Our take
The middle of the 1996 trilogy, and the one that shows how far the show had come: an hour of good-natured silliness that turns, in its last minutes, into something genuinely moving. The self-help book and the vasectomy plot are fun. The hospital scenes are what people remember, and both leads are superb in them. Have tissues ready, and watch it before Time On Our Hands.
What happens
Del is reading a self-help book about being a modern man, and although he is sure he is already the definition of debonair masculinity, its advice to make bold, positive decisions sends him off on a string of rash ones. The Trotters' finances are at an all-time low, and Doctor Singh is after Del over a batch of dodgy paint. With Cassandra expecting, Rodney wants more responsibility and a better job to support his family, and he unwittingly answers a job advertisement that Del himself has placed. Del, inspired by the book, decides to have a vasectomy, until the thought of the doctor taking his revenge on the operating table puts him off. Then Cassandra is rushed to hospital and loses the baby. Rodney breaks down, and Del tells him he must be strong for his wife; once Rodney has gone to her, Del himself sobs his heart out.
Can the kids watch it?
PG on video (BBFC); best from about 10 because of a sad hospital storyline about losing a baby and some vasectomy jokes.
Cast and crew
Starring
- David Jason as Del
- Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney
- Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as Trigger
- Gwyneth Strong as Cassandra
- Tessa Peake-Jones as Raquel
- John Challis as Boycie
- Sue Holderness as Marlene
Guest stars
- Bhasker Patel as Dr Singh
- Phil Cornwell as Man in hospital
Writer
- John Sullivan
Director
- Tony Dow