Mother Nature's Son (Only Fools and Horses)

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"Mother Nature's Son"
Only Fools and Horses episode
Episode no.Episode 11
(Christmas Special)
Directed by Tony Dow
Written by John Sullivan
Produced by Gareth Gwenlan
Original air date25 December 1992 (1992-12-25)
Running time65 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Mother Nature's Son" is the eleventh Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses . It was first broadcast on 25 December 1992 and also the first special since Thicker than Water to feature the holiday of Christmas in the episode itself. In the episode, Del sells tap water as Peckham Spring.

Contents

Synopsis

With Christmas coming, Del's application to buy the Trotter family's council flat in "Yuppy Love" has finally been granted, albeit rather late and suddenly, meaning that he now owns the flat, but is not as able to pay the mortgage as he was originally planning to. He also inherits Grandad's old allotment and receives a summons from the council, ordering him to remove a public health hazard from his land. The health hazard turns out to be barrels containing an unknown yellow substance. Del enlists Trigger and Denzil to help him get rid of the yellow liquid, saying he will help them (though he wears a diving suit), by transporting it in Denzil's van to the "24-hour" council waste disposal depot (which is closed at night), although they ultimately dump it "in a pond".

Del accompanies Rodney to an organic health food shop owned by a wealthy gardening enthusiast named Myles. When he sees the high price of the store's produce, Del develops an interest in gardening and invites Myles to the allotment to advise him on growing vegetables. At the allotment, Myles notices a mysterious water source - which Del calls the Peckham Spring - and suggests that if the water is pure, it could be bottled and sold. However, unsighted by Myles, Rodney notices that the "spring water" is actually coming from a nearby tap connected to a hose and concealed by rocks. Del instructs Albert to take a sample of the water for laboratory testing but, being part of the scam, Albert uses bottled mineral water instead. The water receives a certificate of purity from Myles' committee, giving Del permission to sell it.

A production line is set up in the Trotters' flat, with Del filling up bottles from his kitchen tap. Peckham Spring Water quickly becomes one of Myles' biggest-selling products, and is given a trial at a major national supermarket. Sales are further boosted by the drought warnings issued by the local water board, who believe there is a serious underground leak due to the high volume of water being used by Del. The Trotters earn enough money for a Christmas holiday at the Grand Hotel, Brighton. In the final scene, as the Trotter family go to sleep in their hotel rooms, the BBC News reports that Peckham is without water after a local reservoir has been contaminated by the barrels dumped by Del, Denzil, and Trigger. As a blissfully unaware Del switches off the light, a bottle of Peckham Spring on his bedside table glows yellow, indicating that he has been giving the barrels' contents to his customers.

Episode cast

ActorRole
David Jason Derek Trotter
Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney Trotter
Buster Merryfield Albert Trotter
Tessa Peake-Jones Raquel Turner
Gwyneth Strong Cassandra Trotter
Paul Barber Denzil Tulser
John Challis Boycie
Robert Glenister Myles
Sue Holderness Marlene
 
ActorRole
Kenneth MacDonald Mike Fisher
Roger Lloyd-Pack Trigger
Robert Liddement Damien Trotter
Denis Lill Alan Parry
Tony Marshall Chris
Patrick Murray Mickey Pearce
Wanda Ventham Pamela Parry
Richard Whitmore Himself

Episode concept

Music

Note: In the VHS/DVD versions, The Beatles' "Money" is replaced by an instrumental tune, and Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" is replaced by a similar-sounding piece of music.

Legacy

In 2004, the Coca-Cola Company launched their bottled water brand Dasani in the United Kingdom. [2] It was widely reported that Dasani in the UK was treated tap water from Sidcup, close to the real life Peckham. This and a contamination scandal leading to the product's withdrawal, [3] comparisons were often made to the events in Mother Nature's Son in the press. [4]

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.

Dasani is an American based brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled.

<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">Rodney Trotter</span> Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the long running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.

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

Denzil Tulser, is a character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Paul Barber.

"The Jolly Boys' Outing" is the eighth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1989. Despite being aired as a Christmas special, it is set on an August bank holiday weekend, and sees Del and the gang go on a road trip to Margate.

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"Fatal Extraction" is the twelfth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, first broadcast on 25 December 1993. In the episode, Raquel leaves Del so in response he asks out another woman. When he and Raquel are reconciled, Del becomes convinced that the woman is stalking him.

"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.

Cassandra Louise Trotter is a fictional character from the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. She is portrayed by Gwyneth Strong.

"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.

"Danger UXD" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 6 and first broadcast on 15 January 1989. In the episode, Del acquires a batch of faulty sex dolls, which have inadvertently been filled with an explosive gas.

"Three Men, a Woman and a Baby" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of series 7 and was first broadcast on 3 February 1991. This is the last episode of the last regular series, although Christmas specials were broadcast intermittently until 2003. In this episode, the birth of Del and Raquel's baby is imminent. Damien Trotter appears in the show for the first time in the episode's finale.

"Miami Twice" is the two-part tenth Christmas special edition of the British sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The first episode, on-screen subtitle "The American Dream", was first screened on 24 December 1991. The second episode of "Miami Twice" was first screened the following day, 25 December 1991. The second episode is subtitled "Oh to Be in England".

<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.

References

  1. ↑ Did You Know? Archived 18 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine ofah.net
  2. ↑ Matthew Beard (2 March 2004). "The real thing? Coke's water comes straight from the tap with a cool mark-up of 3,000 per cent". The Independent . London. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
  3. ↑ "Coke recalls controversial water". BBC. 19 March 2004.
  4. ↑ "Coke pulls plug on £70m Dasani". Evening Standard. 25 March 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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