History Recap / OnlyFoolsAndHorsesS1E01BigBrother

** Rodney talks as though Del does most of the cooking, and has no skill when it comes to doing anything but reheating convenience foods. In later episodes it's Grandad (later Uncle Albert, and eventually Raquel) who generally does the cooking, with Del being shown as actually the most competent of the initial three regulars when it comes to preparing meals.

* StockEpisodeTitles: One of the rare instances where the title "Big Brother" is used in the literal sense of describing an older brother, instead of the surveillance state associations which typically go with the phrase.

* StockEpisodeTitles: One of the rare instances where the title "Big Brother" is used in the literal sense of describing an older brother, instead of the surveillance state associations which typically go with the phrase.

* AsYouKnow: Del delivers a lot of information about his and Rodney's childhood — including his mother's death and then their father's abandoning the family — in this manner during "Big Brother", clearly as a way of getting the audience up to speed with the Trotter family's backstory. While not too uncommon for the pilot of episode of a sitcom (or TV show in general) from this era, latter episodes also depict Del going on lengthy speeches about their childhood and mother when he's trying to guilt-trip Rodney into doing something, making it an actual character trait for Del instead of just a clumsy way of delivering a one-off InfoDump.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A few examples, thus being the first episode.

* AsYouKnow: As was common for sitcom pilot episodes of this era, Del does a lot of these to bring the audience up to speed on the Trotters' backstory. It's a bit less blatant than usual for this trope however, as most of it comes in the form of Del accusing Rodney of being ungrateful and reminding him of everything he's done since their mother died and their father walked out. Since Del does this in later episodes as well, this isn't a one-off example as is usually the case with this trope.

-->'''Del''': No, it's 'cause he looks like a [[Creator/RoyRogers horse]].

-->'''Del''': No, it's cos he looks like a [[Creator/RoyRogers horse]].

** Trigger is shown here as a small-time thief who supplies Del with dodgy goods, rather than the [[WhatAnIdiot idiot]] he later became. His habit of [[RunningGag calling Rodney "Dave"]] is present from the start, though.

** Trigger is shown here as a small-time thief who supplies Del with dodgy goods, rather than the [[WhatAnIdiot idiot]] he later became. His habit of [[RunningGag calling Rodney 'Dave']] is present from the start, though.

** Trigger is shown here as a small-time thief who supplies Del with dodgy goods, rather than the [[WhatAnIdiot idiot]] he later became.

** A less obvious example is the original instrumental theme tune by Ronnie Hazlehurst — the BBC's Light Entertainment Musical Director who composed the theme music for many British sitcoms of the 1970s and 1980s. The reason fir it being less obvious is because while it was used for the initial TV broadcast, it was replaced for almost all home video (VHS, DVD) releases and later repeats with the more familiar John Sullivan theme song which was initially used for the second series onwards [[note]] Sullivan wrote it at the same time as he wrote the first series, only for the show's producers to opt for the Hazlehurst instrumental theme -- to Sullivan's displeasure, as his lyrics partly explain the show's somewhat obscure title[[/note]]. However, it plays during the montage in this episode, leaving it the only place it can still be heard.

** A less obvious example is the original instrumental theme tune by Ronnie Hazlehurst — the BBCs Light Entertainment Musical Director who composed the theme music for many British sitcoms of the 1970s and 1980s. The reason fir it being less obvious is because while it was used for the initial TV broadcast, it was replaced for almost all home video (VHS, DVD) releases and later repeats with the more familiar John Sullivan theme song which was initially used for the second series onwards [[note]] Sullivan wrote it at the same time as he wrote the first series, only for the show's producers to opt for the Hazlehurst instrumental theme -- to Sullivan's displeasure, as his lyrics partly explain the show's somewhat obscure title[[/note]]. However, it plays during the montage in this episode, leaving it the only place it can still be heard.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Rodney talks as though Del does most of the cooking, and has no skill when it comes to doing anything but reheating convenience foods. In later episodes it's Grandad (later Uncle Albert, and eventually Raquel) who generally does the cooking, with Del being shown as actually the most competent of the initial three regulars when it comes to preparing meals.
** A less obvious example is the original instrumental theme tune by Ronnie Hazlehurst. While used for the initial TV broadcast, it was replaced for almost all VHS and DVD releases with the more familiar John Sullivan theme song which was used for the second series onwards [[note]] Sullivan wrote it at the same time as he wrote the first series, only for the show's producers to opt for the Hazlehurst instrumental theme -- to Sullivan's displeasure, as his lyrics partly explain the show's somewhat obscure title[[/note]]. However, it plays during the montage in this episode, leaving it the only place it can be heard on all official releases.

-->'''Del''':The French have a word for people like me.

Cracks when Rodney inadvertently bungles a deal with Trigger. But despite Del's anger, it turns out that Rodney's advice would have prevented the purchase of 25 briefcases that turn out to be defective due to the combination numbers being ''on the inside''. Del and Rodney have yet another row, following which the latter plans a career change. Desperate to make his mark on the world, Rodney decides to leave for Hong Kong -- a great plan, if only he'd remembered his passport.

->The French have a word for people like me.
->Yeah, and the English have got a couple of good 'uns an' all!

DidntThinkThisThrough: Rodney plans to leave for Hong Kong, but neglects to take his passport with him.

The first-ever episode.

Cracks show in the partnership when Rodney inadvertently bungles a deal with Trigger. But despite Del's anger, it turns out that Rodney's advice would have prevented the purchase of 25 briefcases that are locked with the combination number ''on the inside''. Del and Rodney have yet another row and 'Little Bruv' plans a career change. Desperate to make his mark on the world, Rodney decides to leave for Hong Kong -- a great plan, if only he'd remembered his passport.

** A less obvious example is the original instrumental theme tune by Ronnie Hazelhurst. While used for the initial TV broadcast, it was replaced for almost all VHS and DVD releases with the more familiar John Sullivan theme song which was used for the second series onwards [[note]] Sullivan wrote it at the same time as he wrote the first series, only for the show's producers to opt for the Hazelhurst instrumental theme -- to Sullivan's displeasure, as his lyrics partly explain the show's somewhat obscure title[[/note]]. However, it plays during the montage in this episode, leaving it the only place it can be heard on all official releases.

Market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter employs younger brother Rodney as a member of Trotters' Independent Traders, despite warnings from his business colleagues. When Rodney decides to become the Trotters' financial adviser -- monitoring the accounts and keeping Del's dodgy dealings in check -- Del has second thoughts about their partnership. Cracks show in the partnership when Rodney inadvertently bungles a deal with Trigger. But despite Del's anger, it turns out that Rodney's advice would have prevented the purchase of 25 briefcases that are locked with the combination number ''on the inside''. Del and Rodney have yet another row and 'Little Bruv' plans a career change. Desperate to make his mark on the world, Rodney decides to leave for Hong Kong -- a great plan, if only he'd remembered his passport.

* StockEpisodeTitles: One of the rare instances where the title "Big Brother" is used in the literal sense of describing an older brother, instead of the surveillance state associations which typically go with the phrase.
* TitleThemeDrop: Of a sort. The original instrumental theme song written by Ronnie Hazelhurst used in the first series was replaced with the more familiar John Sullivan theme for all home video releases of series one. However it plays during the montage in this episode, leaving it the only place it can be heard on all official releases.