When people talk about Christmas TV events, the 1996 Only Fools and Horses Christmas trilogy is the one I really remember. I was 14 at the time and a big fan of the show, so the whole family sat down and watched the three episodes as they went out, starting on Christmas Day and then at two day intervals. Intended to finally end the series, the secret that the Trotters would become millionaires in the final episode was unfortunately thoroughly blown by the press, although some of them erroneously reported that they would do so by winning the lottery. Fortunately, John Sullivan presented the nation with an intricately written trilogy which played to all the strengths of the show, incorporating broad laughs and clever character comedy, the highs and lows of family drama, appearances by all the classic characters you'd expect to see, and an ending that perfectly mixed the ultimate high with the melancholia Sullivan was so adept at finding in his now firmly established world.
What I noticed most this time round about Heroes and Villains, part one of the trilogy, is how much broader it is than many of the other episodes. Although it has become an iconic image associated with Only Fools and Horses, Del and Rodney dressed as Batman and Robin is a goofier concept than Sullivan usually explored in this particular series and there's also a slapstick chase sequence, a joke about Uncle Albert accidentally drinking a urine sample and a fantasy dream sequence. The latter opens the episode, with Rodney imagining a dystopian future in which Damien has become a dictator-like figure. Parts of it parody Dennis Potter's Cold Lazarus, a big Channel 4 production from the same year which has now been largely forgotten, but the sequence works well enough without knowing the reference points. I was expecting this opening to be sillier than it actually is but this time round I noticed that Sullivan is already setting up his ending here, with Rodney's plea of "I want to go back to how it used to be" foreshadowing the Trotters' difficult transition into the high life, something that only becomes apparent when you've seen the whole trilogy.
Though the broader approach does come as a surprise after a handful of much bleaker Christmas specials, it is ultimately a very welcome change of pace and captured with skill by Tony Dow's direction. The urine drinking scene, for instance, turns an old and tired concept into genuine hilarity through the performances of all three leads. And the Batman and Robin sequence became iconic for a reason, refusing to rely simply on the cheap laugh of some funny costumes (although there's nothing wrong with a good cheap laugh, and this one works well) and instead running with the concept in some truly outlandish plotting that ultimately knits the episode together very neatly come the final credits. After several years of spending Christmas watching the Trotter family struggle against the threat of broken homes, the happy ending of Heroes and Villains is much appreciated and made it the perfect choice for Christmas Day viewing. It still works in that way, even when you know the grim avenues that some of these storylines will eventually explore across the whole trilogy.
There's a lot packed into Heroes and Villains' sprightly hour-long runtime. This is also the episode with the legendary Trigger's broom routine, with Sullivan continuing to write cracking material for Roger Lloyd Pack to deadpan his way through. Though the plot here goes to some far-fetched places, the writing also feels a good deal less forced than it did at times in the previous special Fatal Extraction, making Heroes and Villains one of the most purely enjoyable of the Only Fools and Horses Christmas specials. When the Trotters clink their Champagne glasses together in celebration at the end of the episode, it feels like a celebration of the return of a phenomenon that proved to be worth the three year wait. The Only Fools and Horses Christmas special was back!
What I noticed most this time round about Heroes and Villains, part one of the trilogy, is how much broader it is than many of the other episodes. Although it has become an iconic image associated with Only Fools and Horses, Del and Rodney dressed as Batman and Robin is a goofier concept than Sullivan usually explored in this particular series and there's also a slapstick chase sequence, a joke about Uncle Albert accidentally drinking a urine sample and a fantasy dream sequence. The latter opens the episode, with Rodney imagining a dystopian future in which Damien has become a dictator-like figure. Parts of it parody Dennis Potter's Cold Lazarus, a big Channel 4 production from the same year which has now been largely forgotten, but the sequence works well enough without knowing the reference points. I was expecting this opening to be sillier than it actually is but this time round I noticed that Sullivan is already setting up his ending here, with Rodney's plea of "I want to go back to how it used to be" foreshadowing the Trotters' difficult transition into the high life, something that only becomes apparent when you've seen the whole trilogy.
Though the broader approach does come as a surprise after a handful of much bleaker Christmas specials, it is ultimately a very welcome change of pace and captured with skill by Tony Dow's direction. The urine drinking scene, for instance, turns an old and tired concept into genuine hilarity through the performances of all three leads. And the Batman and Robin sequence became iconic for a reason, refusing to rely simply on the cheap laugh of some funny costumes (although there's nothing wrong with a good cheap laugh, and this one works well) and instead running with the concept in some truly outlandish plotting that ultimately knits the episode together very neatly come the final credits. After several years of spending Christmas watching the Trotter family struggle against the threat of broken homes, the happy ending of Heroes and Villains is much appreciated and made it the perfect choice for Christmas Day viewing. It still works in that way, even when you know the grim avenues that some of these storylines will eventually explore across the whole trilogy.
There's a lot packed into Heroes and Villains' sprightly hour-long runtime. This is also the episode with the legendary Trigger's broom routine, with Sullivan continuing to write cracking material for Roger Lloyd Pack to deadpan his way through. Though the plot here goes to some far-fetched places, the writing also feels a good deal less forced than it did at times in the previous special Fatal Extraction, making Heroes and Villains one of the most purely enjoyable of the Only Fools and Horses Christmas specials. When the Trotters clink their Champagne glasses together in celebration at the end of the episode, it feels like a celebration of the return of a phenomenon that proved to be worth the three year wait. The Only Fools and Horses Christmas special was back!