Recap / Birds of a Feather S2E6: Mice

Sharon: There, look! Look! Look! Unless you've spilled loads of chocolate 'Undreds and Thousands that is definitely a mouse there Trace!

— Sharon Theodopolopodous discovering mouse droppings on the floor.

• Date First Aired: 11/10/1990

Sharon has not been maintaining her room very well, with rubbish strewn everywhere. Tracey orders Sharon to clean up, but she's delaying. Additionally, Tracey is hoping to engineer a party for her Aromatique perfume, and she wants Dorien to invite some of her mates around, although Dorien doesn't want to. Luckily, Tracey is able to do so by threatening to bring her lower-class relatives around.

However, Tracey's plans are ruined when Sharon freaks at a mouse. They soon agree to get the poison before properly cleaning the place. Unfortunately, this fails to alleviate the mouse problem and the sisters decide to get a cat, called Tiddles. With this in mind, Tracey considers canceling the party, although she's considered otherwise.

However, this doesn't work as well - the cat seems more interested in peeing and pooping all over the place than catching mice. This worries Tracey, and she decides to hide from the other participants of the party. This does not go so well, however. Sharon mistakenly believes that they've gone and Tracey's attempt to check leads to her having to let everyone in. Tracey is embarrassed by the turn of events. However, it is soothed when it turns out that the mice were from Dorien's, having shown up after she stored muesli outside her house. The episode thus ends with Tracey unleashing Tiddles on Dorien's house.

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Tropes in this episode:

• Absent Animal Companion: Tracey and Sharon's new cat Tiddles disappears after this episode.
• Ask a Stupid Question...:
  • Occurs when the sisters find the first mouse:
    Tracey: Now what's t'ma'ter?
    Sharon: Aah, it's a bloody mouse! It's run over me foot!
    Tracey: What? Where?
    Sharon: Oh, bloody Belgium! Where'd ya fink?!
  • Later when Sharon asks Tracey if she's upset because Darryl is in prison, Tracey snaps that its because Crossroads is off the air.
• Brick Joke: At the start of the episode, Sharon messily eats a king prawn. Later Tracey gets Dorien to catch a mouse in her cupboard, but it turns out all that was in there was another prawn.
• Call-Back: Tracey is still trying to sell her fake perfume from "Sweet Smell of Success", to the point that she's trying to host a party to sell the stuff.
• Continuity Nod: Sharon once again shows her love of king prawn that she had in "Shift".
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Sharon when Tracey wants to remove the mouse without killing it.
    Tracey: I don't like killing fings. I'd rather there was another way to get rid of 'em.
    Sharon: Well I s'pose we could always leave a little note by the skirting board askin' 'em to move to Eastbourne for the summer.
  • When Sharon tells Tracey about the "supermice", Tracey asks if they wear red capes and blue tights.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: Sharon gets somewhat hysterical when she sees a mouse in the kitchen.
• Exact Words: Sharon asks Tracey to give her a box of cereal, so Tracey throws it at her head.
• Fee Fi Faux Pas: Dorien makes a comment about feeling like a criminal in front of Tracey, who's husband is a criminal.
• Fright-Induced Bunkmate: Sharon ends up sleeping with Tracey when she thinks she can hear mice scurrying around in her room.
• The Ghost: Uncle Albert Rackham, who's foul mouth got Tracey kicked out of the Brownies.
• Hollywood Board Games: Playing Scrabble is depicted as the nail in the coffin of a boring, horrible camping trip. The sisters are kids and, due to unfortunate circumstances, can only play that game to pass the time.
• Horrible Camping Trip: Tracey and Sharon went on a caravan trip in their childhood where they had to share a bed, couldn't go outside because of all the rain, had no TV, and were forced to play Scrabble with their vulgar Uncle Albert.
• Is the Answer to This Question "Yes"?: Mr. Adams' answer when Tracey asks if Dorien has a rat infestation:
  Mr. Adams: Huh, has she got mice? Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?
• Noodle Incident:
  • Apparently, Sharon and Tracey had a row over Sharon cutting her nails with a bread knife, which led to Sharon writing a (never sent) letter announcing her departure.
  • Sharon once pulled an entire tug of war team thanks to Tracey's Aromatique perfume.
  • Sharon once found a dead mouse in her bra when she was living with Chris.
  • Tracey got kicked out of the Brownies thanks to the swears she learnt from her Uncle Albert.
• One-Shot Character: Tiddles the 'killer' cat and Mr. Adams.
• One-Word Title: The episode's name is "Mice".
• Open the Door and See All the People: Thanks to an error from Sharon, Tracey thinks it's safe and opens up the curtains. Unfortunately, there's a whole group of women staring in at the window...
• Pest Episode: The sister's house is overrun by mice, necessitating the need to remove them through a variety of methods (including rodent poison and cats).
• Practical Joke: Tracey scratches on Sharon's door to make her think the mouse made it into her room.
• Rich Language, Poor Language:
  • Tracey's use of the word "mates" annoys Dorien.
    Dorien: "Mates"? Tracey, I am part of a social enclave. I don't have any "mates".
  • Sharon's use of "wonga" to describe money also confuses her.
• Road Apples:
  • The mice's presence is heralded by the appearance of mouse crap.
  • Tiddles craps on the carpet and Sharon steps in it.
• Short-Distance Phone Call: Sharon is made by Tracey to call a man to get rid of the mice. However, she's unaware that said man is also Dorien's oddjob man, who had entered the house, leading to a phone call across the kitchen.
• Shout-Out:
  • Sharon has a stuffed Minnie Mouse on her bed.
  • Sharon mentions watching Neighbours.
  • Sharon compares herself to The Pied Piper of Hamelin when Tracey blames her for the mouse.
  • Tracey is still annoyed that Crossroads is off the air.
  • Tracey makes a joke about Superman when Sharon tries discussing the possibility of "supermice".
  • Tracey was a Brownie in her youth.
  • Dorien mentions reading Luke's Friends of the Earth pamphlet.
• Take That!:
  • Sharon compares chocolate Hundreds and Thousands to mouse shit.
  • Tracey tells Sharon her legs have got worse stubble than George Michael.
  • Tracey complains about having to play Scrabble on caravan trips in her youth.
• Trash of the Titans: The start of the episode reveals that Sharon has not been keeping her bedroom tidy, with rubbish strewn everywhere.
• Unusual Euphemism: Sharon uses "getting on each other's Bristols" to describe her and Tracey's disagreements.
• Urine Trouble: Tiddles pees all over Tracey and Sharon's carpet.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Sharon is terrified of mice.
• You Dirty Rat!: The episode revolves around a mouse getting into Dalentrace.

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