Video Nasty (Only Fools and Horses)

Infobox Only Fools and Horses
episode_name = Video Nasty


Series = 5
writer = John Sullivan
director = Ray Butt
producer = Ray Butt
Duration = 30 minutes
Airdate = 28 September 1986
Audience = 17.5 million
Cast =

"Video Nasty" is the fifth episode of series 5 of the BBC sit-com, "Only Fools and Horses", first broadcast on 28 September 1986.

ynopsis

At the "Nag's Head", as Trigger and Boycie talk about Marlene's inability to have children, Rodney enters to tell everyone that he and Mickey Pearce have been given £10,000 by their evening art class teacher to make a local community film. Del Boy and Albert also enter and tell everyone that they've been borrowing hay bales from a private zoo run by Abdul's cousin's girlfriend's brother's mate's mate, as well as been to see Monkey Harris's sister's husband's first wife's stepfather, who works for an animal food company. Rodney tells everyone that he's writing the story of the film, and Mickey is directing.

The next day at the flat, Rodney has a writer's block when trying to come up with a good story, until Del enters from the hall with a very old, slightly battered typewriter. After showing him how hard he has to hit the keys, Del tells Rodney to begin typing. But Rodney says that he can't think of an idea for a story. Del mentions that he's got an idea for a story called "There's a Rhino Loose in the City", which is about a rhinoceros who escapes from a zoo and comes out at night to kill people in London, while hiding in the day, and a private detective, who's a lot like Charlton Heston, is called in to try and solve the crime, while trying to woo a female zookeeper. Knowing that it doesn't make any sense, Rodney refuses to use Del's story in his film, because he's only got a small budget. Del says that it's the beauty of it, because he knows where there's a rhinoceros going cheap.

At a Chinese takeaway, Del tells Rodney that Mickey Pearce is practicing using the camera by filiming weddings for money in return. Boycie and Marlene enter, and Marlene tells the Trotters that it's the 20th anniversary of her and Boycie's marriage next Friday, and the Trotters promise to be there. This inspires Rodney to put that in his film.

A few days later, back at the flat, Del shows Rodney a list of extras (who have to pay Del £10 to take part) to use in his film, as well as a list of businesses to advertise. Just then, Mickey Pearce enters with the filiming equipment and his latest girlfriend Amanda, as Del and Albert exit. Rodney is horrified to see that Mickey is filming a dirty movie involving Amanda wearing a nurse's uniform and stripping all for Boycie, and Rodney accientally gets caught on film.

On Friday, at the Nag's Head, after Mickey finishes filming Boycie and Marlene's anniversary, all the gang head into the back room and watch the British premiere of "Night Nurse" based on the novel by Enid Blyton. Rodney quickly realizes that's what Mickey and his girlfriend have been filming in the flat, and quickly sneaks once the film starts. Del screams out Rodney's name the moment he sees him in the film.

Back at Nelson Mandela House, Rodney tells Del that he didn't know what Mickey was going to do. Del Boy mentions that the people backing up Boycie in his dirty movies are the Driscoll Brothers. As Del takes off to the bathoom to stuff the "Night Nurse" videotape down the toilet, Mickey Pearce and his friends show up to party, and Rodney lets them in, just for Del to chase them out. Rodney then gets a telephone call from his art teacher, who isn't overly impressed with Rodney's idea, but is willing to try and film it anyway. Rodney then says Del knows where there's a rhino going cheap, revealing that Rodney's idea is "There's a Rhino Loose in the City" after all.

Episode cast

Episode concept

The idea for the script was based on a true story about a youth club that was given a grant from the local council to do filming, but all the equipment and money shortly disappeared. [http://www.ofah.net/immediacy-302]

Errors

*When Rodney closes the door in the kitchen while Mickey Pearce starts filming "Night Nurse", the wall behind the kitchen door has no window in it, yet in "The Sky's the Limit", the studio scene on the balcony when you see the satellite dish for the first time shows a small window in the kitchen wall.
*Marlene said that it's her and Boycie's 20th wedding anniversary, which means they first married in 1966, but in "Sleepless in Peckham", she claimed that they have been married for 34 years (which would've place their wedding in 1969).
*When the group are watching the video Mickey Pearce filmed back in the Nag's Head, the scene with Rodney in is shown from the same original camera angle as viewers originally saw it, rather than the camera Mickey would have been holding across the room.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/series5/video.shtml "Video Nasty" at bbc.co.uk]