S2 E6 - It Never Rains...

Del - Just a minute: excuse me. I may be be being a wally or something, but could please explain to me what a dole queue in Peckham has to do with the Spanish Civil War?!

The Trotters are off on holiday, and Grandad’s coming too. Where are they off to?
Del - We’re going somewhere different away from the tourists!
Rodney - Yeah? Where? 
Del - Benidorm!

This ironic statement is then wonderfully timed with Grandad’s ignorance:

Grandad - I’ve always wanted to go to Benidorm! Where is it?

There are some well timed slapstick moments in this episode, the biggest laugh is probably when Del steps in the bowl of water Rodney had been using to soak his feet in.

The key comedic moments are derived from 2 set pieces: Del chatting up a girl in French and Grandad’s arrest and tale of his escapades in 1936.

The first of these takes the French phrases we saw Del increase in the last episode even further into an attempt at a full conversation in French (with an English girl he believes to be French!) The fact that he muddles through with phrases we all know or recognise makes it very relatable to the majority of the audience.

Getting language mixed up is a common theme in the episode, not only later when Del tries to converse with Juan the jail guard, but also earlier when Grandad mentions on the beach that he’s “going back to the hotel and have a fiesta” creates some wonderful imagery.

Talking of Grandad, he steals the show with his story of him going off to join the Foreign Legion in 1936 and ending up getting involved in the Spanish Civil War. This culminates in some of the best lines of the series including the one at the top of this post and the below:

Grandad - When we got there we couldn’t believe our eyes. They were the biggest band of cut throats and thieves you’ve ever seen. They were the scum of the earth!

Rodney - So you didn’t join them?

Grandad - We tried but they wouldn’t have us!

Rodney - You mean you were gun running in the middle of Civil War?!

Grandad - Well that’s the best time to do it Rodney!

Rodney - They tortured ya? 

Grandad - No. But they would’ve done if I hadn’t told them everything I knew!

Of all of the holiday/trip episodes this one sets the bar for things that go wrong. Coming up with more ideas for things that could happen or go wrong shows how inventive the writing was - episodes that come immediately to mind are ‘The Unlucky Winner Is...’, ‘The Jolly Boys Outing’, and ‘Miami Twice’.

Tomorrow’s episode: A Touch of Glass