Healthy Competition
Encyclopedia
"Healthy Competition" is the second episode of series 3 of the BBC
sit-com, Only Fools and Horses
. It was first broadcast on 17 November, 1983.
for failing to spot an approaching policeman at the market, leading to a frantic chase scene, Rodney
informs Del and Grandad
that he has other things on his mind and is preparing to make a big announcement, namely that he is leaving Trotters Independent Traders to set up a business partnership with his friend Mickey Pearce. Del and Grandad warn Rodney that Mickey Pearce is not to be trusted and has no business sense, but Rodney dismisses their claims. Del warns Rodney that going it alone means he has to pay for everything himself from now, but Rodney goes ahead with it, insisting that he can prove he is just as good as Del. Rodney raises his revenue by informing Del that he owns one half of Trotters to which Del, after slight hesitation, gives Rodney money from the pile (though clearly less than half, in keeping with his character).
Rodney and Mickey meet Del at a local auction
the following day, and set their eyes on a set of glass goblets. Del then arrives and urges them not to buy Lot 37, claiming that it's just scrap iron
. Both Rodney and Mickey, thinking Del is trying to cheat them out of bidding for that lot, go ahead and purchase Lot 37, which turns out to be rusting and broken lawnmower engine
s. It also emerges it was Del who was actually selling the engines in the first place, having drunkenly bought them off Alfie Flowers, an associate of his. Adding insult to injury, Rodney and Mickey have paid so wildly over the odds for the engines that Del ending up making a decent profit on the engines, with which he was able to buy the goblets.
Things immediately go downhill for Rodney. Whilst Del has a successful week and manages to sell all his merchandise, Rodney and Mickey are lumbered with the broken lawnmower engines which are still stuck in Mickey's garden shed. Del tells Grandad about his own success and they both joke about Rodney's misfortune with the lawnmower engines. A couple of nights ago, someone broke into the shed and stole the engines, only to return the next night and put them all back. Rodney comes in and Grandad suggests they leave him alone and don't upset him about the engines.
Rodney is clearly struggling but is determined to convince Del he is managing perfectly. He claims to have had plenty of clients asking about the engines, and his claims become more exaggerated as Del probes further into his business. Rodney asks for some food but Del and Grandad refuse to cook him anything as he hasn't paid his housekeeping money. Rodney attempts to persuade them, but they don't budge. Grandad asks how Rodney could be struggling with money when he had the £200 given to him by Del out of their share of the partnership. It soon transpires that Mickey has gone on holiday to Benidorm
with the company finances, leaving Rodney with nothing.
Feeling sorry for his brother, Del Boy comes up with a scheme to get Rodney to rejoin Trotters Independent Traders with his pride intact and thinking that he has been successful. He pays another trader, Towser, to buy the lawnmower engines from Rodney for £200, even though they're only worth about £20, and to make up a story about a contact in the Parks Department who wants as many engines as he can get. Towser then asks what he should do with the engines, and Del tells him to give them back to Alfie.
Later on at the Nag's Head, Rodney proudly tells Del that he has sold the lawnmowers to Towser. Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that Del's plan hasn't quite worked out, and that Towser only paid Rodney £165 and kept the remaining £35 for himself. Worse still, Rodney has invested all the proceeds in buying another set of lawnmower engines from Alfie Flowers which are, unknown to Rodney, the same ones Towser has just got rid of. He thus asks Del if he can borrow some money, and Del angrily bemoans what a 42 carat plonker his brother is.
: Jaws
theme
Note: In the VHS/DVD versions, John Williams' "Jaws theme" is replaced by a similar sounding piece of music.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sit-com, Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
. It was first broadcast on 17 November, 1983.
Synopsis
After an argument with Del BoyDel Boy
Derek Edward Trotter, better known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its prequel, Rock & Chips...
for failing to spot an approaching policeman at the market, leading to a frantic chase scene, Rodney
Rodney Trotter
Rodney Charlton Trotter is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst.-Personality:Rodney's personality was based on the experiences of series creator John Sullivan, who also had an older sibling and, like Rodney, claimed to have been a dreamer and...
informs Del and Grandad
Grandad (Only Fools and Horses)
Edward Kitchener "Ted" Trotter better known simply as Grandad, was a character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses from 1981-1984...
that he has other things on his mind and is preparing to make a big announcement, namely that he is leaving Trotters Independent Traders to set up a business partnership with his friend Mickey Pearce. Del and Grandad warn Rodney that Mickey Pearce is not to be trusted and has no business sense, but Rodney dismisses their claims. Del warns Rodney that going it alone means he has to pay for everything himself from now, but Rodney goes ahead with it, insisting that he can prove he is just as good as Del. Rodney raises his revenue by informing Del that he owns one half of Trotters to which Del, after slight hesitation, gives Rodney money from the pile (though clearly less than half, in keeping with his character).
Rodney and Mickey meet Del at a local auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
the following day, and set their eyes on a set of glass goblets. Del then arrives and urges them not to buy Lot 37, claiming that it's just scrap iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. Both Rodney and Mickey, thinking Del is trying to cheat them out of bidding for that lot, go ahead and purchase Lot 37, which turns out to be rusting and broken lawnmower engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
s. It also emerges it was Del who was actually selling the engines in the first place, having drunkenly bought them off Alfie Flowers, an associate of his. Adding insult to injury, Rodney and Mickey have paid so wildly over the odds for the engines that Del ending up making a decent profit on the engines, with which he was able to buy the goblets.
Things immediately go downhill for Rodney. Whilst Del has a successful week and manages to sell all his merchandise, Rodney and Mickey are lumbered with the broken lawnmower engines which are still stuck in Mickey's garden shed. Del tells Grandad about his own success and they both joke about Rodney's misfortune with the lawnmower engines. A couple of nights ago, someone broke into the shed and stole the engines, only to return the next night and put them all back. Rodney comes in and Grandad suggests they leave him alone and don't upset him about the engines.
Rodney is clearly struggling but is determined to convince Del he is managing perfectly. He claims to have had plenty of clients asking about the engines, and his claims become more exaggerated as Del probes further into his business. Rodney asks for some food but Del and Grandad refuse to cook him anything as he hasn't paid his housekeeping money. Rodney attempts to persuade them, but they don't budge. Grandad asks how Rodney could be struggling with money when he had the £200 given to him by Del out of their share of the partnership. It soon transpires that Mickey has gone on holiday to Benidorm
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....
with the company finances, leaving Rodney with nothing.
Feeling sorry for his brother, Del Boy comes up with a scheme to get Rodney to rejoin Trotters Independent Traders with his pride intact and thinking that he has been successful. He pays another trader, Towser, to buy the lawnmower engines from Rodney for £200, even though they're only worth about £20, and to make up a story about a contact in the Parks Department who wants as many engines as he can get. Towser then asks what he should do with the engines, and Del tells him to give them back to Alfie.
Later on at the Nag's Head, Rodney proudly tells Del that he has sold the lawnmowers to Towser. Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that Del's plan hasn't quite worked out, and that Towser only paid Rodney £165 and kept the remaining £35 for himself. Worse still, Rodney has invested all the proceeds in buying another set of lawnmower engines from Alfie Flowers which are, unknown to Rodney, the same ones Towser has just got rid of. He thus asks Del if he can borrow some money, and Del angrily bemoans what a 42 carat plonker his brother is.
Episode cast
Actor | Role |
---|---|
David Jason David Jason Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack... |
Del Boy |
Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies... |
Rodney |
Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce Lennard Pearce was an English actor who worked mostly in the theatre, but also appeared in a number of British television programmes. He landed his most notable TV role during the final few years of his life, starring as Edward "Grandad" Trotter in the popular sitcom, Only Fools and Horses from... |
Grandad |
Glynn Sweet | Auctioneer |
Patrick Murray | Mickey Pearce |
Rex Robinson Rex Robinson (actor) Rex Robinson is a British actor who appeared in three Doctor Who serials directed by Lennie Mayne. He played Dr. Tyler in The Three Doctors, Gebek in The Monster of Peladon, and Dr. Carter in The Hand of Fear... |
Harry (foreman) |
Dev Sagoo | Waiter |
Mike Carnell | Towser |
First appearances
- Mickey Pearce (although he had regularly been mentioned as a friend of Rodney's before in the previous two seasons)
Errors
- The Trotter van is shown to be yellow inside the back door as well as outside, whereas in "A Touch of GlassA Touch of Glass"A Touch of Glass" is an episode of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 2 December, 1982 as the final episode of series 2...
", the van had a serious spray job as the complete interior was dark red.
Trivia
- In the scene where Rodney is explaining his plans to go into the self-catering holiday trade with Mickey Pearce, and Del Boy can't quite see how they're going to manage it on £200, Grandad's (Lennard Pearce) line 'What've you got, a Wendy House?' made the audience laugh so loudly that filming nearly had to be stopped.
Music
John WilliamsJohn Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
: Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
theme
Note: In the VHS/DVD versions, John Williams' "Jaws theme" is replaced by a similar sounding piece of music.