Sharon: She said it was 'er 'ouse an' she could invite 'oo she wanted to stay. I was just a lodger.
Dorien: She said you were a lodger!?
Sharon: Yeah! (Beat) Well no, she didn't actually, I said it.
Dorien: Well you're not are you? I mean you don't pay rent.
— Sharon Theodopolopodous complaining to Dorien Green about Tracey letting Trish stay over.
- Date First Aired: 22/11/1990
Whilst Tracey is off to Tesco, a woman comes to the girls' house. Her name is Trish, and she was one of Tracey's bridesmaids/friend. The two hit if off again quite quickly, much to the annoyance of Sharon, who feels left out. Making matters worse is when Tracey invites Trish to live with them in the guest suite. She voices her fears to Dorien, who suggests that she becomes friends with Trish. So they bond, with Trish explaining how she and her husband broke up - he gained an obsession with birds and wanted to move to be near the wildlife and own a pub. And Trish wasn't exactly willing to be a barmaid again...
Soon, Tracey has gotten sick of Trish of her and decides to kick her out, although Sharon's newfound friendship with Trish is leading to reluctance. Luckily, a solution comes in the form of Trish's husband, who wants her back and who tells her that she doesn't need to get a job as a barmaid. She leaves, although not without giving Sharon the possible idea of moving to Australia.
This episode contains examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Sharon accidentally calls Dorien's friend Melanie Fishman "Melanie Fisherman".
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Sharon uses the letter "B" a lot when talking about how great Australia is.Sharon: Australia: The land of opportunity. Big blonde blokes with bulging biceps on Bondi Beach. Better than bonkin' blokes with bad breath in Billericay.
- Alliterative Name:
- One-Shot Character Trish Taylor.
- Additionally, Tracey and Trish were once known as the "Terrible Twins of 4C".
- Amusing Injuries: Sharon bangs her head trying to flip her hair like Tracey.
- Animal Lover: Exactly why Trish and her husband separated - he gained an obsession with birds and wanted to move so that he could be closer to the native wildlife.
- Bill... Bill... Junk... Bill...: The initial post is not very good.Sharon: Gas bill... phone bill.Tracey: Garbage... more garbage.
- Birds of a Feather: Sharon and Trish end up bonding over their failed marriages.
- Black Comedy Pet Death: Trish's husband once tried caring for an injured baby robin, only for it to suffocate to death.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Sharon is initially reluctant to voice her fears that she will get kicked out to Dorien, pointing out that she will start telling the whole of Chigwell and her mother about it.
- Character Filibuster:
- Trish never stops talking, which gets on Tracey's nerves.
- Trish claims her mum talks even more than she does.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Sharon in regards to her junk mail.Sharon: It says 'ere "You 'ave won a luxury ocean-going yacht, a Lamborghini, a million pounds in cash or a bag of assorted toenail clippin's of the rich and famous! And to collect your fabulous prize, you 'ave to go to a presentation, and get conned into buyin' a timeshare in sunny Sutherland".
- Also, Sharon in response to Dorien fretting about her social life.Sharon: Maybe you've exhausted the ranks of young Chigwell manhood.
- Sharon in regards to her junk mail.
- Fee Fi Faux Pas: Tracey tells Trish that she can't just move in with her sister right in front of Sharon, who did just that.
- Foreshadowing: Dorien fears that Luke has moved on to someone else. "Falling in Love Again" will eventually have him move on from her.
- Friendless Background: Sharon admits that she never had a best friend at school, which is why she doesn't really understand the relationship between Tracey and Trish.
- The Ghost: Maurice Jacobs, a second-year psychology student who used to investigate Dorien's psyche.
- Hourglass Plot: Sharon and Tracey's views on Trish switch over the course of the episode - at the beginning, Tracey is pleased to have her within the house whilst Sharon feels left out and wants her to leave, but by the end, Trish's constant nostalgizing has led to Tracey kicking her out, whilst Sharon manages to bond with her enough that she's initially reluctant to see her leave.
- Layman's Terms: Dorien and Tracey are talking to each other:Dorien: Well, I think you have to analyse the motivational aspects in this situation in the context of Sharon's insecurity.Tracey: Speak English, will ya?
- Low Count Gag: Sharon claims that in eight years of being married to Chris, she only enjoyed herself for an hour and three quarters.
- Malaproper: Sharon briefly refers to a Pina Colada as a "Pinner Colada"
- Mirror Character: Trish to Tracey, at least at first - both of their husbands are out of the picture for now and they both look similar enough that they've been mistaken for sisters. Sharon even describes it as having two Tracey around the house. Over time, however, it becomes clear that Trish is closer to Sharon, both having crappy marriages. It gets to the point that Tracey is describing it as having two Sharons about the house.
- Mrs. Robinson: Dorien eyes up some young boys at the bar.
- No Ending: The episode never resolves whether Sharon is serious about moving to Australia or not, instead ending on the punchline to the saucepan Running Gag.
- Noodle Incident:
- Trish and Tracey's exploits are these, including Trish and Tracey getting rat-arsed on cider during one school outing.
- Sharon once went out with a guy who was younger than her. As in, young enough that he had to get lemonade instead of alcohol.
- Trish and Tracey once waited outside a Donny Osmond concert for four hours.
- Trish's husband once tried to care for an injured baby robin, but it suffocated to death.
- Old Friend: The plot of the episode is Sharon coming across an old friend in school, Trish, whom Tracey proceeds to reminisce with and invite to live in the house.
- One-Shot Character: Trish Taylor.
- One-Steve Limit: Another unseen character in "Thirty Something" was named Melanie.
- Running Gag: Tracey getting angry at Sharon over the dirty saucepan in the fridge.
- Sadist Teacher: Sharon's teachers called her fatso and made fun of her spots.
- Shout-Out:
- Dorien's new diet is called the Goldilocks diet.
- Dorien talks about Sigmund Freud to Sharon.
- Sharon mentions Gazza moving to Spurs.
- Trish tells a story about her and Tracey at a Donny Osmond concert.
- Sharon daydreams about being on the beach with Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.
- Speak in Unison: Both Sharon and Tracey say "I'm sorry" when they both apologize for their behavior the night before.
- Status Quo Is God: Trish almost moves in permanently, but she is convinced to move out in the end.
- Take Our Word for It: We never get to see the disgusting mess in the saucepan, only getting told that it looks like coal.
- Take That!:
- "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" is bad enough that Sharon turns it off in disgust almost immediately.
- Trish used to draw willies on Sharon's T. Rex posters.
- Trish gets tickets to see Barry Manilow, whose music Sharon thinks is a crime against humanity.
- Sharon sarcastically mentions that she would rather be at a Gary Lineker concert than a bar, even though he was a footballer.
- Tracey snarkily asks Sharon if she and Trish are going to start a women's support group on Channel 4.
- Toilet Seat Divorce: Sharon mentions a couple that divorced because the wife couldn't stand the way the husband never put the top back on the toothpaste.Sharon: I read about this couple, right. In their 90s, they were. She divorced him because she couldn't stand the way he never put the top back on the toothpaste.Tracey: She should be pleased he's still got teeth at night!
- Zonk: A prize Sharon makes up when taking the piss out of junk mail contests is a bag of assorted toenail clippings of the rich and famous.
