Only Fools and Horses blunders – money mishap, communication gaffe and garden confusion
BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses has delivered plenty of iconic moments throughout the years, but others have left fans confused as they pointed out some blunders
Only Fools and Horses fans have taken to social media and online forums to discuss their favourite episodes – and some of the blunders they’ve spotted along the way.
Nearly 42 years since the beloved BBC comedy first appeared on our screens, viewers have been noticing parts of the programme that they think do not make sense.
From a moment that is “out of character” for Del Boy, to a marital issue between Cassandra and Rodney, viewers have weighed in with their opinions about some iconic scenes.
Here, Daily Star takes a look at some of the Only Fools and Horses blunders that fans are only just spotting now.
Del throwing the money out the window
However one fan was left confused by a scene that saw Del Boy throw the money out of the window, which they thought was completely out of character.
They wrote: “Sitting here watching ‘To Hull and Back’, a great episode, but every time I watch it I can’t help but get so annoyed at the scene where Del Boy throws what he thinks is £15k of fake money off the balcony of Nelson Mandela house!
“Even if it were fake, there is no way Del would it just throw it away instead of using it!”
Other fans agreed, with a second commenting: “Was thinking about this scene today. Why did Del chuck it all out the window without even checking it first?”
“That’s the biggest issue, in my opinion. Had they set it up so that Del didn’t actually realise the other money was fake (and was told afterwards, for example) then it’d be much more plausible that he thought this was fake. The fact that he copped the other money was fake in a momentary glance, makes it even more absured that he wouldn’t have know this was legit,” wrote a third.
A fourth penned: “You’re not alone. Believe it or not, I nearly always switch that episode off just before that bit because I can’t bear it.”
However others gave reasons for Del-Boy throwing the money out of the window, adding: “I think they just wanted something to end it on. They already established in the episode Del can tell a real from a fake so I just imagine they kept it,” one said.
“With you on this. It’s 100% not plausible that Del would do this. HOWEVER, knowing he was this close to serving time, he probably doesn’t want a single trace of any recent activities discovered upon him,” agreed another.
Communication mishap
Another famous Only Fools Christmas special was Miami Twice, which saw Del Boy and Rodney accidently embroiled with the Mafia – only to be saved by Marlene and Boycie who are on holiday at the same time.
One scene saw an angry Cassandra call Rodney after she pointed out that Del Boy knew she had meetings and that Rodney should not be away with Del.
However a fan pointed out a blunder, as they explained that Rodney should have already known Cassandra’s plans.
“When in Miami, Rodney eventually is able to ring Cassandra who confirms that Del Boy knew she had important meetings when he booked the trip. This then causes Rodney to have an argument with Del Boy,” they wrote.
“What I don’t understand is HOW he only just found out this information now. How didn’t this come up sooner? Did he just not speak to Cassandra before he left?”
Others agreed that this did not make sense, with one saying: “Ahh dear old poetic license at work. The whole premise of the mafia storyline was silly, but fun nonetheless.”
“I didn’t like it at all. Too far fetched,” said another.
However, other fans tried to explain why this incident occurred, with a third pointing out: “Rodney and Cassandra were never the greatest communicators tbf. They thought their marriage was over at one point because of an argument in a maze.”
“I think it just about works that they wouldn’t see much of each other and this bit of communication fell through until Rodney was in Miami,” commented another.
“Rodney is always a bit naïve when it comes to Del-Boy and his schemes. You would have thought that he would have learnt that by now,” said a fifth.
“Because it’s a comedy and that was the funniest way of doing it,” penned a sixth, with a seventh adding: “Three reasons – Rodney ‘Dave’ Trotter is a 42 carat plonker 2. Rodney is sweetly naive and trusts his brother despite knowing him for decades 3. Rodney struggled to communicate with his wife at the best of times (and used to get very defensive is she criticised Del).”
Grandad’s ‘garden’
Del-Boy and Grandad persuade Rodney, who is working as the Chairman of the Housing Committee, to ask a Housing and Welfare co-ordinator to move the family into a three bedroom bungalow in the episode Homesick.
Grandad can be heard telling Rodney that he never had a home with a garden, but one viewer pointed out the subsequent scenes are set in what appears to be “Grandad’s garden.”
“In Homesick, Grandad laments to Rodney that he never did have a garden. Later in Mother’s Nature’s Son, the yellow gunge scene and Peckham Spring scene are both set in…Grandad’s garden,” they wrote.
However fans commented underneath that there is no blunder in this scene, as the “garden” that viewers see is Grandad’s allotment.
“It was a allotment but he meant he still never actually had a garden as part of his home,” said one, while a second added: “Grandad was laying it on thick by saying he’d never had a home WITH a garden. Travelling away from your home to an allotment isn’t really the same thing as having a house with a garden out back/front.”
“An allotment and a garden are not the same thing,” agreed a third.
“I think it was two different reasons – 1. He and Del were trying to pull a scam so were lying to Rodney about a few things and 2. He meant a garden he could just walk out of the back door to get to without needing a car or public transport.”
