Our take
The ending fans waited fifteen years for, and it does not disappoint. The dinner with the in-laws is a gem of awkward comedy. The discovery in the garage is beautifully paced, and the auction scene is pure joy. Billed at the time as the last ever episode, it gives the brothers the payoff they always promised themselves. A record audience watched, and it still works as a perfect full stop.
What happens
Rodney is bottling up his grief after the loss of the baby, and Del tries to help him through it for Cassandra's sake. Raquel, recently reconciled with her parents, invites them to dinner at the flat to meet the man in her life, and is anxious about what they will make of it. Del does little to impress, and Uncle Albert manages to mix the coffee with the gravy. The next day Raquel's father, James, an antiques dealer, finds the brothers clearing out their lock-up garage. Among the junk from a stock-take, including an artificial leg and some old pop records, is an old watch, and he recognises it as a long-lost eighteenth-century Harrison marine timekeeper. He advises them to have it valued, and when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby's the top bid is 6.2 million pounds. After sixteen years of scraping by, the Trotters are finally millionaires.
Can the kids watch it?
Fine for most children from about 8: mild language and a gentle, happy ending.
Cast and crew
Starring
- David Jason as Del
- Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney
- Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as Trigger
- John Challis as Boycie
- Sue Holderness as Marlene
- Tessa Peake-Jones as Raquel
- Gwyneth Strong as Cassandra
Guest stars
- Michael Jayston as James
- Patrick Murray as Mickey Pearce
- Kenneth MacDonald as Mike
- Paul Barber as Denzil
- Ann Lynn as Audrey
Writer
- John Sullivan
Director
- Tony Dow