The antique watch episode, which was meant to be the last one, in which they become millionaires. First broadcast 29th December 1996. With an audience of 24.35 million, this remains the most-watched non-factual programme in the history of British television note ).
Raquel has invited her parents, James and Audrey, for dinner at the flat and is worried about them meeting Del for the first time. Del, meanwhile, is worried about Rodney after he and Cassandra had suffered a miscarriage two weeks previously. Albert suggests helping Rodney by coming up with a "counter-worry" to take his mind off his own problems — leading to Del pretending to be ill, though Rodney barely notices.
While Rodney is cataloguing stock in the Trotters' garage, he wishes that something good would turn up in their lives. Del says that life is not like that. To illustrate his point, he picks out an old pocket watch from among the junk, and tosses it onto a gas cooker.
On their way back to the flat, the lift breaks down. After being trapped in there for some time, the two brothers have a discussion about Cassandra's miscarriage. A distraught Rodney confesses that he has spent too much time feeling sorry for himself since Cassandra lost their baby. Del comforts Rodney by telling him that it is just "a dropped stitch in life's tapestry", and assures him that things will get better. With Rodney feeling better after their heart-to-heart conversation, Del successfully fixes the lift — leading Rodney realise that he'd tampered with the controls in the first place, in order to force him to talk.
That evening, James and Audrey arrive for the meal, and all appears to be going well — until Albert mistakenly uses coffee granules to make the gravy, ruining the dinner. When picking up his car from the Trotters' garage the following day, James — an antique dealer — notices the old pocket watch; taking a closer look, he suggests that it may be the work of John Harrison, the man who designed and built the world's first successful maritime clock in the 18th century.
The watch is examined by experts, and is found to be the Harrison Lesser Watch, a semi-mythical timepiece for which designs exist but there is no clear evidence that it was ever made. It goes to auction at Sotheby's . At the auction, Del faints after hearing the opening bid of £150,000 (a full £110,000 higher than what he thought it was worth). After recovering, he and Rodney rush back into the auction room, with the bidding still going on. The latest bid is revealed to be "3.5", which they think is £350,000 but is actually £3,500,000, which quickly goes up to £4,000,000, causing Rodney to faint. Later, when the two brothers are sitting in the van, Rodney reads from a piece of paper which reveals that the watch eventually sold for £6,200,000 — upon which they begin whooping hysterically, overjoyed by the fact that their dream of being millionaires finally comes true.
Del and Rodney visit Boycie's car showroom. Unaware of their new fortune, he teases them about having their photograph taken next to the Rolls Royce. Wanting to pay his older brother back for helping him throughout his life, Rodney tells Boycie he'll buy it for £70,000 as a gift for Del, stunning Boycie into silence when he shows him proof of their new wealth. Later, the Trotters visit the Nag's Head, and receive a round of applause and a standing ovation from all of the regulars.
The final scenes show the Trotters enjoying their new life. Del and Raquel move into a mansion while Rodney and Cassandra buy a luxury apartment on the banks of the River Thames. Uncle Albert gets an expensive yacht, which he promptly crashes into a bridge.
Returning to the now-empty flat, Del quietly recalls the memories from over the years. Rodney and Albert also return, and Del reveals that he is already beginning to miss the old life as a market trader. The three leave, though not before Del has answered a call from Lenny Norris offering them 250 carpet steamers. Del is initially eager, but Rodney reminds his older brother that they are not in the business any longer.
As the trio set off, Del states that rather than the end for them, it is only just the beginning as they should now invest their new money in the futures market (making one last claim that this was one of the many things his mother Joan said, on her deathbed). The three continue to playfully argue about this as they walk off into an animated sunrise, as Del proclaims that it is their "big chance", ending with the closing refrain: "This time next year, we could be billionaires!"
Tropes:
- Auction: After James realises that the watch is potentially very valuable, it goes to auction at Sotheby's ... and sells for £6,200,000.Del: We've had worse days.
- Call-Back:
- Way back in "Big Brother", Del chastised Rodney for keeping receipts due to it leaving a paper trail. When Raquel's father asks the Trotters if they have the receipt for the watch (in order to prove that it is legally their property), Del claims that he's always been telling Rodney to keep the receipts.
- Rodney briefly recalls the events of "The Unlucky Winner Is" as the Trotters are Walking into the Sunset.
- Catchphrase Interruptus / Exact Words: At play when Del finally gets fed up with Uncle Albert's war stories.Albert: During the...Del: If you say 'During the War' one more time, I'm gonna pour this cup of tea over your head!Uncle Albert: I wasn't going to say 'During the War'. [beat] During the 1939-1945 conflict with Germany...
- Creator Cameo: When the Trotters arrive in the Nag's Head after becoming millionaires, writer John Sullivan can be seen sitting at one of the tables.
- Death Glare: Del shoots one at Albert when Raquel says she'll fetch the coffee.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The Trotters started out from day one wishing to become millionaires one day. With a little help from Raquel's dad, they discover an 18th-century watch in the garage, which sells at auction for £6,200,000.
- Epic Fail: Uncle Albert's only job for the dinner was to make the gravy, which involved mixing gravy granules with boiling water. He decided to go one better and make the coffee as well, leading to the following...Albert: It doesn't usually take us this long to finish.Del: Yes, but that is because we are not golloping down a Big Mac and chips. We're taking our time. We're savouring the food and ambience. People in there are conversing between each mouthful. It's sophisticated. No matter, I'll whack this in the microwave. Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. This isn't coffee. Smell it, it's bloody gravy.Albert: Yeah, that's gravy. Well it's them jars. How am I supposed to tell the difference?Del: I tell you how you tell the difference. This one has on the label, Maxwell House Coffee. On this it says OXO Gravy Granules. It's a bit of a give away.Albert: Well I was in a hurry and must have got mixed up.Del: I'll mix you up in a minute! Wait a minute, wait a minute. If you made gravy in the coffee pot, what are they pouring over their dinners in there? [Del looks outside] They're only doing it now. They're only out there pouring Maxwell bleeding House over their lamb noisettes and veg! I don't believe you! Not only have you managed to sink every aircraft carrier and battleship you ever sailed on, but now you've gone and knackered a gravy boat!
- Faint in Shock: Del faints when he hears the starting bid on the watch is £150,000. By the time Rodney drags him outside and wakes him up the bids have reached £4 million, which causes Rodney to faint too.
- Flashback: While taking one last look around their now-empty flat, Del has (sound only) flashbacks to things relatives said years ago:Joan [voiced by Tessa Peake-Jones, who plays Raquel]: Del Boy, it's time to get up! It's seven thirty! It's your fault if you've got a hangover. You can't have today off, you're taking your eleven plus!Grandad: Your dad always said that one day Del Boy would reach the top. Then again he used to say that one day Millwall would win the Cup! (from "Big Brother" — the first-ever episode)Reg: I never raised a hand to your mother Rodney, except in self-defence! (from "Thicker than Water")
- Foreshadowing: At play with the watch that Del picks up early on in the episode.
- Freudian Excuse: Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel) also provided the voice of Del and Rodney's mum in the sound-only flashbacks. Although this was partly done to save money, it was also done because John Sullivan felt that it was logical for Del to be attracted to someone who reminded him of his mother, whom he loved very much.
- Grail in the Garbage: The Trotters become millionaires after a very valuable timepiece is discovered in their garage. Del mentions he got it from an old woman who paid him to clear an attic, and assumed that it was some sort of egg-timer.
- Irony: The Trotters have tried for years to get rich through a litany of zany schemes, with the running Catchphrase "This time next year, we'll be millionaires!" Tuns out, they had the means to become millionaires all along, but were just too incompetent to realise it.
- Locked in a Room: Del Boy deliberately stops an elevator in order to force Rodney to open up to him about Cassandra's miscarriage. As a nod to the frequency of the trope, Del then repairs the lift, revealing that it was never broken in the first place.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Del describes the seating plan for the meal with Raquel's parents as "Girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, and Uncle Albert."
- Public Domain Artifact: The Harrison Lesser Watch. In Real Life, as stated in the show, it was probably never made, although John Harrison
(the maritime clock inventor who polled 39th in One Hundred Greatest Britons) definitely wrote out the design for it. - Pun-Based Title: The title refers to the fact the brothers had a valuable watch in their possession all along.
- Re-Release Soundtrack: The scenes showing the Trotters enjoying their new wealth were played to the tune of "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. For later repeats, this has been replaced by a cover version sung by Helen Ruddy.
- Walking into the Sunset: John Sullivan wanted this to be the last-ever episode, before it was renewed for another set of Christmas episodes; the idea was that during this end sequence, Del, Rodney and Albert would be replaced by cartoon versions of themselves.
- A Round of Drinks for the House:Mike: Yes sir, what can I get you?Del: Champagne all round, Michael.Rodney: Whoops. We've only gone and left our wallets at home again.Mike: Please, that is no problem.Del: On the slate, Mike?Mike: On the house!Del: No, we'll pay our way. And while we're at it, let's have all your sandwiches!
- Series Fauxnale: This was originally intended to be the Grand Finale for the show (the episode pulling in a whopping 24.35 million viewers), but another trilogy would come along five years later.
- Slow Clap: When the Trotters arrive in the Nags Head having become rich, Denzil gets up and starts clapping, prompting the whole pub join in.
- Small Role, Big Impact: James (Raquel's dad). It's only thanks to his expertise in the field of antiques that the pocket watch (which Del and Rodney had assumed to be a worthless piece of junk) is revealed to be an historically significant timepiece which turns out to be worth several million pounds.
- Something That Begins with "Boring": Del and Rodney do this when stuck in a lift; they come up with "Walls".
