quentin.]
Stef: Major panic from Quentin, as expected, a human reaction.
[Julian tells the others that Block is definitely in his room – he’s the Blockhead obviously – and they go through the window seat.]
Stef: He’s letting George go first?!
Fiona: Nice brick wall.
Stef: Probably the same undersea tunnels as Demon’s rocks and Kirrin Island Again.
Fiona: Yeah, can’t be tons of tunnels big enough to film in.
[Pete and Uncle Quentin stand off against Mr Barling.]
Fiona: Don’t sit down.
Fiona: He lost all force when he sat down.
Stef: “You rogue!”
Fiona: Scoundrel!
Fiona: Ne’er do well!
Fiona: I’ve run out of camp exclamations!
[Julian finally discovers that Block is not, in fact, in bed.]
Stef: “We’re the Blockheads!”
[Timmy comes to the rescue of Pete and Uncle Quentin.]
Stef: Timmmmyyyy.
Fiona: Connall must have been enjoying a long rest during these episodes.
Stef: Must have been.
Stef: That’s why he’s so excited.
Fiona: IT’S MY STARRING SCENE FINALLY.
Fiona: I get to run and bark, the two things I’m really, really good at.
[Back in the house Mr Lenoir is still having trouble getting his head around things.]
Stef: How did they get out of the catacombs so fast!!
[The police come after Barling and his man, both of whom whip their coats off as they try to escape & Barling tosses his at a policeman.]
Fiona: I throw my coat at you.
Fiona: At you, sir. [I think I was misquoting Shakespeare – Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? A bit more high-brow than my usual quotes!]
[Pete and Uncle Quentin make it out of the catacombs and the others exit the secret passage towards the marshes. They spot Barling escaping and Timmy scares him into falling into quicksand and leaps in straight after him.]
Stef: It really is Tim’s book, isn’t it?
Fiona: THE MARSHES.
Stef: That’s one happy Timmy.
Stef: The quicksand!
Stef: Stupid Tim.
Fiona: More like porridge.
Stef: He’s going to be hell to wash.
Stef: He’s all dry!!!!!!
[Back at the house everyone’s in their Sunday best except for George and Aunt Fanny turns up.]
Fiona: Suave.
Fiona: With the suits.
Stef: Magic cleaning grass.
Stef: Very true.
Stef: Why isn’t George dressed up?
Stef: Thank god for Aunt Fanny missing the drama again.
Fiona: Wouldn’t be any drama if she was there.
Stef: True.
Fiona: Barling couldn’t have drugged them both.
Stef: Not that she’s good at keeping them out of it.
For anyone who loved the movie – or would like to know the story without going to see it – there’s a novelisation of it out now. It’s £5.99 at Waterstones, so a bit cheaper than a cinema ticket (and you can imagine the characters looking however you like).
Fiona
pippastef
worldofblyton
World of Blyton 
