Blackballed

Blackballed is the episode in which the friendship at the centre of Boon is put on trial. One morning Harry is raided by the fraud squad and arrested on a charge of involvement in an illegal property investment. It is the kind of event the series has joked about for years: Harry's investments have always been a source of comedy, and a hotel, a ballroom or a country club that failed was a running gag. This time he is accused of a crime.

Ken is surprised by the news, and it threatens their long friendship. He and Alex begin to realise that Harry may not be as trustworthy as he seems. Harry is released on bail and appeals to Ken to help him clear his name, but Ken, who has trusted him for years, is hard to persuade. He doubts Harry's honesty, particularly after learning that Harry has been mixing with crooked businessmen. The matter is made worse by the fact that Harry encouraged a number of his friends to invest in the doubtful scheme.

Ken is left to decide whether to stand by Harry or end the friendship altogether. TheTVDB's description is that their close and loyal relationship comes under severe strain.

It is a remarkable premise for the series. For six years and more, Ken and Harry have disagreed about money, about methods and about women, but the loyalty between the two ex-firemen has been the fixed point. The Guardian's obituary of David Daker credited that bond with bringing the show audiences of up to fifteen million. An episode that asks Ken to consider ending it is testing the programme's foundation.

Tony Etchells wrote the episode, his second of the series, and Nick Hurran directs. Leslie Phillips plays Alan Steen, Philip McGough plays Dennis Chapel, and Susan Tracy plays DI Devro. David Daker and Michael Elphick carry the central argument, with Saskia Wickham's Alex at Ken's side and Neil Morrissey's Rocky in the cast.

The strength of the idea is that it takes a long-running joke seriously. Harry's schemes are usually harmless, and the audience laughs at them; here the same weakness has put him before the fraud squad, and Ken has to decide whether it is still a joke. The title, from the vocabulary of clubs and societies, refers to being shut out, and the question is who is shut out of whose life.

IMDb users rate the episode well, at 7.4, though from few votes.

For a viewer coming to the series late, it is a good illustration of how far the programme could go with its two leads. It makes the partnership the subject, not the background, and the performers, who by this point had played the parts for six years, have a great deal to draw on.