h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Lovely article, but I would disagree about the plot of A Close Shave being less sophisticated than that of The Wrong Trousers. If only for the inclusion of Wendolene and Preston, as echoes of Wallace and Gromit, A Close Shave earns big points in my book.

Preston is obviously an evil version of Gromit; where Gromit helps Wallace out of his usual troubles (even when Wallace doesn't deserve help, as in The Wrong Trousers), Preston gets Wendolene into serious trouble. Neither Preston nor Gromit make any sounds themselves, and both are sophisticated in the use of machinery of various sorts.

But it's the relationship between Wendolene and Wallace that really caught my fancy in this film. They seemed so perfect for each other: notice the way Wendolene lit up when Wallace mentioned his inventions. I loved the scene where they were reaching out to touch each other's hands as they were separted by the flood of sheep (to the sound of romantic music on the soundtrack). Possibly Wendolene's a bit brighter than Wallace (the dialogue between them on the conveyor belt, where Wallace seems to have a hard time grasping what she's telling him about Preston, shows that), but I thought they could have been a really good couple.

And then the tragedy: her allergy to cheese. Does anyone else think that Nick Parks just did that to keep Wallace from getting involved in a relationship? I would have liked to see Wallace and Wendolene together again, though perhaps Preston and Gromit might have to be separated (I'm not sure I would trust Preston even after his "repairs").

BTW, didn't you love the Terminator reference when Preston comes back after his supposed destruction?

Some good points , but the plot of A Close Shave is and was old and hackneyed (apart from the bit about the killer dog). I think they were trying a bit too hard with that one although, as you say, some of the one-shot jokes and references are brilliant.

B