Big Brother (Only Fools and Horses)

Infobox Only Fools and Horses
episode_name = Big Brother


Series = 1
writer = John Sullivan
director = Martin Shardlow
producer = Ray Butt
Duration = 30 minutes
Airdate = 8 September 1981
Audience = 9.2 million
Cast =

Big Brother is an episode of the BBC sit-com, "Only Fools and Horses". It was the pilot episode of the entire series, and the first episode of series 1, and was first screened on 8 September 1981.

ynopsis

Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, chairman of "Trotters Independent Traders", employs his younger brother Rodney into his company. Later, at their local pub, the "Nag's Head", Rodney meets Del's friend Trigger, in order to buy some briefcases. Del negotiates the price of the briefcases down from £25 to £8, and intends cheating his friend by claiming the price for the 25 is £175, when actually it is £200. Rodney however proves to Trigger, using his GCE in mathematics as proof of his credibility, that Del's figures are wrong. It soon emerges however that not only were the cases stolen, they are also rejects - the combination for them is on the inside. Rodney advises Del to throw them in the river.

Rodney then requests to Del that he be made the partnership's financial adviser, on the grounds of him having two GCEs (maths & art). Del however is not happy about this due to Rodney's behaviour regarding the briefcases. The row between the brothers is soon made worse by the latter's buying a cheeseburger for Grandad instead of an Emperor burger due to lack of funds. Grandad gets angry with Rodney as well, and Rodney decides to leave the partnership and go to Hong Kong. He wishes to go there to see a girl "Shanghai Lil". She was at art college with Rodney but was deported after they were caught smoking cannabis, for which Rodney received a £300 fine and a suspended sentence.

The next day, Del Boy trawls London, looking for Rodney and attempting to sell the briefcases, having already previously failed with his telephone contacts. Returning home in vain, having failed to achieve either goal, he is soon joined by Rodney, who only got as far as the Shangri-La doss house Stoke Newington due to running out of money and forgetting his passport. After they make up, Del informs Rodney that he took his advice and threw the briefcases in the "bleedin' river".

Episode cast

First appearances

*Del Boy
*Rodney
*Grandad
*Trigger
*Joyce the Barmaid

tory arc

*This is the very first episode of "Only Fools and Horses".
*Rodney's criminal conviction is mentioned here. In "As One Door Closes" it is revealed Del had high hopes for his defence, only to learn that Rodney pleaded guilty by post 3 days before the trial.
*The opening scene shows Rodney bookkeeping all the Trotters' business receipts. The receipt Rodney finds to legally prove the John Harrison watch is theirs, thus making them millionaires in "Time On Our Hands" was presumably amongst the receipts Rodney is leafing through.

Notes

While Del is looking for Rodney the original theme tune can be heard, though in a different tempo.

Tessa Peake-Jones, who played Raquel later in the series had a minor, uncredited role in this episode, in the Nag's Head, where she says hello to Del Boy, who responds "Allright sweetheart?"

Errors

*Del says that Rodney was caught smoking the reefer by the governors doing their annual inspection, yet in "May The Force Be With You", Roy Slater said that Rodney was caught smoking a Moroccan Woodbine when the police burst in.
*Del said that Rodney had an 18 month suspended sentence for smoking cannabis in art college but in "Wanted", Grandad says that Rodney had a 2 year suspended sentence.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/series1/bigbrother.shtml "Big Brother" at bbc.co.uk]