by Garnet Benzie (c)
Intro:
The conclusion of the book doesn’t only leave the fans wanting more. It naturally leaves fans wondering what might have happened if a seventh series had been produced, and whether another will be, given the book’s success.
Twenty-seven years ago, the time travel series Goodnight Sweetheart ended its six-year run with Gary Sparrow trapped in the past with World War Two coming to an end. The time portal had closed, and there was no way for him to return to the 1990s.
Ten years ago, a one-off special was produced, with Gary able to return to the year 2016.
Fans hoped that the series would be revived, but that didn’t eventuate. One year ago, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to produce a continuation book. There were days when fans wondered if the campaign would reach its target. On the very last day of the campaign, it succeeded, and the series creators, writer one and writer two, got to work on the book.
It’s a year later, and has the book satisfied the needs of the fans? Definitely, as the book is a prequel to the 2016 special and a sequel, expertly written in a single book.
There have been plenty of sequels that have just rehashed what came before, but Goodnight Sweetheart Many Happy Returns is different, as it gives the characters genuine depth and development, especially with Gary’s daughter Ellie.
In the original series, Gary Sparrow had no problem passing off songs by the Beatles and many other musicians as his own during World War Two, and there was no way he was going to be caught. To explain his frequent absences from World War Two to his girlfriend and eventual wife, Phoebe, Gary passed himself off as a spy in the spirit of James Bond. But in terms of his life, the past times had changed, and it was now 1962. The Beatles were on the verge of being discovered by the public, and Gary naturally realises that meddling with history would have serious consequences.
During the original run of the series, there were celebrity cameos by historical figures such as King George the Sixth, George Formby and Noel Coward. In movies set in the past, celebrity cameos have proven to be a clichéd irritant that the movie could have done without, but in the case of Goodnight Sweetheart, their appearances were never forced and felt like they were meant to belong in the series. The book is no different, as the appearances of Brian Epstein, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best, and James Bond creator Ian Fleming don’t feel out of place as they’re vital to the plot of the book. Ian Fleming proves to be formidable when he has suspicions about Gary’s past as a spy in World War Two.
The first ten chapters of the book act as a prequel to the 2016 special, and the rest obviously act as its sequel. In the 2016 special, Gary discovers that he has a daughter, Ellie, whom he wasn’t aware of since he was trapped in the past. With the new knowledge of her existence, he wants to make things right with Ellie just as he wants to make things right with history. Ellie’s story arc is well written, and the character has a genuine role to play in the book and isn’t just there for the sake of it.
The conclusion of the book doesn’t only leave the fans wanting more. It naturally leaves fans wondering what might have happened if a seventh series had been produced, and whether another will be, given the book’s success. Whatever happens is obviously yet to be seen, but in the meantime, the book can be ordered online here.
