History Recap / OnlyFoolsAndHorsesS6E05SicknessAndWealth

Del goes to see a doctor, although he's disappointed to find that his regular GP, Dr. Meadows, has left general practice and been replaced by a young Indian woman. Del fail to impress her, constantly making inappropriate jokes, and lies throughout the examination, claiming to be a teetotal, celibate, health conscious non-smoker. Puzzled as to how a man with such a healthy lifestyle should be so ill, she sends him to hospital, where the doctors are just as baffled.

* TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed: Del is worried that he might be suffering from a certain unnamed disease, although the dialogue makes it clear that he's talking about AIDS. The disease was still pretty taboo in 1989, hence why it isn't mentioned by name, but the episode shows quite a surprising degree of AIDS awareness, most notably the fact that it's expressly stated that it isn't -- as was widely considered to be the case at the time -- something that only gay men contract, although Del does fear that he may have contracted it from contact with a gay man.

* NoodleIncident: The second séance is unseen; according to Rodney, it was a disaster thanks to a mix-up with the publicity posters which caused a load of punk rockers to turn up expecting to see an Music/IronMaiden style band; when the actual nature of the evening's entertainment became clear, they trashed the pub. Elsie was unharmed...

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Albert cares enough about Del to get his psychic girlfriend Elsie to fake a vision in order to get him to see a doctor. No-one else knows that they concocted this plan.

Del goes to see a doctor, although he's disappointed to find that his regular GP, Dr. Meadows, has left general practice and been replaced by a young Indian woman. Del fail to impress her, constantly making inappropriate jokes, and lies throughout the examination, claiming to be a teetotal, celibate, health conscious non-smoker. She sends him to hospital thinking he might have a grumbling appendix but the doctors there are baffled as to how such a healthy man could be so ill.

Albert's new girlfriend Elsie Partridge used to be a medium in the 1960s and thinks their bathroom is haunted due to it being so cold. Seeing a chance to make some much-needed money, Del convinces Elsie to hold séances in the hall above the Nag's Head. Despite Mike's concern about "messing with the forces of darkness", a séance is held, during which Elsie passes on two messages from the dead -- Boycie is told by his father to look after his child (despite it having been previously established that Boycie and his wife Marlene cannot have children), and Del's mother Joan tells him to go to the doctors. Del refuses to believe Elsie until Marlene announces she is pregnant. It's subsequently revealed that the message from Joan was actually a ploy by Albert to get Del to go to the doctors.

Del goes to see a doctor, although he's disappointed to find that his regular GP, Dr. Meadows, has left general practice and been replaced by a young Indian woman. Del fail to impress her and lies throughout the examination, claiming to be a teetotal, celibate, health conscious non-smoker. She sends him to hospital thinking he might have a grumbling appendix but the doctors there are baffled as to how such a healthy man could be so ill.

When Rodney, Albert, and Cassandra visit Del in hospital, he worries that he might have contracted AIDS due to his womanising past. He also finds out that Elsie's second séance ended with the pub being trashed after a mix-up with the posters led to a gang of punks showing up expecting to see an Iron Maiden tribute band.

* NoodleIncident: The second séance is unseen; according to Rodney, it was a disaster thanks to a mix-up with the publicity posters which caused a load of punk rockers to turn up expecting to see an Music/IronMaiden tribute act; when the actual nature of the evening's entertainment became clear, they trashed the pub. Elsie was unharmed...

* TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed: Del is worried that he might be suffering from a certain unnamed disease, although the dialogue makes it clear that he's talking about AIDS. The disease was still pretty taboo in 1989, hence why it isn't mentioned by name, but the episode shows quite a surprising degree of AIDS awareness, most notably the fact that it's expressly stated that it isn't -- as was widely considered to be the case at the time -- something that only gay men contract.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Elsie comes across as a genuine medium, although it is later revealed that the appearance of the ghost of Del's mum was a ruse to get him to go and see a doctor. Her knowing about Boycie's middle name and Marlene's pregnancy is harder to explain [[note]] a later episode would reveal that Albert is friends with Marlene's mum, meaning Elsie could be friends with her too, although it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that Marlene's mum's friends would find out about the pregnancy before her husband, even if she did tell her mum first[[/note]].

Albert's new girlfriend Elsie Partridge used to be a medium in the 1960s and thinks their bathroom is haunted due to it being so cold. Seeing a chance to make some much-needed money, Del convinces Elsie to hold séances in the hall above the Nag's Head. Despite Mike's concern about "messing with the forces of darkness", a "dummy run" is held, at which Elsie passes on two messages from the dead -- Boycie is told by his father to look after his child (despite it having been previously established that Boycie and his wife Marlene cannot have children), and Del's mother Joan tells him to go to the doctors. Del refuses to believe Elsie until Marlene announces she is pregnant. It's subsequently revealed that the message from Joan was actually a ploy by Albert to get Del to go to the doctors.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Del is occasionally quite homophobic; this aspect of his character was very much a product of its time, but the show often addressed this by gradually playing his homophobia at his expense and having his more idealistic younger brother call him out on it -- such as this time, when Del wonders if he might have caught AIDS from an effeminate hairdresser.

When Rodney, Albert, and Cassandra visit Del in hospital, he worries that he might have contracted AIDS due to his womanising past. He also finds out that Elsie's second séance ended with the pub being trashed after a mix-up with the posters led to a gang up punks showing up expecting to see an Iron Maiden tribute band.

* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Boycie's is Aubrey. This is the first time most of the main cast (many of whom went to school with him) discover this -- although due to the audience laughter obscuring some of the dialogue, some viewers may assume it's his ''first'' name [[note]] depending on which episode of ''Only Fools and Horses'' or ''Series/TheGreenGreenGrass'' you watch, his rarely-referred-to first name is either Terence or Herman -- although even his wife just calls him "Boycie"[[/note]]; it's certainly the name his father used to call him.

** Elsie has been mentioned before, but his is her first (and only) appearance. It's later revealed that she ends up living with Albert after he moves out of Peckham following the events of "Time on Our Hands".
** Mickey and Jevon start trading together, and sell Del some mobile phones ... which will get them all into trouble with the Driscoll brothers in the next episode, "Little Problems".

** Marlene's pregnancy will lead onto the storylines about her and Boycie raising Tyler, along with rumours about [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe the boy's parentage]], which will continue on into the spinoff series ''Series/TheGreenGreenGrass''.

-->'''Dr. Meadows''': I just happened to be talking to some colleagues when the name "Derek Trotter" cropped up. So I asked if I could read your GP's report and have a look at your tests. I was amazed. I found myself reading about this non-smoking, tee total, celibate, vegetarian health freak. I thought, can this be the same Derek Trotter that I know and begrudgingly admire? That uptight, wheeling, dealing Pina Colada lout? The Castella king? The curry connoisseur? The same man who's lived his life on nervous tension, fried bread and doubtful women?

* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Boycie's is Aubrey. This is the first time most of the main cast (many of whom went to school with him) discover this -- although due to the audience laughter obscuring some of the dialogue, some viewers may assume it's his ''first'' name; it's certainly the name his father used to call him.

* HauntedHouse: Well, haunted pub. Maybe. Mike worries about the séances unleashing the "forces of darkness" due to the Nag's Head apparently being built on the site of a plague pit.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Elsie claims that she really gets visions, although it is later revealed that the appearance of the ghost of Del's mum was a ruse to get him to go and see a doctor. Her knowing about Boycie's middle name and Marlene's pregnancy is harder to explain [[note]] a later episode would reveal that Albert is friends with Marlene's mum, meaning Elsie could be friends with her too, although it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that Marlene's mum's friends would find out about the pregnancy before her husband, even if she did tell her mum first[[/note]].

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Dr. Meadows, who in addition to diagnosing Del's problems puts in a friendly word with the council about his rent arrears.
* SpookySeance: Conducted in the upstairs function room of the Nag's Head, with Uncle Albert's psychic friend Elsie Partridge in contact with the spirits.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Albert cares enough about Del to get his psychic friend Elsie to fake a vision in order to get him to see a doctor. No-one else knows that they concocted this plan.

Albert's new girlfriend Elsie Partridge used to be a medium in the 1960s and thinks their bathroom is haunted due to it being so cold. Seeing a chance to make some much-needed money, Del convinces Elsie to hold séances in the hall above the Nag's Head. At a "dummy run" séance with his friends (Trigger, Boycie, Rodney, Mike and Uncle Albert) in the hall above the Nag's Head. Mike is concerned about "messing with the forces of darkness" due to the pub being built on the site of a public grave for victims of the Great Plague, but Del and Boycie believe it to be fear-mongering. At the séance Elsie gives Boycie a message from his father that Boycie must look after his child (it was previously established that Boycie and his wife Marlene could not have children) and then gives Del a message from his late mother Joan prompting him to go to the doctors. Del still refuses to believe Elsie until Marlene announces she is pregnant, thus confirming his fears that he may be seriously unwell (the message from Joan was actually a ploy by Albert to prompt Del to do the right thing, as he tells Elsie that the only person Del would ever listen to was his mother).

Del goes to see his GP, Dr. Meadows, only to find he's left general practice and now works at the local hospital, and a young Indian woman is his replacement. Del's unhelpful quips fail to impress her and during the examination he lies to her repeatedly about his lifestyle, pretending he is a teetotal, celibate health conscious non-smoker. She sends him to hospital thinking he might have a grumbling appendix but after testing Del, the doctors dismiss this and can't seem to diagnose him. In a discussion in the Nag's Head, Uncle Albert suggests it might be Green Parrot Disease.

Rodney, Albert, and Cassandra visit Del in hospital, and Del worries that he might have contracted AIDS due to his womanising past. He also finds out that the "pukka séance" was a disaster after a mix-up because of Del's posters, which led a group of punk rockers to turn up thinking they were seeing an Iron Maiden tribute band instead of Elsie Partridge (though as Rodney quips "Fortunately she remained in a trance throughout the riot!").

Whilst still pondering his health, Del is approached by his former GP, Robbie Meadows. Having heard Del's name come up in conversations with his colleagues, Meadows had asked to see Del's medical file and has subsequently been put in charge of his case, given that Del was his former patient. Knowing Del quite well, and that he is not in fact the celibate healthy man he has made himself out to be to the other doctors, Meadows is quickly able to diagnose Del with having irritable bowel syndrome caused by his busy, unhealthy lifestyle. Meadows criticises Del for lying to his GP, telling him that because he had not been truthful about his lifestyle, Del had confused the doctors handling his case since they believed they were dealing with the "perfect man", and had he been honest from the start his diagnosis would have taken far less time. Warning him to actively lead a healthier lifestyle, Meadows then reveals that he has phoned the council, who have given Del some breathing space with regard to his rent arrears. He then discharges Del, who after an initial macho display of claiming that he knew he was fine all along, breaks down in tears of relief.

A few days later, back at Nelson Mandela House, a housebound Del is appalled at his muesli diet but is getting better, until Rodney comes home and announces he is getting married.

* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Boycie's is Aubrey. This is the first time most of the main cast discover this -- although due to the audience laughter obscuring some of the dialogue, some viewers may assume it's his ''first'' name; it's certainly the name his father used to call him.

The seance episode. First broadcast 5 February 1989.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Elsie doesn't want to use her psychic skills to make money. For his part, Del -- who sees her skills as a money-making opportunity -- insists that if the Nag's Head is going to charge for people to attend her seances, she's entitled to a cut of the takings.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Elsie doesn't want to use her psychic skills to make money. For his part, Del insists that if the Nag's Head is charging for people to attend her seances, she's entitled to a cut of the takings.

** Rodney announces that he and Cassandra are to marry, which hait is them that sell Del the mobile telephones that get him into trouble with the Driscoll Brothers in the following episode. Likewise Rodney announces his marriage which takes place in the same episode.