Sharon: I was 'avin' this great dream. I was really rich, you was really poor, an' she was my ugly old skivvy!
Dorien: In your dreams, dear neighbour!
— Sharon Theodopolopodous telling Dorien Green and Tracey about her dream.
- Date First Aired: 24/12/1994
It's Christmas Eve, and whilst Tracey is worried that Darryl won't be home for Christmas, Sharon has fallen asleep in front of the TV. She proceeds to dream up a reality where Chris is a rich and famous singer, she is his successful and glamorous wife, and Dorien is their virgin cleaner. Tracey, meanwhile, is not doing so well, living in a council flat with lowlife husband Darryl and their delinquent son Garth. Of course, the dream gradually becomes closer to her actual situation as Chris cheats on her with Dorien and both he and Darryl are convicted for Bank Robbery, leading to her having to take up a job after Dorien spends a decent proportion of her money. On the bright side, Tracey may get her happy ending in the real world after all.
Tropes in this episode:
- Acid Reflux Nightmare: Tracey blames Sharon's dream on a jar of pickled walnuts.
- Accidental Misnaming: Much like Chris in the real world, both Dream-Tracey, Dream-Sharon, and Dream-Chris call Dream-Dorien "Doreen".
- Added Alliterative Appeal: When firing Doreen, Dream-Sharon remarks she doesn't want to see a "single sign of a surgical stocking" in her home.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Dream-Sharon and Dream-Chris call Michael Winner "Mickey".
- Dream-Sharon calls Robert Maxwell "Bob".
- Dream-Sharon calls Andrew Lloyd Webber "Andy".
- All There in the Script: Inverted; Janine is only credited as "Journalist".
- As Himself: David Emanuel, Michael Winner, and Jenny Seagrove.
- Ass Shove: Tracey complains she'll have to have her arm up a turkey's jacksie to stuff it.
- Bank Robbery: Dream-Garth and Dream-Darryl rob a bank. They're not the most competent at it though. When they're caught, Dream-Darryl uses the opportunity to bring Dream-Chris down with him by revealing to all that he and Dream-Chris turned over the Cheltenham & Gloucester in Kettering ten years prior:Cashier: Uh, do you have an account with us, sir?Dream-Darryl: No... but I got this. EVERYBODY FLAT DOWN ON THE FLOOR! FACE DOWN! DON'T LOOK AT US, COZ WE'RE VERY SHY, ALRIGHT?
- Birthday Episode: For Doreen, who had hoped to have the day off as a cleaner:Doreen: Well, it is my birthday. If you recall, you did say I could have it off.Dream-Tracey: Ohhh, I knew she was an old goer, really.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Dream-Sharon cancels Doreen's day off on her birthday so she can carry her shopping and cook for her.
- Blackmail: Dream-Chris likes to help out Dream-Darryl whenever he can because he knows that Dream-Darryl has dirt on him.
- Chaste Hero: Doreen, in contrast to her real-world counterpart is absolutely clueless about sex. She even thinks that a kiss can lead to pregnancy. This changes once she cheats with Dream-Chris:Doreen: I was brought up to believe one should preserve one's purity until marriage.
- Cheating with the Milkman: Dream-Chris ends up having sex with Doreen, who's their cleaner in Sharon's dream.
- Christmas Episode: The sixth in total; it features Sharon falling asleep on Christmas Eve, although the plot has little to do with Christmas otherwise.
- Continuity Nod: Tracey brings up Sharon's threats to divorce Chris.
- Copycat Mockery: Dream-Garth adopts a nasally accent when pretending to be the bank manager.
- Curse Cut Short: Dream-Sharon stops Dream-Tracey from saying "shit":Dream-Tracey: Don't sound like "tough love" to me, sounds more like "tough shi-".Dream-Sharon: Well, it might work, though.
- Delinquents: Dream-Garth, who regularly spends his time breaking into houses and stealing stuff.
- The Dog Bites Back: After non-stop abuse from Dream-Sharon, Doreen first begins wearing her new clothes and perfume, before eventually seducing her husband and making extravagant purchases on her account.
- The Door Slams You: Dream-Tracey lets the bank door swing into Dream-Sharon.
- Dope Slap: When Dream-Tracey tells Dream-Darryl to get a job, he retorts that jobs are for losers. When Dream-Garth says they are losers, Dream-Darryl slaps him with a slice of pizza.
- Dreadful Musician: Dream-Sharon's singing is bad enough that Dream-Chris shows a desire to edit it using computers.
- Dream Episode: Sharon falls asleep and dreams about an alternative life involving her being a rich woman while her sister is a layabout, and Dorien is a spinster cleaning lady.
- End of an Era: This was the final episode to have Alun Lewis and Peter Polycarpou appearing as Darryl and Chris (not counting archive footage in the Clip Show, "The Chigwell Years") as in "Cheers", Douglas McFerran would take over as Darryl, while David Cardy would play Chris for the first time since "Substitute" eight years prior.
- Extra-Long Episode: This episode clocks in at about 50 minutes, longer than the usual episode length of about 30 minutes.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Dream-Sharon is forced to take a job as a waiter after Dream-Chris is sent to prison.
- Fictional Document: Dream-Tracey jokes that Doreen has an annual subscription to What Vacuum Cleaner? magazine.
- Flowers of Romance: Dream-Chris gives Dream-Sharon flowers when he first sees her.
- Food Slap:
- Dream-Darryl slaps Dream-Garth with a piece of pizza for calling him a loser.
- Dream-Sharon dumps a plate of oysters into Doreen's lap and splatters Tabasco sauce down her front as revenge for stealing Dream-Chris away from her.
- Foreign Queasine: Doreen doesn't consider Greek food to be great cuisine.
- Gasshole: Dream-Tracey thinks Dream-Darryl farted at the dinner table when Dream-Sharon asks Doreen what that smell in the dining room is.
- The Ghost: Hector Theodopolopodous, the son of Dream-Sharon and Dream-Chris.
- Handbag of Hurt: Doreen hits security at Dream-Chris' concert with a handbag so she can get onstage with him.
- Historical Character Confusion: When Dream-Chris mentions Prince, Doreen thinks he means Prince Charles.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite the different circumstances that each girl has in Sharon's dream, they still interact with each other on a fairly regular basis and Darryl is still a low life. As the episode goes on, the situation ends up becoming closer to reality - Darryl and Chris are convicted of Bank Robbery, whilst Dorien has an opportunity to have sex and a makeover, becoming closer to her real-world counterpart.
- Kinky Cuffs: Dream-Tracey misunderstands a comment from Dream-Sharon about giving her husband tough love means using handcuffs and whips on him.
- Let's Duet: Dream-Sharon and Dream-Chris sing "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher together whilst on the piano.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: Dorien tries to wake Sharon up because she was "snoring like a pig in labour".
- Noodle Incident: Dream-Sharon recalls a time when she had the chance to have sex with Richard Gere.
- One-Shot Character: David Emanuel, Michael Winner, Reggie, Queen Elizabeth II, Janine, and Jenny Seagrove.
- One-Steve Limit: In-Universe, the Police Superintendent who saw Dream-Chris arrive at the bank Dream-Darryl and Dream-Garth are robbing at first thought he was just someone with the same name.
- Plot Hole: Doreen claims her last name is Green. However, with no mention of a Dream-Marcus, shouldn't her last name be Dorien's maiden name, Kapper?
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Dream-Tracey thinks Coriolanus is an Irish folk singer.
- Potty Emergency: Dream-Tracey needs to desperately use the bathroom while Dream-Chris receives his OBE.
- Raised Lighter Tribute: A load of Dream-Chris' fans have their lighters up during one of his concerts. Sharon uses one to light her cigarette.
- Rhyming Names: Dream-Dorien is Doreen Green.
- Rich Language, Poor Language: Dream-Sharon is much posher than in the real world. The other characters, however, retain their normal accents during the dream.
- Right in Front of Me: Dream-Darryl calls Michael Winner an "average rich tosser" when thinking he's talking to Dream-Chris.
- Role Swap Plot: Sharon dreams about being a wealthy, glamorous wife to successful singer Chris, while Tracey, Darryl, and Garth are in a council flat (like Sharon was at the start of the series) and Dorien is a virginal cleaner, a far cry from her role as being rich and sex-crazed.
- Romantic Spoonfeeding: Tracey fondly remembers her and Darryl feeding each other Milk Trays in bed.
- Season Finale: Of Series 6.
- Self-Deprecation: Michael Winner is reduced to begging Dream-Chris to star in his new film so he can relaunch his career.
- Shout-Out:
- Tracey frequently gets depressed at West Ham home games because they remind her of when Darryl was free.
- When Tracey complains that she'll have to have her arm up the turkey's jacksie to stuff it, Dorien calls the image "delightfully Dickensian".
- David Emanuel tells Dream-Sharon that her figure is hardly Jerry Hall, so Dream-Tracey butts in that it's more like the Albert Hall.
- Dream-Sharon recalls meeting Oprah Winfrey at the Emmy Awards.
- Doreen plans to see Coriolanus by William Shakespeare on her birthday.
- Dream-Darryl mentions that every time one of Dream-Chris' songs plays on the radio, he gets "a pony in his pocket".
- Dream-Chris turns down a chance to record a duet with Madonna so he can work Dream-Sharon.
- Dream-Sharon remarks that Doreen's style dates back to when Queen Victoria died.
- When Dream-Sharon admires a dress, Dream-Tracey tells her that she'll look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman wearing that.
- When Michael Winner offers Dream-Chris £5,000,000 to star in his new film, Dream-Sharon gets annoyed with him because Arnold Schwarzenegger gets twice that.
- Doreen doesn't understand who Prince is at Dream-Chris' concert:Doreen: Prince Charles writes pop songs?
- Upon seeing Doreen on stage with Dream-Chris, Dream-Tracey compares the sight to Terminator 4.
- Dream-Sharon has previously visited Andrew Lloyd Webber and Barbra Streisand.
- Dream-Sharon once had the chance to have sex with Richard Gere, but turned him down to be faithful to Dream-Chris.
- Doreen calls her new look "So Carry On".
- Sharon had asked Dorien to wake her up because Dead Again was going to be on TV.
- Shower of Love: Dream-Sharon realises that her husband Chris has cheated on her with Doreen when she catches the latter showering backstage at Dream-Chris' concert.
- Slut-Shaming: Doreen doesn't approve of any woman who shows some skin.
- Stage Name: Dream-Sharon suggests she'll have to get men to audition to be the new "Christopher Theodopolopodous" after she divorces Dream-Chris.
- Suddenly Shouting: Dream-Darryl starts off talking nicely to the cashier but begins yelling once he and Dream-Garth reveal their guns.
- Take That!:
- Dorien doesn't think Disneyland is a very romantic place to go to:Dorien: Romantic? You, Darryl, an' a failed actor dressed as a giant duck in a sailor suit?
- Sharon doesn't want to watch Elizabeth II's speech and fears she will become as overexposed as Tony Slattery is.
- Dream-Tracey makes a joke about people running up Princess Diana's dress.
- According to Dream-Tracey, one thing that Dream-Darryl and the Duke of Edinburgh have in common is that no one can remember the last time either of them had a proper job.
- Doreen doesn't have a high opinion of Greek food:Doreen: Mr. Theodopolopodous, I am Cordon Bleu trained. I can cook all the world's great cuisines.Dream-Chris: Ah, well, you can't cook Greek.Doreen: I said "great cuisines", sir.
- Dream-Sharon calls Phil Collins a "slaphead".
- Dream-Chris says that compared to him, Cliff Richard is one of The Sex Pistols.
- Dream-Sharon makes a joke about Luciano Pavarotti falling through a stage.
- Dream-Sharon gives Robert Maxwell as an example of a loser.
- Dream-Garth thinks the government is always up to no good:Dream-Darryl: We would've been nearly legit.Dream-Garth: Can you be "nearly legit"?Dream-Darryl: O' course. Tha's when you know yer at it, but everyone else thinks yer a pillar of the community.Dream-Garth: Oh, what, like the government?
- Doreen claims her affair with Dream-Chris is much bigger than Princess Diana and Captain Hewitt's.
- Dorien doesn't think Disneyland is a very romantic place to go to:
