The episode in which they try to get a better house. First broadcast 10 November 1983.
The wear and tear of climbing twelve floors in Nelson Mandela House takes its toll as Grandad's legs finally give way. After a visit to the doctor, it is recommended that the Trotter family seeks some different housing ... on the ground floor.
As luck would have it, Rodney has just been elected Chairman of the Tenants' Association, and with a little pressure from Del, he persuades the council's housing and welfare co-ordinator Miss Mackenzie to move the Trotters into a three-bedroom bungalow in Herrington Road. All seems to be going well, until Miss Mackenzie catches Del and Grandad sharing a celebratory dance and cancels the deal. An ashamed Rodney agrees to resign as chairman immediately, and the Trotters stay in the flat.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Rodney confronts Trigger about why he keeps calling him "Dave". He actually manages to convince Trigger to call him Rodney ... for a couple of minutes.
- This was necessary for the plotline of the episode, as Trigger nominates Rodney for the post of Chairman of the Tenants' Association. "Dave" would not have been a valid nomination, as it's not his name.
- The Cameo: Renee Roberts and Gilly Flower play a pair of old ladies who may or may not be their characters from Fawlty Towers. While OFAH closing credits do not give character names, the Radio Times listed them as Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby, the names of their Fawlty Towers characters.
- Pocket Protector: Parodied. Grandad launches into the story about the cigarette case belonging to his grandfather, which deflected the bullet aimed at his heart, saving his life... at least, until it went up his nose and blew his brains out.Grandad: I want you to have it. My grandmother always said it was lucky.Rodney: Lucky? It went up his nose and blew his bloody brains out!Del: Could have been worse? It could have shot downwards and ruined his entire life!
- Status Quo Is God: It looks like the Trotters might get to move out of the flat. By the end of the episode, though, they don't. The same could be said for Rodney trying to better himself by getting involved in local politics.
