Yuppy Love Episode Review

Brief: ’80′s fever is spreading fast! Del boy’s on the up and into the exciting world of red braces and yuppy sorts. Aimed with his filofax and briefcase he’s ready to take on the city. Meanwhile Rodney’s on the pull, with a classy new bird called Cassandra. Wonder what she’ll think of Nelson Mandela house… not quite the Kings Ave that she’s use to.

Transmitted: 08.01.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 13.9 million

Del has just seen the film Wall Street and decided the upwardly-mobile lifestyle is for him. The camel-hair coat is out, and in comes a smart new image. Green mackintosh, mobile phone, aluminium briefcase, but the yellow van remains.

Del even wants to buy the flat off the council and sell it for a fast buck.

Rodney, meanwhile, has decided to complete a computing diploma course at the Adult Education Centre. It’s there that he meets a beautiful posh sort called Cassandra, who learns his name from the tag Del stitched into his raincoat (for a giggle).

Del and Trig ditch The Nags Head in favour of propping up a wine bar. The rest is comedy gold. Rodney and the boys head to a club, where Rodders amazes the others by dancing with Cassandra.

Episode Observations

• In Yuppy Love, Del clearly asks Rodney for a lift home from the wine bar. However Rodney pushes Del back into the wine bar where it turns out Del has drinks sitting waiting for him. Why would he have ordered drinks when he was outside wanting to go home?
• In Yuppy Love, Del says that they have been living in the flat since 1962 and Rodney was born in it. And in that series, Rodney was 26 and his birthday is revealed as November 2nd so he was born in 1962, whereas in The Yellow Peril (1982) it says on Del and Rodders mum’s gravestone that she died in March 1964. and throughout the series Rodney says that he was 5 when his mum died, so that would make him 1 1/2 when his mum died. So if Rodney says he was 5 in March 1964 when his mum died, shouldnt he have been born on November 2nd, 1958 which would have made him 5 when his mum died. Or did he age 5 years in just a year and a half.
• In Yuppy Love, As Rodney leaves the adult education centre and Del shouts over that he waited with the car to give him a lift home, he was obviously ready to go home. Yet Rodney pushes Del back down to the Wine Bar he has just left and Del then sais, have some of this wine & fizzy water I have justed ordered. There is a full bottle of red wine on the bar that belongs to Del. Would he have really gone home and left a full bottle of wine on the bar?.
• In Yuppy Love, Rodney throws away the Filo fax, yet in the program after, Danger uxd he has the identical filo fax.
• In Yuppy Love, just after Cassandra gives Rodney his coat back, she leaves the building. As she does, you can just see Rodney in the reflection in the door. He’s waiting to come out of the building!
• In Yuppy Love, Rodney never proposes to Cassandra. Rodney just walks up to her. But in the original he chats to her and says”D’ya wanna dance, y’know, with me.”?
• In Yuppy Love, when Rodney starts to chase Del around the table near the end,Del-Boy starts corpsing during the line ‘Now stop it!’Even so,the producers decided to leave it in.
• In Yuppy Love, When Rodney is going to his evening class…He is wearing a BLACK suit…He attends class then tells Del he isn’t going back to the flat (“not with Albert back there”)…He goes to the club instead…Here, he meets Cassandra and she drops him home in the rain…When he comes home he is wearing a soaking GREY suit.
• In Yuppy Love, Rodders makes a bet with Jevon and Mickey Pearce. Jevon states that Rodney is £5 short. Clearly Rodney finds change in his trousers and puts the change in Mickeys hat. When later collecting the money off Mickeys head the change is not to be seen.
• In Yuppy Love, when Cassandra approaches Rodney at night school (to swap coats), Rodney introduces himself to her. Then she returns his coat to him…When he asks how she knew it was his…She replies “Its got your name written on it”…But how did she know his name when he just introduced himself to her?…And the fact that the whole point of approaching him was to swap coats?
• In Yuppy Love, they say that Rodney lives on “a Nyere estate” this means that this is not a singular expression, yet in “Hole In One” he clearly says he lives on Dockside Estate.
• In Yuppy Love, the timings of things are all wrong. How on earth can Rodney go to evening class, then to theYuppy Bar, then to the club where he meets Cassandra, then walk home in the time space? When he gets home Del says ‘Cassandra left her number and said to ring her before 12 o’clock’. There is no way all that could have taken place. Also, Del says that Mickey Pearce came into the Riverside Club at last Knockins’, which is surely after 12 o’clock, and in the Yuppy Bar Trig says to Del ‘You better chat those birds up soon it’s nearly closing time’. So the Yuppy Bar must close at 10.30, they race over to the riverside before it closes at 11.30 and home at least 10 minutes before 12! And Del has been at home for 10 minutes before Rodney comes in!!!Sorry if that’s a bit confusing, but there’s definitely flaws somewhere.

Yuppy Love Script

Did You Know?

The scene where Rodney is dropped off at a posh area – Kings Ave, is based on a true occasion for John Sullivan as a schoolboy.

The script was based on Gordon Gecko, to reinvent a new image for Del and bring in Cassandra and Raquel into the scripts.

David Jason’s fall at the bar has been voted one of the most comic events ever on TV, and continues to win awards from time to time.

The reason the clip was so succesful? 2 reasons, firstly it is one continuous shot from begining to end, and therfore keeps the reality of the event. Secoundly David Jason started theatre as a slapstick actor who was very acrobatic in his plays and so the fall kept its reality as he simply refused to do anything that would give the fall away.

Yuppie Love Location

This is the Granery Building, Welsh Backs, City Docks, Bristol which is in 2 episodes the first one is Yuppie Love and the second episode is Fatal Extraction.

This was also used in Yuppie Love as the Adult Education Centre where Rodney met Casandra, 48 Queen Charlott Street, Bristol.

Related posts:

1. From Prussia with Love
2. No Greater Love
3. Only Fools and Horses Cuts – Part 4

Danger UXD Episode Review

Brief: Just faking a signature on a delivery note means that Del can take possession of 50 dolls for absolutely nothing. The only problem is that “Lusty Linda” and “Erotic Estelle” are not exactly what he had in mind and would seem more appropriate to Dirty Barry’s dubious trade rather than the local toyshop…

Transmitted: 15.01.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 16.1 million

Episode Observation

• In Danger UXD, Why does Dirty Barry know absolutely nothing about the blow up dolls when Del phoned him earlier trying to sell them to him? Surely he would have explained the deal to him.
• In Danger UXD, the estate where the Trotters live changes significantly since the original estate in the early series. In the early ones, the tower blocks are plastered in yellow and there are several office buildings around them whereas in UXD the tower blocks have brick walls and the office buildings have disappeared and been replaced by what looks like 1930′s built semi-detatched houses. And the series only began in 1981.
• In Danger UXD, In the pub dell buys the ‘same again ‘ for denzil and buys himself a drink. Mike firstly brings over the stew and dels drink and then when he brings over half a pint for Denzil but Rodney, who has just sat down drinks it instead.
• In Danger UXD, right at the end just after the two dolls blow up, del and rodders go back in to the van and hear a hissing sound. when the doll pops up it is wearing a wig.
• In Danger UXD, the actor who plays Dirty Barry is in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves as Kevin Costners servant who is blinded by the Sherrif`s men.
• In Danger UXD, Del says to rodney that he sold all the vcr,s to Boycie and Boycie tells Trig and Mike in the pub that he paid cash for all of them. Yet in “Little Problems” Del says Boycie still owes him money for all of them.
• In Danger UXD, In the pub when denzil runs in to find del about the dolls being dangerous, when denzil leaves they are saying it is tragic then look carefully at mikes eyes, he is looking at boycie for his cue to laugh.
• In Danger UXD, when Rodney and Cassandra are having their meal pay attention to Rodney’s beer. Whenever the camera shot is from behind Rodney, his beer has a reasonable head to it. But in the apparent instant that it changes to from behind Cassandra, the beer has absolutely no head whatsoever. This happens a couple of times.
• In Danger UXD, when the doll’s in the flat fill with air and pop up behind the cocktail bar, Uncle Albert does not look around and should not know what has happened, but some how he does!

Danger UXD Script

No related posts.

Chain Gang Episode Review

Brief: Faced with the opportunity of buying 250 18 carat gold chains from retired jeweller, Arnie, Del can’t resist. Hastily a business consortium is formed. Everything’s pretty cushty until Arnie’s taken ill just as the deal is about to be sealed and Del is left feeling that all that glitters…

Transmitted: 22.01.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 16.3 million

Del strikes up a cushty deal with a retired jewellery dealer called Arnie. When a case of 18-carat gold chains is offered to him, Del agrees buy them to the tune of £12,500.

Despite Rodney’s objections, Derek ropes Mike, Boycie, Trigger, Albert and… Rodney into a consortium in which no-one can lose.

A spanner is thrown into the works when Arnie collapses at a business lunch, seemingly struck by a heart-attack. The ambulance whisks him away, with both the jewellery and twelve-and-a-half grand still on his person.

Despite being dead, Rodney spots Arnie collapsing and being whisked away from another restaurant.

They’ve been had, but no-one pulls a fast one quicker than the Trotters and revenge is the only dish on the menu at Arnie’s next meal.

Episode Observations

• In Chain Gang, After Arnie has “spoken” to his wife and she tells him about Mr Stavros, and arnie tells Del, Del says “well i reckon that Arnie should keep his Lunch appointment with mr stavros,” yet how does Del know Arnie had a lunch appointment?
• In Chain Gang, Del and the Gang have to borrow money off Rodders to afford the chains, Then Del and Boycie sit opposite Arny but to get the table Del has to bribe the restuarant owner with money.
• In Chain Gang, Del tells Cassy that he remembers her Dad – One blue eye, one brown.. Talks with a squint… Walks with a stutter!”, to which Cassy replies “That’s him!” However, later when we see him this is clearly not the case.
• In Chain Gang, when all the gang including Arnie leave the flat to go to the restaurant to meet Mr Stavros, Rodney decides to stay at the flat and wait for Cassandra to phone him. The next scene shows the gang all watching Arnie in the restaurant waiting for Mr Stavros to arrive. Rodney is sat in the van with Uncle Albert but Rodney decided to stay at the flat so there was no way of him being there.
• In Chain Gang, Boycie puts up seven grand in the flat, yet outside the curry house after he’s been punched this has grown to ‘seven and a half grand in unlaundered money’ according to Del.
• In Chain Gang, when Rodney and Albert are in the van observing Del and Boycie in the Restaurant, a women walks by the shop in the background. On the next camera shot in the Restaurant looking out the women is nowhere to be scene.
• In Chain Gang, When Del is speaking to Arnie in the casino, they come to an agreement about meeting in the car park to discuss the chains, Arnie then hands Del his mineral water, and instead of Del drinking out of his own he drinks out of Arnies.
• In Chain Gang, You can quite easily see AND hear Rodney say:”We’ve got him, we’ve *******  got him”.This was when Albert suggested using the redial button on the mobile to get Arny. Check it out, I was quite shocked this had got through the BBC and the BBFC for a PG certificate.

Chain Gang Script

Chain Gang Location

Related posts:

1. My 2nd Greatest Only Fools Episode
2. Philip McGough
3. Denzil

Unlucky Winner Is… Episode Reviews

Brief: Rodney’s won a holiday for three in the Mediterranean courtesy of Del and the Megaflakes drawing competition. The only snag is he’s got to pretend he’s fourteen years old all week. Should be a doodle – all he’s got to do is keep his head down. Then the skateboarding and breakdancing competitions begin…and Trudy willing to wait.

Transmitted: 29.01.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 17.0 million

Del has entered every competition on the market, trying to win as many freebies as possible.

Rodney has unknowingly been entered for an art competition, and won it. It’s only when he arrives at the 5 star hotel in Mallorca that he learns he was a schoolboy when he composed the winning painting, and has won the under-15 category.

While Del and Cassie enjoy playing mum and dad, Rodders has to endure the Fun Bus, chaotic children, and becoming a lifelong member of The Groovy Gang.

He has the last laugh, however, as Del’s tinkering with his passport makes them ineligible to claim Rodney’s winning ticket on the Spanish lottery.

Episode Observations

• In The Unlucky Winner Is… in the book “the only fools and horses story” the picture of rodney in his skateboard gear shows him wearing different clothes to that of the episode “
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… rodney’s painting entered for the mega flakes competition is called “marble arch at dawn” but in the episode “A royal flush” del and rodney talk about the painting that was entered and they call it “marble arch at dusk”
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… when rodney first finds out he has to spend his entire week in majorca as a 14 year old this is also mentioned in episodes “jolly boys outing” where rodney is on the phone and in “time on our hands”when they all walked into success!.
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… The “doctored” passports – as Cassandra was posing as Del’s wife, then her passport needed to have been changed from Miss Cassandra Parry to Mrs Cassandra Trotter – and yet when her’s is examined, nothing is mentioned; either it should have revealed that Del had changed the name to Trotter (which would have annoyed Cassandra, the same as it did Rodney when he found out his DOB had been altered), or if it wasn’t changed then the holiday reps should have queried why her passport had her maiden, and not her married name.
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… when Albert and Del are reading the letter that Rodney recieves from Megaflakes,Del hands Albert all the relevant paperwork then you can distinctly see that Del still has one sheet in his hand when Albert gives him back the other sheet when Albert says”have you read the other page?”.
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… When Rodney and Del are sitting on the balcony and cassandra has gone to get Rodney a drink, if you look in the glass door you can see cassandra’s reflection with the drink waiting for her cue.
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… during one of the scenes in their hotel room, just after Del leaves for a walk round the town, Cassandra snuggles up to Rodney and seems very interested in his ‘uniforms’ fantasy. However, in the Christmas special two years later, (Miami Twice), she seems to have a very different opinion about the same fantasy, shown during the conversation outside in the Nags Head car park (“If it’s got anything to do with uniforms the answer’s no”). Obviously a very fickle lady!
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… while in the airport the same guy walks past 3 times wearing different clothes.
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… Rodney’s birthday comes under scrutiny again. He claims to be “a 26 year old man who has just come second in a skateboard derby”. This means he was born in 1962 or 1963, which makes him a teenager in “Big Brother” when the series started in 1981. But as others have pointed out, he was 23 in “Big Brother”, which should have made 31 in “The Unlucky Winner Is…”
• In The Unlucky Winner Is… Del doctors his passport in biro “to make it look like Rodney was born in 1974″. How on earth can you change 62 or 63 to 74 and make it NOT look doctored, bearing in mind the above proves he was born in 1962 or 1963.

Unlucky Winner Is… Script

The script will be downloadable from here

Related posts:

1. Yuppy Love
2. If They Could See Us Now
3. Gina Bellman

Sickness and Wealth Episode Reviews

Brief: While excruciating stomach cramps and a constant diet of health salts might drive some people to visit the doctor, not our Del! Oh no, he’s only suffering from that scourge of all yuppies, PMA- Positive Mental Attitude! So, it’s going to require some nifty plotting to get Del to visit the dreaded “D” word! At least Robbie Meadows is a mate who might tell him some home truths.

Transmitted: 05.02.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 18.2 million

Del is having stomach pains. It could be his new fast-paced Yuppy lifestyle, or it could the eviction notice demanding three months worth of unpaid rent up front.

TITCO hasn’t been successful and the pressure’s on to raise the cash.

The solution presents itself in the shape of Uncle Albert’s lady-friend Elsie Partridge, a medium who lives off payments for her amazing predictions.

Del thinks it’s a load of mumbo-jumbo, but sets up a seance room in The Nags Head. Albert, worried for Del’s health tells Elsie to say his Mum has contacted her asking him to go the doctor.

When Marlene falls pregnant, just as Elsie foresaw, Del takes heed and is prescribed with irritable bowl syndrome. When he gets home Rodney has another shock for him: He and Cassie are engaged.

Episode Observations

• In Sickness and Wealth, re Mick below – Patrick Murray and Steven Woodcock, they were in this episode but it was cut on the TV, however on the video they are clearly seen as well as quite a few other cut scenes. Strange really.
• In Sickness and Wealth, The closing credits of “Sickness and Wealth” include the names Patrick Murray and Steven Woodcock, but neither of these actors actually appear in the episode.
• In Sickness and Wealth, have you evernoticed on the door to the kitchen in this episode there is a poster with EL DEL written on it?
• In Sickness and Wealth, has any one noticed that Dr Meadows is one of the officers out of “Titanic”?
• In Sickness and Wealth, when Del is in hospital, when Rodney, Cassandra and Alburt leave, Cass says: “Nice to have MET you Del” but in ‘The Chain Gang’ Rodney introduces her to Del!
• In Sickness and Wealth, just before Marlean told everyone she was pregnant. She says “I’m not talking about Del’s illness.” How could she know the ghost said anything about Del’s illness? She wasnt there. Nor was Boycie.
• In Sickness and Wealth, Boycie’s first name, contrary to popular belief on various websites, is NOT Aubrey. Two things back this up: When the ghost asks to speak to “Aubrey”, Del nor Trigger know who it is, until Boycie says it is his middle name and adds later that his father was the only one who called him Aubrey. This is also backed up by “Class of ’62″ as it proves that Del, Denzil & Trigger all went to school with Boycie. Surely they would know his first name in that instance, as the teachers can’t also have called him Boycie?
• In Sickness and Wealth, When Del calls the nurse back to ask about his application for a bed bath, there is no-one in the background, but seconds later, as she walks away, Robbie Meadows is leaning up against a bed as if he’s been there for ages. There’s no way he would have had time to get there in between the two shots.

Sickness and Wealth Script

The script will be downloadable from here

Sickness and Wealth – DVD Bonus

(9 minutes of unseen footage on DVD version only)

This is a really unusual situation, normally the crew cut out scenes until the show fits into the 50 minutes for each episode, in this case the early cut version which was around an hour was used for the DVD, a mistake, but one that all fans are very glad of, this results in some much longer scenes with Elsie Partridge and a few other cut scenes left in. In all around 9 minutes was preserved.

Related posts:

1. Only Fools and Horses Cuts – Part 4
2. Strangers on the Shore
3. Watching the Girls Go By

Little Problems Episode Review

Brief: With his impending marriage, Rodney’s certainly on the up.  Del’s gone and got himself into a bit of bother over some hooky mobile phones with the less than understanding Driscoll brothers Tony and Danny. Unless Del comes up with 2,000 Pounds pretty sharpish they’re going to take care of him…

Transmitted: 12.02.1989
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 18.9 million

Episode Observations

• In Little Problems, A double whammy here! When Del sits down to watch his new video, a false top superimposes onto the recorder before it explodes. Then, you can clearly see the shadow of the studio boom microphone!
• In Little Problems, when Rodney asks Del for the ring it looks like he only hands him one ring but each exchange aring during the cermony.
• In Little Problems, towards the end of the wedding reception scene in the nags head, as Duke, Boyce and Marlenes dog jumps on a table and is told to get down. keep an eye on the couple sitting behind the dog. Del puts his arm around Marlene and begins to talk about Rodney and you can clearly see the couple do not go out the door. When the camera returns to where they were sitting they have disappeared!
• In Little Problems, Jeff Stevenson plays the role of a comedian at Rodneys stag night, yet in “To Hull and Back” he plays the role of PC Parker.
• In Little Problems, the script had to be altered because actor Patrick Murray, (Mickey Pearce) had badly cut his arm falling through a pane of glass. To incorporate this bandaged arm the scenes show Mickey and Jevon roughed up by the Driscoll Brothers.
• In Little Problems, in the Nags Head after the wedding, when Rodney and Cass are saying bye to everyone. I noticed that Boycie goes to kiss/hugg Cassandra but she does’nt realise it and walks straight past him! Boycie disguises it with a wave!

Little Problems Script

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1. Roy Marsden Aka Danny Driscoll
2. Danger UXD
3. If They Could See Us Now