MovieChat Forums > Only Fools and Horses (1981) Discussion > Great show but they shouldn't have made ...

Great show but they shouldn't have made any more after 1996

posted 9 years ago by BrickNash
22 replies | jump to latest

I love this show, I grew up on it and although I started watching it in the uncle Albert years in about '89 when I was 11 I really love the Grandad episodes as well. I'm from Glasgow but I still constantly use Del Boy phrases and rhyming slang thanks to David Jason.

To me the absolute pinnacle of the show was the '96 specials as they had some genuinely touching and funny moments plus it was a great way to finish everything off.

Why they came back with 3 more specials is beyond me. Uncle Albert had passed away, Damien was annoying and it was no-where near as funny plus they were right back to square one again which was depressing.

I'm not saying it was bad but just seemed so unnecessary after going out on such a high the last time which is a shame.

It doesn't take away from what a great show it is overall though. They don't make them like this anymore!

[–] spindly 9 years ago

i agree completely. If this show has any flaws at all it is that it went on a little too long. I mentioned in an earlier post that I could see the series ending perfectly well on Rodney's wedding episode too tbh, but yeah, the 96 special satisfactory in itself. It made sense to finally give them both the happy ending.

[–] smck_82uk 9 years ago

I love "Strangers on the Shore" so don't agree.

They think we're the demons now - Prue Halliwell ~ All Hell Breaks Loose ~ Charmed

[–] beecore 9 years ago

Seriously? Gary? It was like an american sitcom, completely ridiculous and not compatible with a show like this.

[–] buffalobenji 9 years ago

You agree that series 1-3 were inferior?

[–] spindly 9 years ago

I prefer the earlier series, but don't think the problem is with uncle Albert. To be frank i think it all got weaker when Rodney and Del settled down with girlfriends. I don't particularly dislike the actresses (actually I think Raquel was good for what she was given), but it seems to be like the writers just didn't know what to do with them and it really changed the dynamics for the worse when Raquel was living at the flat. But yeah when I rewatch the series I tend to go back to series 1-3

[–] fawltybasil (249) 2 years ago

Each to their own. With the exception of Go West Young Man, I think series 1 is poor.

[–] NxNWRocks 9 years ago

Remember when Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes and the public outcry forced him to bring him back? Same thing with this show. It had been neatly tied up but was still so popular that the public and BBC were clamoring for more.

Those last three aren't very good, but there's still some good qualities to them, and how they resolved the Rodney/Cassandra storyline was touching.

"Worthington, we're being attacked by giant bats!"

[–] clark_gillies 9 years ago

Agree.

I remember not having all that high hopes for the 1996 shows after how poor the stuff in the early 90's had turned out.

Miami Twice had been VERY poor.... Mother Nature's Son was better but a VERY weak and predictable script.... granted Fatal Extraction was good, but always felt lacking to me..... "Heroes and Villains" was a real return to form, and the other two that followed were just as strong, and really reignited interest in OFAH.

"Time on our hands" was a great way to go out.... but was just a case of suddenly OFAH was back in high demand and they had to bring it back.

[–] buffalobenji 9 years ago

Mother Nature's Son was a fantastic episode. Great dialogue and acting.

[–] buffalobenji 9 years ago

Series 1-3 were sublime. Don't refer to them as the Granddad episodes. Granddad was actually a better character than Albert. There was a lot more soul to him.

[–] nicholasjameslynch 8 years ago

Series 1 - 3 were the best, and I do love series 5 and 6. Had they have ended it at Rodney's wedding. It would have been a great finish, and would have ledt us really wanting more! Series 7 had some good episodes, like Stage Fright and Class of 62 though. I would have been very happy with the 96 ending with Del, Rodney and Albert walking off into the sunset. There was no need for the last 3

Michael wants to know what's going on.

[–] rjstephen 8 years ago

It was never that good after Series 6 and the jolly boys outing Xmas special.

Series 7 was hit and miss

''Modern men'' was like the extra episode they didn't need. The material of ''Modern Men and ''Heroes and Villains'' could have been cut down and combined together to make one episode ''Time on our hands'' was a strong ending episode (which they then ruined with those extra 3 episodes) and i actually liked the Miami special. But most of those other later specials were poor. Mother natures son and Fatal extraction poor, Rodney come home mediocre. The last 3 were substandard

[–] fawltybasil (249) 2 years ago

Nah, Series 1 is piss poor, and Uncle Albert is much better than Granddad.

[–] An_Invisible_Dog 9 years ago

To be honest I don't think there's too much difference between the 96 and 00s trilogy.

The writing was better in the 96 trilogy but even by then the show had degenerated into slapstick, politically correct, predictable, BBC humour. It had none of the grit or realism which the early series had.

The series should have ended with Rodney and Cassandra's wedding. With The Jolly Boys Outing being the last ever special.

It provided perfect closure for the series, with Rodney having Cassandra, Del re-finding Racquel. It was a perfect "and they lived happily ever after ending".

We didn't need to see the domestics and the dramas of failed relationships which were really a blight on the show thereafter.

[–] tgrrrsss 9 years ago

I agree up to a point Dog, but still think up to 96 passed mustard, however I agree on the grit and realism (as far as any sitcom can be) going by the wayside after - well certainly after the early episodes and def by close of 80's.

The final trilogy on the whole werent great and most agree, Strangers on the Shore is the closest in spirit in my view albeit slightly unrealistic and had Damian being a bit irritating, though he has his moments.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] sesarp101 8 years ago

Personally, I think Miami Twice was the last really good episode. The 1993 one was patchy and I remember being disappointed with the 1996 trilogy. Part of the problem was that the late 80s ones were just so brilliant, it would have been difficult to match them. From 1991 onwards it was like John Sullivan decided to just make everything, from the storylines to the jokes, bigger and bigger and it lost its subtlety.

Having said all that, I still yearn for it. How much do we need comedies like this now instead of all the pc-restricted crap that is on at the moment?

[–] fawltybasil (249) 2 years ago

Miami Twice was the start of the decline of the show. Del having a doppelganger who was a gangster was nonsense. Awful episode.

[–] colingar 8 years ago

The penultimate episode,"Strangers on the Shore...!",is one of my favourites.

[–] hurricane (1959) 4 years ago

I sort of agree.

The final three episodes, two of them weren't really that funny. The other one, the Gary episode, was the most amusing. Though, it did seem a shame sacrificing the happy ending to have one more amusing episode.

[–] macken74 (653) 4 years ago

Absolutely agree 100 % !!!!

Agree with all the points made plus it all the humour seemed so forced and reusing old joke ideas !

Also the way the old gang were all together in the nags head was extremely forced humour !

[–] Lucia2016 (612) 3 years ago

Going by the imdb user ratings series 6 was the highest quality overall every episode bar one is at least a 9 and they make up most of the top 10 of all time.

Then series 7 took a bit of a nose dive and averages around 7 making it one of the poorest so that was a warning sign, they got away with it by tying everything up in 96 perfectly but in the end they did a Patrick Duffy in Dallas.

They all do it though i wish they could resist the pressure and just say no our work here is done but they always have one last fight when they are over the hill