Go West Young Man (Only Fools and Horses)

Last updated

"Go West Young Man"
Only Fools and Horses episode
Episode no.Series 1
Episode 2
Directed byMartin Shardlow
Written by John Sullivan
Produced by Ray Butt
Original air date15 September 1981 (1981-09-15)
Running time30 minutes
  • 30:44 (DVD)
  • 29:43 (iTunes)
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Big Brother"
Next 
"Cash and Curry"
List of episodes

"Go West Young Man" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses . It was the second episode of series 1, and was first screened on 15 September 1981. [1] This was the lowest rated episode of the entire series, with only 6.1 million viewers. In the episode, Del sells a faulty car to an Australian man.

Contents

Synopsis

Rodney is unhappy, since his friend Mickey Pearce has stolen his latest girlfriend, Monica. Del Boy on the other hand is happy as he lays down his latest idea of where the future of Trotter's Independent Traders lies to Rodney and Grandad. He suggests they enter the second-hand car trade. Del buys an old Ford Cortina for £25 from Boycie's used car lot, while also agreeing to store a Jaguar E-Type in their garage for a week, which Boycie has bought for his "bit on the side" and wishes to hide from his wife.

When driving back to Nelson Mandela House, Rodney discovers that the Cortina is a "death trap" due to many faults, particularly its brakes. The next day, Del sells the Cortina to an Australian man for £199, which Rodney is uncomfortable with due to the car's unsafe condition. That night, Rodney decides to go out on the town and forget about Monica. He asks Del to go with him, but Del says he will only go with him if he has no one else to go with. Rodney instantly dismisses this by claiming that he has several friends who are ravers, although Del is not convinced. After some intense persuasion, Del agrees to join Rodney, taking Boycie's Jaguar.

The brothers visit a nightclub but because it is still early evening, it is quiet. Del questions how many times Rodney has gone to the club, as he told him that it was one of his regular clubs; it transpires Rodney has never been to the club. After having trouble ordering drinks from the waiter, Rodney tells Del about his "women in uniforms" fantasy, to which Del accuses Rodney of being a pervert. Rodney then notices two women at the bar but as Del charms them, it transpires they are a pair of cross-dressers. Realising that they are in a gay club, Del and Rodney abruptly leave.

Later that night, at another nightclub, they meet two beautiful women named Nicki and Michelle. Del lies about Rodney being an international tennis player, christened "Hot Rod" by the press, who faced "Jimmy Conelley" (Jimmy Connors, whom Del states was knocked out in the first round by Rodney) in the final of the (indoors) Miami Open. Despite this, they are able to persuade the two ladies to write their telephone numbers on Del's cigar pack, with the promise of a date next Friday.

On their way home, Rodney unwittingly throws the cigar pack out of the car, and when Del stops to retrieve it they are rear-ended by another car. Del and Rodney get out of the car to investigate, and discover the other car is the Cortina driven by the Australian man, who gets out and angrily chases the Trotters up the street.

Episode cast

ActorRole
David Jason Derek Trotter
Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney Trotter
Lennard Pearce Grandad Trotter
John Challis Boycie
Nick Stringer Australian man
Barry WilmoreWaiter
JoAnne Good Nicki
Caroline Ellis Michelle
Frank CullenTransvestite

Nick Stringer also appeared in another episode of Only Fools and Horses five years later, this time playing a different character. He played Del's old friend and business partner Jumbo Mills in the fifth series finale "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". He also appeared alongside David Jason in Open All Hours .

First appearances

Music

Ronnie Hazlehurst : Original Theme Tune

Note: In the original series 1 broadcasts of Only Fools and Horses, the theme tune was very different to the version adopted from series 2, which became the standard version known today. Composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst, the original theme tune was a jazzy instrumental tune that played over the start and end credits. This tune was replaced in series 2 with a version written and sung by John Sullivan. After the initial run of series 1, all future re-runs replaced the Hazlehurst version with John Sullivan's to match the other series. The VHS/DVD versions all contain John Sullivan's version, and recordings with Hazlehurst's original tune are extremely rare, though it can be heard in a scene during episode 1 of the first series.

Related Research Articles

<i>Only Fools and Horses</i> British TV sitcom (1981–2003)

Only Fools and Horses.... is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until the end of the show in 2003. Set in working-class Peckham in south-east London, it stars David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger half-brother Rodney Trotter, alongside a supporting cast. The series follows the Trotters' highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards, including recognition from BAFTA, the National Television Awards, and the Royal Television Society, as well as winning individual accolades for both Sullivan and Jason. It was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Boy</span> Fictional character

Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, Rock & Chips. He was played by David Jason in the original series and was portrayed as a teenager by James Buckley in the prequel. Del Boy is often regarded as one of the greatest comedy characters in the history of British television, and is regarded as an iconic character in British culture. In a 2001 poll conducted by Channel 4 Del Boy was ranked fourth on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boycie</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Herman Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin-off series The Green Green Grass in which Boycie and his family flee to the countryside to escape from the Driscoll Brothers. A younger Boycie also appears in the prequel series Rock & Chips. Along with Denzil, he is one of only two characters to appear in all three.

<i>The Green Green Grass</i> British TV sitcom (2005–2009)

The Green Green Grass is a BBC television sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan, and produced by BBC Studios Comedy Productions and Shazam Productions for the BBC. It is a sequel/spin-off of the long-running sitcom Only Fools and Horses and stars John Challis, Sue Holderness, and Jack Doolan. Four series and three Christmas specials were originally broadcast on BBC One between 2005 and 2009.

"To Hull and Back" is the fourth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1985. It was the first feature-length edition of the show and also the first special not to feature or mention the holiday of Christmas itself in the episode. Parts of the special were shot on location in Amsterdam and unlike most other episodes was shot entirely on film and not before a studio audience. In the episode, the Trotters agree to smuggle diamonds from Amsterdam for Boycie.

"Big Brother" is the first episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It is the first episode of series 1, and was first broadcast on 8 September 1981. In the episode, Del buys a consignment of briefcases, only to later discover that the combinations are locked inside.

"The Russians Are Coming" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first screened on 13 October 1981, as the final episode of series 1. In the episode, Del buys a nuclear fallout shelter and, anticipating a nuclear war, the Trotters decide to build it.

"Christmas Crackers" is the first Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was originally screened on 28 December 1981 and is the first episode of the series to run at over 30 minutes.

"The Second Time Around" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fourth episode of series 1, and was first broadcast on 29 September 1981. In the episode, an old fiancée of Del's returns and they rekindle their relationship, to Rodney and Grandad's horror.

"The Class of '62" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fourth episode of series 7, and was first broadcast on 20 January 1991. In the episode, Del Boy, Rodney, Boycie, Denzil and Trigger attend a school reunion which, to their surprise, has been arranged by Roy Slater.

"Time on Our Hands" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. First screened on 29 December 1996, it was the final episode of that year's Christmas trilogy and the fifteenth Christmas special overall. It attracted a television audience of 24.3 million, a record for a British sitcom. In the episode, the Trotters finally become millionaires. It had initially been intended to be the series finale, but creator John Sullivan wrote three more specials that were screened annually between 2001 and 2003, starting with "If They Could See Us Now".

"A Losing Streak" is the third episode of series 2 of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 4 November 1982. In the episode, Del Boy plays a high-stakes game of poker with Boycie. Also, this is the only episode in the series in which Boycie serves as an antagonist.

"Strangers on the Shore...!" is An episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 2002 as the second part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, the seventeenth Christmas special and the 63rd episode of the series.

"Sleepless in Peckham...!" is the final episode of BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first screened on 25 December 2003 as the third and final part of the early 2000s Christmas trilogy, and as the eighteenth and final Christmas special. It was the last Only Fools and Horses-related episode until the Sport Relief special in March 2014.

"Cash and Curry" is the third episode of series 1 of the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses. It was first screened on 22 September 1981. In the episode, Del Boy sees a chance to profit from a dispute between two Indian businessmen.

"A Slow Bus to Chingford" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fifth episode of series 1, and was first broadcast on 6 October 1981. In the episode, Del acquires an old double decker bus and decides to give tours around London.

"Sleeping Dogs Lie" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the fifth episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 21 March 1985. In the episode, Del Boy and Rodney look after Boycie and Marlene's cherished Great Dane, Duke.

<i>Rock & Chips</i> British television miniseries

Rock & Chips is a British television comedy-drama miniseries and a prequel to the sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The show is set in Peckham, southeast London, during the early 1960s, focusing primarily on the lives of Del Trotter, Freddie Robdal and Joan and Reg Trotter. Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, plays Robdal alongside James Buckley, Kellie Bright (Joan), Shaun Dingwall (Reg) and Phil Daniels (Grandad). The Shazam and BBC Studios Comedy Drama co-production was written by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan, directed by Dewi Humphreys and produced by Gareth Gwenlan.

"Five Gold Rings" is the second episode of the Rock & Chips trilogy and the series' only Christmas Special. It was first aired on 29 December 2010.

References

  1. "Original Air Date (Go West Young Man)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2009.