Birds on the Wing is a Britcom that aired on BBC2 in 1971, starring Richard Briers, Julia Lockwood, and Anne Rogers. It was based on the stage play of the same name.
Charles Jackson (Briers) is a seemingly gullible businessman staying in Rome who falls for Elizabeth (Rogers), an attractive young woman with a secret - she, with the help of her equally sneaky friend Samantha (Lockwood), is a conwoman determined to get her hands on a fortune.
Much to the girls' surprise, however, Charles turns out to be just as much of a conman and blackmailer as the pair of them and decides to join forces with them to get as much money from unsuspecting saps as they can.
Unfortunately, though, the three seem to be unable to stop from trying to swindle each other...
The series was never repeated after its initial run, has never been released on home media, and is currently not available to watch online.
Tropes on the Wing:
- Affectionate Nickname: Elizabeth and Samantha call Charles "Charlie".
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: On the surface, Charles is a simple businessman, and Elizabeth and Samantha are a pair of innocent young girls. In reality, the three are a trio of con artists who will stop at nothing to get as much money as they can.
- Blackmail: Charles is a con artist and skilled in blackmail, both reasons why Elizabeth and Samantha decide to work with him to con others.
- British Brevity: Only one series of six episodes was made.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Despite working together to con others, Charles and the girls can't resist trying to con each other too. This almost ruins their con pulled on Mr. Uskudar in "Mr Uskudar's Con Nearly Goes Wrong", while Charles' schemes in "Charlie Tries to Con Elizabeth and Samantha" lead to the girls finally getting one over him in "Charlie's in Geneva, Girls are in Tokyo", when they run off to Tokyo with his money.
- Enemy Mine: Charles falls for Elizabeth in "Charlie has Designs on Elizabeth", unaware that she and her friend Samantha have their eyes on his fortune. When he learns the truth about them, they also learn he is a fellow con artist and so form an unsteady alliance to con anyone else they can find... or each other.
- Greed: Charles, Elizabeth, and Samantha are fueled by greed in their cons and schemes, which also leads them to try and betray one another to get as much money as they can.
- No Full Name Given: We don't get to find out Elizabeth or Samantha's last names.
- Short-Runners: The series ran for only six episodes.
- Swiss Bank Account: The trio kept their bank accounts in Geneva. In "Charlie Tries to Con Elizabeth and Samantha", Charles is humiliated by the bank's manager leading him to try to trick Elizabeth and Samantha out of their money in an attempt to feel better, which ends in disaster in "Charlie's in Geneva, Girls are in Tokyo", when he tries to meet the girls in Geneva, unaware they have swindled him and run off to Tokyo with his money.
- Tagline: "If everybody was honest, we'd be in trouble".
