Citizen Smith

- Season 2

(1978)

Bad boy Speed is being released from jail and his girlfriend Desiree has bad news for him though she fails to tell Wolfie precisely what it is. He assumes she is pregnant by another man and confides in Shirley but her Dad only overhears part of the conversation and assumes he is to be a grandfather. The bad news is something completely different and Speed and Desiree are happily reunited whilst Dad has mixed feelings when told the truth.

Shirley thinks Dad is being very brave to take Mum on holiday to Spain after he has lost his job as security guard at the factory. Inspired by a visit to Karl Marx's grave Wolfie and Ken decide to stage a protest, demanding Dad's reinstatement by chaining themselves to the railings outside the works but by the time they realize he has happily taken voluntary redundancy and has another job they and the railings are on their way to the smelting yard - in Birmingham.

Speed steals a number of stereos from Dad's factory and, through Wolfie's brokering, sells them to Harry Fenning. A celebration is in order so Speed steals a car for a night out - Harry's new car. Wolfie and his friends are terrified that Harry will come after them, seeking revenge and are amazed to find that they have unintentionally done him a good turn.

Wolfie is told that he must accept work or else lose his social security benefits so he reluctantly starts at an electrical goods factory - only to find that Shirley's Dad is his boss. Appalled that there is no trade union he brings the factory out on strike, with the result that all the staff must now join a union - including an unenthusiastic Dad but with Dad seeking revenge by giving Wolfie the worst jobs there is only one thing to do - resign!

As Shirley and Ken belittle Wolfie's efforts to start a revolt he tells them that he has written letters of support to revolutionaries in other countries and, as a result, receives a visit from Jose Alvarez, the handsome, charming leader of the Bilbao Popular Front, who promises him soldiers and vehicles. Dad is delighted and sees Jose, whose father is an aristocrat, as a suitable husband for Shirley but Wolfie is less enchanted when he learns that Jose's father has disowned him and he is seeking funds because his own revolutionary outfit is as pitiful and ...

Wolfie's old school-mate Rick Holmes, now a successful record producer, returns to Tooting to hold auditions for a new group whom he intends to take back to Los Angeles with him. Wolfie is one of the successful applicants and says his goodbyes. Shirley is heart-broken until Wolfie appears to tell her the he has changed his mind and will not be leaving after all - though the decision was rather forced on him since Rick was arrested for fraud - taking money from the hopefuls seeking to join the non-existent band and then running off with it.