Citizen Smith

- Season 1

(1977)

Wolfie Smith, Tooting's answer to Che Guevara - though only in his dress sense - believes that the revolution is coming, though he is not sure when and how. Long-suffering friend Ken is not impressed and nor is Shirley, whom he has been dating for two years but when he gives her a fake crocodile tooth necklace she believes it is his way of proposing to her. Her ex-army father is not pleased by the sound of his daughter's beau.

Wolfie Smith believes the time is right for the citizens of Tooting to rise up against the Tory government though his placid, spiritual friend Ken is not convinced. His zeal is also lost on long time girlfriend Shirley who mistakes the crocodile tooth necklace he gives her for her birthday for a token of their engagement. Her father is not impressed by the sound of his daughter's young man.

After a scary exchange with dodgy local businessman Harry Fenning in the pub Wolfie finally gets to meet Shirley's parents for dinner. Mum is a delight, not quite with it, calling her daughter's beau Foxy, Dad, on the other hand, makes it clear that Wolfie represents everything he despises, mistakenly offering him dope and spoiling his war story. He challenges him to get a job.

Wolfie and Ken are evicted for the fourth time in a year - nor does it help that the policeman they summon is the son of the landlady to whom they owe rent. They have a place to go but need a stop-gap for a night so Shirley persuades her parents to give them the spare room. However her Dad inadvertently gets rid of the boys' prospective accommodation, making the stay rather more permanent.

When one of Wolfie's 'freedom fighters', Speed, goes to prison Ken becomes smitten with Speed's go-go dancer girlfriend Desiree and agrees to spend a weekend at a hotel in Bury St Edmunds with her. Wolfie sees the chance to get away with Shirley and the quartet head for the hotel though it turns out that Desiree only wanted a lift to see Speed, whose jail is down the road, and, to make things worse for Wolfie, Shirley's suspicious Dad follows them.

Having only secured six votes at the local by-election - much to Shirley's Dad's amusement - Wolfie decides to make a political statement and kidnap the successful Tory MP, David West. Unfortunately things do not go as planned since initially his wife does not want him back and refuses to pay a ransom and then Wolfie discovers that, instead of his intended victim, he has erroneously kidnapped the local racketeer Harry Fenning, who is not amused.

Declaring Wolfie to be a loser Shirley returns the necklace and dumps him. On the rebound Wolfie goes out with the boring but expensive Fiona and in the pub they meet up with Shirley and new boyfriend David. He is handsome, urbane and very wealthy. He is also married as Wolfie finds out and uses in order to win Shirley back again.

Ken is passing the time as a pavement artist and brings home a paving slab with one of his paintings on it. When a well-dressed man in a Rolls Royce arrives at the house Wolfie assumes he is a council official come to complain and launches into a tirade but soon changes his tune when the man turns out to be an art dealer prepared to pay five hundred pounds for the slab. Unfortunately Wolfie has put it in the potting shed from where Dad has taken it and broken it up to be part of his crazy paving.

With Christmas coming and both of them penniless Wolfie gets Ken to pray for some money for them and the prayer seems fulfilled when they notice two of the stamps on the sheet they bought appear to have an imperfection and should be valuable so Dad gives them to stamp expert Uncle Arthur to inspect for them. Christmas Day comes round with presents going to the wrong - but happy - recipients and a visit from Uncle Arthur but he does not bring the news everybody wanted.