Written by Tom Farrell
Directed by Christopher Manley
Rita (re Niles): "He foolishly believed I was destined for heroism but when the call to action actually came, I promptly hung up."
I might have mentioned that the first episode was a tiny bit slow and while this was a little too, there was almost so much to savour. In a year where we've been largely encouraged to embrace the idea of a staycation, our favourite misfits go for the old fashioned approach.
Taking themselves (minus Larry) to the Codsville Mountain Resort, the gang had the perfect opportunity to unwind and enjoy being away from the Manor. However you can never really escape your problems and Cliff, Victor, Jane and Rita brought theirs with them and nearly fell out as a result. Then they a'so danced to a classic song and a red alien named Samuelson (Billy Boyd) killed them on behalf of the Brotherhood of Evil.
The latter being made up of the Brain and Monsieur Mallah, the duo entrusted green skinned alien Garguax the Decimator (Stephen Murphy) to specifically kill Rita but when the time actually came (and it was quite a long time), Garguax tried to help Rita rather than kill her. As a guest baddie, I loved the turn of events between Garguax and Samuelson here. However it's safe to say that the latter killing the gang will not stick.
On to the personal problems this week. Jane seemed to struggle with the idea of Kay and the other personas being a little more self sufficient but both her and Rita had an excellent conversation about Niles. Rita herself confessed to her failure to rise as a hero, with only Victor judging her for it. Jane also reminded Victor that the rest of them were not heroes.
Victor dealt with the consequences of helping Roni escape from custody and didn't like it one bit. He couldn't even admit to Cliff as to why he really helped his now ex-girlfriend. As for Cliff, he might be having some brain issues he doesn't want to deal with, but no doubt its an issue that's going to get worse as the season goes on.
Last bit not least, Larry's space adventure came to a disappointing end. I was surprised it ended so quickly for him and that he seems to have lost his Negative Spirit. Then again, given what happened to everyone else in this episode, Larry fared lightly by comparison.
- Clara and Mel named their son Rory, but were overwhelmed by Cliff's overt attentiveness to his grandson. Secretary also booked the doomed vacation.
- Rita read about Madame Rouge at the start of the episode before seeing the latter wear her face before Samuelson killed her.
- Standout music: Forever Young was used rather effectively here.
- Chronology: Started in 1949 with the Brotherhood of Evil. It was a long 72 years for Garguax and Samuelson.
Vacay Patrol perfectly captured all the tropes of a resort getaway and had fun with them as it took the gang quite a while to actually relax before the end of the episode. The Brotherhood of Evil got a strong introduction and Garguax was a delightful guest character. Excellent all round.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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