Big Brother Episode Review
Brief: After flogging one legged turkeys from the back of a three wheeled van, Del’s confident at last he’s onto a winner with Trigger’s consignment of Old English vinyl briefcases. How can his brother Rodney even think of abandoning the high flying world of trading for a real job. The very first insight into the life of the Trotters.
Transmitted: 15.9.1981
Duration: 30 minutes
Viewing Figures: 9.2 million
Del employs younger brother Rodney as a member of Trotters’ Independent Traders, despite warnings from his business colleagues.
When Rodney decides to become the Trotters’ financial adviser – monitoring the accounts and keeping Del’s dodgy dealings in check – Del has second thoughts about their partnership.
Cracks show in the partnership when Rodney inadvertently bungles a deal with Trigger. But despite Del’s anger, it turns out that Rodder’s advice would have prevented the purchase of 25 briefcases that are locked with the serial number inside.
Del and Rodney have yet another row and ‘Little Bruv’ plans a career change. Desperate to make his mark on the world, Rodney decides to leave for Hong Kong – a great plan, if only he’d remembered his passport.
Episode Observations
- In Big Brother and “Second Time Around”, a Crystal Palace scarf can be seen hanging in the hallway of the flat. I believe that this is the only series in which the scarf appears, and Crystal Palace, never mind the fact that anyone in the flat may support them, is never mentioned again. Instead, Del mentions Chelsea quite a few times and it seems that Reg Trotter supported Millwall.
- In Big Brother with regards to the fact that the theme music was different in the beginning, the credits at the end of the Series One episodes still state that the music was composed by Ronnie Hazelhurst, as opposed to John Sulivan, even though the familiar theme tune has been dubbed over.
- In Big Brother, In the opening credits for all episodes it shows the van outside the flats with rust, yet reliants are made from fibreglass so how does fibreglass rust?
- In Big Brother, Del introduces Rodders to Trig as if they have never met,yet Trig and Del have grown up together,surely their paths would have crossed by now..
- In Big Brother I dont know if you’ve already spotted this but if you look on the back of the video cover of Big Brother the three classic episodes goes in order, Big Brother, Cash and Curry then Go west Young man. But if you watch the vid it goes in order Big Brother, Go west Young man and Cash and Curry last. I would also like to point out that your site is brill, excellent, awesome 10/10 no doubt about it. I have made a site on the Brilliant Comedy and will be launching it in the very near future.
- In Big Brother and also Cash and Curry and Go West Young Man the theme tune to these first 3 episodes was not the WHY DO ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES WORK tune known for later episodes. It was a typical sitcom type tune with no words. If you buy the COMPLETE SERIES ONE with the greeny blue cover, the original tune is still there, but if you get the COMPLETE SERIES ONE with the yellow sleeve the first three episodes have ben dubbed with the now familiar why do only fools and horses work song.
- In Big Brother, Rodney asks Del why Trigger is so called. This suggests that Rodney has never met Trigger. However, Del says to Trig that he remembers his brother Rodney and Trig says he does. This means that they have met before. Also, Del must have done dodgy deals with Trig in the past or met him down the pub, so why does Rodney only now enquire about Trigger’s name?
- In Big Brother, Del is quoted as saying “You had to wait 13 years to come along” (after Del was born). In A Losing Streak Del said after their mum died their dad took off a while later and left them with nothing “Do you know what day that was that was my 16th birthday, he even took my cake”. Their mum died in March 1964 (seen on gravestone in The Yellow Peril) and their dad left in 1965 (quoted in Thicker Than water). It would a have been August or September as Del tells a bird hes a Virgo in an episode. Del then would have been 14 when their mum died making Rodney just 1 or 2. In Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Rodney says “I was only a little 5 year old wondering what the whole in the ground was for. This refers to their mums death – This would have made Del 18.
- In Big Brother, Del mentions they got no pension, but in the episode “Wanted” granddad tells us how he waste his pension with bird called Camilla Diogo
- In Big Brother, the opening scene shows Rodney bookkeeping all the Trotters business receipts. The receipt Rodney finds to legally prove the watches are there’s, thus making them millionaires in “Time On Our Hands” was no doubt amongst the receipts Rodney is leafing through.
- In Big Brother , the very first opening scene at the Nags Head, a woman says “hello Del” giving us the feeling in the very first episode that this is Dels Local. That woman is played by actress Tessa Peake-Jones, better known in later episodes as Raquel.
- In Big Brother Rodney wears the same shirt as he did 3½ years later in ‘Strained Relations’. Chris Grayson
- In Big Brother Del reveals to Rodney that there mother died when Rodney was 6, yet in “Danger UXD” after a meal with Cassandra, Rodney states “My mother warned me about girls like you”, this is highly unlikely that his mother would communicate such things to a 6 year old.
- In Big Brother Rodney’s age is 23 and three series later in “As One Door Closes” he is 24 !! wish we could all age as well !!!
- In Big Brother Del says that Rodney was caught smoking the reefer by the governors doing there annual inspection. In the episode “May the force be with you” Slater says that he was caught smoking a Moroccan woodbine when the police burst in.
- In Big Brother When Del is on the phone to Dougie Sadler he says ‘How’s your luck pal? Triffic! Family? Super! ‘There is no way that Dougie could answer any of the questions given the speed with which Del rattles off the script.
- In Big Brother In the scene where granddad says Rodney is gone, he asks Del where has he been, and Del says he was out trying to sell the cases, but only after that scene, we see Del in the streets trying to sell the cases.
Big Brother Script
Missing Scene
Original Tune
The Original tune for the opening series one was very different to the now well known tune currently used.
Interesting Fact
This original episode was amongst the names bounced around for the comedy, others included the working title “Readies”. Eventually “Only Fools and Horses” was chosen. After the first series, the theme tune was used to explain the expression used in the title.
Rumours are ruined
We recently asked John Sullivan if it was true, that Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) had appeared in the very first episode Big Brother. The scene is pictured here, where Del walks in and a bird in the background says Hello to Del, it does sound like Tessa but is now confirmed as an Urban Myth with no substance.
Rather than chuck the briefcases in the river, why didn’t they let Grandad, who has a lot of free time on his hands watching two tellies, work through the combinations? They could then open them all up and sell them, avec the codes…
In ‘Big Brother’, Del claims that Rodney was born 13 years after him. He laters says how Rodney was 6 when their mum died, which would have made Del 18 or 19 years old. However, in ‘A Losing Streak’, Del claims that he was 16 when their mum died.
The scene where Rodney says the only way to open the locked briefcases is to be a professional safecracker has a nice ironic twist in future years when he learns of Freddie Robdal.
Nice connection Inny – well spotted