Yuppie love

Grandad or Uncle Albert? Pre-yuppie or post yuppie? We all have an opinion on our favourite characters and episodes from Only Fools and Horses.

In case you’re wondering, I’m very much an Uncle Albert and yuppie man myself. For me, series six and seven was when the programme was in its pomp – a brilliant culmination of what had gone before in the previous five series.

The whole yuppie theme was a perfect fit and not just for the Del, Rodney and Uncle Albert dynamic. Whether it was Mike upselling his pub-grub stews as ‘Beef Bourguignon’ or Boycie taking the opportunity to invest in some rather impressive satellite television long before Rupert Murdoch came along. Not forgetting the sign of things to come when Del muscles in on the burgeoning mobile phone market with just tear-inducing nasal pain to show for his efforts. Even Trigger got in on the act, escorting Del to a wine bar in the now ubiquitous bar scene.

Favourite episode? You have to go a long way to find anything better than Danger UXD, when Del thinks he’s struck gold with a consignment of blow up dolls. The episode plays out as a drama as well as a comedy, as the reason for Del getting them so cheap becomes clear. Watch out for Del’s line to the tramps around the camp fire in particular – one of the best one liners John Sullivan ever wrote.

Special praise should also go to the three episodes that effectively closed the programme (we don’t talk about the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ epilogue). If John Sullivan had had the same conviction of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant did with The Office he would’ve ended it there, with our three heroes walking off into the sunset as millionaires. To carry on was ill-judged – the fact that they had made their millions was all that mattered; we didn’t need to see what they did with it.

But John Sullivan won’t let his baby go – see the resulting Green, Green Grass and Rock and Chips as evidence. What we can celebrate is what went before – easily one of the greatest British comedies of all time.

So, what are your favourites?