This fantasy comedy is a good example of someone having a clever idea for a comedy and then failing to follow it up . Andrew Sachs ( Who will always be remembered as televisions most famous Spanish waiter ) plays Ernest Springer an everyman who in the first episode wins the football pools , celebrates by opening a bottle of champagne in a hotel bedroom with a blonde model and is then killed by the cork hitting him between the eyes , he finds himself waking up in heaven and luckily the commitee realize there's been a mistake and decide to send him back . The problem is that his body has just been cremated so a frustrated Ernest concludes if he gives Heaven enough hassle the committee will reincarnate him sooner than later
There's several problems with the show . One is that the series is very badly acted . It's a mixed genre mixing both fantasy and comedy and it's essential that these genres are treated with respect by the cast which they don't in this show . Sachs was excellent in FAWLTY TOWERS but doesn't have the skill to carry the show and I also remember a Scouse character called Doreen played by an actress who was totally embarrassing . You also can't help noticing there's a total lack of imagination where Heaven is concerned , it's obviously filmed on location at a school . The jokes themselves were very forgettable ( A common problem with ITV comedies in the 1980s ) and the fact that only seven episodes were made indicates how good it was and I found myself agreeing with a letter writer to the TV Times saying perhaps if the producers had not killed off Ernest half way through the opening episode and had centered the plot of Ernest spending his pools win this might have been a better comedy
