Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express

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

Written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie.

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'

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 (later catching up to the train and boarding it) — and the world's great detectives begin to disappear. Graeme sniffs a bottle labelled 'Arsenic' and says: "Aha! The characteristic smell of bitter almonds!" Bill asks: "Isn't that cyanide?" to which Graeme replies: "Precisely. This arsenic has been poisoned!"

More detectives disappear and Bill states: "Ten little <ahem>s, sitting down to dine, someone cut their cufflinks off, now, there's only nine." Later, Bill resumes, commenting: "Nine little <ahem>s, sitting there in state, someone lit the touchpaper, now, there's only eight."

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.

So the Goodies and the detectives chase the mimes on wheelchairs. One by one detectives fail capturing the three criminals but, luckily, just as the mimes about to escape by the harbour, the goat rams at them and falls onto their boat. The Goodies arrive just in time to see the mimes sink with their hats above the water.

Cultural references

• "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".

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

External links

• Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express at the Internet Movie Database