The Happy Ending Override episode, in which Del takes part in a TV game show. First broadcast 25th December 2001.
The episode opens with Del and Rodney explaining their latest holiday to a lawyer — while at a Monaco resort, they found that Del had lost all of the family's money thanks to a stock market crash in Central America, causing them to escape from the hotel without paying. It's revealed that Mike is now in prison after trying to defraud the brewery while trying to recoup the money he lost in one of Del's investments, while the Trotters' assets — the mansion, the penthouse apartment, the fancy cars — have been seized by the Inland Revenue to pay off their debts. All they have left is the flat in Nelson Mandela House.
To add to their grief, Albert dies a few days later. Having travelled to Weston-super-Mare for the funeral, the Trotters mistakenly attend the funeral of Albert Warren, who also happened to be a World War II veteran – they find this out only when the family mention his nickname "Bunny" and that he was in the RAF, not the Royal Navy.
Back at in Peckham, Rodney finds out that he's been acquitted of any responsibility in the collapse of their company. Del, however, has been declared bankrupt and convicted of nearly twenty years' worth of tax evasion. While his sentence is suspended, if he cannot pay off a bill of £48,754 plus interest within the next year, the Inland Revenue will seize all of the Trotters' remaining assets (ie. the flat) and Del will go to prison. Despite the hopeless situation, Del remains optimistic, announcing that Trotters Independent Traders will be revived — albeit with Rodney in charge (as Del is banned from running a company), although Del plans to run it from behind the scenes.
Del applies to go on a TV gameshow, and plans to take Raquel and Damien with him to the TV studio. Mickey Pearce phones Rodney pretending to be an associate of the Sultan of Brunei with a business proposition. With the flat to themselves due to the others going to the gameshow, Rodney and Cassandra plan to spice up their love-life by dressing up in costumes that the other finds attractive, leading Cassandra to dress up as a policewoman and Rodney to dress up as a Roman gladiator (because Cassy finds Russell Crowe attractive).
The gameshow Del's on is Goldrush (a parody of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), which is hosted by Jonathan Ross. Del's chances initially seem bleak after he gets the first question wrong, but the other two contestants turn out to be even more hopeless, putting Del in pole position for the top prize. Eventually, all he has to do to win is phone Rodney as he doesn't know the answer to the final question. Rodney initially mistakes the call for another Mickey Pearce prank ... until he looks at the television and realises what's going on. He tries to help Del, naming the composer of "The Child and the Enchantment" as Ravel, but this answer is not accepted and Del loses.
Raquel and Damien return home via taxi because Del abandoned them after losing. After he eventually returns, Del gets a phone call from the producer, telling them that they made a mistake and he actually got the final question right; in recompense, he will get the prize money as well as another go on the show. However, Del thinks that it is Mickey Pearce prank calling them again and tells him to give all the prize money to charity.
The episode ends with a dedication to the memory of two series regulars who died in the five-year period since the previous episode — Buster Merryfield (Uncle Albert) and Kenneth MacDonald (Mike), following the end credits.
Tropes:
- Always Someone Better: Subverted. Del's performance on the gameshow is pretty bad, but the other two contestants turn out to be even worse, giving Del the chance to win the top prize.
- As Himself: Jonathan Ross, although the gameshow he presents, Goldrush, is fictional.
- Call-Back: Rodney's 'thing' about policewomen has been explored before, most notably when he dated one in "The Long Legs of the Law".
- Continuity Nod: Del had applied to buy the flat via the Right to Buy scheme back in "Yuppy Love", and his application to do so came through in "Mother Nature's Son". Back then, it straddled him with extra debt as the mortgage turned out to be more per month than the rent; now, it works to his benefit as the tax people can't find a buyer for it, meaning it's still his ... and the family still have somewhere to live.
- Contrived Coincidence: The funeral mix-up (and the fact that it was sustained as long as it was) relied on there being two veterans of World War II with a tendency to go on a bit, both called Albert, who lived on the same street and whose funerals are held at the same time on the same day.
- Easy Come, Easy Go: Not long into this episode, the Trotters lose their millions (acquired in "Time on Our Hands" thanks to a lucky find in the garage) and swiftly end up back in the flat in Peckham.
- Flashback to Catchphrase: When Del uses the phrase "This time next year we'll be millionaires!", Rodney snaps back "this time last week we were millionaires!"
- A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Del lost the lot on the Futures Market between the last episode and this one.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": The Trotters travel to Weston-super-Mare for Uncle Albert's funeral. However, they mistakenly turn up at the funeral of another war veteran who lived down the road from Albert. Del almost gets into a fight with one of the deceased's relatives over a perceived slight before Cassandra realises what's happened.
- Game Show Appearance: Del goes on Goldrush, a fictional BBC game hosted by Jonathan Ross in which the top prize is £100,000 and there are three Lifelines. It was an obvious Fictional Counterpart of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, created because ITV refused to let the BBC use the actual show — most likely because a key plot point is that an answer given as being wrong on the show turns out to be right.
- Gilligan Cut: Del says that the Trotters' group of friends were devastated at the news of their bankrupcy. Cut to them all reading the news and laughing.
- Glad You Thought of It: Trotters Independent Traders has gone bankrupt, and Del has been banned from any business dealings. He then pushes Rodney into realising the company could be reformed if he was the owner, and pretends not to follow the idea until Rodders explains it to him.
- Happy Ending Override: Having become millionaires in "Time on Our Hands", the Trotters quickly lose their money and end up back in Nelson Mandela House. This was somewhat unpopular with viewers, who had greatly enjoyed seeing the Trotters finally get rich; many felt that the ending of "Time on Our Hands" was so perfect that the show shouldn't have been revived, but the demand had clearly been there, which is why The BBC had commissioned John Sullivan to write three more episodes.
- Has a Type: The reason behind Rodney and Cassandra's choices of costumes. Cassandra's policewoman outfit is a nod to a known preference of Rodney's that's been explored before, while Rodders dresses up as a Roman gladiator because Cassy's got a thing about Russell Crowe (Gladiator having been released the year before this episode was broadcast).
- Hotel Hellion: Damien:Cassandra: Del, you've got to have a word with Damien. He's weed in the swimming pool.Del: Leave it out, Cassandra. All little boys do a Johnny Cash note in the pool.Cassandra: Yes, but not from the top of the four-metre diving board!
- Kick the Dog: The supporting cast laughing at the Trotters' misfortune is excessively cruel, even for Boycie. To say noting of Mickey Pearce annoying Rodney with prank phone calls.
- Mathematician's Answer: When Del Boy is on a quiz show hosted by Jonathan Ross:Jonathan Ross: In what state was President Kennedy in when he was shot?Del Boy: Well he was in a terrible state, he died!
- Mistaken for Prank Call: Del Boy is on a Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? style quiz show, while Mickey Pearce harasses Rodney with prank calls. When Del uses his "phone a friend" to call Rodney, he initially assumes it's Mickey, but then realises. Unfortunately, he gives the wrong answer — or what the show thinks is the wrong answer. Later, Del gets a phone call from the producer saying that they were wrong, and he's won after all. Absolutely certain that it's Mickey again, he says to give it all to charity.Rodney: [answering the phone, slightly annoyed] Hello?Jonathan Ross: Hello, is this Rodney Trotter?Rodney: [ annoyed] Yes.Jonathan Ross: [cheerfully] Hello Rodney, this is Jonathan Ross at the Goldrush studio...Rodney: [irate] Oh piss off Mickey, you're beginning to get on my tits!
- The Peeping Tom: Damien spies on Cassandra in the shower.
- Ripped from the Headlines: When Trigger and Denzil are due to give evidence at the trial, the former advises the latter to just tell the truth; Denzil replies that if he does that, Del and Rodney will "spend the next five years sharpening Jeffrey Archer's pencils". Archer had been jailed for perjury in July 2001, five months before this episode was broadcast.
- Status Quo Game Show: Del goes on Goldrush and loses in the final round. Then the producers realise that, wait a minute, his answer was actually right. So they call him up to apologize and offer him the prize money. But he assumes it's a prank call and tells them to give the money to charity.
- Status Quo Is God: After a few years living as millionaire jet-setters, the Trotters lose their fortune and end up back in their old flat in Peckham.
- Tagalong Kid: Damien joins his parents, aunt and uncle on their jet-setting trips.
