By Only Fools fan Kevan O’Neill : Now we all come to this website with the same thing in mind, which Only Fools and Horses is, if not one of, the greatest TV shows to ever hit our TV series since the invention of television. Every time I watch them I laugh at the jokes and smile at the joy that this TV show brings to me but there are 3 questions that do occur to me from time to time.
Here are the 3 questions that I have asked myself on a few different occasions:
What if David Jason was not cast at Del-Boy?
It’s no secret that Sir David Jason was not the favourite to be cast in the lead role. After 30 years of classic and some of the most memorable moments ever, what if David Jason was not actually cast in this role. Would the lines of been delivered in the same style that we come accustom to, and would the chemistry, that Sir David Jason and all his co-stars have in every scene, be the same or give us the same impression that pretty much every moment is a pure comedy gold moment.
What if Lennard Pearce didn’t die?
Now Uncle Albert is fantastic in the role but what if Lennard Pearce did not die in actual life. We can all agree that the funeral for Granddad is one of the saddest TV moments but if he didn’t die then he would of been in the rest of the TV series. Now we know that the funeral episode was wrote specially for the series, and the other episode were wrote with granddad due to be the character, instead of Uncle Albert, but would future episodes of been the same such as “He Aint Heavy, Hes My Uncle” episode. I couldn’t imagine Granddad getting into a fight over a woman. It would of been interesting to see what the episodes would of turned out like if this sad event didn’t occur at all?
What if the BBC didn’t show repeats of the first series?
The first series of the show, as we are all aware, did not hit the audience that the BBC were expecting first time round, but what if the BBC decided not to repeat the series at that present moment in time. Would they have commissioned a second series at all or would they have just axed the TV show, that eventually become one of their greatest shows of all time.
I would like to hear if you have any sort of questions like these and thank you for reading my first entry.
Does anyone have the uncut version of Yuppy Love?
As Del boy says “if my bruvver had been a bird, he would ‘ave been me sister”.
If’s, but’s, maybe’s – we will never know…
What was meant to be, was meant to be.
If Sir David Jason wasn’t cast for Del Boy, then this neither means the show would have been successful or unsuccessful – you just don’t know.
This goes for the remaining two questions. I firmly believe that if dear old Lennard had lived on to a much later age, all remaining episodes from Albert’s debut to his last appearance, wouldn’t have been written. We’d have seen different storylines. I believe this because John writes his scripts based on the actors and actresses he has in front of him.
For example, Patrick Murray (Mickey Pearce) injured his arm badly during filming of ‘Little Problems’ which meant some original material written by John had to be scrapped. Therefore, John re-wrote Mickey’s involvement into the show, thus Mickey appearing to be injured in a ‘fight’ with The Driscoll’s.
This is what I believe, anyway! John would have altered certain sub-plots somewhat. Grandad and Albert were two different characters in terms of personality, that’s for sure.
I think that if Lennard Pearce didn’t die ‘OFAH’ would have stayed the same as every sitcom of the era (better yes but formulaticly same). By replacing Pearce ‘OFAH’ broke out of the usual sturdy cast, no changes, episode of the week without any consequences. This way it changed and braved up to do bigger things.
Question 1:
I think that if Jim Broadbent had played the role of Del Boy, then yes, we would have seen a different Del Boy, but he would have been as successful. Jim Broadbent is a professional actor and has proven himself in a number of genre films over the years. A very versatile actor.
Question 2:
Lennard Pearce was an old man. Very popular character but he wouldn’t have lasted much further than series 5, with the utmost respect. I believe that the introduction of Uncle Albert was the catalyst that Fools needed going forward. Buster Merryfield was a fair few years younger than Lennard Pearce, and had a lot more vitality about him. The sudden death of poor old Pierce couldn’t be helped. I don’t think the question in hand is relevant as he simply died. If he had been given the boot, and then replaced by Buster, then this question would be up for a longer debate and discussion.
Question 3:
I’m no head of comedy at the BBC, but I would say the commissioning department repeat most sitcoms after a series has been released. It’s like ‘The Office’. The show had such poor ratings, but soon picked up during the re-runs. I think the question in hand shouldn’t really be heavily analysed as most new comedies have a tough start with audience numbers.