Episode of Mr. Bean
| "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" | |||
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| Mr. Bean episode | |||
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| Episode no. | Episode 7 | ||
| Directed by | John Birkin | ||
| Written by | Robin Driscoll Richard Curtis Rowan Atkinson | ||
| Original air date | 29 December 1992 (1992-December-29) | ||
| Running time | 26:27 | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of episodes | |||
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" is the seventh episode of the British television series Mr. Bean, produced by Tiger Television for Thames Television. It was first broadcast as a Christmas special on ITV on Tuesday 29 December 1992 as part of ITV's Christmas schedule and was watched by 18.48 million viewers during its original transmission.
This was the last episode to be co-written by Richard Curtis and the last to be broadcast by Thames Television on behalf of the ITV network. It also marks the last appearance of Mr. Bean's girlfriend, Irma Gobb (Matilda Ziegler) in the original television series until reappearing on Mr. Bean: The Animated Series ten years later.
Plot
Part One
On Christmas Eve, Mr. Bean visits Harrods to buy decorations. While the cashier sorts out his purchases, Bean uses a Nativity display to act out a scene with other toys, before his fun is brought to a halt by the store manager, who brings in a figure of a police officer, before handing Bean his purchases; Bean promptly leaves.
Bean heads to the town square and meets his girlfriend, Irma Gobb. Irma points to a ring that she wants in a jewellery shop window and points at a ring she wants, but Bean instead buys a picture of a couple right next to it, thinking this is what she is pointing to.
Bean volunteers to assist the conductor of a Salvation Army brass band in collecting donations; in doing so, he catches a pickpocket and forces him to hand over all of his stolen items. Bean ends up conducting the band in a ridiculous way while the conductor tries on some jewellery pilfered by the pickpocket. Afterwards, he attempts to purchase a Christmas tree but, finding none available, decides to steal the square's tree instead.
Part Two
Back at his flat, Bean cuts off the top of the stolen tree and sets it up. After failing to pop a Christmas cracker, he stuffs multiple fuses into one "super cracker". Later, Bean hangs up three Christmas stockings: one for Teddy, one for himself, and one for a mouse living in a hole. A group of young carol singers arrive his door and sing "Away in a Manger"; Bean watches them, but eventually grows tired and shuts the door of them, heading to bed.
The next morning, Bean wakes up and pulls out presents from the stockings. He then prepares to cook a turkey, but loses his watch while stuffing it. When Bean tries to find the watch with his head inside the turkey, he becomes stuck just as Irma arrives. After he fails to hide his predicament, Irma assists him by tying the turkey to a coal scuttle and tossing it out the window.
After Bean and Irma have dinner, Irma gifts Bean a model ship kit. In turn, Bean gives Irma her present, but she is disappointed to find that it is the picture from the window display. Bean then realises that he "forgot the main bit" and takes out a ring box, which delights Irma. When she opens the box, however, she discovers that it actually contains a hook for the picture. Irma storms out angrily, leaving Bean puzzled and hurt. Remembering his "super cracker," he decides to pull it himself, resulting in a loud explosion.
Cast
- Rowan Atkinson – Mr. Bean
- Matilda Ziegler – Irma Gobb
- C. J. Allen - Santa outside Harrods
- Owen Brenman – Harrods clerk
- John Warner - Band conductor
- Lee Barrett - Pickpocket
- Jonathan Stratt
Production
Most of the location scenes, set in a market, were shot on videotape in Kingston upon Thames. Studio sequences were recorded before a live audience at Thames Television's Teddington Studios. Following its broadcast on American cable television network HBO, this episode won the 1995 CableACE award for best comedy special.
A number of elements were used as inspiration for other programmes. The "lights on a major building being accidentally switched off" gag is used by comedian Peter Kay at the end of his Live at the Top of the Tower DVD, while the turkey scene inspired a scene in an episode of Friends titled "The One with All the Thanksgivings", and later led to an adaptation for the film Bean, though it was cut out of the international release (outside North America) and reserved for a special feature section entitled "Bean Scenes Unseen". Another turkey gag was used in the Mr. Bean: The Animated Series episode "Dinner for Two".
During the nativity scene, Bean introduces a military marching band while humming "The British Grenadiers", which is used as the theme tune to Blackadder Goes Forth, another sitcom Rowan Atkinson starred in.
Extended scene
An extended scene, which is not seen in the original broadcast of the episode but was included in the American broadcasts on HBO and included in some home media versions, where Bean attempts to win the turkey he eventually ended up wearing on his head. The contest being to guess the turkey's weight, he sneaks a pair of scales to the counter; having already weighed himself, he subtracts his weight from the combined weight using a Casio calculator. The person in charge of the contest is shocked when Bean guesses the exact weight (to three decimal places) and wins it. He then roughly throws the turkey into his car boot and slams it shut.
References
- "Timeline". mrbean.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- Chris Perry (3 February 2016). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. pp. 386–. ISBN 978-1-900203-60-9.
- "Timeline". mrbean.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- "HBO Takes Bulk of Prizes at the CableACE Awards". Los Angeles Times. 16 January 1995. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- "Awards". tigeraspect. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- "Bean Scenes Unseen". You Tube. Retrieved 24 January 2018.