Thicker than Water (Only Fools and Horses)

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"Thicker than Water"
Only Fools and Horses episode
Episode no.Episode 3
(Christmas Special)
Directed by Ray Butt
Written by John Sullivan
Original air date25 December 1983 (1983-12-25)
Running time30 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Thicker than Water" is the third Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , broadcast on 25 December 1983, and is the first to be screened on Christmas Day.

Contents

Synopsis

Rodney and Grandad are watching television on Christmas Day, when a stranger appears at the door. The stranger turns out to be Del Boy and Rodney's father (and Grandad's son) Reg, who had abandoned them 18 years earlier after the death of their mother. When Del learns of Reg's return he intends to eject him, but Rodney and Grandad persuade Del to give him a chance. Reg tells his family that he has been living in Newcastle and has recently been diagnosed with a hereditary blood disorder.

Del and Rodney quickly take blood tests, which both turn out negative when they receive their results on New Year's Eve, but Grandad notices on their results that they have different blood types. Grandad explains that around the time that Rodney was born, Reg and their mother Joan were having frequent arguments, and Joan flirted with other men. Del and Grandad thus both assume that Rodney has a different father and tell him the news, with Del concluding that Rodney is a "whodunnit". However, when Reg returns having checked his own and Grandad's blood groups, he reveals that it is in fact Del who has the alien blood group.

The next day, New Year's Day, Del is drinking alone at The Nag's Head while Reg moves in permanently, wearing Del's clothes, spending time with Rodney and taunting Del for being a "lone ranger".

Whenever he passes Del in the corridor, Reg calls out "Hi-ho silver!" at him. Rodney reassures Del that children with the same parents can have different blood groups and recommends that he visit Dr Becker, the Trotter family's doctor, again to clarify the results. Del at first refuses, as Dr Becker treated their mother and he does not want him to realise that she was seeing different men. It is when Reg taunts Del yet again by calling him "Ke-mo sah-bee", (another Lone Ranger reference), when dealing him his cards for a game of Pontoon, he changes his mind.

Later that evening, Reg is clearly outstaying his welcome at the flat, having spent all of Rodney and Grandad's money, drunk all their beer, and written a bet on one of Rodney's GCE certificates.

Del returns home and reveals that he took Rodney's advice and visited Dr Becker again, who confirmed that different blood groups are not indicative of different parentage, and in any case, Del's blood type was actually "A" and not "AB" as recorded on the results, and that someone – Reg – had altered them in an attempt to isolate Del and take his place in Nelson Mandela House. Furthermore, Dr Becker made some background checks, which found that Reg was actually a porter at the Newcastle infirmary, not a patient, and is on the run after stealing numerous items from the hospital, including the chief gynaecologist's Lambretta scooter. All but defeated, Reg decides to leave, and the Trotters are glad to see the back of him, although Del still gives him some money on his way out. Rodney apologises to Del for not believing him about Reg's character. The episode ends as Grandad burns Del's pizza.

Episode cast

ActorRole
David Jason Derek Trotter
Nicholas Lyndhurst Rodney Trotter
Lennard Pearce Grandad Trotter
Peter Woodthorpe Reg Trotter
Michele WinstanleyKaren (barmaid)

Production

This is the only episode of Only Fools and Horses to feature Reg Trotter. Peter Woodthorpe was cast because of his resemblance to David Jason, although Jason himself claimed he could not see any likeness. The manner of Reg's departure meant that John Sullivan thought it impossible for the character to return because "he'd blotted his copybook so badly that I couldn't see Del ever accepting him again". Reg was later a main character in the Fools prequel Rock & Chips , as played by Shaun Dingwall.

This was the final appearance of Grandad in an official episode, but his last appearance came in the educational feature "Licensed to Drill" which was shown in schools from 1984 onwards. Actor Lennard Pearce died during production of the next series.

The original airing of this episode included a brief exchange where Del reminds Rodney that Reg was not aware if Grandad was alive or dead in the eighteen years he'd been gone, and Rodney comments that they never seem to know either. Following Lennard Pearce's death less than a year later this exchange was removed from the episode, with it not being restored for any subsequent airing or home media release. However, it remains intact on the iTunes release and this scene is an extreme rarity. [1]

Notes

Story arc

Soundtrack

Music from the film Sleepless Nights

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">Peter Woodthorpe</span> English actor (1931–2004)

Peter Woodthorpe was an English actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of The Lord of the Rings and the BBC's 1981 radio serial. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cult series Monkey and played Max, the pathologist, in early episodes of Inspector Morse.

<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.

Grandad (<i>Only Fools and Horses</i>) Fictional character from Only Fools and Horses

Edward Kitchener "Ted" Trotter, better known as Grandad (1905-1985) is a fictional character who was one of the original leads of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. He appeared in the show's first three series, played by Lennard Pearce. The character is grandfather to Del Boy and Rodney Trotter. Pearce's death in December 1984 was written into the series with the death of Grandad. His place was taken by Uncle Albert.

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

Albert Gladstone Trotter, better known as Uncle Albert, is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, portrayed by Buster Merryfield. He was introduced during the fourth series as a replacement for the character of Grandad due to the sudden death of Lennard Pearce in 1984.

<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.

"The Frog's Legacy" is the sixth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 25 December 1987. In the episode, the Trotters search for the hidden gold legacy of Freddie "The Frog" Robdal, an old friend of their mother's.

"Strained Relations" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the second episode of series 4, and was first screened on 28 February 1985.

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"Hole in One" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the third episode of series 4 and was first broadcast on 7 March 1985. In the episode, Del decides to sue the brewery after Uncle Albert falls down the Nag's Head cellar.

"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".

"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.

"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.

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"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.

<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.

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References

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