Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express

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The Goodies episode
"Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express"
Episode №	51
Airdate	5 October 1976 (Tuesday — 9 p.m.)
Director
Producer
Guest star(s)	Erik Chitty as "..."
Series VI September 21 – November 2, 1976
Lips, or Almighty Cod Hype Pressure Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express Black and White Beauty It Might as Well Be String 2001 and a Bit The Goodies – Almost Live
List of The Goodies episodes

Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express is an episode of the British comedy television series The Goodies.

1 Prologue
2 Plot
3 Quotes
4 Spoofs and imitations
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Prologue

During the episode:

Tim Brooke-Taylor also appears as 'Mime Tim'
Graeme Garden also appears as 'Mime Graeme'
Bill Oddie also appears as 'Mime Bill'

[edit] Plot

The Goodies are running their own holiday service. The Detectives Club book their annual holiday on the 'Detectives Mystery Tour', and several famous detectives arrive to go on the mystery train.

The Mystery Train is at the station and, after the detectives are aboard, Bill runs up and down the platform with a life-sized model cow on wheels to represent a cow that is being passed, and antlers on his head to represent a deer that is being passed — to make the detectives feel that the train is moving (which it isn't). On the train, Graeme is the narrator for the 'journey', while Tim dresses up in clothing suitable for the country the train is supposed to be going through.

Then mysterious things start to happen: the train takes off down the track, with Bill running after it — and the world's great detectives begin to disappear.

The train keeps moving on — not always on rail. It is discovered that a group of badly behaved mimes are behind the mysterious events, and that they had stolen the train as part of an attempt to win the legendary "Gold Bore" at the French "Le Boring" competition.

[edit] Quotes

Quote 1

Graeme: (Sniffs bottle labelled 'Arsenic') "Aha! The characteristic smell of bitter almonds!"
Bill: "Isn't that cyanide?"
Graeme: "Precisely. This arsenic has been poisoned!"

Quote 2

Bill: "Ten little **s, sitting down to dine,

Someone cut their cufflinks off,

Now, there's only nine."

Bill (later):

"Nine little **s, sitting there in state,

Someone lit the touchpaper,

Now, there's only eight."

[edit] Spoofs and imitations

"Murder on the Orient Express".
Marcel Marceau — the Goodies, who are all excellent mimes, and who also do all of the dangerous stunts, themselves, look exactly like Marcel Marceau during the "Le Boring" segment.
Ironside
Hercule Poirot
Miss Marple
Ellery Queen
John Shaft
Kojak
Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson.
"And Then There Were None".

[edit] References

"The Complete Goodies" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000
"The Goodies Rule OK" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006
"From Fringe to Flying Circus — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980'" — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980
"The Goodies Episode Summaries" — Brett Allender
"The Goodies — Fact File" — Matthew K. Sharp