"Healthy Competition"

17th November 1983

This episode, unusually, is about precisely this. That, and Rodney growing up and struggling to assert his independence from Del, something which he fails spectacularly to do. Aside from the broken lawnmower engines that Rodney gets conned into buying (twice!), Del’s "quality gear" includes jumping toy dogs (made in Burma) and technicolour hats sold to Indians (aka tea cosies with the holes sewn up!).

She’s back! I spy the red-headed babe from Fawlty Towers and "The Pirate Planet", re-installed behind the bar of the Nag’s Head. This week, she’s got a lovely short haircut and is wearing a hideous green blouse and red necktie combo.

None of the three regulars gets lucky in this episode, but Mickey Pearce scores whilst on holiday (see below)

We meet Mickey Pearce, Rodney’s oft-mentioned best mate. He’s depicted here as a bit of a conman, escaping to Benidorm with Rodney’s partnership money. He has a garden shed, but we don’t find out if he lives at home, on his own, or with person’s unknown [presumably not with a partner, as he picks up a Swedish bird overseas, but maybe that’s no guarantee!]. Mickey may have literally "robbed his grandmother", but it was never proven.

We see the auction house where Del gets all his gear from. Del appears to be selling from an indoor market, and not the same stall we usually see him at.

Plenty to be found here. Alfie Flowers is the (unseen) scrap metal merchant who keeps selling everyone broken lawnmower parts, and "Young Towser", who isn’t really that young at all, does a deal with Del in the curry house to buy them back.

Not a hugely witty episode, and you have to listen carefully to get the gags. When announcing the price of his toy dogs to an eager indoor market crowd, Del says "I’m not going to mess around with copper’s… that’s a Freudian slip by the way"!

Del goes for a "Ruby Murray" (curry)

Everyone except Julie the Ginger Barmaid is dressed reasonably sensibly. But I’m starting to wonder if Rodney is seeing a bit of wig action. He’s oddly blonde-ginger here as well, which could suggest either a rug or that he’s modelling himself on Julie, the Nag’s Head stunna.

A fine episode, with the classic John Sullivan trait of a complex and clever plot to enhance the humour (which isn’t that hilarious, although Del’s reaction at the final resolution is priceless, owing much to David Jason’s skill at portraying it). It’s about Rodney breaking free, and trying to grow up. Much of this is painful to watch in a way, as he bluffs his way into making out his tin-pot venture with Mickey Pearce is every bit as grown up as Del’s business. In the end, Rodney loses all his money and returns to the TIT fold.