Only Fools & Horses
Only Fools & Horses, created by John Sullivan, is one of the BBC's finest sitcoms ever. It is now Classic Cult Television at it's best.
Based in the suburb of Peckham, South London, Derek Trotter- AKA Delboy - & his brother Rodney, run 'Trotters Independant Traders'. Basically they're market traders selling anything they can get their hands on, for a profit. Most of what they sell is cheap and faulty goods.
If you're not familiar with the Trotter brothers, I hope you'll take the time to watch some of the video clips...but be warned, you'll end up laughing so much your sides will hurt!!
Based in the suburb of Peckham, South London, Derek Trotter- AKA Delboy - & his brother Rodney, run 'Trotters Independant Traders'. Basically they're market traders selling anything they can get their hands on, for a profit. Most of what they sell is cheap and faulty goods.
If you're not familiar with the Trotter brothers, I hope you'll take the time to watch some of the video clips...but be warned, you'll end up laughing so much your sides will hurt!!
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"YOU
PLONKER
RODNEY!"
Delboy And Background
Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (played by David Jason), a fast-talking, cockney market trader, lives in a council flat in a high-rise tower block, Nelson Mandela House, in Peckham, South London - though it was actually filmed in Harlech Tower in Acton and later Bristol - with his much younger brother, Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst), and their elderly Grandad (Lennard Pearce).Their mother Joan died when Rodney was young, and their father Reg absconded shortly after his wife's death, effectively making Del Rodney's surrogate father and the family patriarch. Despite the difference in their ages, the brothers share a constant bond throughout.
The situation focuses primarily on their futile attempts to get rich - "This time next year, we'll be millionaires" is a frequent saying of Del's - through buying and selling a variety of low-quality and illegal goods, such as Russian Army camcorders, luminous yellow paint and sex dolls filled with an explosive gas.
They own an unregistered company, Trotters Independent Traders, trade primarily on the black market and generally neither pay taxes nor claim money from the state; as Del says "the government don't give us nothing, so we don't give the government nothing".
Most of their deals are too dodgy to succeed and usually end up backfiring, an important factor in generating sympathy for the characters. They also drive a grubby three-wheeled van, and are regulars at their local pub, The Nag's Head.
Delboy is a medallion man. He has has a large gold intitial 'D' medallion on a chain. He smokes a huge cigar and likes to think he can speak French. However, the phrases he uses are always incorrect. He wears a sheepskin coat and a flat cap. He likes to think of himself as a ladies man.
After many series of the show, Delboy falls in love with Raquel and they go on to have a son, Damien.
Delboy is the central character of the show and you can't help but love him. David Jason plays this part to absolute perfection.
Delboy & Rodney as Batman & Robin in the 1996 Christmas Special
History Of The Show
Only Fools and Horses is a British television sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan, and made and broadcast by the BBC.Seven series were originally broadcast in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003.
After a relatively slow start the show went on to achieve consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time On Our Hands" holds the record for the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode.
Set in the Inner London district of Peckham, it starred David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney, and Lennard Pearce as their ageing grandfather (later replaced by Buster Merryfield as their Uncle Albert). Backed by a strong supporting cast, it chronicled their highs and lows in life, particularly their attempts to get rich.
Critically and popularly acclaimed, the series received numerous awards, including recognition from the British Academy, the National Television Awards and the Royal Television Society, as well as helping both Sullivan and Jason win individual accolades.
It was voted Britain's Best Sitcom in a 2004 BBC poll.
It also had an impact on British culture, contributing several words to the English language and helping to popularise the Reliant Regal van. It spawned an extensive range of merchandise, including books, DVDs, toys and board games.
A spin-off series, The Green Green Grass, has run for three series on BBC One in the UK.
Only Fools & Horses DVD's on Amazon
Rodney
Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) - The ideal comic sidekick for Del Boy in numerous ways: naive, much younger and easily-influenced, more academically gifted, although only to the extent of two GCEs, but generally gormless and lacking in common sense.Effectively orphaned when young, Rodney was raised by Del. His principal job throughout the show was as Del's lackey and sidekick, whose duties included looking out for policemen at the market and cleaning the van.
Much of the conflict between the two came from Rodney's dislike of his reliance on Del, and his unsuccessful attempts to gain greater independence through girlfriends or by setting up his own businesses; he was only partially successful after marrying Cassandra and briefly going to work for her father.
In contrast to Del Boy, the part of Rodney was cast early, with Lyndhurst settled on quickly. Sullivan partly based Rodney on his own experiences; he, too, had a much older sibling and, like Rodney, claims to have been a dreamer and an idealist in his youth.
Only Fools & Horses Photos on Amazon
ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES 16X20 B&W PHOTO
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ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES 16X20 COLOR PHOTO
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ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES 16X20 B&W PHOTO
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Grandad
Grandad (Lennard Pearce) - Del and Rodney's elderly grandad was added to the cast to balance the three distinct generations, adding the voice of experience to the situation.Scruffy and daft, although sometimes displaying a razor sharp wit, Grandad rarely left the flat or was seen without his trilby hat and frequently managed to ruin the dinners he prepared.
Pearce died in 1984 while filming the fourth series, so Sullivan wrote a new episode, "Strained Relations", which featured Grandad's funeral.
"When I was in the Navy"
Uncle Albert
Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield) - Shortly after the death of Lennard Pearce it was decided that a new older family member should be brought in, which eventually led to "Uncle Albert", Grandad's long-lost brother.Merryfield was an inexperienced amateur actor at the time, but was selected because he appeared to fit the description of an old sailor, especially with his distinctive white "Captain Birdseye" beard.
Albert first appeared at Grandad's funeral, and eventually moved in with Del and Rodney. His long-winded anecdotes about his wartime experiences with the Royal Navy became one of the show's running gags, resulting in gentle mocking from his great-nephews.
When Merryfield died in 1999, Albert's death was written into the next episode.
'Unc' was one of the much loved and favourite characters of the series and there was much sadness at a national level, when he died.
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Cassandra
Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong) - The intelligent daughter of a successful middle-class businessman.Cassandra first met Rodney in "Yuppy Love". Their relationship blossomed, and by the end of series six the two had married.
But her high career ambitions brought her into conflict with Rodney, and their troubled marriage was one of the main storylines of the seventh series.
They were eventually reconciled and in later episodes she was markedly less ambitious. The relationship with Rodney ultimately grew stronger after Cassandra suffered a miscarriage and later gave birth to a daughter.
Only Fools And Horses S3,E6,(wanted) part 1
Sorry, can't find part 2 :(
Trigger
Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack) - Trigger, apparently so called because he looks like a horse, was the principal supporting character throughout the show's run; only Del Boy and Rodney appeared in more episodes.Lloyd Pack was cast by pure chance; Ray Butt, who hired him to portray Trigger after seeing him in a stage play, had only attended that play to observe potential Del Boy actor Billy Murray.
Initially portrayed as a small-time thief, supplying Del with dubious goods, Trigger's place in the series changed over time. A daft road sweeper most frequently seen in the Nag's Head, he came to adopt the 'village idiot' role, drawing laughs in each of his scenes through his general stupidity, in particular his unshakable belief that Rodney's real name was actually Dave.
Only fools and Horses - May the Force Be With You (part 1)
Boycie
Boycie (John Challis) - A shady used car salesman and a frightful snob with a machine gun laugh who "thinks anyone with a pound less than him is a peasant", according to Rodney in "Fatal Extraction".Boycie made sporadic appearances in earlier series before becoming a regular cast member from series 5 onwards. Boycie, a Freemason, was very self-centred and prone to boasting about his high social status and mocking those less fortunate than himself, particularly Del Boy, though he did mellow as the series progressed.
Del in turn teased him for being a "jaffa" (seedless) when it emerged that he had a low sperm count.
Challis had played a similar character in an episode of Citizen Smith. Sullivan liked him, and promised to put him a future series, which led to Boycie.
Boycie later featured in a spin-off series, The Green Green Grass, starting in 2005, in which he and his wife Marlene fled to the countryside from a criminal gang.
Only Fools And Horses on eBay
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Raquel
Raquel (Tessa Peake-Jones) - Raquel was introduced because Sullivan wanted more female characters and for Del to start meeting more mature women.Her first appearance, in "Dates", was intended to be a one-off, but she was written in again a year later and thereafter became a regular.
An ambitious trained singer and actress whose career never took off, she met Del through a dating agency, but they fell out over her part-time job as a stripper, before getting together again. This time she moved in with Del, helping to mellow him, and they had a son together, named Damien.
As the character unfolded, it was revealed that she was previously married to Del's nemesis, DCI Roy Slater.
Only Fools and Horses: The Unlucky Winner Is... (Part 1)
Denzil
Denzil (Paul Barber) - Originally cast because Sullivan wanted Del to have had a black friend from his school days.Easy-going Liverpudlian Denzil was often on the receiving end of Del's scams. His inability to say no to Del's business deals frequently led to conflict with his domineering wife, Corrine (Eva Mottley), who was only sighted once, in 'Who's a Pretty Boy?'.
Sullivan had planned to bring Corrine back for more episodes, but after Mottley's death in 1985 opted to make her an unseen character rather than use another actress.
Christmas Specials
Mickey
Mickey Pearce (Patrick Murray) - Pearce was a young, obnoxious spiv and friend of Rodney's, known for his ludicrous boasts about his success in business or with women, and for frequently taking advantage of Rodney's gullibility.Other jokes around Mickey were his rapid turnover of jobs, and the fact that he sported the pork-pie hat and suit of the 2 tone/ska scene, which was popular during the 1980s, well into the 2000s.
Only Fools & Horses MIAMI Twice part 1
Marlene
Marlene (Sue Holderness) - Marlene was initially just an unseen character, occasionally mentioned by her husband, Boycie.She was a cheerful, slightly simple woman whose burning, and seemingly unattainable desire to have a child, provided one of the show's earlier "soap opera" sub-plots.
Details were occasionally revealed about Marlene's prior reputation as being popular with the local men; there was a consistent undercurrent of an affair between her and Del.
She did finally have a son, Tyler. Questions over the latter's paternity, owing to Marlene's reputation and Boycie's impotence, were a recurring gag.
"This time next year
Rodney,
we'll be millionaires"
Mike
Mike (The Late Kenneth MacDonald) - The landlord of the Nag's Head, although not from the very beginning. His predecessor was never seen, with just a succession of barmaids providing service.Good natured and somewhat gullible, he was often targeted by Del as a potential customer for any goods he was selling. Del's unpaid bar tab was the cause of conflict between the two, but Mike rarely succeeded in getting him to pay up.
When Kenneth MacDonald died in 2001, a storyline involving Mike's imprisonment for attempting to embezzle the brewery was written, and cafe owner Sid took over as pub landlord.
Mark And Nicola's Wedding Video
They Love Only Fools And Horses So Much, They Have It On Their Wedding Video
Permission to use this wedding video was given by Simon Burridge.
In this video: Gary Newton, Mark Pattison, Nicola Pattison, Simon Burridge
Simon can film your wedding too! Contact him through Filmmywedding.co.uk
Filmed by Cherrywood Productions 0845 838 7052
In this video: Gary Newton, Mark Pattison, Nicola Pattison, Simon Burridge
Simon can film your wedding too! Contact him through Filmmywedding.co.uk
Filmed by Cherrywood Productions 0845 838 7052
Only Fools and Horses Wedding video intro by Cherrywood ...
Only Fools & Horses Books on Amazon
Damien
Damien (various) - Damien was Del and Raquel's son.It was Rodney's mocking suggestion that he be named after the Devil's child in The Omen. The couple took the suggestion seriously. The Omen joke and Rodney's apparent fear of Damien became a running joke (accompanied, not, in fact, by Jerry Goldsmith's original music from the film in question, but by its invariable stand-in, the "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana".)
Six actors played Damien: Patrick McManus (1991), Grant Stevens (1991), Robert Liddement (1992), Jamie Smith (1993-96), Douglas Hodge (1996, as adult), and Ben Smith (2001-03).
Yuppie Brothers
Cockney Slang used in the show
The Only Fools characters speak in a special language, some of which is Cockney Rhyming slang and some of which are pure inventions sprung from the mind of Derek Trotter. From time to time Del also employs some unique foreign lingo.
cop - to receive something, or a police officer.
cosmic -outstanding; exceptional
cushty - great; brilliant
dipstick - a fool
el-bow - also 'the Spanish fiddler', to end a relationship
enemy - wife, missus
Gandhi's revenge - a dodgy stomach
heave-ho - another way of saying 'el-bow'
hump - to be annoyed
humpty-dumpty - to perform sexual relations
jacksie - the posterior
jaffa - to be 'seedless' as in infertile, one who 'fires blanks'
lovely jubbly - brilliant, great, cushty
mutton - deaf, hard of hearing
noofter - a gay man
plonker - an idiot
pukka - great, perfect
ruby - Indian takeaway cuisine
schtum - to keep quiet, keep a secret
sort - a woman, or bird
stoke on trent - a gay man
stone me - an exclamation of anguish
stuke - a difficult situation
this immortal curl - the world
triffic - great, wonderful
twonk - a plonker or dipstick
wally - a twonk, a plonker, or a dipstick
cop - to receive something, or a police officer.
cosmic -outstanding; exceptional
cushty - great; brilliant
dipstick - a fool
el-bow - also 'the Spanish fiddler', to end a relationship
enemy - wife, missus
Gandhi's revenge - a dodgy stomach
heave-ho - another way of saying 'el-bow'
hump - to be annoyed
humpty-dumpty - to perform sexual relations
jacksie - the posterior
jaffa - to be 'seedless' as in infertile, one who 'fires blanks'
lovely jubbly - brilliant, great, cushty
mutton - deaf, hard of hearing
noofter - a gay man
plonker - an idiot
pukka - great, perfect
ruby - Indian takeaway cuisine
schtum - to keep quiet, keep a secret
sort - a woman, or bird
stoke on trent - a gay man
stone me - an exclamation of anguish
stuke - a difficult situation
this immortal curl - the world
triffic - great, wonderful
twonk - a plonker or dipstick
wally - a twonk, a plonker, or a dipstick
Photos Relevant To The Show
The Del Boy Mantra
End of the road. . .
John Challis or Boyc...
Petticoat Lane, Lond...
Petticoat Lane, Lond...
Only Fools and Horse...
Only Fools and Horse...
Only Fools and Horse...
Only Fools and Horse...
Only Fools and Horse...
Money Slang
boracic or brassic - lacking in funds, skintcentury - £100
douce in bunce - £200
earner - as in a "nice little ...", a profitable business transaction
grand - £1000
kosher readies - unlaundered money
monkey - £500
pony - £25
potless - to be skint
score - £20
Only Fools & Horses Intro
Here you can see the intro, PLUS an absolute classic clip known as 'the one with the chandelier'
Lyrics to The Theme Tune
Stick a pony in me pocket...
Notes:
- A "pony" is a slang term used in London meaning £25 (Twenty Five Pounds Sterling)
- "V.A.T." is a type of tax paid on goods in the United Kingdom.
"Shepherds Bush" is a place in London
"Berserk" is a slang term meaning, crazy.
"Trevor Francis" is an England soccer/football player/coach from the 1980's.
"Hooky" implies that the item in question is stolen, again a slang term.
Opening Lyrics:
Stick a pony in me pocket,
I'll fetch the suitcase from the van.
Cos if you want the best 'uns,
But you don't ask questions,
Then brother, I'm your man.
Cos where it all comes from is a mystery,
It's like the changin' of the seasons,
And the tides of the sea.
But here's the one that's drivin' me beserk,
Why do only fools and horses work?
La-la-la-la-lah
La-lala-la
La-la-la-la-lah
La-lala-la.
Closing Lyrics:
We've got some half price cracked ice and miles and miles of carpet tiles,
T.V.s, deep freeze and David Bowie L.P.s,
Ball games, gold chains, whassa-names, and at a push,
Some Trevor Francis track suits from a mush in Shepherds Bush,
Bush, bush, bush, bush, bush, bush, bush ...
No income tax, no V.A.T.,
No money back, no guarantee,
Black or white, rich or poor,
We'll cut prices at a stroke......
God bless Hooky Street,
Viva Hooky Street,
Long live Hooky Street,
C'est magnifique, Hooky Street,
Magnifique, Hooky Street,
Hooky Street (to fade)
- A "pony" is a slang term used in London meaning £25 (Twenty Five Pounds Sterling)
- "V.A.T." is a type of tax paid on goods in the United Kingdom.
"Shepherds Bush" is a place in London
"Berserk" is a slang term meaning, crazy.
"Trevor Francis" is an England soccer/football player/coach from the 1980's.
"Hooky" implies that the item in question is stolen, again a slang term.
Opening Lyrics:
Stick a pony in me pocket,
I'll fetch the suitcase from the van.
Cos if you want the best 'uns,
But you don't ask questions,
Then brother, I'm your man.
Cos where it all comes from is a mystery,
It's like the changin' of the seasons,
And the tides of the sea.
But here's the one that's drivin' me beserk,
Why do only fools and horses work?
La-la-la-la-lah
La-lala-la
La-la-la-la-lah
La-lala-la.
Closing Lyrics:
We've got some half price cracked ice and miles and miles of carpet tiles,
T.V.s, deep freeze and David Bowie L.P.s,
Ball games, gold chains, whassa-names, and at a push,
Some Trevor Francis track suits from a mush in Shepherds Bush,
Bush, bush, bush, bush, bush, bush, bush ...
No income tax, no V.A.T.,
No money back, no guarantee,
Black or white, rich or poor,
We'll cut prices at a stroke......
God bless Hooky Street,
Viva Hooky Street,
Long live Hooky Street,
C'est magnifique, Hooky Street,
Magnifique, Hooky Street,
Hooky Street (to fade)
Delboy Keychain
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Del Boy Returns To Tv As A Teebager
Only Fools and Horses wide-boy Derek Trotter is returning to BBC One in a comedy drama about his teenage years.
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Chips, set in 1960 and written by Only Fools scribe John Sullivan, will also focus on Del's "tarty" mother, Joan, and father, Reg.
Sullivan said it would give viewers an insight "into why Del and Rodney turned out they way they did".
Filming for the one-off 90-minute show, which will be shown next year, will start on location in London in August.
The Trotter brothers, Del - played by David Jason - and Rodney - played by Nicholas Lyndhurst - first hit television screens in 1981.
Dodgy Del Boy, whose catchphrases including "you plonker!" and "lovely jubbly", is one of the UK's best loved TV characters - with Only Fools and Horse consistently topping the polls for best comedy programmes.
'Ruffled feathers'
Sullivan said the new show would be "set in the real 60s, before The Beatles and Mary Quant made London the coolest place on the planet".
Nicholas Lyndhurst and David Jason
Seven series and 19 Christmas specials were made
"The drama will feature South London at its least glamorous, where money was scarce, the staple diet was rock salmon and chips, and the flicks offer the only hint of glamour," he said.
The BBC said that, while the Trotter family had not yet moved into their flat in Nelson Mandela House, other familiar settings, including the Nag's Head, would appear.
This item was found at BBC News
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Chips, set in 1960 and written by Only Fools scribe John Sullivan, will also focus on Del's "tarty" mother, Joan, and father, Reg.
Sullivan said it would give viewers an insight "into why Del and Rodney turned out they way they did".
Filming for the one-off 90-minute show, which will be shown next year, will start on location in London in August.
The Trotter brothers, Del - played by David Jason - and Rodney - played by Nicholas Lyndhurst - first hit television screens in 1981.
Dodgy Del Boy, whose catchphrases including "you plonker!" and "lovely jubbly", is one of the UK's best loved TV characters - with Only Fools and Horse consistently topping the polls for best comedy programmes.
'Ruffled feathers'
Sullivan said the new show would be "set in the real 60s, before The Beatles and Mary Quant made London the coolest place on the planet".
Nicholas Lyndhurst and David Jason
Seven series and 19 Christmas specials were made
"The drama will feature South London at its least glamorous, where money was scarce, the staple diet was rock salmon and chips, and the flicks offer the only hint of glamour," he said.
The BBC said that, while the Trotter family had not yet moved into their flat in Nelson Mandela House, other familiar settings, including the Nag's Head, would appear.
This item was found at BBC News
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oneskms wrote...
Cushty ! An absolute fantastic lens. I was 10 when the show started and have slight recolections of grandad. They produced, for me, some of the best humour I can remember and Triggers 'puns' are just the best
Posted April 28, 2009
Lensmaster
nutuba wrote
Great review -- thanks for the info!
Posted March 09, 2009
LaraineRose wrote...
Hi, Just stopping in again to see what you've been up to. You've done it again. Another great lens. I love british comedy! I don't think we get this show though. I watched all your videos and just might have to buy it. 5*s and all the best to you.
Posted January 29, 2009
Rewards4life wrote...
This is a fantastic lens and covers all the good that Only Fools is, a great British Comedy. I have watched it through my childhood and still to this very day. Trigger is the best and I even have a friend exactly the same. The best quote is a from Trigger when he is talking about his broom, (watch to see). 5* what a great lens
Posted January 11, 2009
JaguarJulie wrote...
Wow! What a humdinger of a lens -- I personally love humor from the UK, however dear old hubby can't seem to understand what brits are saying -- he's a tad bit hard of hearing. You've done a great job on this lens!
Posted December 28, 2008
changingman wrote...
Only Fools And Horses probably saved my marriage. My wife and I had been married for eighteen months, but couldn't stop arguing. Money was tight, we couldn't save, we couldn't afford a house of our own, nothing seemed to go right. Then, round about Christmas 1990, I'd had enough, and stormed out of our flat. I went to stay with my Dad, my wife went to her Mum's, and both of us decided that it was the end. But on Christmas Day, the Only Fools And Horses special was Rodney, Come Home, where the newlywed Rodney walks out on Cassandra. Both of us watched it, and it was almost like seeing ourselves on the screen. It was eerie and poignant. But after Christmas, my wife and I met again to discuss the future, and decided we wanted to try again. That episiode will always be our favourite.
Posted December 23, 2008
AndyPo wrote...
Excellent lens. Only Fools and Horses is a real classic Britcom - I used to like David Jason in "Dangermouse" too, when I was a child.
Posted November 03, 2008
debnet wrote...
Thank you so much for the blessing! Cushty chefkeem, cushty ;)[in reply to chefkeem]
Posted October 30, 2008
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Links To Only Fools & Horses Sites
- Info from the BBC
- This is a great base for everything 'Only Fools & Horses' Lots of pictures, info & additional links.
- Website run by OFAH appreciation Society
- Only fools and horses comedy website is run by the fans of only fools and horses sitcom. OFAH was voted as the top UK sitcom ever. The appreciation society .
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