The Bengal Tiger

Episode Overview

Indian newsagent Mr Mukerjee is persuaded by Arthur that he needs protection when his shop is damaged. Terry is called in to take care of the newsagent, but as usual, not everything goes smoothly and the problem seems to stem from Mr Mukerjee himself, who has promised his daughter to more than one family in order to raise cash for his failing shop. One of these included local hardnut Aslam. When Indira’s true love Kev tries to sort the problem out himself, Indira and Mukerjee ask for Terry’s help just one more time.

Cast

Cast: Saeed Jaffrey as Mukerjee, Graham Stark as The Car Owner, Shireen Anwar as Indira, Ahmed Khalil as Aslam, Stanley Lebor as Wilson, Roy Evans as Elderly Man, Edwin Brown as Harry, Christopher Scoular as Young Diner, Mike Grady as Kev, Michael Fleming as Immigration Officer, Eamonn Boyce as Barman, Clive Hornby as Norman Gibbons, Spencer Banks as Keith, Tony London as Drunken Youth

Uncredited: Eric Kent as Man in cafe

Facts

Facts: The opening scenes of this episode are filmed in the surrounding streets of Arthur’s original car lot in Blythe Road. This episode shows Terry’s despair at working for Arthur and at several times he considers what else he could be doing. This comes to a head at the end of the episode when the vacuum cleaner assembler, who is out of work at the start of the episode, mocks Terry and what he does for a living. The issue of double standards for Arthur and Terry runs very much throughout this episode. This is the second and last time we see Clive Hornby as Norman Gibbons. Glynn Edwards as Dave does not appear in this episode.

Filming Dates

Monday 11th June – Friday 22nd June 1979 (likely) – this episode was certainly filmed before ‘Aces High And Sometimes Very Low’, either the fourth or fifth episode to be filmed in the series.

Double Take

Clive Hornby also appears briefly as the same character Norman Gibbons in the previous episode #1.6 Aces High And Sometimes Very Low, albeit uncredited.

Bloopers: None Found.

Title: Aside from this story’s Asian connection, it is likely to be based on the fact that in real life, Bengal tigers do not live as ‘family units’ and that the male of the species will fiercely protect his territory from other such tigers.

German Title: Der Tiger von Bengalen.
Episode 8 of 16 shown in Germany on ARD.