Lee (Lee Mack) and Lucy (Sally Bretton) in their Halloween costumes/
"Halloween" is a Halloween-themed episode of the British TV sitcom Not Going Out. It is the eighth episode of season ten of the series. It first aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2019.
Not Going Out has been airing since 2006. The main character is a middle-aged man from the north of England named Lee (played by Lee Mack, the only member of the original cast still appearing in the show). Lee is from a working class background. He is unambitious and lazy by nature. The first season sees him sharing a London apartment with his old friend Tim (played by Tim Vine). Tim is from a much more affluent and privileged background then Lee. He owns the apartment where they both live. The character of Tim's sister Lucy (played by Sally Bretton) is introduced in the 2007 second season. Lee soon falls in love with her and constantly tries to impress her. Lucy marries Lee at the end of the 2014 seventh series and gives birth to their first child, Charlie, in the 2015 Christmas Special. The 2017 eighth season jumps ahead in time to depict Lucy and Lee as having been married for eight years. They now live in a house in Walton-on-Thames in south-east England and have three children, 7-year-old Charlie (played by Finley Southby) and 5-year-old twins Benji (played by Max Pattison) and Molly (played by Francesca Newman). Other recurring characters are Lee's father Frank (played by Bobby Ball) and Lucy's parents Geoffrey (played by Geoffrey Whitehead) and Wendy (played by Deborah Grant). Frank, a former petty criminal, has recently reentered Lee's life after having abandoned him as a child. Geoffrey does not hide the fact that he dislikes Lee and does not approve of his marriage to Lucy.
In the episode "Halloween", Lucy and Lee take their three children out trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Nobody answers the door of the last house they come to, a large Victorian one on Elm Street. [1] The spider webs and black cat in the window lead the children to believe it belongs to a real witch. When Lee reads a sign on the door, he hurriedly leaves and takes the rest of his family with him. After he gets home, Lee realizes that he left his cellphone outside the large Victorian house. When he calls his number, he finds out that his phone is in the hands of the old woman who lives in the house (played by Marcia Warren) . Lee reluctantly goes back to the house to get his phone, still wearing the zombie costume he put on to go out with his children. When the old woman does not answer the door again, Lee goes in through the kitchen window. He finds himself locked inside the house and tries to avoid being seen by the old woman. It is soon revealed that, in spite of her witch-like appearance, there is nothing supernatural about the old woman and she does not pose much of a threat to Lee. She does, however, have a heart condition that means the slightest shock could kill her. It is also revealed that there are reports of burglars in Halloween costumes targeting the area. When Lee takes a long time to come home, his father Frank, wearing a vampire costume, goes to the old Victorian house to look for him. He sneaks into the house and then finds himself trapped inside it with Lee. The two men have to find a way out of the house while avoiding being seen by the old woman and scaring her to death. They also feel an obligation to protect the woman from the burglars.
Unusually for an episode of Not Going Out, "Halloween" does not have a laughter track.
Plot[]
it is Halloween night. Lee and his wife Lucy are taking their three children out trick-or-treating. Lee is wearing a zombie costume with a detachable fake arm. Lucy is dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein. Their young twins Benji and Molly are wearing a Devil costume and a cat costume. Lee feels a little uncomfortable about taking the children out trick-or-treating because he worries that he is teaching them to be American. This is reinforced by the fact that their oldest son Charlie is wearing a Donald Trump costume and is promising to make Halloween great again. Lucy reassures Lee that they can observe a "sensible British tradition" the following week because it will be Guy Fawkes Night and they cab, "celebrate a four hundred year old terrorist conspiracy by setting fire to a scarecrow."
The family come to a house that excites the children because it looks spooky. Lucy reminds them that they agreed only to trick-or-treat at houses with Halloween decorations. The children insist that the house does have Halloween decorations because they can see spider webs, a candle and a black cat in the window and there is a spooky Halloween message on the door. With the help of a flashlight, Lee reads the message on the door. He then says, "I don't think those are Halloween decorations", and tells his family they should leave. That gets the children even more excited because they think that means the house belongs to a real witch. As they leave, Lee's cellphone falls out of his pocket.
When the family arrive home, Lucy wants to take a photograph of her costumed children enjoying their candy. Lee realizes that he cannot take a photograph because he has lost his cellphone. Lucy says that he probably left it at the spooky old house. Lee says that it might be nearby. He will definitely hear it ring if it is because its ringtone is the theme tune to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! He uses Lucy's phone to call his number. The phone is answered by someone who breathes heavily before shouting, "Go away!" There is no doubt that the old woman who lives in the spooky old house has Lee's phone. He reluctantly goes back to the house to get it, still wearing his zombie costume.
Lee knocks on the door but there is no answer. He then hears the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme. He follows the music, comes to the kitchen window and sees the phone on a table. He tries to use his detachable fake arm to retrieve the phone through the open sash window. He accidentally falls through the window onto the kitchen floor and cannot climb back out of the window again. An old woman with long white hair who is breathing heavily comes into the room. Lee hides under a table. Unseen by the old woman, he sneaks out of the room. He goes to the front door but finds it is locked. Looking for a way out and trying to avoid being seen by the old woman, Lee goes upstairs. He finds the window in the upstairs room is locked. The old woman comes into the room. Lee hides inside a wardrobe. The old woman is about to open the wardrobe door when her doorbell rings and a voice calls out her name. The old woman is happy to hear the voice of the "nice policewoman" she knows. She locks the wardrobe door before she leaves the room.
It is revealed that the old woman's name is Mrs. Hoskins and there is nothing supernatural or particularly frightening about her. The police officer is happy to hear that Mrs. Hoskins has not opened the door to any trick-or-treaters. She also warns her that there have been a lot of burglaries in the area, later adding that there have been reports of some of the burglars wearing Halloween costumes. While she is talking to the police officer, Mrs. Hoskins' black cat Monty runs out of the open front door. Mrs. Hoskins insists on going out to fetch the cat, saying that he will be gone for days if she does not.
Meanwhile, Lee has been trying to force open the door of the wardrobe, causing it to fall over at the moments Mrs. Hoskins goes outside. He is then able to break out of the back of the wardrobe. The police officer hears the noise and goes upstairs to investigate. The wardrobe is standing upright again and Lee avoids being seen by the police officer by hiding between it and the wall. Mrs. Hoskins comes into the room. She tries to reassure the police officer that she is safe and secure by saying, "Every window and door in the house is locked. Nobody can get in and nobody can get out. And nobody's got a spare key except Monty." The police officer gives Mrs. Hoskins back her keys with her panic alarm on the key ring. She puts them in her pocket. It is revealed that Mrs. Hoskins has a serious heart condition and has recently had an operation. She says, "the doctor already told me, one tiny little shock and I could drop down dead." The police officer tells Mrs. Hoskins not to watch any horror movies on TV that night. Mrs. Hoskins reassures her that she will be steering clear of monsters that evening. She then imitates a monster and scares herself in the process. Even that little scare is clearly not good for her heart.
Lee's father Frank, dressed in a vampire costume, arrives at Lucy and Lee's house. He asks where Lee is, saying that he called his cellphone earlier but got no answer. Lucy tells him that Lee went to the large old house on the corner of Elm Street. She is starting to worry about him because he has been gone for a long time. She asks Frank if he will go and fetch him. Frank agrees. A local pub is serving pie and mash that night, called "pie and monster mash" for Halloween. Frank wants Lee to take him there. He explains that he cannot go on his own because he does not have any money.
Mrs. Hoskins looks through a TV listings magazine. She decides to watch The Shining because she likes its title. She is also pleased to read that it is set in a hotel and thinks that it will be like another movie she enjoyed, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Lee realizes that he can get Mrs. Hoskins to open the door if she goes out looking for Monty again. He forces Monty out through his cat flap.
Frank comes to Mrs. Hoskins' house. He accidentally walks into a spider web and says, "I hate spiders. Horrible little bloodsuckers." he knocks on the door but Mrs. Hoskins does not hear him over the sound of her television and the oxygen machine that she has to use to calm her nerves. She realizes that The Shining is not suitable viewing for her after all. She then notices that Monty is not with her. She goes outside to look for him.
Lee is about to leave through the open door when he hears the theme to Scooby-Doo Where Are You! again. He remembers about his phone. He finds it just as its battery dies. Frank walks into the house through the open door. He and Lee come face to face with each other. Since they are both wearing Halloween costumes, neither man recognizes the other at first and they both scream. Mrs. Hoskins, carrying Monty, comes back into the house and locks the door again. Frank and Lee hide in a closet under the stairs.
Lee explains the situation to Frank, telling him about Mrs. Hoskins' heart condition and about the burglars dressed in Halloween costumes, Since he has a long criminal record, Frank knows that he would be in trouble if he were found inside a stranger's house while wearing a vampire costume. He suggests that they wait until Mrs. Hoskins falls asleep and then take the keys out of her pocket. Lee points out that might not be for several hours and says that he is going to look for a spare key. He adds that Mrs. Hoskins said that Monty the cat has a spare key. Frank does not understand how a cat can have a spare key and thinks his son might have the animal confused with the cartoon character Top Cat. Lee leaves the closet to look for a spare key. Frank then sees a spider. Since he is afraid of spiders, he leaves the closet too.
Frank sees that Mrs. Hoskins is asleep on the living room sofa. He decides to get the keys out of her pocket. Meanwhile, Lee is in the kitchen franticly looking for a spare key. He then sees through the window that there is a small statue of a cat in the garden. At the base of the statue is the word "Monty". Sticking his fake detachable arm out of the cat flap, Lee is able to knock over the statue and move the key out from under it and towards him. At the same time, Frank takes the keys out of Mrs. Hoskins' pocket. That immediately triggers her panic alarm. The sound of the alarm wakes up Mrs. Hoskins. She sees Frank in his vampire costume, screams and collapses.
Lee comes into the room. Frank tells him he thinks he has frightened Mrs. Hoskins to death. The telephone rings. Lee says that is because the panic alarm went off and the police will come to the house if someone does not answer the phone. Frank picks up the phone and then hands it to Lee. Speaking to the man from the monitoring service, Lee tries to sound like an old woman, puts on a Scottish accent and says that the alarm was set off accidentally. He is asked to give Mrs. Hoskin's password so that the security system can be reset. He incorrectly guesses "television" and "cat" before correctly guessing "Monty".
Two burglars dressed as Jason Voorhees arrive. Since Lee has already opened the back door with the spare key, the two men are able to walk straight into the house.
Mrs. Hoskins snores, revealing that she is till alive. Frank wants to leave straight away. Lee wants to make sure that Mrs. Hoskins is all right. He decides to call for an ambulance. He finds that the telephone has no dial tone. He and Frank decide that they will have to go out and find a pay phone. As they are walking out of the house, Frank sees footprints on the floor. When they get outside, they see that the telephone line has been cut. They see flashlights at an upstairs window and realize that the burglars are inside the house. Frank says that they can just ask for the police as well when they call for an ambulance. Lee says that they should go back inside to get Mrs. Hoskins out of the house.
One of the burglars complains that there is nothing worth stealing in the house. The other one finds Lee's cellphone and puts it in his pocket.
Lee and Frank walk into the living room and find that Mrs. Hoskins has gone. She is walking upstairs, still scared because she thinks that there is a vampire in her house. Lee and Frank also go upstairs to rescue the woman. At the same time, the burglars go out into the corridor. Lee takes one of the burglars by surprise, frightens him and knocks him unconscious by hitting him with his fake arm. The other burglar is less easily scared, although Frank is able to knock him out by coming up behind him and hitting him on the head with a bed warmer. Mrs. Hoskins then knocks Frank unconscious by hitting him on the head with the burglars' crowbar. She is about to do the same to Lee when he pushes the button on her panic alarm and suggests they wait calmly for the police to arrive.
The two burglars are arrested. After discussing it with Mrs. Hoskins, the police decide not to press charges against Lee and Frank and tell the two men they are free to go. As they are leaving, Lee knocks over a coffee cup. It falls to the floor and shatters. It appears as if the sudden sound of the breaking cup has been the final shock that has proved fatal for Mrs. Hoskins. She moans and clutches her chest. She then stops, smiles and says, "What? Am I the only one with a sense of humor?"
Cast[]
- Lee - Lee Mack
- Lucy - Sally Bretton
- Charlie - Finley Southby
- Molly - Francesca Newman
- Benji - Max Pattison
- Mrs. Hoskins, the old woman - Marcia Warren
- Police officer - Stephanie Levi-John
- Frank - Bobby Ball
- Monitoring service man's voice - Michael Fenton Stevens
- First burglar - Ben Crowe
- Second burglar - Billy Lydon
Footnotes[]
- ↑ An obvious reference to the 1984 movie A Nightmare on Elm Street and the other films in its franchise.