Del - Now listen, you’ve gotta be very careful what you say to him, because that fella in there, he collects informants the way other people collect stamps!
Rodney - He’s got a few grasses has he?
Del - No he ain’t got a few grasses, Rodney - he’s got an entire lawn!
Since the beginning of series 2 we have seen episodes which pit the Trotters against a binary opposite, in this episode we revisit the theme of cops and robbers as we saw in ‘The Long Legs of the Law’. However, instead of Rodney dating the police officer, this time it’s Detective Inspector Roy Slater - Del’s old classmate and now arch-nemesis being introduced for the first time.
Slater is a recurring character in Only Fools, played by now legendary actor Jim Broadbent. In the opening scene he has dialogue with Trigger (one of the first scenes) to not have one of the brothers prominent at the start. We immediately get the sense that Slater is feared by how little Trigger wants to give away. This is picked up on by Slater who comically notes that Trigger is “deaf, dumb and blind these days”. The fear is further instilled by Boycie’s immediate hostility and haste to leave as soon as he has arrived in the pub. This sets up the reunion with Del very well.
Del’s reaction to Slater walking over the threshold being of shock and panic makes for a great laugh out loud moment early on, with him discovering the microwave with the help of Grandad adding to our collective worry. Slater seems to have them banged to rights on receiving stolen property, but he’s really looking for the person who stole the oven in the first place.
The three main characters are whisked off to the police station, and it’s clear that at least 2 of them don’t know who stole the microwave based on their descriptions.
Del - If Mr Slater was to believe our descriptions, he’d have his men searching for someone who’s a cross between Tom Thumb and the Jolly Green Giant!
As the episode goes on, it’s another one where you think something is going to happen but then the rug is pulled out from underneath us right at the last moment. There’s a second where we all believe that Del will confess who lifted the microwave and become one of Slater’s grasses (or “merry men”). There’s a moment of real trepidation and it could ultimately have changed the show completely if Del hadn’t wiggled out right at the last second.
This episode does a bit of foreshadowing for future episodes too. We get another mention of Marlene, with even Slater getting a laugh out of Trigger for saying “give my love to Marlene.... everyone else used to!”. We also get a mention of Boycie entering into pirate videos - something that is revisited next series in ‘Video Nasty’. Finally, Del wonders if Slater had been chatting to “the wife” when he had called the Chief Commissioner, Slater’s wife was Racquel at the time little do we know just yet.
Tomorrow’s episode: Wanted
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