"A Royal Flush" is often unfairly considered to be the worst feature-length episode of Only Fools and Horses. Admittedly, it falls far short of classic Christmas specials like "To Hull and Back", "The Jolly Boys' Outing", and "Heroes and Villains" among others, but it's still funny. The great thing about the series is that even the less-good episodes are very watchable, which says a lot about the standard of contemporary comedy.
While helping out Del Boy in the market, Rodney meets a posh woman named Lady Victoria Marsham Hales of Covington House, and they become quite smitten.
Rodney looks up more information about Victoria at the library and discovers that her father, Sir Henry Marsham, 14th Duke of Maylebury, is a second cousin to the Queen. Del believes that Rodney marries Victoria, the rest of the Trotter family will be millionaires this time next year! After purchasing tickets thanks to Del, Rodney and Victoria attend the opera "Carmen", only to be joined by Del himself, and June Snell, returning from the fourth season's "Happy Returns". The night at the opera goes pear-shaped for Rodders when Derek and June stuff their faces with orange juice, liquirice allsorts, crisps, peanuts, ice-cream, bothering the other audience members, and Del whistling along to the music. Rodders and Victoria leave in an abrupt huff, while Del is convinced that he made a good impression.
Rodders is invited by Victoria to stay at Covington House for the weekend, but Del Boy tags along and tries to impress Lord Henry by shooting clay pigeons with Iggy Higgins' single barrel pump-action shotgun.
That night, Rodney asks Del to behave himself at the dinner, but he keeps talking to Lord Henry about Leonardo Da Vinci.
Meanwhile, Albert is getting along well with the cooking staff, and even tells one of his boring war stories to the young footman.
At the dinner table, Del gets completely drunk and tells everybody in the room, Victoria and Lord Henry included, about Rodney's suspended drug sentence, and a tasteless joke about an Irishman on a skiing holiday (Victoria's mother died in a skiing accident nine years earlier) which enrages Lord Henry so much, he throws the Trotters out!
Very early next morning, Rodney is in the flat all alone, as a completely hung over Del Boy enters and tries to apologize for what he did, but Rodney berates him for interfering as always, like the time Rodney joined the army cadets, only to be forced by Del to take tap-dancing classes with his army boots in order to be a child star. Rodney then points out that he was offered 1000 by Lord Henry to leave Victoria for good, yet turned it down, much to Del's chagrin. The Trotter brothers make up with a handshake.
Punters really got a great deal when this episode was released on DVD. It's not been cleaned up, there's a crap echoey laughter track, no extras, and half the scenes are missing because it's the "2004 version". All this and you have to buy the 45 minute episode on a single full-price DVD cheers.
This is better than I remember it, an unfestive Christmas episode of the "Del Boy holds Rodney back" mould. In truth, even though the 2004 DVD release is cut to shreds you don't miss much, and the script is very witty the re-appearance of June from "Happy Returns" is also welcome. However, this rapidly winds up one of those episodes that it's actually painful to watch, as Del turns up at the country manor to humiliate Rodney, and even attempts to pay off the Duke. He's horrible here, and it's heartbreaking to hear Victoria's final words to Rodney "Are you still staying overnight? Or...". At the end you begin to wonder if comedy should really be so unpleasant to watch.moreless
Episode Summary
EDIT
Rodney dates Victoria, the Duke of Malbury's daughter, and Del Boy starts making plans for the wedding of the year.
-
GUEST STAR
Arnold PetersPatterson
-
GUEST STAR
Stephen RiddleGiles
-
GUEST STAR
Daphne GoddardLady at dinner
-
David Jason
Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter
-
Nicholas Lyndhurst
Rodney Trotter
-
Buster Merryfield
Uncle Albert
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
See All-
TRIVIA (0)
ADD TRIVIA- ADD TRIVIA from this episode.
-
QUOTES (0)
ADD QUOTES- ADD QUOTES from this episode.
-
NOTES (1)
ADD NOTES-
Music: "Ask" performed by The Smiths, "Sometimes" performed by Erasure, and extracts from the Kent opera.
-
-
ALLUSIONS (0)
ADD ALLUSIONS- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.
-
RIP John Sullivan
12/26/112
-
Hello....
05/29/111
-
Question about Miami Twice.
03/30/111
-
cut for PC brigade ?
02/01/112
-
New Only Fools and Horses Apps from the BBC
12/14/101
Season 5 Episodes
See AllEp 9
Dates
Ep 9
Royal Variety Performance
Ep 8
The Frog's Legacy
Ep 7
A Royal Flush
Ep 6
Who Wants to Be a Milliona...
Ep 5
Video Nasty
Ep 4
Tea for Three
Ep 3
The Longest Night
Ep 2
The Miracle of Peckham
Ep 1
From Prussia with Love
-
danbambridge EDITOR
User Score: 806
-
FreakUndercover TRUSTED
User Score: 900
-
francklloyd
User Score: 304
-
RyanPaulDavies
User Score: 137
-
TRForward
User Score: 120
-
Roy_Stantz
User Score: 96
-
qfred9
User Score: 40
-
TinnieMaster
User Score: 24
-
Blazephlozard
User Score: 16
-
cooler31n
User Score: 16
More
Less
