In terms of overall consistency, I
consider Only Fools and Horses'
third series to be the single greatest series of the programme
rivalled only by its sixth series, however the two series have so
many differences between them that it is almost impossible to
compare. While series six lounged comfortably within one of the
show's many peaks, series three had something to prove; it pretty
much had to consolidate the programme to the masses after the slow
start of the first series and the sudden interest in the second
series. Fortunately, writer John Sullivan was more than able to
tackle the issue in providing the fans with the best episodes, some
of the most quotable of the show's jokes and one-liners as well as
cementing the Trotters' hold of Peckham. The one abnormality of this
collection of episodes was the third episode, 'Friday the 14th'
(1983), which shows Sullivan's first foray into experimenting with
his formula. For the majority of the five, half-hour length series,
Sullivan stuck to the show's main premise, that of three people
trying to become millionaires eventually becoming more
liberal and expansive with it as the show evolved. 'Friday the 14th'
is one of the first episodes that shies away from the established
rules; the only real goal the Trotters have in this episode is to
survive. Indeed, the show's concept of Del getting rich by fishing
salmon from a stream by Boycie's weekend cottage in Cornwall is a
MacGuffin; Sullivan wanted to portray the Trotters as fish out of
water and what better way to do that than isolate them in a cabin in
the middle of the woods with a crazed axe murderer trying to kill
them? 'Friday the 14th'
moved from the established template, threw the Trotters out of the
comfort of Nelson Mandela House, and straight into a dangerous
unknown.
In
spite of it being a sitcom episode, there are a lot of cinematic
flourishes courtesy of Sullivan's script and Ray Butt's direction
that borrow from the conventions of film noir, thriller and horror
films. Sullivan takes these conventions that are deliberately
clichéd, such as a thunderstorm, power outage, heavy breathing, a
mysterious hand through the undergrowth and shadowy figures to create
a truly suspenseful experience; I admit that during my first viewing
of this episode around ten years ago, I was watching through the
cracks of my fingers, my insular mind pondering whether or not the
writer was going to kill off the Trotters. These ambitious ideas were
aided by the location filming in Iwerne Minster, Dorset. In one of my
favourite images from the entire series, the sight of an abandoned
cottage amidst a heavy thunderstorm can make one forget that they are
watching a comedy- until the three-wheeled van hobbles its way onto
the screen like the anachronistic sight of a car in the distance of a
Lord of the Rings shot
and the unlikeliest of heroes emerge from it. The cottage set is also
well designed making it especially claustrophobic for the climax as
well as dangerous with the incessant claps of thunder and flashes of
lightning in the background.
Of
course, it wouldn't be an Only Fools and Horses episode
without comedy and 'Friday the 14th'
has this in abundance. Ironically, one of my favourite scenes is the
one where the van is stopped by a policeman who warns them of an
escaped axe murderer. Despite it being expository, the facial expressions
of the Trotter trio are priceless; Rodney and Grandad display pure
terror while Del is simply dumbfounded, inconvenienced that his
money-making weekend has hit a snag. The scene where the Trotters
first arrive at the cottage is also Only Fools at
its best with Sullivan's one-liners delivered perfectly by David
Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Lennard Pearce, cementing this
threesome as my favourite in the show's history. The three have a
perfect sync with each other and never miss a beat; indeed, my
favourite lines in the episode are made even funnier because they
flow impeccably between the three actors:
Rodney:
Oh, he's most probably half-way to London by now.
Del:
Yeah, of course he is. He's most probably looking for an empty place
up there.
Grandad:
Hope he don't find our flat.
Del:
Will you shut up?!
The Monopoly scene
is a welcome break from the tension. It's novel to see the Trotters
talk about something other than money or girls while the thunderstorm
still exists in the distance reminding us that although they're
playing a 'safe' board game, they are anything but safe. Perhaps as a
foreshadow to the climax, Del still adopts his business prattle when
conning Rodney out of Monopoly money for putting him in the
'penthouse suite' of his fictional hotel, showing that he is always
thinking about money, even in a friendly game. This scene also
unearths some facets of Rodney's character: he's a sore loser who
sulks like a petulant teenager when things don't go his way. Perhaps
Rodney is still reeling from failing after the previous episode
'Healthy Competition' (1983) and still feels that he has to prove
himself to Del and Grandad? Regardless of its purpose, this notion
reminds one of Harold Steptoe; Rodney has to lose to Del like Harold
has to to his father in order to maintain the sense of paralysis and
stagnation that all good sitcoms try to instil on their characters:
the young has to lose to the old and have to gain experience, but
ultimately never muster enough to leave. It shows that Sullivan was
not only inspired by films in 'Friday the 14th', but also
other sitcoms like Steptoe and Son. The scene culminates in
probably the most famous moment in the episode: Rodney seeing 'the
face in the window'. John Sullivan fans would recognise the man as
Bill Ward; not Black Sabbath's drummer; but an actor who had appeared
as a semi-regular as Reg the barman from Citizen Smith. His
somewhat haggard looks are rather startling the first time,
especially with the lightning flash emphasising his stern look as he
stares at Rodney aimlessly, but the moment returns to comedy after
Rodney pulls the curtain back sheepishly and is frozen by fear and
disbelief. The moment is a perfect complement to the Monopoly scene
because that is so light-hearted while the thought of a stranger
nearby is so terrifying. Sullivan allows the drama in this episode to
breathe because of the frequency of the comedy and the fact that he
can change gears easily and combine them.
The
axe murderer (or the 'Madman' as described in the cast list) is an
interesting character because he is one of an exclusive club who
manage to draw out fear from Del. Throughout the series, Del has been
frightened of very few people; Tommy McKay (initially) in 'No
Greater Love' (1982), The Driscoll Brothers in 'Little Problems
(1989), Eugene McCarthy from 'Stage Fright' (1991) and, arguably, Roy
Slater because of his tenacious and illegal efforts to imprison him
in 'May the Force Be With You' (1983) and 'To Hull and Back' (1985)
are the only few that spring to mind, however, as violent or
manipulative as they may seem, they are only gangsters, thugs or bent
coppers; the axe murderer, on the other hand, is worse than all of
those because he is of course a killer, but he is also insane and
unpredictable. He's raving mad of course, but he does speak some
logic about how winning can leave one 'open to attack'. The only
competition for the murderer would be the Occhetti family from 'Miami
Twice' (1991) yet Del never confronts the Don directly nor does he
engage with the Mafia after he knows the truth about them, so it
makes Del's encounter with the axe murderer in 'Friday the 14th'
one of the more intense moments in the entire series. It is to
Sullivan's credit that he can twist such a frightening situation into
a classic comedy scene. Sullivan mainly kept the drama and comedy
separate save for a few select moments, yet here he writes the scene
as nail-biting but also very tongue in cheek. Lines like 'It's all
right, it's Barratts!' diffuse the tension and make what could have
been a hard to watch scene very watchable. Also amusing is Del's
attitude to the whole situation. Del has shown to be streetwise, so
this episode highlights how much of a survivor he is; his natural
charisma persuades the murderer to give him his axe and he
effectively stalls the murderer until the authorities arrive. The
crafty facets of Del's personality come to the fore when he
progresses from trying to save his life to his taking liberties with
the murderer such as wagering on an invisible snooker game. This
shows a kind of refuge for Del; he's in deadly danger yet he thinks
about money and earning the upper hand. As Sullivan himself said:
'...even in his hour of need in a terrifying situation, Del will
still try to find a way of earning a fiver! He's in another part of
the world, but Del Boy's still trying out his Peckham tricks.'
In
closing, 'Friday the 14th'
is my favourite episode of Only Fools and Horses and
one of my favourites of any sitcom because John Sullivan did
something different and successfully married comedy and various forms
of drama to create a perfect example of comedy-drama that films such
as Scary Movie should
watch and study. The fact that this episode runs at thirty minutes
and is nigh on perfect is a testament to Sullivan's accomplished
writing talents and his knowledge and faith in his characters. Taken
out of Peckham for half an hour, they are allowed to grow a little
more and indulge in behaviour they wouldn't normally have to. The joy
of 'Friday the 14th'
is other than it being hilariously funny, the crew create an
atmosphere that isn't found in any other episode of Only
Fools and Horses making it
totally unique. While
'Miami Twice' had a very similar premise, basically that the Trotters
were under the mercy of killers, it has an entirely different mood,
that of consciously being a film; while 'Friday the 14th'
has the quiet dignity of being a drama akin to an episode of Tales
of the Unexpected except with
far more laughs and this, to me at least, makes it more enjoyable to
watch. Less is more after all. It is just the Only Fools episode
to watch at Halloween or any Friday the 14th
that happens to be on the calender. It
is just one of series three's many gems and a part of John Sullivan's
attempts to experiment with mood for that particular year; 'Homesick'
was a tearjerker, 'Healthy Competition' had a strong Steptoe
and Son vibe, 'Yesterday Never
Comes' was a caper, 'May the Force Be With You' was a parody of cop
shows, 'Wanted' and 'Who's a Pretty Boy?' were simply laugh out loud
funny and 'Thicker Than Water' started to retcon and shape the
series' backstory. It was them and episodes like 'Friday the 14th'
that demonstrated that there was more to this series than met the
eye and the belief that the series would have a bright future was
more than a suggestion.
-John
Sullivan quotations from issues 6 and 18 of The Only Fools and
Horses DVD Collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment