The soon to be award-winning third season of Zapped returns and life appears to be getting back to normal in Munty following the hectic adventures of the previous few weeks. Herman (Louis Emerick) is relaunching the pub, The Jug and The Other Jug, with a new look, new drinks and an advert in the Munty Gazette! Herman has been working hard and is really excited! To help with the launch Herman sends Brian (James Buckley) to pick up a special barrel of lager but Brian picks a barrel that is a different kind of “special.”
Meanwhile Steg (Kenneth Collard) is celebrating his delivery day (aka birthday) and his song is being delivered at 3pm! In the meantime he is trying to get a drink out of anyone so when Herman goes to pull a pint from the barrel he discovers it is empty and instead a girl named Lilly (Esther Smith) is inside and she has apparently been kidnapped. Barbara (Sharon Rooney) is suspicious and questions her story but Brian sticks up for Lilly and tries to win her over.
At the other end of the bar Howell (Paul Kaye) decides to drink the bar dry in alphabetical order whilst the gang pull apart Herman’s advert for its spelling and grammar errors.
Barbara continues to warn Brian but he just decides she is jealous of Lilly and ignores her. He then decides to take Lilly back to the docks and leave with her. Then Barbara spots something interesting in the Munty Gazette…then fairies appear and surround the pub – it’s a raid! Who could they be after?
To make matter worse the deadly disease of Woodpox is sweeping through Munty!
To have what is pretty much a bottleneck episode in a pub is a stroke of genius. What has become an overplayed TV trope is instead used here to flesh out our gang’s personalities and motivations via the little flashes of their true personalities we witness whilst they are under pressure. Full credit to the writers and actors as these moments (some very brief) add more detail to what we already know and sets up our gang for further growth and development in future episodes.
Verdict: 8/10 Another cracking episode that will only improve with future viewings. Exploring the dynamics of the original “Munty 5” is something that has been put on the backburner slightly as Munty has been opened further for us this season. This in itself has not been a problem but it is nice to know that when Zapped is stripped back to its basics its main cast can deliver an episode that can still keep you more than entertained. Make sure you stick around for the after credits scene!
Fabulous review,Thanku 🤣x