Christmas Trilogy 1996 - Modern Men

Rodney - I don’t believe this - the one job in the paper I fancied and it’s mine!

Del is living his life by the code of a new book "Modern Man" - which only reinforces the worst decisions and traits that he already has. There's a line right at the beginning that reads "a compliment is the easiest thing to give and the nicest thing to receive" to which he promptly ignores Raquel and then continues to insult her throughout the episode - for example when they are discussing the possibility of a second child.

Raquel - It's not just that it's the financial aspect, we can barely afford the mortgage on this place let alone feed another mouth. Then there's the age thing to consider...
Del - Yeah, you're not getting any younger are ya?

The celebration of Cassandra's pregnancy in The Nags Head is a nice scene with the ensemble cast, Mickey Pearce has become a scientist double-glazing salesman and Del shares a neat bar bet with Mike and Trigger. I love that Trigger performs this to Rodney and then puts the money in his hand as if it's part of the act. Del also sells Mike a hairdryer - which turns out later in the episode to be an electric paint stripper.

Rodney admits that he gets "so frustrated working for Del" and has to think more carefully about the future with the baby on the way. His application for the job advertised by Del in the paper is one of my all time favourite scenes - it's so perfectly written, timed and performed especially the moment at the end when they end up looking at each other. The realisation dawning on Rodney when Del says "your duties you see is to take all of this crap down the market, and you'll sell it from a suitcase" is just sublime acting from Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Part of Rodney's lack of job satisfaction is mentioned as having "an angry Sikh after our blood". Dr Singh riding a motorbike in his turban is Del's inspiration for Trotters Crash Turbans - a way of him getting rid of the horse riding helmets he's been lumbered with. Albert points out the design flaw in that the turban isn't in contact with the head putting an end to that idea - and Raquel's scarf.

As part of Del's book encouraging him to make positive decisions, after agreeing with Raquel that they won't have another child, Del decides to have a vasectomy. Despite him eventually not going through with it, he seriously considers the procedure initially booking himself in. Considering Del's history with doctors (the second throw-back to 'Sickness And Wealth' after his pyjamas reveal) this is a bold move for him. His nightmare involving Mr Singh performing the operation probably doesn't help his nerves however and he bottles it.

Rodney - So why aren't you having a vasectomy then? Didn't have the balls?!

What makes this episode so strong is how it finds a way of finding humour in the most tragic of moments - Cassandra's miscarriage. In the clip below Gwyneth Strong talks about it making us both laugh and cry - a powerful combination which showcases the strength of the script and how the show elevated itself to beyond a comedy - it was about life. It's moments like this that make the show so unique amongst its peers - not many sitcoms have this level of emotion in them, off the top of my head the final scene of Blackadder is one that hits a similar tone of seriousness. However it's the one-two punch of crying at the situation and then laughing at Del ignoring his own powerful advice about being a "rock for Cassandra" moments later as he breaks down that makes the writing so special. It's a very real and human moment.

Of course we end up finishing with a laugh - as the vast majority of the episodes do. Del punching the drunk/high patient in order to sober him up whilst looking like a doctor gives us a chuckle to relieve us off the sadness we had just witnessed.

Tomorrow's episode: Time On Our Hands