Little Problems
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| Only Fools and Horses episode | |
| "Little Problems" | |
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| Series | 6 |
| Writer | John Sullivan |
| Director | Tony Dow |
| Producer | Gareth Gwenlan |
| Duration | 50 minutes |
| Airdate | 12 February 1989 |
| Audience | 18.9 million |
Little Problems is an episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of series 6, and was first screened on 12 February 1989.
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[edit] Synopsis
With his marriage to Cassandra coming up, Rodney is worried that he'll never receive his diploma in computers. Del Boy assures him that everything is under control because he may able to sell some of those dodgy VCRs, but is proven wrong when Mickey Pearce and Jevon enter the Nag's Head with cuts, bruises, and broken bones all over their bodies and tell Del that Tony and Danny, the Driscoll Brothers, are coming for him.
Del, Trigger, Mickey, and Jevon hide upstairs, and the Driscolls enter yet find nothing, but Trigger accidentally activates the attenae in Del's cordless phone, causing it to shoot right up Del's nose, giving away their hiding place. The Driscolls threaten Del into paying them £2000, and Del says that he's working on it. In order to do that, Del convinces Boycie that the Electrical goods the Driscoll brothers are referring to are the videos and not the mobile phones.
At Rodney's stag night, the Driscoll brothers show up again looking for Derek who suddenly remembers that he had promised Rodney £2000 for a safety deposite on a flat that he and Cassandra wanted to buy. He goes off to talk to the Driscoll Brothers and leaves Rodney alone with Densil who believes that Del is using the £2000 to pay off the Driscoll's. Rodney returns to the flat late at night, shouting at Del who is in the bathroom. Del informs Rodney that his money is on the table. Del is then shown nursing his injuries, muffling his pained groans, having taken a beating from the Driscoll's rather than break his promise to his brother.
On the day of Rodney and Cassandra's wedding, Del is able to attend as the Best Man. Cassandra's parents Alan and Pamela also attend, although Pam thinks that Alan will get drunk at the reception.
At the reception at the Nag's Head, Rodney thanks Del for everything, and leaves with Cassandra on their honeymoon. As everyone leaves the room, Del Boy thinks back to all the good times and the bad times, as well as think about Rodney's new found happiness, which also involves working for his father in law's printing firm, Parry Print Ltd.
Two weeks later, Del returns to the flat, followed shortly by Rodney, dressed in a nice three-piece suit, a smart tie, and a trendy trenchcoat. Rodney asks Del what is for dinner, then Del offers Rodney some advice: "You don't live here no more." Rodney suddenly realizes that, and exits the flat abruptly, leaving Del amused, as he now knows that things aren't going to be as bad as he imagined. No matter what happens, Rodney will always be around.
[edit] Episode cast
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[edit] First appearances
- Alan Parry
- Pamela Parry
[edit] Production
- According to producer Gareth Gwenlan, the studio audience were emotional when Del was alone in the reception room with Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years" playing in the background. Gwenlan said to John Sullivan that the audience aren't laughing. Sullivan simply said it was because they were crying.
- Patrick Murray who played Mickey Pearce really did have a badly injured right hand after falling over his dog and through a pane of glass at home, John Sullivan had to rewrite the original script to allow for Mickey's injuries and the story worked brilliantly, even though Murray was in considerable pain whilst filming his part.
[edit] Story arc
Rodney quits Trotters Independent Traders to go work for Parry Print Ltd until "The Chance of a Lunchtime".
[edit] Episode concept
John Sullivan's idea for the script came from a drink with David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst one evening, and the idea grew into this episode.[1]
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Sickness and Wealth |
Only Fools and Horses 12 February 1989 |
Succeeded by The Jolly Boys' Outing |
