SEASON 1
Sea Dreams
Falling asleep in his apartment while watching a late night documentary on windsurfing, Nigel (Enn Reitel) imagines himself on an exotic beach where he falls in love with The Girl (Sharron Davies) despite his misadventures learning to surf and dancing at the nightclub. To win over The Girl, however, he will need to beat The Rival in a surf race.
The Good, The Bad And The Nasty
Dressed for the "wild west", The Optimist sets out for a 'Dude Ranch' and is introduced to the riding instructor (Carinthia West), although he finds that a rival (Martin Kove) is already in her favors. Learning to be a cowboy, The Optimist gets lost in the desert, smashes the Rival's car and fantasies that he is Clint Eastwood's 'The Man With No Name' – urged on by a Grizzly Veteran (Bill Erwin) for a shootout with his nemesis.
Man's Worst Friend
As odd-job man extraordinaire Nigel manages to be a tennis pro, a waiter, a golfing coach and a dog minder – all in one day! One morning he is out walking a St Bernard and a toy poodle for a walk in the opulent surroundings of Beverley Hills and manages to lose the poodle while helping out a beautiful Lady Golfer (Tracy Scoggins). He also meets the gorgeous Daughter (Jenifer Landor) of his employer (Ferdy Mayne) and she persuades him not only to play tennis but act as a waiter at the evening's poolside party. Naturally chaos ensues as The Optimist finds himself pursued by both women.
Healthy Body, Unhealthy Mind
Out jogging, Nigel realizes that is totally unfit and decides to enroll himself at a health farm, but soon discovers the place is more like a prison run by the scary Matron (Fran Ryan) – half-starved, tortured in the gymnasium and physically battered in an all ladies aerobic session. Despite this he of course manages to fall in love with the Dancer (Terri Robinson) as well as devises a way to eat and a plan to escape. Helped by the Dancer, a multitude of disguises and the local fire brigade, he heads for freedom, jogging into the sunset with the girl of his dreams.
Kid's Stuff
Employed by a mother (Patrika Darbo) to babysit her 'perfect' son, Nigel instead finds the overweight boy is a particularly unpleasant 10-year-old. Keeping him amused is no easy task, although when they visit the local circus. Nigel immediately falls in love with acrobatic Circus Girl (Christine Garner) and faces an adversary in strongman The Bull. Forced into performing with the acrobats, the clowns and on the high trapeze, he ends up being fired from a cannon by the cunning boy.
Burning Rubber
Roller-skating through Venice Beach, Nigel runs into a lady racing driver (Dinah May). After helping mend her bust tire, he follows the Girl to the racing circuit where he becomes a mechanic and soon afterwards finds himself one of the drivers. Suddenly it's Grand Prix time and the race is on – his prize, the Girl of course! In competition with a bad-tempered Cabbie (Robert Davi). Miraculously he wins, but fame and fortune is brief – he needs to make a quick getaway before any finds out his true identity.
A Challenge
After meeting a stunning girl (Jadie Rivas) in Marina Del Ray, Nigel finds himself in competition with a Rival (Richard Booker) for her affections – first in a surfing competition and then in a duel which starts on Santa Monica Beach but takes them on a continuous battle throughout Los Angeles, including a car wash, across Wilshire Boulevard, outside the Hollywood High School and even hanging off the Hollywood Sign.
SEASON 2
Any Messages
As chief sprayer of green fly to both the Chinese and Indian Embassies, Nigel is forcibly persuaded to smuggles messages into the Russian and American Embassies via roller towels. MI5 then persuades him to become a double agent and steal top secrets from the Russians. Amidst the mayhem of a poisoned cocktail party, he pulls off the job with the help of a bewitching Agent (Annette Lynton) only to end up in a Chinese restaurant being persuaded by money, and more to the point a meat cleaver, to work once more for his oriental friend (Anthony Chinn).
Turf Luck
Nigel goes racing, meets the lovely Sal (Julia Chambers) and becomes a stable boy. He saves the aptly-named horse Nutter from being sent to the knackers yard and lovingly prepares him for the big race. Betting spies are afoot and the stakes are high as the big day arrives, with Nutter the big favourite. Unfortunately, Nutter loves his saviour so much that during the race he suddenly stops to go over and say hello to The Optimist and give him a nuzzle.
The Light Fantastic
Working as a humble cobbler, Nigel is thrown into an international world of crime and classical ballet when a diamond is stolen – the famous Light Fantastic. Olga (Karen Smith) is on the run from some incompetent thugs, when she hides the stone in her ballet shoe and draws Nigel into a convoluted plot that leads to him on stage dancing the pas-de-deux in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. By the end he finds alone himself alone in the theater – unknowingly still in possession of the fabulous diamond.
The Double
On his arrival at a plush London casino, Nigel discovers that he has become an instant celebrity. What he doesn't know is that he is actually the identical double of the Boss (Enn Reitel) who owns the club. After loving and losing his double's girlfriend (Eileen Preston), and winning and losing a million pounds on the tables, Nigel has to work out how to make a safe escape.
The Fool Of The House Of Esher
An unexpected inheritance leaves Nigel with a crumbling and sinister country estate, which includes an equally crumbling and sinister butler named Old Norman (Eric Francis). He spends his time trying to win the respect of his landed gentry neighbors as well as avoiding the murderous attempts of his cousin Rachel (Rosalind Lloyd) – who is not happy that she did not benefit from the will and is determined to put it right.
The Brush Off
After unintentionally whitewashing the walls and then the entire garden of a suburban home, The Optimist is mistaken for a new impressionist painter. His absurd abstracts sell for thousands and the art world flocks to his new master of the brush. When his artistic muse Mimi (Julie Peasgood) suddenly leaves him, he is left in despair and attempts to paint his masterpiece – but unveiled at an exhibition it is proclaimed a complete and total disaster. Back on the streets as a labourer, Nigel unwittingly creates a true masterpiece.
