Laura: I've been thinking, Mr. Brittas.
Mr. Brittas: Where's Colin?
Laura: The reason I've always supported you-
Mr. Brittas: Laura, I don't have time-
Laura: No matter what you've done, no matter how stupid or half-baked everyone thought it was, I've always known that underneath it all you meant well.
Mr. Brittas: Laura, I haven't heard-
Laura: But however many people got hurt, it was always because you were trying to do what you believed was best. Particularly what you thought was best for your staff.
Mr. Brittas: Yeah and you're not still going on about Colin are you?
Laura: I'm afraid I am.
— Laura Lancing trying to convince Gordon Brittas to not fire Colin.
- Date First Aired: 07/11/1994
We open our episode on Carole waiting for the first customer of the day, which she proceeds to unsuccessfully bombard with a barrage of questions relating to the use of the leisure centre. Apparently, this is because Brittas wants her to have 100 questionnaires completed, meant to be part of a plan to overhaul the administrative structure of the centre. As this is going on, Tim reports that the toilet's backing up. During this, Brittas hints to Gavin that he may be in the running for management. Brittas also intends to fire Colin, considering him to be the weak link in the running of the centre. However, Laura warns Brittas that this will be tricky, as Colin is blind, courtesy of his garden blowing up. Brittas tries to fire him but relents for the time being.
Carole, meanwhile, is trying her best to fill in some questionnaires - by holding people hostage. She also gets a phone call from Helen, seeking a divorce. Helen is worried about Brittas' potential job, fearing that it will be the same old chaos as in Whitbury (plus the bonus of everyone speaking foreign languages that she wouldn't know). She also hasn't told him yet about this so Laura recommends that she As this is going on, the situation with Colin gets worse - his 93-year-old aunt's died! Oh, and Brittas accidentally kills Colin's pet canary when it goes loose. He thus decides to get Tim off to get a new canary whilst he tries to figure out the toilet problem.
Laura is able to console Helen whilst this is going on, suggesting that the job might be perfect for him as it involves the setting of rules and no people at all. Colin's situation ends up getting worse when it's revealed that all of his life savings have been taken away from him - on his birthday no less. Tim eventually catches wind of Carole's attempt to hold people in place and gives her the idea of filling them in herself.
Brittas, against better judgment, puts Colin back to his usual duties in the swimming pool, leading to him knocking out several people and Tim with a metal pole. This annoys Brittas so much that he decides to fire Colin right then and there. This proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for Laura, who calls him out on it. However, Colin is able to fix the toilet issue all episode whilst blinded, leading Brittas to decide to promote him to Manager in charge of Building Fabric. Even better, this is enough to cure Colin's blindness. That evening, Brittas finally talks to Helen, where she reveals that she does want to go after all. Thus, the episode ends with the two preparing to make love.
Tropes in this episode:
- Accidental Murder: Brittas was definitely not trying to kill Colin's canary when it manages to get free, but he manages to kill it anyway when he crushes the bird in the door in an attempt to capture it.
- Almighty Janitor: Colin is in the most literal sense; this episode has him fix an issue in the leisure centre toilets that had been plaguing the centre all episode whilst blinded in around five or so minutes.
- Birthday Episode: It's Colin's birthday this episode and it's used to make his suffering even more hilariously tragic.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Colin's epic Trauma Conga Line is revealed halfway through the episode to have taken place on his birthday.
- Black Comedy Pet Death: Colin's pet canary gets crushed between the door of Brittas' office.
- Blind Mistake: Colin makes some errors due to his blindness, including almost pissing in the middle of Brittas' office and dropping drawing pins into a cup of hot beverage, which he then drinks from unknowingly. It all culminates in his attempts to save a person from drowning in the pool, which leads to Tim lying on the ground from a Groin Attack and head wound and several people knocked out in the pool.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Colin's mail includes a birthday card from Pauline the milkman, a birthday message from the Young Telegraph, and a postcard by Colin's accountant revealing that all of Colin's life savings have vanished.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Colin, who tries to carry on working after being blinded.
- Dead Pet Sketch: Brittas accidentally kills Colin's pet canary (by closing a door whilst it was getting out and becoming crushed as a result). He immediately gets Tim to buy a replacement canary. We never do find out if Colin fell for it (as he was blind for the episode) but Brittas does complain that it looked too yellow for his liking.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Blind Devotion" refers to how Colin will follow any of Brittas' orders without question, and Colin's Temporary Blindness.
- Firing Day: Brittas spends the episode trying to fire Colin, believing him to be incapable of doing his job correctly. However, he is impeded by the fact that Colin keeps having horrible things happen to him that day. He is eventually convinced not to do so when Colin proves to have some good skills relating to toilets.
- Foreshadowing: Gavin is the only person who sides with Brittas on the topic of firing Colin, pointing out that he isn't very good at his job. He's quickly shot down, but it provides an early hint of the fact that he'll eventually become similar to Brittas once he becomes a Deputy Manager.
- The Ghost: Colin mentions having an accountant called G. Adams, but he never appears in the flesh.
- Grilling Pyrotechnics: This happens to Colin off-screen when he tries to light his charcoal pit, unaware of the fact that his house is built on 70 feet worth of toxic waste from the 1950s. This leads to an explosion which leaves him temporarily blinded.
- Groin Attack: A blinded Colin gives Tim one in an attempt to rescue a drowning child.
- Hiccup Hijinks: Colin mentions how his aunt once had a bout of hiccups which lasted for two whole weeks.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Helen takes to the whisky when she fears going to Brussels. Notably, it comes from a box that Laura grabs from under the reception desk, suggesting that she was prepared for situations like these.
- Jar Potty: The toilet situation becomes so bad that anyone expecting to pee has to do so in a bucket in the gymnasium and shit in the wooded area around the centre.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Whilst the way that Brittas went about it was horrendous, he does have a point when he points out to Laura that Colin is absolutely useless in his job. Notably, despite her being willing to interrupt Brittas earlier on in trying to get him to change his decision, Laura doesn't respond to Brittas asking her to name one time in which Colin was useful, and it's only the timely intervention of Colin saving the day through his skills relating to toilets that allows him to remain at the centre.
- Kick Them While They're Down: Brittas fully intends to fire Colin despite the fact that he has had basically the worst day of his life. He's called out for this by practically everyone, especially Laura.
- Language Barrier: This is one of the reasons Helen fears going to Brussels.Helen: It's bad enough when things go wrong in this country, but when you can't even speak the language. I mean, how do I tell a doctor that I need stronger pills in Flemish?
- Lysistrata Gambit: Helen tries this in a bid to voice her displeasure for moving to Brussels. It doesn't work; not only does Brittas not notice, but Helen suffers for it.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: The episode ends with Helen about to make love to Brittas inside his office.
- Nephewism: Colin is revealed to have been raised by his aunt after his parents were killed by a combined harvester.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Brittas accidentally kills Colin's canary, Jeremy, on Colin's birthday.
- Noodle Incident: Tim, Linda and Gavin are apparently familiar with Colin's canary, judging by the fact that they recognise it immediately when Brittas tries to get Tim to find a replacement for it after its untimely death, but how they came to know the canary is left vague.
- Oblivious to His Own Description: Brittas decides to fire Colin, not realising that maybe what he says about Colin can refer to him as well.Mr. Brittas: Hasn't it ever occurred to you, Laura, that most of the upsets in this centre are caused by one person?Laura: Well...Mr. Brittas: One member of the team, Laura, who means well, but is consistently the dead pigeon in the jet turbines of management.Laura: Well...Mr. Brittas: And have you ever tried to imagine what this place would be like without 'im?Laura: I have sometimes.Mr. Brittas: He has to go, Laura. I cannot justify having a swimming pool manager with a skin condition which means he can't go in water.Laura: Oh, you're talkin' about Colin!Mr. Brittas: Of course I'm talkin' about Colin.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Brittas is considering firing Colin, but on top of all the bad things that happen to Colin, it doesn’t help that Colin talks about things such as his belief that work is the one thing in life that matters. It doesn’t stop Brittas, but he does become more hesitant on the matter.
- One-Shot Character: Jeremy the canary and Mrs. Drabble.
- The Pollyanna: Despite everything that happens to Colin over the course of the episode, he still maintains his chirpy attitude.
- Rank Up: Colin goes from the Deputy Manager Wet to the Manager in Charge of Building Fabric.
- Series Continuity Error: It’s mentioned that Colin’s parents have been dead since he was a little boy… despite him noting back in “The Christening” an incident involving his mother losing a urine sample only a mere few years ago, which she could have only done if she were still alive.
- Short-Distance Phone Call: Helen calls Carole whilst she's at reception in search of a divorce. When Laura takes over and asks how soon she can get there, Helen reveals herself to be calling from the staff meeting room (which is connected to the main reception area).
- Shout-Out:
- According to Helen, Jeremy Paxman was fawning all over Brittas on Newsnight.
- The small electronic piano which Brittas purchases for Helen plays "The Yellow Rose of Texas".
- Status Quo Is God:
- Helen considers divorcing Brittas, but decides against it when Laura tells her that it won’t be as bad in Brussels.
- Colin is fired for incompetence, but Laura manages to convince Brittas to let him stay.
- Tap on the Head: Tim is knocked out by a blow to the head by a clock that Colin had accidentally wedged loose. However, he suffers no permanent damage and is walking and talking by later on in the episode.
- Temporary Blindness: Colin is rendered temporarily blinded, courtesy of his garden blowing up. This proves to be only the beginning of hell for him in that episode.
- Trauma Conga Line: Colin becomes temporarily blinded, and loses his aunt, pet canary, and life savings in quick succession. This is revealed to occur on his birthday no less.
- Ultimate Job Security: Colin is briefly fired, but manages to get his job back by the episode's end.
- Urine Trouble: Colin leaves the manager's office to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, he has been temporarily blinded, so he winds up going back to the office and almost relieves himself on one of the potted plants in the office. Right in front of Brittas and Laura too.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Laura gets madder at Brittas than usual this episode, first for prioritizing the purchase of a canary over the potential breakup of his marriage and then deciding to fire Colin despite everything he's been through that day.Laura: You haven't seen her, haven't you?Mr. Brittas: I fully intend to.Laura: Yes of course. I should have realised that buying a canary was far more important than the break-up of YOUR MARRIAGE! How silly of me.Mr. Brittas: Laura! I'm going to see her Laura. I'm going to see her right now!
- Working Through the Cold: Colin goes into work despite having been recently blinded by an explosion.Laura: The hospital wanted to keep him, but he insisted on coming in.Mr. Brittas: But why?Laura: He didn't want to let you down. He said you've always taught him to put duty before minor personal discomfort.
- Wrong Line of Work:
- Colin is terrible at his job as Deputy Manager Wet since he can't even go into the pool due to his conditions. However, he proves to be more adept in the skills of toilets and drainage, which is what convinces Brittas to give him a job relating to that.
- This is actually how Laura convinces Helen to allow Brittas to go to Brussels, pointing out that whilst he's terrible at his job as Manager since it involves interacting with people, his new role as European Commissioner of Sport would remove him from these interactions and would put him in a niche which he is much better at - the writing and implementation of rules and laws.
