Recap / The Brittas Empire S5E8: The Last Day

Mr. Brittas: Well, give it some choke!

— Gordon Brittas' Last Words... for a little while.

• Date First Aired: 19/12/1994

We open the episode on Brittas' last day as Leisure Centre Manager. In the mail, he receives Gavin's new nameplate for his future job as Manager, which Brittas is annoyed by.

Carole has come in for the last visit before she heads off to Austria. Laura expresses curiosity about the cupboard that Ben has been living in all these years. As it turns out, the cupboard is a lot bigger than Laura expected, courtesy of a man from the Pensioner Swimming Class and without the knowledge of Brittas. Whilst in the cupboard, Carole gets into her children's kiddie car and gets stuck in it. Her attempts to get out of it within the cupboard end up weakening its integrity.

Whilst the crew prepare for the day, Tim has been sent off to fill up the emergency water backup tank. Gavin goes to him and Tim finds out that he hasn't automatically gotten the role of Deputy Manager.

As it turns out, there is a slight snag that is preventing Brittas from fully accepting the job. Apparently, the Germans have gone back on the agreement signed by all the member countries of the European Union to fund the Commission of Sport. The countries each pay 0.45% of their contribution. Germany has decided to pay 0.44 percent instead. As such, Brittas has decided that if they don't change their minds by 12 noon, he will resign.

Whilst Laura is considering what to do with the assistance of Julie, she discovers the plans for the water tank. Gavin and Tim find out about Brittas considering not leaving and are horrified. 12-noon passes and Brittas decides not to go. During his announcement, Carole makes it out of the cupboard but is still stuck in the kiddie car and eventually becomes unable to move at all. Also, the water tank overfills and starts crashing through the building. Realizing with horror that it's about to crash into reception, Brittas comes across Carole, who is unable to move out of the trajectory of the water tank. Realizing what needs to be done, Brittas moves Carole out of the way and faces the full brunt of the water tank, killing him. The staff finds out and are horrified at the outcome. Making matters worse is that the Germans did change their minds after all, just too late.

Luckily for Brittas, the concept of Heaven does exist in this series and he materializes at the Pearly Gates in front of St. Peter and Michael the Archangel. Unluckily for him, his various misdeeds over the years mean that he has no chance of getting in. Luckily for him, news of him pushing Carole to safety comes in and he makes it to Paradise. It does not take very long however, before St. Peter and Michael get orders from upstairs to kick him out. They, of course, don't tell him this, saying instead that they want him to continue his dream. As such, this leads to him reviving in the middle of his own funeral.

---

Tropes featured in this episode:

• Acquired Error at the Printer: In the final iteration of this Running Gag, the teasmade engraving gets misprinted as "If you're feeling lonely and need cheering up, just pour the milk and pee ^note  presumably meant to be tea there in your cup".
• Acquired Situational Narcissism: Carole becomes rather full of herself when guiding Linda through her temporary receptionist work.
• Affectionate Nickname: Brittas seems to have taken to calling St. Peter and the Archangel Michael "Pete" and "Mike" respectively by the time he's Kicked Out of Heaven.
• Archangel Michael: He’s there at The Pearly Gates after Brittas dies and gets to suffer alongside Saint Peter due to Brittas’ antics up there.
• Attending Your Own Funeral: Brittas comes back to life halfway through his and starts knocking on the coffin.
• Back from the Dead: Brittas gets kicked out of Heaven and sent back to Earth for annoying St. Peter.
• Bigger on the Inside: As Laura notes, for a small cupboard, the inside of Ben and the twins' cupboard is remarkably big. Carole's explanation is that a man from the pensioner swimming class came in and expanded it for her.
• Call-Back:
  • Carole has managed to get the extension to the cupboard that she had been seeking back in "The Chop".
  • The kiddie car that Carole gets stuck in is the same one gifted by Gerald in "The Boss".
• Cannot Keep a Secret: When Brittas tells Colin not to say a word about the possibility of the ceremony where he gets his new job not going forward, Colin cheerfully announces straight after how he can't wait to tell everyone and does so anyway. Not that it would have mattered anyway, since Julie overheard it.
• Chalk Outline: After Brittas is crushed to death, Ben is seen putting flowers on a chalk outline of his body in the centre.
• Comedic Work, Serious Scene: The show is usually a Work Com which treats subject matter as grim as death and suicide as Black Comedy. However, this episode features Brittas sacrificing himself to save Carole from a falling water tank. Although lightened by some jokes (such as the reveal that Julie has a Dartboard of Hate for Brittas and Brittas being eventually Kicked Out of Heaven for being too annoying), the staff's reactions to his death and Brittas' funeral are played dead seriously otherwise.
• Continuity Nod:
  • A copy of "I Believe" can be seen on Brittas' desk.
  • After Brittas' death, Colin is seen putting black draping on the picture of Brittas he had hung up last episode.
• Dartboard of Hate: Julie is revealed to have a photo of Brittas in her locker for this purpose, which she takes down in response to his death. Amusingly all the darts are embedded in the crotch area.
• Dead Hat Shot: After Brittas is crushed to death, all that is left visible is his tie. It's Tim recognising the tie which makes the staff realise what had happened, although it doesn't stop Colin from attempting to rescue Brittas by pulling the tie.
• Death from Above: Brittas is crushed to death by a water tank which had crashed down from the top floor of the centre.
• Double-Meaning Title: The title references both the fact that it's Brittas' last day as the leisure centre manager (before he heads to Brussels) and that it's also his last day alive (even if only briefly).
• Drama Bomb Finale: The final regular episode of Series 5, it is also one where Brittas dies and it is not Played for Laughs, even if he does come back to life soon after.
• Dream Within a Dream: Tim at one point briefly mentions having a dream (which his therapist claims is common) about being flushed down a toilet by a giant hand, which becomes an example of this trope after the final episode reveals that the entirety of the series was All Just a Dream.
• Driven to Suicide: An aside comment mentions Brittas having driven four people to suicide.
• Ending Memorial Service: The episode ends with Brittas' funeral after he is crushed to death by a falling water tank, although it is ultimately Subverted when he comes back to life partway through it.
• Estranged Soap Family: Brittas’ brother and father fail to turn up at his funeral.
• Faint in Shock: One of the funeral-goers faints after Brittas comes back to life and begins knocking on his coffin.
• Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Brittas shows up here after his death, complete with Pearly Gates, and a white colour scheme. He even gets white clothes once he gets in proper. He doesn't last there long though, since St. Peter and the other angels couldn't stand him.
• Foreshadowing: When Brittas starts seemingly hesitating, Helen tells him that she will only accept him not leaving if he’d died. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happens to him later in the episode.
• Four Is Death: Although it's unclear whether it was the exact minute when Brittas is killed, Carole notes the time to be four minutes past twelve just before Brittas shows up and performs his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Funny Background Event: Whilst Carole is talking out how she feels that the cupboard and the centre helped save her, Laura can be seen testing out the integrity of the cupboard's entrance.
• The Ghost: Mr. Brewster, a man from the Pensioner Swimming Class who helps expand the cupboard in reception for Carole.
• Groin Attack: Colin gets a direct jet of scalding steam from his tea machine right into his crotch.
• Heaven: Brittas is sent here after saving Carole's life.
• Help, I'm Stuck!: Carole gets trapped in Ben's kiddie car... which happens to be in the path of a falling water tank.
• The Hero Dies: Brittas is crushed to death saving Carole from a falling water tank. Thankfully, it doesn't stick.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Brittas saves Carole's life by pushing her out of the way of a falling water tank, at the cost of getting crushed to death himself. It is also shown that such an act is able to overcome any of the sins the deceased pulled in life (even ones such as leading people to commit suicide), making it essentially a free pass to Heaven.
• Hope Spot:
  • To Gavin at least, Brittas deciding not to go after all, as he was that close to signing and allowing Gavin the opportunity to become Manager. Tim knew that this was going to happen, as he had a prophetic dream about it:
    Tim: I had this dream last night. You know, the one everyone gets about being in the water in the dark.
    Gavin: No...
    Tim: You know! You're up to your neck in water, an' you can't see anything. An' you feel trapped because there's no way out. An' then suddenly, it's like a lid lifts off the sky, an' there's light everywhere and you can smell pine trees an' you think "I'm gonna be saved, I'm gonna be saved!".
    Gavin: Yes?
    Tim: An' then you realize you're in the toilet. An' looking up, you see this great big hairy hand reaching for the flush...
  • After a series-long arc of Brittas going to a job where he is less likely to cause any harm, trouble comes when the Germans go back on an agreement, causing him to refuse to go. Near the end of the episode, Helen returns with news that the Germans have conceded. She cheerfully says that it means that they can finally go... right in front of the water tank which has just snuffed the life out of Brittas.
• Huddle Shot: The final shot of the episode is the staff and several funeral-goers huddling over Brittas' grave as they realise that he has come back to life.
• It's All My Fault: Poor Carole blames herself for causing Brittas' death, especially since he sacrificed his life to save her.
• Judgement of the Dead: Brittas is read a List of Transgressions from St. Peter and is subsequently prevented from going to Heaven. However, Peter then receives word of the Heroic Sacrifice he committed beforehand, which allows him in.
• Kicked Out of Heaven: Brittas (barely) makes it into Heaven after he is killed saving Carole from a falling water tank. However, it doesn't take very long before Brittas' obnoxious personality takes its toll there and he is returned back to Earth for the next 50 years. He is of course not told this, being told instead that he has been given another opportunity to pursue his Dream of uniting the world through sports.
• The Last Title: The episode is called "The Last Day".
• List of Transgressions: Brittas has quite a long list when he turns up in Heaven including 115 separate acts of manslaughter, cause of 4 suicides, and 23 people driven clinically insane. They'd been counting up a while before he arrived too.
• Meaningful Funeral: Brittas' death and funeral is played almost dead seriously, especially when considering the fact that the last time Brittas was thought to have died, it was Played for Laughs.
• Mistaken Death Confirmation: Brittas dies saving Carole from a falling water tank, but is brought Back from the Dead when he proved to be too much of a git for Heaven. In the next present-day episode, "Back with a Bang", Colin mentions that the doctor had pronounced him dead (although Gavin steps on his foot before he can actually say the word, as they were not meant to tell Brittas that he had died at that point). In fact, the ambulance man had taken one look at Brittas and had pronounced him the deadest-looking person he had ever seen.
• Mood Whiplash: Brittas' death and funeral is played surprisingly seriously for the show, with everyone being very sad. However, this is then followed by a scene in the afterlife which has Brittas being his usual humorous annoying self, to the point where he is actually kicked out.
• My Car Hates Me: The toy car that Carole gets stuck in conveniently freezes up right in the path of a falling water tank, only starting up again after Brittas has pushed it out of the way and gotten killed in the process.
• No Medication for Me: A brief gag during Laura's Premature Eulogy shows Helen deciding to throw away all her antidepressants in the bin, evidently figuring that with Brittas dead, she wouldn't need them anymore.
• Offscreen Crash: Whilst the water tank crashes through multiple floors, the only time we actually see an impact is the one onto the ground floor, which proves fatal to Brittas.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: What exactly Brittas does in Heaven which annoys everyone enough to kick him out is never shown on-screen - all that we really know is that he at one point annoyed St. Peter over The Pearly Gates and tried to get him and Michael into team-building activities.
• Oh, Crap!: All of the staff upon realising that Brittas is dead, but special mention goes to Laura, who utters a soft "Oh no... oh no..." upon realising.
• One-Shot Character: St. Peter and the archangel Michael.
• One-Steve Limit: The archangel is the fourth Michael in the series, just after Laura's black friend from "Opening Day", Helen's would-be fiancé from "Back From the Dead" and Laura's estranged husband.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Although Jim Brittas does not appear in this episode, he briefly outlives Brittas during the time he is dead.
• Overcrank: The footage notably slows down as Brittas pushes Carole out of the way of the water tank, leading it to crush him to death in the process.
• The Pearly Gates: Brittas shows up here after his Heroic Sacrifice. He is initially denied access by Saint Peter, but after they receive word of this sacrifice, let him in. They later kick him out through said gates because he's a git.
• Please Wake Up: Colin does not initially accept the fact that Brittas had been crushed to death by a water tank and pulls on his tie (which was sticking out of the water tank) in a bid to rescue him from under there.
• Premature Eulogy: Laura gives a pretty touching eulogy at Brittas' funeral, talking about how, even though he got things wrong, he never stumbled through life, and that he was a hard-working honest man. Also used as an effective Answer Cut - the eulogy ends with Laura questioning what Heaven was making of Brittas at that moment, right before it cuts to him being Kicked Out of Heaven.
  Laura: Helen has asked me to say a few of words, on behalf of the staff, about Mr. Brittas. "I'd like it to be you," she said, "because I always thought that you liked him". And she's right, I did. There was a great deal to admire about Mr. Brittas. He was honest, hardworking, and anyone who knew him knows how much he cared about his centre, and those of us who worked there. There were also, as there are with all of us, times when he got it wrong. A lot of times. And sometimes very wrong. Unlike most of us, he never stumbled through life wondering where he was going, or what it was all for. He knew because he had a Dream. And if any proof was needed of what it means to have a Dream, it was surely given in the last few seconds of Mr. Brittas' life - in that moment of choice, which fortunately few of us have to face. When what we do says what we are, and what Mr. Brittas did was to give up his life for a friend. (Beat) I'm not sure if there's a Heaven, but I am sure that if there is, that's where we'll find him. And a part of me can't help wondering what they'll make of him up there...
• Rank Up: If one looks carefully during Brittas' funeral, Gavin can be seen wearing a blazer much like Brittas wears, implying that he (briefly) became manager after Brittas' death.
• Revised Ending: The episode intially ended with Brittas bickering with Saint Peter over the keys to The Pearly Gates, with the intention that this would be the final scene of the series. When it was picked up for another series, the ending was revised to Brittas being brought Back from the Dead and knocking on the coffin at his own funeral.
• Rule of Three: The water tank falls through three floors, with only its third crash (the one onto reception) being the one to prove fatal.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • Brittas' Judgement of the Dead scene claims that, outside of his intentions, he has made no positive contributions in life, which ignores the events of "The Trial" (where he helped turn a gangster's life around) and "Not a Good Day..." (where his deals ensured that a struggling mother and child actually had a good day out).
  • Brittas is buried in this episode. However, three series ago, "Back From the Dead" had a scene where Helen mentions Brittas wanted to be cremated after his death.
• Series Fauxnale: The earliest versions of this episode were actually written with the intention of it being the final episode, with Brittas remaining dead. However, upon learning that the BBC wanted to make more of the show, the episode was rewritten and Brittas was revived.
• Shout-Out: When told by Saint Peter that he is to return to Earth, Brittas questions if he is returning for a day like in Carousel.
• Squashed Flat: Happens to Brittas courtesy of a falling water tank.
• Status Quo Is God: Brittas is killed by a falling water tank, though his annoying personality sends him back to Earth for another 50 years.
• Stunned Silence: Once Helen realises that Brittas is dead, all she can do is stand there in shock without a word.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: After some time in Heaven, St. Peter and the other denizens of Heaven become annoyed by Brittas' obnoxious personality and get special orders to return him back to earth for another couple of decades.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: For some reason, Ben owns a toy bunny that is strapped into a imitation of an electric chair. Keep in mind that he is at most 5 years old.
• Unseen No More: We finally get to see the inside of Ben's cupboard, although thanks to Carole's renovations it's now a full room.
• Your Days Are Numbered: As Brittas is being sent back to Earth, he's told that he's due to live for another 50 years. It would have been 30 years, but St. Peter isn't quite ready to have him back in the afterlife so soon.

---