Only Fools and Horses

‘I watched Only Fools and Horses for the first time – and it wasn’t all that funny’

"I wondered if it was parodying itself," writes Ellie McKinnell

I’ve heard of it and I would recognise Del Boy, but that’s about as far as my knowledge of Only Fools and Horses goes.

It makes me think of my dad, of the 80s and of the age of bad comedy TV. Give me Friends any day.

But, in the name of journalism and in my endless goal to at least attempt to watch iconic TV shows, I sat down to the watch the first ever episode of Only Fools and Horses on Netflix – and here’s what I thought.

I definitely had a few chuckles throughout the half hour episode, sometimes at jokes that wouldn’t be allowed today as they’re not very PC, but more than not the jokes fell slightly short – the canned laughter just adding to the sense of it not being all that funny.

The show was obviously going to be dated – the first episode aired in 1981 after all – but when there was a scene outside it was unbelievably so.

The quality went down, the music accompaniment was laughable – I wondered if it was parodying itself or if this was for real.

The first episode, Big Brother, introduced you nicely to the main characters and gave you a good idea of what the whole series is going to be about – the lives of a couple of Peckham wheeler-dealers looking to get rich quick.

I instantly warmed to Del Boy and Rodney – they are two lovable rogues who are great entertainment.

But I never so more than chuckled or smiled at the scenes. It was funny, but it was dad humour funny. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman in her twenties or didn’t grow up with a wheeler dealer uncle, grandad or cousin in the family. I tried but it was just not my cup of tea.

As a whole it’s a very good, and original, concept and the characters are very strong – it’s no wonder the show became so iconic and went on for seven series.

But, for me, it’s not something to add to my watch list. I found it reasonably funny, but not enough for me to be interested in following the lives of Del Boy and Rodney for another 63 episodes.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button