S5 E4 - Tea For Three

Del - I was up there three hours! Three bloody hours! I did the loop-the-loop over Dimchurch! Little kids were shouting at me ‘There goes a spaceman, a spaceman!’ Finally, just when I'd given up hope, I clattered into an aerial thing and fell 50 foot to the ground! It was only by the grace of God that I landed on something soft!

Rodney - Yeah, I noticed the bruising around your head.

Del - It was not my head! I landed on a very unfortunate, and very unsuspecting, courting couple!

Rodney - You're kidding?!

Del - I wish I was! Due to your vicious mind and general wallyness, they've had to put their wedding back six months! And I've had to pay for a new sunroof in their Sierra...! And that's regardless of what Radio Rentals are gonna do me for for the aerial!

What can I say about this episode which isn’t captured in the expertise of the writing and delivery of the above scene?! If I could find a YouTube link to it I would’ve shared it in its entirety as all of the actors delivered the scene so brilliantly particularly Trigger exclaiming “When you fancied a smoke on the bus, you made me carry you up to the top deck!” The scene is made by David Jason’s expressiveness, he’s so livid with Rodney for getting one over on him and the circumstances it really comes across as he lets loose.

The episode hinges on the brothers fighting over Trigger’s niece, Lisa. As they’re competitive nature brings out the worst in them, we get the teasing and pranks on each other maxed out - most notably Del putting the home solarium on to max setting as Rodney sleeps underneath. Both main actors are on fine form in this episode, but it’s Rodney who excels in the build up to
the climax but Del steals the show in the final scene outlined above.

Rodney’s setting up of Del by jumping on his parachuting lie and arranging the paraglide for him shows his tenacious side, and it couldn’t go better as he manages to convince Del to get into the paraglider. It’s his dead pan delivery of “we don’t have a car phone” sealing Del’s fate which is his highlight, Rodney’s scheming shows just how mad he gets at Del when he interferes in his life and it’s a rare victory over Del for him.

This is cemented when Rodney calls Del’s bluff straight away as he arrives in a wheelchair assisted by Mike and Trigger.

Rodney - Hospitals do not send home paralysed people by bus! What was it you were after Del? Sympathy from Lisa, or a disabled sticker for the van?!

The episode also gives us more back story from Albert who draws parallels between the boys’ competing affections for Lisa to his and Grandad’s meeting of his wife Ada for the first time, The fact that Grandad didn’t speak to Albert after that is true to Grandad’s stubborn nature we got to love in previous series but is a warning to the brothers which goes unheeded. 

Overall, neither wins the girl and the boys end up falling into collective defeat and silence when Trigger announced that Lisa has been engaged this whole time. The fact that the brothers went to such lengths for no reason makes the whole episode even funnier. There’s no lasting damage done, except to maybe both egos, but certainly Rodney gave as good as he got.

Tomorrow’s episode: Video Nasty