Stage Fright Episode Review
Brief: This episode called stage fright shows Del with a chance to supply the cabaret at the Starlight Rooms for Eric to the tune of 600 quid. It’s too good to miss. With Raquel dusting off her vocal chords and Trigs mate Tony Angelino, the singing dustman, everything’s sorted. Until Del discovers exactly who the real owner of the club is and the extent of Tony’s vocal range…
Transmitted: 13.01.1991
Duration: 50 minutes
Viewing Figures: 16.6 million
Del’s old friend is putting a cabaret night on at The Starlight Rooms. With Raquel now pregnant, Del can’t resist the offer of £600 for putting on the show.
When the Trotters discover this cabaret is being held by local villain Eugene Macarthy, in honour of his mother’s 82nd birthday, the pressure’s on. Raquel tells Del that she forgets her lines and needs another singer work with too. They find: Tony Angelino, he’s cheesier than cheddar.
Del legs it when the act starts badly, fearing for his safety. He is surprised to receive a phone call from Eugene. He wants to book them again. His mother’s never laughed as much.
Stage Fright Episodes Observations
- In Stage Fright, When Del is asking Raquel to marry him in the Nag’s Head, he says; “everything is falling into place”, he then says “I’ve got lots of little plots and pans bubbling away.” Was this intentional? Did he mean to say “plots and plans” or “pots and pans”?
- In Stage Fright, Mike says that pregnancy can be “sheer hell” to which Del responds “Knowing your Missus Mike, I can believe it!”. However, Del didn’t meet Mike until 1983, and Mike and his wife “broke up back in ’73”, and so Del would never have known her.
- In Stage Fright, When Tony is at Del’s flat, listen for when he says “no one who pronounces r’s like i do…” He says “pronounces” perfectly!! I know i’m sad for listening through the whole episode.
- In Stage Fright, as one of the extras in the audience at the Down by the riverside club (courage club Bristol) I love this episode, but how with less than 24 hours did Del sort the songs for raquel And Tony to sing he would need to sort the key get someone to write the sheet music have it copyed and arranged for each member of the band to play that night!
- In Stage Fright, when Tony Angelino enters his dressing room to escape the crazy women, notice how he doesn’t even shut the dressing room door behind him. You can see it gently swinging open. The way they were lusting after him, you would think the women would have stampeded right through.
- In Stage Fright, while sat in the nags head Albert asked what Rodney did with his golden handshake? Del says he kissed it against the wall! But we see Rodney get his money from Alan four episodes later in Miami Twice part 1.
- In Stage Fright, We know that Mike of the Nags Head has not had a wife for at least ten years. So how come when he is talking to Raquel about his wife telling him she was pregnent after he come back from a cruise does he just happen to have the photos under the bar?
- In Stage Fright, When Rodney and Raquel return from the star light rooms Rodney follows Raquel into yhe flat & closes the door. next shot Rodney is stood in the open door! At the end of the sceen look over Alberts shoulder and the door is shut!
Stage Fright Script
The script will be downloadable from here
Stage Fright Location
This is the Fidlers Club, Willway Street, Bristol. A.K.A Down by the riverside Club, where Del meets Tony Angelino the singing dustbin man.
I’ve only recently wondered about this episode, during the scene just before Raquel and Tony come on stage and are being introduced to the audience Eric talking about their “showbiz background”. It is Hugene McCarthy’s mother’s birthday, and Eric tells the guests to sing Happy Birthday. Of course this comes with a comic moment as just before the words “happy birthday dear (insert name), happy birthday to you” are expected to be sung, the singing stops mind way leaving Del perplexed and embarrassed that he was still singing, giving Rodney a look as if to say “what was all that about”. I know this was likely just a bit humour thrown in, but I wonder why didn’t they sing the whole song?, was it because Hugene wasnt the sort of person who sings happy birthday (being an hardman) to his mum?, or is it really just a convenient way for the producers of not using the song Happy Birthday in its entirety due to the usual music rights issues?.
Rodney had p****d away his golden handshake he would have got after leaving Alan’s firm.
The cheque Alan’s gives him in Miami Twice is a refund of what he had paid into his pension while working for Alan.
They are two separate things.
Never understood why Rodney was so grateful for Alan giving him his own money back!
Stage Fright contains my favourite scene of O.F.A.H. It is where Del bides for time while he thinks of a suitable reply as to why he told Raquel that her fee was £300 and not the correct figure of £600.
In the scene where Del, Raquel and Albert are all eating their salad dinners, and Del tries to convince Raquel to do the stage job – look closely – theres movements and shadows in the kitchen!
Del tells Raquel that his mother Joan died AFTER his father Reg ran away, but in “A Losing Streak”, Del tells Rodney that Joan died BEFORE Reg ran away.
Tony also say’s to Del “Oh right” correctly when Rodders informs Tony that Del is due in court next day.
Ive heard that the USA version is a complete box set? Anyone know about that?
Only Fools and Horses = Britain’s best sitcom.
2entertain reckon costs get in way of producing boxset of uncut episodes and extras.
Only Fools and Horses = Britain’s best sitcom, ergo fans will buy a new boxset at anycost, ergo – 2entertain will make their money back plus more.
Has anyone on here, or does anyone know anyone else who has recorded on VHS the original episodes as they came out? If so, they can transfer them on to DVD and that would make me very happy.
another 30th anniversary for david jason is the new DANGER MOUSE 30th anniversary complete collection boxset from amazon with plenty of extras, unlike the 30th ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES boxset which has stuff all extras.
That’s because it is a Freemantle Media release not a BBC/2Entertain botch job.
I find it strange how 2Entertain gave Fawlty Towers a brand new release when the current DVD set at the time was not much different. It had just been remastered and a few minutes of interviews were added. They would have to produce new stock, which is very expensive, and the reason why there has been no new only fools release. I get the feeling from the BBC and 2Entertain that they are targeting different types of people with different releases. For example, they assume more middle class people enjoy Fawlty towers and because of this, they are likely to pay out for a new DVD set, which would justify a brand new release. With Only Fools, I think they believe most people that watch it are working class, and as such will not pay out for a new release. That’s what I think anyway.
i myself purchased the fawlty towers remastered collection boxset this weekend and it is indeed a very good quality dvd boxset with extras, every so often i email 2entertain or phone to enquire when there will be a complete uncut only fools collection with extras, i always get the same standard reply about the music or other issues that they cannot comment on, if i’m one of only a handful of only fools fans that’s complaining about this to 2entertain then i don’t suppose they will take much notice then.
had a telephone call from ally ward at 2entertain today and i asked her why we could not have had a complete uncut remastered only fools and horses collection with extras for the 30th, she explained that they have put out a repackaged boxset for the 30th at a cheaper price so all the fans can a afford it and that they were only thinking of the fans in doing this, i told her that i thought many fans would rather pay more for a complete uncut collection than a cheaper one, she did admit that the music was not so much the problem anymore but the cost of remastering all the episodes and if they were to do this they would have to release them as new and charge more, i asked why there are no extras, i mentioned the christmas trees, comic relief episode, royal variety, she admited that she knew nothing of these, after speaking to her and reading between the lines i don’t think there will ever come a time when they will release a complete remastered uncut boxset because they just don’t want to spend the money on only fools and i also got the impression that not many only fools fans have complained to 2entertain, the only fools and horses releases we have had in past,present will be the same in any future releases, let ally ward at 2entertain know if like me you would like a remasted uncut collection.
I don’t think they care.
Maybe a fan will win the lottery, then they can by the rights for only fools and release there own set.
4 weeks until the new only fools and horses 30th anniversary complete collection boxset is released, oh i just cannot wait, i suppose we will get another hatchet job of a collection, how on earth they can bring out another collection and call it COMPLETE is beyond me when it is anything but, cannot wait to see what lazy artwork those halfwits at 2entertain come up with for new boxset, is anybody going to part with there hard earned cash for this tat i wonder, 2entertain and the bbc show little to no respect for only fools and horses and the fans of the show.
What’s the point in buying it when it’s the same content as the last release, just new outer packaging.
i wish the society could find out what exactly 2entertain are playing at, i’m feb up hearing the same old rubbish from 2entertain about music copyrights etc, this excuse just does not wash with me anymore.
They told me that music rights were no longer the issue. Its the cost to produce a brand new set as they have to produce new tapes and get them rated etc.
at the end of the day 2entertain are just to damn lazy and tight, it’s just so easy to keep bringing out the same old content in new packaging, what are 2entertain going to do for the 40th anniversary bring out another repackaged boxset again.
Rumour has it the packaging will be the same leopard skin one as the 2006 re-release but with the “30th Anniersary Edition” on it.
leopard skin artwork again why are they bothering, 2entertain are even too lazy now to produce any new artwork for the 30th anniversary boxset, they really are awaste of space.
I would be quite shocked if they just stick a 30th sticker on it. Network DVD seem to sell series which are much less popular, but they put so much effort into there releases, why 2Entertain cant to the same when there releases sell at very high levels is very strange. if they put there mind to it I bet they could produce a really decent set.
2ENTERTAIN have done a good job of the dad’s army releases with loads of extras, mini episodes etc, why they cannot make the same effort with only fools is beyond me, yes your right about NETWORK they make alot more effort with there releases especially ‘on the buses’ which i’m a fan of also, i don’t even think they take much notice of what the fans want anyway,as long as 2ENTERTAIN have only fools in there nasty cluches we will never see a perfect COMPLETE only fools with loads of extras.
i have just seen the artwork for the only fools 30th anniversary dvd boxset on amazon, amazingly 2entertain have made an effort with the design of the inner dvd cases and artwork on the outer box itself, still bothers me that they use the word COMPLETE on the box when we all know it is anything but.
It does look nice…
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/B005BPW174/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283926&s=dvd
But, it still is not going to be good enough… – its the 30th anniversary of the show, and also, the year that John Sullivan died,
This would have been a great moment to release an totally uncut, remastered boxset, i would happily pay up to £100 for such a boxset.
It should at least have the original Royal Flush episode… But it wont
2entertain, what aload of plonkers.
If you look at the Discs they are simply the 2006 releases with old BBC Logos. I still cant see any indication that its a 30th Anniversary Boxset anywhere on the outer box.
This boxset is not much of a space saver either. You would’ve thought they would use the slimline DVD cases too.
They are not in slimline cases because there are only 13 cases (2discs in each)
Would’ve still been better in the slimline cases,as they do double cases in that size too,just like they used on the One Foot In The Grave re-release.
It looks like the VHS collection.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2002/10_october/ofah_boxset.shtml
I worked at the BBC in the late 1990s to early 2000s in the department that deals with recordings that needed to be transferred to other departments. I recall a conversation regarding Fawlty Towers and Red Dwarf. Clips were sourced from the archives to use as extras in the DVD releases. Only Fools and Horses was mentioned several times and 2 hurdles existed. The first was the rights issue. At the time it was music and having to edit them up for release. The rights to broadcast on TV were bought and paid for, the release onto home entertainment required new deals. This is why they were edited as some occasions the deals were not acceptable to the BBC so was easier to edit. The second reason I was told was David Jason. Many content exists that have never been seen by the public, or in some occasions been shown once and never repeated. More bloopers and some retakes also do exist right down to the original music scores. All never seen and locked away. The reason why is David Jason has to approve anything that he is to be released for home entertainment. He is very particular about what is released – as many talent are. Either the BBC never got that permission, or didn’t try as they knew it would be too difficult. This is what I was told at the time while at the BBC. Hope this clarifies some of what is said here today – but would assume the appreciation society are already aware of this anyway.
I liked this episode a lot by the way. Anyway, the stage can really be frightening, especially when you are out there for your very first performance. Being anxious is normal at this point, because you have no idea of what to expect. A lot of people experience having jitters and stage fright. You will even have what they call the butterfly effect, where you think that even a tiny thing you are about to do will get you into trouble and eventually cause a disaster. Focus and relaxation is the key.
Okay, right. Thank you!
should both be fixed now Bella
I can’t read the script…