Episode no. Series 6
Episode 53 (of 76) Original air date 5 October 1976
(Tuesday — 9 p.m.) | ||
"Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express" is an episode of the award-winning British comedy television series The Goodies.
Contents
Written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie.
Prologue
During the episode:
Plot
The Goodies are running their own holiday service. The Detectives Club book their annual holiday on the 'Detectives Mystery Tour', and several members dressed as 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.