S2 E5 - The Yellow Peril

Rodney - So what period are we going to decorate it in, Del - early bubonic perhaps?

This episode is another one where there are 2 central plot points that crescendo in a finale which crashes the two together in one big funny reveal.

Similar to last episode, there are themes and dialogue found in this episode with the Chinese character Mr Chin at the end of which probably wouldn’t get allowed today, but again these aren’t central to the plot or the main jokes involving him.

The central plot is around Mr Chin’s kitchen which is apparently due to be painted after a warning from the “health inspector”. When Trigger announces late in the episode that the paint is luminous, we get a fantastic reveal of the workers in a fluorescent yellow kitchen wearing sunglasses, wondering what is going on. This alone would possibly be enough to bring the house down on the episode as a major plot punchline, but the genius of the writing builds on this moment with a bonus laughter moment right at the end of the episode.

We start the episode with the brothers talking about their mum and Del recounting tales of what she was like to Rodney. Her grave being very extravagant produces a strong comedy beat, but isn’t out of line with the image theme that has been found in previous episodes. It is, after all, the only one in the graveyard that is made of fibreglass and needed planning permission after all!

Tying the earlier dialogue of the grave “looking a bit tatty” and “could do with brightening up a bit” with Del painting it in the luminous yellow paint (“it was her favourite colour”) is something that dawns on the audience slowly as they arrive back at the graveyard but pays off massively with the visual reveal. There’s not a huge focus on Joan’s grave until the very last full episode where it is upgraded even further still, another joke harking back to this episode for the long-term fans.

The episode also noticeably ups the French phrases that Del uses. We have been restricted to generally 1 or 2 per episode up until now, but this is the episode where the writing goes to town on it. My personal favourite of the episode is when he describes Rodney of having “no tres bien ensemble”.

Overall this episode adds some more depth to the brothers’ relationship (or lack of in Rodney’s case) with their Mum, and builds on their optimistic business outlook. Del manages to convince Mr Chin that the paint is energy saving and meant to cut back on the electricity bills - and when faced with this perspective he asks him to do the living room as well! Another unexpected success, clawed from the grasps of disaster for the Trotters.

Tomorrow's episode: It Never Rains