History Radio / BleakExpectations

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: CharlesDickens himself in "A Writerly Life Made Dreadfully Difficult" (although [[spoiler: the Charles Dickens in most of the episode is [[PaperThinDisguise very obviously Mr Benevolent]], the real one does appear at the end]]).

* DeadpanSnarker: Several characters have their moments, though Ripely is perhaps the most consistent example of the trope.

* {{Dissimile}}: "Trouble was brewing like a cup of angry tea." Sir Philip usually delivers one at the end of the episode, when Sourquil leaves and his daughter says that it's good to get these memories out

* EvilIsSexy: There must be a reason so many characters find Mr. Benevolent attractive...

** Harry, meanwhile, is incapable of one. Whenever he's evil, he admits it is pretty pathetic.

* KilledOffForReal: Poppy Bin, Skinflint Parsimonious (the most generous of men). Flora Diesearly.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Sir Philip Bin's reaction to Sourquil cheerfully announcing he's bought another device.

'''Sourquil''': And what happened?\\

'''Sourquil''': Oh, how awful!\\

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: The "terminally metaphorical" streetsweeper, to save London from being flown to France]] and later [[spoiler: Harry Biscuit TakingTheBullet for Pip. Actually, he just fell over at the crucial moment, but it sounds more heroic this way.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: GB is finally KilledOffForReal when [[spoiler:he's thrown into his own DoomsdayDevice]] in the GrandFinale.

* HurtComfortFic: Pip Bin and [[spoiler: Mr Benevolent]] in "A Terrifying Life Made Even Scarier A Bit Some More".
* {{Hypocrite}}: Ripely acts like your typical Victorian-era person toward the homeless, stating that it's God's will they are homeless, accusing them of being lazy, taking any remaining accommodation they may have in case it 'undermines their self-respect', and marches around the south end of London yelling at them that it's their own fault they're poor. And the minute her family becomes broke and they're forced to live in a hut made of mud (and some [[HumanResources bodies]], she cries foul. Pippa is quick to call her on this.

* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: The rough pub The Jellied Eel and Murderer, in a rough part of the already pretty-damn rough East End of London.

* ImAHumanitarian: St. Bitch's celebrates Joan of Arc day by burning one of their charges at the steak, then eating them.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Bishop Righteous Whackwallop threatens to shoot Pip Bin... ''with a guitar''.

* InsaneTrollLogic: The whole series runs on it. A shining example would be Harry's attempt to break the thirty mile an hour speed-limit.
** To whit: Harry wishes to break the speed barrier, but doesn't have access to anything fast enough. He reasons that he doesn't have enough horsepower, because he only has so many horses. Therefore, if he has more horses, he will have more horsepower, and thus go fast enough to break the thirty mile an hour limit.

* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum: Sourquil usually tries some ridiculous recording device such as a horse-drawn pen or the "[[IProduct iWax]]" wax-cylinder recorder, before abandoning them moments later. Also, "Have escaped from telegram office stop. Will take telegram boy to keep you updated stop."

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: The steam engine and the telegraph, both in episode 4.

* JustAStupidAccent: France and Russian have this in spades.

* KillerRabbit: Killer underwater squirrels, capable of attacking and subduing grown humans. Sir Philip Bin repeatedly adds that they were ''incredibly'' delicious.

* LamePunReaction: Confucius Whackwallop is killed by a can of soup to the head. His final words? "Here comes my dying ''broth''." The audience groans at that one.

* LongList: Sir Philip reciting the names of Harry and Pippa's many, many children.

* LovableSexManiac: Ripely reveals herself as one after marrying Pip; not only do they go on to have a plethora of (seldom-seen) children, but she quite openly has a huge sexual appetite, a wandering eye and wandering hands. Somehow Pip always seem to buy her thinly-veiled excuses for spending an inordinate amount of time ogling or touching half-naked, handsome men.
** In season 5, Ripely discovers she is now too old to be a LoveableSexManiac. She looks forward to being old enough to be a DirtyOldWoman.
* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler: Mr Benevolent undergoes a HeelFaceTurn due to his love for Miss Sweetly Delightful. Unfortunately, ''she'' then has a FaceHeelTurn.]]

* LukeIAmYourFather: Sourquil the journalist reveals at the end of Season One that [[spoiler: he's descended from Mr Gently Benevolent (also an IdenticalGrandson, as they're both voiced by Anthony Head)]].

* MadeOfIron: Even before he comes back as a zombie, Mister Benevolent takes a lot to actually die.

* MeaningfulName: Subverted with Mr Skinflint Parsimonious and Mr Gently Benevolent, both of whom have names that are the exact opposite of their personalities (Benevolent's full name is revealed to be 'Gently Lovely Kissy Nice-Nice Benevolent'). Done straight with the Hardthrashers, who run St Bastards, and their cousins, the Sternbeaters and Whackwhallops. Also played straight with the love interests Ripely Fecund and Sweetly Delightful, not to mention the parody of Dora Spenlow in ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'': Flora Dies-Early.

** And again when she goes back to evil in series 5. Her ideas include inviting two people to tea who don't get along, and making Ripely wear bad makeup.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: During the second-to-last episode of season 2, Harry and Pippa are robbed while out being charitable in the East End of London. The thieves make off with their money, jewellery and indeed all their clothes. They take it in amazingly good stride.

* NoodleIncident: Pip skips several years of narrative between series one and two as they were uneventful save for an incident "involving a horse and a balloon." When mentioned, everyone laughs, but then they remember it ended poorly for the horse.

* PaperThinDisguise: Mr Benevolent often adopts these. Pip is always fooled, despite the flimsiness of the disguise and frequent OohMeAccentsSlipping. In the opium den episode, Pip is so high that Benevolent stops even bothering with the accent.

* ParentalAbandonment: Pip and Ripely supposedly have many children together (including Lily) but the children are never around. {{Handwave}}d in one episode when it is mentioned that Pip sends them away to school in [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]].

* RefugeInAudacity: Poverty so extreme people survive on communion wafers; kidnapping a school by harnessing it to horses; underwater carnivorous squirrels; tides of sewage that sweep over London.

* RubeGoldbergDevice: The device for checking on Sorquil and Lily's baby.

* RunningGag: The lawyer's name, Mr Skinflint Parsimonious's obsession with giving people things, Pippa's anvil, Sourquil's recording devices (season 1); Mr Gently Benevolent's nose (season 2); [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood the bizarre methods of childcare]] employed by Sir Philip's daughter and Sourquil (season 3); Lily's various evening classes, Harry Biscuit's obsession with cake (season 4); Sourquil's timekeeping devices, the repeatedly denied FoeRomanceSubtext between Pip and Gently Benevolent (Season 5) amongst others.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: From the man in season 1 episode 5 who is definitely not stalking Flora.

* TakeThat: Parliament is portrayed as revolving entirely around a rigorous schedule of breaks, during which the Members of Parliament get ''very'' drunk. In the end, parliament gets burnt down because the brandy has managed to soak into the walls. Benevolent has managed to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, because what better job is there for an evil, undead supervillain?

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Pip Bin is (aside from the standard Victorian-era flaws) kind, noble, and good (if a bit thoughtless). Sir Philip Bin is a miserable old jerk.

* VoiceoverLetter: Lampshading and playing with this trope is a RunningGag. Some variations;

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Pip and Ripely's children just disappear after the second series. We know Lily survived to adulthood, but nothing is ever mentioned of the others.

* WhiteSheep: General George S. Sternbeater;

* AffectionateParody
* AllGirlsLikePonies: One of the few things Victorian women are allowed to do.

* AttractiveBentGender: Benevolent manages to get Pip to marry him with only a PaperThinDisguise. He doesn't even [[CrossDressingVoices put on a voice]]... [[spoiler:Luckily, on the very last page of ''Loopholes In Marital Law'', it says "no wedding will be deemed to be legitimate if either party turns out to be an evil man in a dress".]]

* BackFromTheDead: As of series 4, [[spoiler: all main characters have been killed and revived at least once. Flora, Aunt Lily, Poppy, Rev. Fecund, Mr Parsimonious and the lawyer with the long name are the only ones who have actually stayed dead, and even then Mr Parsimonious hung around as a ghost for a couple of episodes before departing from the series. Mr Benevolent has returned so many times he's not even mentioned as undead any more.]]

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Harry Biscuit was the man who got the people of India to like cricket.

* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: St Bastard's. To whit: the headmaster enjoys beating students, often to death, for any and all reason he can find. The school has scores of insane and unpredictable laws which must all be obeyed, on pain of savage beating. There's no food, but there are mealtimes, so students must mime eating food, and do so convincingly, [[RuleOfThree or be beaten]]. Naturally, they have long since resorted to [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]]. Some students are forced to work in the salt-and-pepper mines located underneath the school, where they'll either die from dehydration or sneezing. Younger students are used as ammunition during target practice. And should you actually manage to live long enough to be eighteen, you suffer a [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident horrible accident]].

* BritishStuffiness: At the end of series four, Harry Biscuit seems perfectly happy to have his wife back after she went off with Mr Benevolent. When the fifth series opens a decade and a half later, he's furious with her, because as a good Englishman it's taken him fifteen years to process his emotions about the incident.

* BunglingInventor: Harry Biscuit builds a lot of brilliant machines, none of which work as intended. [[spoiler: Gently Benevolent's BatmanGambit in the season three finale actually relies on this.]]
** Whoever supplies Sourquil with all his devices also has to be this.

* CatchPhrase: "Hurrumble!", Harry Biscuit's personal version of "Hurrah!"

* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: It's a parody of stories set in nineteenth century Briton; were you expecting a ''complimentary'' portrayal of the French?

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: A river-dwelling folk pull a suicidal Pip Bin from the Thames, then try to kill him when they find out he's alive. Even decades later, Sir Philip Bin hasn't caught on.

* DeathIsCheap

* TheDitz: Sorquil, oh so much. Sir Pip Bin even describes him and Lily as a "mind-shatteringly cretinous pair of stupids."
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In episode 4, the progress of Pip's great invention echoes the development history of computers (starts out enormous, getting smaller as the technology improves; people fear that using one will be complicated, but once they try it find that it's "intuitive"; and so on).

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Sweetly Delightful-Benevolent.
* DrowningMySorrows: Harry Biscuit, in series 4. He stops after an accident with a dart-throwing machine.

* {{Eagleland}}: When Pip arrives in New York, he discovers American audiences are much more emotional than British ones, that people routinely order eight-acre steaks, and that absolutely all disputes are settled by gunfights.

* EvilLaugh: Mr Gently Benevolent does it a lot. Turns out it runs in the family.

** When she speaks Cockney for money, Ripley insists on being paid in ponies for the whole rhyming slang.

* AuthorVocabularyCalendar: Sir Phillip Bin uses the word "figure" to describe people he doesn't recognise a lot. A lot a lot. In fact, he barely if ever uses any synonyms for it.

** Whoever supplies Sourquill with all his devices also has to be this.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: A river-dwelling folk pull a suicidal Pip Bin from the Thames, then try to kill him when they find out he's alive. Even decades later, Sir Phillip Bin hasn't caught on.

'''Sourquill''': And what happened?\\

'''Sourquill''': Oh, how awful!\\

** Taken UpToEleven in the final ever episode. [[spoiler: Sir Philip describes how he, as he is now, was [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] to help his younger self by throwing himself in the universe-destroying machine, and then describes his final battle with Mr Benevolent, his gaining all the knowledge of the universe, and his ''actual death''. Even Sourquill says "Are you having me on?", but Sir Philip explains TheGrimReaper [[PosthumousNarration returned him to finish his story]], and now he must go, [[TearJerker and join Harry, Pippa and Ripely]]. Then it turns out he [[BackFromTheDead cheated the Reaper]], and [[MoodWhiplash now it's time for a Christmas party]]!]]
* DirtyOldMan: Sir Phillip's idea of relaxing involves friendly scullery maids.

* {{Dissimile}}: "Trouble was brewing like a cup of angry tea." Sir Philip usually delivers one at the end of the episode, when Sourquill leaves and his daughter says that it's good to get these memories out

* FramingDevice: Sir Philip is retelling his story to Sourquill for serialisation in ''The Times''.

** Lord Dukey Clampvulture is shot dead by Ripley using his own elephant gun on him.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Ripley acts like your typical Victorian-era person toward the homeless, stating that it's God's will they are homeless, accusing them of being lazy, taking any remaining accommodation they may have in case it 'undermines their self-respect', and marches around the south end of London yelling at them that it's their own fault they're poor. And the minute her family becomes broke and they're forced to live in a hut made of mud (and some [[HumanResources bodies]], she cries foul. Pippa is quick to call her on this.

* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum: Sourquill usually tries some ridiculous recording device such as a horse-drawn pen or the "[[IProduct iWax]]" wax-cylinder recorder, before abandoning them moments later. Also, "Have escaped from telegram office stop. Will take telegram boy to keep you updated stop."

* KillerRabbit: Killer underwater squirrels, capable of attacking and subduing grown humans. Sir Phillip Bin repeatedly adds that they were ''incredibly'' delicious.

* LieBackAndThinkOfEngland: Pip and Ripley consummate their marriage with appropriate Victorian decency.

-->'''Sir Phillip''': I missed her, as one might miss a sister. I missed her sisterly laugh, her sisterly wisdom, and her...curvaceous yet sisterly body.
* LongList: Sir Phillip reciting the names of Harry and Pippa's many, many children.

* LukeIAmYourFather: Sourquill the journalist reveals at the end of Season One that [[spoiler: he's descended from Mr Gently Benevolent (also an IdenticalGrandson, as they're both voiced by Anthony Head)]].

* OmnicidalManiac: Benevolent in the series finale, because what else was he going to do for a GrandFinale? Somewhat deconstructed, as Sir Phillip suggests that the only reason to want to destroy ''everything'' (including himself) was [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery because he's ultimately unhappy with his life of evil, and wants to end it all and take the world with him]].

-->'''Sir Phillip''': I opened the fortune cookie; inside it said "You are now addicted to opium."

* RunningGag: The lawyer's name, Mr Skinflint Parsimonious's obsession with giving people things, Pippa's anvil, Sourquill's recording devices (season 1); Mr Gently Benevolent's nose (season 2); [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood the bizarre methods of childcare]] employed by Sir Philip's daughter and Sourquill (season 3); Lily's various evening classes, Harry Biscuit's obsession with cake (season 4); Sourquill's timekeeping devices, the repeatedly denied FoeRomanceSubtext between Pip and Gently Benevolent (Season 5) amongst others.

* StayInTheKitchen: Sir Phillip Bin doesn't think highly of women.

** And one aimed at Film/{{Grease}}, which is the name of a country next to Greece, where according to Sir Phillip Bin "everyone sang too much, and needed punching".

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Sir Phillip Bin's reaction to Sourquil cheerfully announcing he's bought another device.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Ripley is the portrait of kindness and charity in her introduction. Once she's rich, she becomes a shrill hypocrite who's loathe to let the poor have ''chairs''.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Pip Bin is (aside from the standard Victorian-era flaws) kind, noble, and good (if a bit thoughtless). Sir Phillip Bin is a miserable old jerk.

-->'''Sourquill''': Do not worry, Sir Philip, I have come to see your abuse as the expression of affection by different means.\\

** In the final episode Sir Philip finally admits he ''does'' like Sourquill, he was just hoping the man would stand up for himself.

** Mr Benevolent's ultimate evil scheme is a universe-destroying machine based on "wool theory". "[[AlbertEinstein God does not play dice]], but he does knit."

* SaveTheWorldClimax: The finale of series 2 involves Pip having to save the world [[spoiler:from a Martian invasion]]. [[OutsideContextVillain Yup.]]

* SeasonFinale: Not only does each series' finale (from the second one on) involve a SaveTheWorldClimax from an OutsideContextVillain (and ratchet the series' levels of RefugeInAudacity UpToEleven), but the characters are also [[MetaGuy more prone]] to LampshadeHanging and LeaningOnTheFourthWall. The GrandFinale even more so.

** An episode spent in space features the characters dropping as many lines of DavidBowie's "Space Oddity" as they possibly can.

* ArtificialLimbs: Admiral Hardthrasher has a wooden leg -- and another wooden leg, two wooden arms, several wooden ribs, a wooden kidney, wooden hair...

* ButYouScrewOneGoat: Evil!Harry infects some swans the same way he infects Pippa, by kissing. And not on the beak...

** "For does the Bible not say, 'Stuff the poor, they only have themselves to blame?'" Pip's wife Ripely, quoting "the Book of Badgers". Of course, this doesn't apply to her when they lose their money.
** "Ah... but does it not say in the Bible... ''Leave me alone, I'm miserable!''" Harry Biscuit, refusing to let Pip cheer him up after [[spoiler: Pippa has left him to be Mr Gently Benevolent's "evil consort."]]

* BigNo: When Mr Benevolent believes he is the descendent of Judas Iscariot. Followed by a "Slightly smaller noooooooo!" when he learns the truth.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Harry Biscuit, often coming with some [[AreYouPonderingWhatImPondering non sequitur.]]
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: A river-dwelling folk pull a suicidal Pip Bin from the Thames, then try to kill him when they find out he's alive. Even decades later, Sir Phillip Bin hasn't caught on.

** Taken UpToEleven in the final ever episode. [[spoiler: Sir Philip describes how he, as he is now, was [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] to help his younger self by throwing himself in the universe-destroying machine, and then describes his final battle with Mr Benevolent, his gaining all the knowledge of the universe, and his ''actual death''. Even Sourquill says "Are you having me on?", but Sir Philip explains the GrimReaper [[PosthumousNarration returned him to finish his story]], and now he must go, [[TearJerker and join Harry, Pippa and Ripely]]. Then it turns out he [[BackFromTheDead cheated the Reaper]], and [[MoodWhiplash now it's time for a Christmas party]]!]]

-->'''Mr. Benevolent''': "[[BlatantLies No idea]]. Peanut-butter and banana treat, anyone?"
* EverythingsWorseWithSharks: Schadenfreude Sharks, who taunts their victims until they're exhausted.

* GrandFinale: The grand finale naturally takes the OTT-ness of the {{Season Finale}}s to the LogicalExtreme by having Benevolent [[spoiler:become an OmnicidalManiac and ''finally'' get KilledOffForReal via TimeyWimeyBall.]]

* IncrediblyLamePun: Confucius Whackwallop is killed by a can of soup to the head. His final words? "Here comes my dying ''broth''." The audience groans at that one.
** Lily's "musket" / "mouseket" pun.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The first season titles describes how each stage of Pip's life is ruined, starting with "A Childhood Cruelly Kippered" and concluding "A Life Sadly Smashed ... Then Happily Restored A Bit". The second starts with "A Happy Life, Cruelly Re-Kippered" and also features "A Bad Life Made Worse, But Sort Of On Purpose." And the third opens with "A Lovely Life, Re-Kippered Again Once More", and follows that up with "A Sort Of Fine Life De-Niced Completely".

* LaserGuidedKarma: Barker Whackwallop tries to set his freaks on Pip. Instead they attack him. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by his final words.

* LoveRedeems: [[spoiler: Mr Benevolent undergoes a HeelFaceTurn due to his love for Miss Sweetly Delightful. Unfortunately, ''she'' then has a FaceHeelTurn]].
** [[spoiler: and this is instantly undone in season four, suggesting the StatusQuoIsGod.]]
** [[spoiler: Mr Benevolent then undergoes ''another'' HeelFaceTurn in season 5, due to his love for ''Pip''. This one doesn't even last to the end of the episode; he gets hit by a blob of pure evil from the Pen of Penrith]].

--> "For example, washing up badly is not the same as washing up evilly. It is merely unhygienic. Evil washing up involves crying children, smashed plates and [[KickTheDog at least two dead dogs.]]"

* {{Misblamed}}: Pip Bin is rarely responsible for the death of the latest Harshsmacker / Sternbeater / Whackwallop / Grimpunch, but everyone acts like he is.

* NoodleImplements: One of Benevolent's WeWillMeetAgain monologues warns of "an even more complex and evil plan involving talking dogs, a special type of tarpaulin, and an enormous number of spoons! And then you will taste your doggy, tarpaulin-y, [[InherentlyFunnyWords spoony doom!]]"

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Mr Benevolent when in disguise, quite frequently. [[TooStupidToLive Pip still doesn't notice.]]

** Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]. ''Names, Pip! Always ask for names!"

* ParentalAbandonment: Pip and Ripely supposedly have many children together (including Lily) but the children are never around. {{Handwave}}d in one episode when it is mentioned that Pip sends them away to school in [[TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]].

* {{Redshirt}}: Invoked, with Constable Tragicmurdervictim.

* SaveTheWorldClimax: The finale of series 2 involves Pip having to save the world [[spoiler:from a Martian invasion.]] [[OutsideContextVillain Yup.]]

* SorryILeftTheBGMOn: Several times.

** And maybe the most surreal one: In the last episode of Season Four, in what may or may not be [[AllJustADream a hallucination,]] Harry [[spoiler: reveals himself to be {{God}}, but tells Pip that he'll only deny it if anyone asks. In the next scene, when the possible-hallucination is over and things are back to normal, he denies it ''without'' being asked.]]

** In the India episode, messages are delivered via "[[InstantMessengerPigeon messenger]] [[PollyWantsAMicrophone parrots]]," who can imitate their senders perfectly.

** Admiral Hardthrasher's fleet has a whole row of ships that quote the chorus of ''War'' by Edwin Star. (Complete with the "huh").

* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Cake?]]: Quoted, subverted and parodied by Harry Biscuit, who isn't ''afraid'' of cake, but simply loves it ''too much.''

* SimSimSalabim: Crossed with TheRaj, naturally.

** Gently Benevolent.

** Venkman Clampvulture, Britain's greatest exorcist, has a habit of announcing himself with lines from the ''{{Ghostbusters}}'' theme.

* FullNameBasis: Pip Bin, Harry Biscuit, and Mr Gently Benevolent among others.

** Mister Benevolent accidentally invented the gin and tonic, as part of a plot to sabotage the British Empire.

-->'''Harry''': "It is simple mathematics!"
-->'''Pip''': "({{Beat}}) It is ''wrong'' mathematics."

* IronicHell: Shows up. Harry Biscuit is given memory cake, then ForcedToWatch Mr Benevolent and Pippa kissing, while [[LovableSexManiac Ripely]] is placed in from of an army of half-dressed men, who are just out of reach.

** Pip Bin, as well. Being stabbed through the hurt just hurts him a lot, and being shot with a cannon only causes an out-of-body experience.

* SomebodyElsesProblem: Disreali Clampvulture, the Prime Minster in the series 5 finale, refuses to stop Mister Benevolent's scheme, even when dozens of villages start vanishing, because none of the places that vanished were in his constituency, or because he's focused on re-election more than anything else (even ''living''). Eventually this attitude provokes Pip Bin into killing him.

* WritersBlockMontage: Pip Bin, in the first series, tries to write. He flubs the Tale of Two Cities right off the bat ("It was the best of times... and so everybody lived happily ever after."), and gets worse from them. And then again in series three, with his second-to-last attempt being seven ''thousand'' pages of "All Work and No Play Make Pip a Dull Boy."

* BrainlessBeauty: Flora.

* HumanResources: In dire straits, the Bins build a crude hut out of mud and dead bodies fished from the Thames.

** Also subverted a couple of times, such as Pippa's "Today I didn't put as much postage on a letter as its weight category required! [[EvilLaugh Mwa ha HA HA!]] Also, I killed a bishop."
* {{Misblamed}}: Pip Bin is rarely responsible for the death of the latest Harshsmacker /Sternbeater / Whackwallop / Grimpunch, but everyone acts like he is.

* WritersBlockMontage

* AsTheGoodBookSays: "For does the Bible not say, 'Stuff the poor, they only have themselves to blame?'" Pip's wife Ripely, quoting "the Book of Badgers". Of course, this doesn't apply to her when they lose their money.

** Captain Clampvulture, who takes it BeyondTheImpossible by eating ''himself''.

-->'''Soldier''': "One must keep up standards. This may not be Britain, but it's still British."

* TenLittleMurderVictims: The series five opener. But who could be responsible?