10/11/1983 Homesick (30' 13")
The wear and
tear of climbing twelve floors in Mandela House takes its toll as Grandad's legs finally give way. And after a visit to the
Doctors' it is recommended that they seek some different housing for the Trotter family - on the ground floor! Rodney has just been elected Chairman of the Housing Committee, and with a little pressure from Del,
he persuades housing and welfare co-ordinator Miss Mackenzie to move the Trotters into a three-bedroom bungalow in Herrington
Road. All seems hunky dory, until Miss Mackenzie catches
Del and Grandad sharing a celebratory dance and cancels the deal. An ashamed
Rodney agrees to resign as Chairman of the Committee immediately.
17/11/1983 Healthy
Competition (27' 54")
Rodney is taking
stock of his life, and at the age of 24 he is disappointed to find he has only risen to become Del's
look-out while they're on the make with dodgy goods. After a bit of soul-searching
- during which Del narrowly escapes the Old Bill while Rodders was lost in thought
- Rodney breaks some big news to Del that he's set up a rival business with
Mickey Pearce. Shocked and hurt by this, Del
warns him that if he wants to stand on his own two feet, then the price is total independence from the TITCO cash flow; including
beer money. Later at an auction, Del
warns his Little Bruv not to buy Lot 37, but Rodney doubts his brother's generosity - thinking that
he wants the lot for himself - and he buys Lot 37 unseen. It
turns out that Lot 37 is a bunch of broken lawnmower engines that Del had sold in the first place, and after Mickey Pearce
uses their meagre profits for a trip to Benidorm, Rodders is soon back as a partner in Trotters Independent Traders.
24/11/1983 Friday
the 14th (29' 14")
The Trotters
take a trip down to Cornwall to make use of Boycie's country cottage for a spot
of salmon poaching. The fishing trip should be a nice little earner with £10
a salmon being paid for by Mario's fish restaurant. Del thinks that Rodney,
Grandad and he will catch the fish and split the profits 50-50 with Boycie for providing the accommodation - they just didn't
bank on an escapee from the mental institute. On the rainy journey down to the
cottage, a policeman stops their Robin Reliant and warns the tourists that a patient has escaped from the institute for the
criminally insane - precisely a decade after he killed a party of weekend fishermen with an axe. Never one to let a psychotic killer get in the way of a nifty bargain, Del ignores the objections of Rodders
and Grandad, and they settle down for their first night in the cottage. As the
storm worsens, Rodney thinks he hears noises outside, and when a face appears at the window, he's convinced it's the killer.
There's a knock at the door, and the Trotters' find the institute's Chief of Security is there to reassure them - it's only
later that it becomes clear that he is, in fact, the fugitive axe murderer.
01/12/1983 Yesterday
Never Comes (29' 50")
Del Boy enters
the world of fine art when he attempts to pull the wool over 'posh tart' antique dealer Miranda Davenport. He unsuccessfully
tries to tell her a rickety old cabinet is in fact a 'Queen Anne' original, but wise to the ruse, she coolly declines. Her attitude towards Del does warm when
she responds to an advertisement placed by the Trotters in the local paper. When a painting Del
has in stock catches her eye, Miranda soon worms her way into Del's affections
and in no time at all, he has given her the painting as a gift. Keen to see her
again, Del pays a visit to her shop, and is informed that she's at the local
auction house. Arriving at the auction, Miranda seems quite surprised to see him there, but not as half as surprised as Del
Boy when Lot 24 is announced. The Lot
turns out to be Del's painting - a valuable work by 19th century painter Joshua
Blythe that Miranda is hoping to make a huge profit on. It seems like Miranda has stung Del
good and proper, but as usual, he has the last laugh when he informs her that she's actually selling stolen property.
08/12/1983 May the Force Be with You (29' 28")
Del Boy's arch-enemy
from school turns up in Peckham, but this time he's known as Detective Inspector Slater from the Met Police. Having known
Del and his wily ways since they were at school together, Slater knows exactly
who to watch when he's on the trail of some stolen microwaves. Hapless Rodney
has no idea who Slater is when he gets chatting to him in The Nags Head. It's only when he sees the horror on Del's
face, after bringing Slater back to the flat for a reunion meal, that Rodney realises something is wrong. Despite Rodney's best efforts, the game appears to be up - one of the microwaves in question is sitting
on the sideboard in full view of everybody. Slater immediately begins to question Del,
and after threatening Rodney with fictitious drug charges, he forces Del to
turn snitch. Much against his better judgement, Del
decides to protect his little brother and spills the beans, but only after bartering for immunity for the whole Trotter family.
15/12/1983 Wanted
(29' 47")
When Rodney helps
a drunken woman on the street, he is stunned when she looks petrified, accuses him of man-handling her, and promptly cries
"rape!" Without thinking straight, and fearing the consequences, Rodders decides to leg it.
Del hears about the escapade and realises his naïve Little Bruv must
have encountered Blossom, a psychologically unhinged woman who is allowed out in public on weekend breaks. Not wanting to prey on Rodney's nervous disposition, Del
naturally does the humane thing and concocts a story about the police conducting a search for 'The Peckham Pouncer'. It's not long before Rodney disappears, believing he's a fugitive wanted for the worst
of reasons. Regretting what he's done, Del Boy goes in search of his brother, and it's not long before the scent of 'funny
fags' from the air vents of Mandela House leads him to Rodney's hiding place - in the water tank room of the same building.
22/12/1983 Who's
a Pretty Boy? (29' 25")
Del
concocts a plan to get revenge on Brendan O'Shaughnessy for supplying him with apple white paint that was actually battleship
grey. Having learnt that the Irishman is painting Denzil's flat for £200, Del
begins to lie about Brendan's reputation for drunken debauchery, and persuades Denzil that he and Rodney can do the job for
a lot cheaper. Unsure about Del's motives, but keen on the saving, Denzil agrees,
despite the suspicion on his wife Corrine, who is wise to Del from the very
start. The Trotters' begin the job the next day, but problems arise when Rodney
leaves a kettle on the boil and steams the whole apartment. As well as forking out for a new kettle, the Trotter's realise
that Corrine's pet canary is dead - seemingly killed by the fumes from the paint. Grandad
is despatched to find a replacement canary, and having forked out £45 for a substitute bird, he seems to have found the ideal
candidate. It's only when Corrine returns home that their scam is revealed - when she left that morning the canary was dead. The Trotters are promptly out on their ears, so they reconvene in The Nags Head, where
they drown there sorrows whilst Brendan gloats over them about winning the job back. Little does he know that Del
has one last trick left up his sleeve.
25/12/1984 Thicker
Than Water (28' 51")
Reg Trotter,
absentee father to Del and Rodney, unexpectedly arrives to celebrate Christmas
with his boys. Reg explains that he has been living in Newcastle,
and after a visit from the infirmary, was diagnosed with hereditary blood disorder. Scared for their well-being, he decided
to tell his two sons. However, several tests later, Reg is given the all clear
but it seems Del Boy and Rodders have different blood types. It would seem the wayward father has some explaining to do. Reg explains that he frequently argued with their mother before they split. She had
several dalliances with other men, and Del is the mystery child. Fortunately
a visit to the family quack gives him news to put the smile back on his face.