Recap / Birds of a Feather S4E12: Okey-Cokey-Karaoke

Tracey: Go on, Dor! Give it some welly!

— Tracey Stubbs cheering on Dorien's karaoke performance.

• Date First Aired: 22/11/1992

We open the episode on Sharon and Tracey looking at a holiday, with Tracey trying to figure out how much it would cost. However, there isn't enough money to go much further than a weekend at Butlin's at best, much to their dismay. Just then Dorien comes in, wondering if her breasts are still pert, and is considering cosmetic surgery.

During a stroll down the street, Sharon finds a leaflet for the Gormley's Brewery Karaoke Competition, with a holiday to Spain to be won. She wants Tracey to join, but she's not too enthusiastic about the whole thing at first, although Sharon convinces her to join. Dorien doesn't like the singing however. She also says that she's going through with the surgery.

Sharon and Tracey make it into the competition and plan to sing "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor but there's only one slot left, and only solo performances are allowed, so Sharon decides to go on ahead on her own. She ends up performing great that night and makes it into the finals. At the finals however (held in the Hammersmith Palais), Sharon gets an awful case of stage fright and runs off. As Sharon and Tracey argue, they realise that Dorien has gone in Sharon's place and is captivating the audience with a rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin", leading to her winning the prize. Luckily, she gives them the prize anyway. She's also canceled the surgery, figuring that since the men at the contest enjoyed her performance, there was no need to have the surgery.

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Tropes In This Episode:

• Accidental Misnaming: Sharon accidentally calls a Butlin's Redcoat a "Redskin".
• A-Cup Angst: Dorien is starting to feel a bit concerned about her breasts after Melanie Fishman gets hers surgically enhanced, and so is now looking into plastic surgery.
• Added Alliterative Appeal:
  • Sharon when looking for holidays.
    Sharon: Fourteen fun-filled days in fabulous Fuengirola.
  • And again when she asks about her options.
    Sharon: Is it gonna be a fortnight in funky Fuengirola, or ten days in tasty Tenerife?
• Ass Shove: After seeing Dorien practice her rigid posture for when she gets her implants, Sharon asks her if she's practicing having a pole stuck up her jacksie.
• Brick Joke: At the start of the episode Tracey moans about only having enough money for a long weekend at Butlin's. Later when Sharon is trying to get out of the karaoke competition finals, she mentions she wouldn't mind pulling a Redcoat.
• Continuity Nod: Tracey recalls her depression over Darryl's arrest.
• Curse Cut Short: Tracey stops Sharon from saying "shagging".
  Sharon: Two whole weeks of sun, sea an' sh-
  Tracey: Sharon.
• Deadpan Snarker: Sharon's reaction to Dorien's plans for implants.
  Dorien: My op's on Saturday, after that I shall have the body of a woman half my age.
  Sharon: Shame it'll 'ave 'er mum's head stuck on top.
• Dreadful Musician: Dorien can't stand Tracey and Sharon singing "I Will Survive".
  Dorien: What is going on here?! For one nasty moment I thought that Satanism had finally arrived in Chigwell!
• Elvis Impersonator: One of the karaoke singers at the competition (Elvis Goldstein) is an Elvis impersonator.
• Fictional Document: Sharon finds songs to sing in Karaoke Collection Vol. 6.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: Dorien says "ciao" to Tracey and Sharon as she leaves for her holiday.
• Historical Character Confusion: Sharon believes the music duo Shakespeares Sister was the actual sister-in-law of William Shakespeare.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Dorien certainly considers the other two's singing to be this, comparing it to property prices plummeting.
• Irony: The fact that Dorien of all people would sing "Like a Virgin".
• It's All About Me: When Dorien hears that Tracey and Sharon can't afford a holiday, she simply briefly remarks what a pity that is before moving the conversation on to her:
  Dorien: Oh? Off on holiday?
  Sharon: No, we're not, actually.
  Tracey: We carn afford it.
  Dorien: What a pity, anyway, onto me.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite spending the whole episode talking down Sharon for entering a karaoke competition, then stealing her spot in the final, Dorien still lets Tracey and Sharon have the first prize holiday voucher (even if she did have selfish motives).
  Dorien: Me on a package holiday? On a charter flight? Full of dreadful people like you who look as if they've come from El Dorado? Oh I think not Sharon, but you both have a lovely time.
• Karaoke Bonding Scene: Sharon helps raise Tracey's confidence for the karaoke competition by having the two sing along to "I Will Survive".
• Like an Old Married Couple: Dorien compares Tracey and Sharon to one after watching their argument in the toilets.
• Liquid Courage: Sharon has a drink to get over her stage fright. Subverted in that it doesn't help her.
• Mondegreen Gag: When Dorien uses the word "chic", Sharon thinks she meant "cheap":
  Sharon: Yeah, 'ow much?
  Dorien: I said "chic", not "cheap".
• Musical Episode: The episode revolves around a karaoke competition and contains two lengthy scenes of Tracey and Sharon singing "I Will Survive" and Dorien singing "Like a Virgin".
• Musicalis Interruptus: Dorien cuts off Tracey and Sharon's performance of "I Will Survive", comparing their singing to the arrival of Satanism in Chigwell.
• Never My Fault: Sharon tells Tracey to blame Dorien for "knicking my spot", rather than herself for being sick instead of performing at the nightclub.
• Noodle Incident: Sharon lost her virginity behind the Hammersmith Palais.
• Not So Above It All: Despite claiming karaoke is unfit for Chigwell, Dorien takes Sharon's spot in the karaoke competition, has a great time, and ends up winning first prize.
  Dorien: What, to a karaoke night at the Hammersmith Palais?
  Sharon: Yeah!
  Dorien: Frankly Sharon, I'd rather bury a close relative.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We don't end up seeing Sharon passing the first round of the karaoke competition, only her and Tracey's celebration.
• One-Shot Character: Elvis Goldstein.
• Overly Long Name: Sharon's surname proves to be so long that she is put down simply as "Sharon T.".
  M.C.: Could you spell that?
  Sharon: S, H, A, R-
  M.C.: No, I meant your surname love.
  Sharon: Oh right. It's a "Theo", a "dopo", then a "lopodous".
• Performance Anxiety:
  • Tracey doesn't want to join the karaoke competition because she doesn't want to have to sing in front of all those people.
  • Poor Sharon gets a case of stage fright in the final and runs off, necessitating the need to have Dorien to step in for her.
• Rapid-Fire "No!": Tracey's reaction to Sharon's idea to join the karaoke competition:
  Tracey: Watch my lips. No no no no no, an' that's my final word.
• Rapid-Fire "Yes!": Sharon's reaction to getting Dorien's unwanted holiday voucher:
  Sharon: Yes yes yes yes, yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!
• Really Gets Around: Dorien's performance of "Like a Virgin" earns her 200 phone numbers of interested men to work through.
• Rich Bitch: Dorien has no problem bragging about buying expensive implants when she knows Tracey and Sharon are having money problems:
  Tracey: Me an' Sharon carn even afford a cheapo package 'oliday, an' you're talkin' about spendin' free grand on gettin' ye Bristols pumped up?
  Dorien: I know. Life's a bitch. Ha. Bye!
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Sharon bolts before her final performance as stage fright takes over.
• Shaking the Rump: Dorien does so during her performance of "Like a Virgin".
• Shout-Out:
  • When Dorien first mentions her cousin, Jonathan Kravitz, she doesn't specify the surname and Sharon asks her if she means Jonathan Ross or Jonathan Dimbleby.
  • Sharon jokingly says "and here's some they made earlier" when Dorien shows her and Tracey a catalogue of potential breast implants.
  • Tracey uses Top of the Pops as an Unusual Euphemism for good-looking implants.
  • A poster for Wayne's World is visible in a store window.
  • Tracey corrects Sharon on information about Shakespeares Sister.
  • Sharon mentions Rod Stewart's ex Alana Hamilton (although Sharon doesn't name her, only specifying she was the one after Britt Ekland but before Kelly Emberg).
  • Sharon recalls seeing Lulu appear in a Freemans catalogue.
  • A man dressed as Elvis Presley sings "Blue Suede Shoes" at the karaoke competition.
  • Sharon uses techniques used by Annie Lennox to get her voice ready for the finals.
  • Sharon fancies the idea of pulling a Butlin's Redcoat.
• Speak in Unison:
  • Tracey and Sharon after learning that Dorien is prepared to spend £3000 on implants:
    Tracey/Sharon: 'OW MUCH?!
  • Tracey and Dorien do so when Sharon asks them why they keep groaning whenever she keeps mentioning the karaoke competition.
    Tracey/Dorien: Nothing.
• Silent Treatment: Tracey threatens to never talk to Sharon again when she gets stage fright and refuses to perform. It doesn't work.
• Stage Names:
  • An old man uses "Elvis Goldstein" in the first round of the karaoke competition.
  • Sharon goes on stage as "Sharon T.", due to her Overly Long Name, while Tracey plans to go as "Tracey S.", until she finds out she can't join her.
• Status Quo Is God: Dorien considers having cosmetic surgery on herself but decides not to go ahead with it after all after she gets a positive reception at the karaoke competition.
• Take That!:
  • Tracey complains about only having enough holiday money for a long weekend at Butlin's.
  • Sharon compares Dorien to Martina Navratilova after believing she's turned into a lesbian after watching too much Prisoner: Cell Block H.
  • Sharon complains about Tracey learning feminist ideology from The Oprah Winfrey Show.
  • Sharon claims George Hamilton walks funny due to his sheep hormone injections.
• Titled After the Song: The title of the episode comes from the song, the "Okey-Cokey".
• Unusual Euphemism: Tracey asks Dorien which implants she considers "Top of the Pops".
• Verbal Backspace: Dorien tries to give an example of Sharon making herself look nice, but quickly decides to bail out:
  Dorien: And Sharon, you always... well, occasionally... or at least... no, okay, bad example.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Sharon's stage fright makes her puke in the toilets.
• Wham Shot: Just after the M.C. announces Sharon T. has arrived on stage, we see Sharon and Tracey in the toilets. In a shocking twist, we see Dorien performing on stage despite her self-proclaimed hatred of karaoke. And the audience loves her.
• Your Door Was Open: Dorien makes her usual entrance and gets called out by Sharon for doing so.
  Sharon: Hello Dorien. Come in Dorien.
  Dorien: The door was on the latch.

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