Miami Twice: The American Dream

Part 1 of Miami Twice is the set up of Del and Rodney's American adventure. This first part is good, but for me it is not consistently at the level of past episodes.

I like the banter at Damian's christening, plus the typically Del Boy shady deal that follows. It is a funny concept and nicely lays the foundations for what comes next. That being said, as the situation spirals and leads to Del's more questionable behaviour, arguably it takes the character too far over the line of dishonesty. I accept that he has frequently been portrayed as manipulating those around him for personal gain, but this one feels a bit strong.

The plot also relies upon the issues that Rodney and Cassandra continue to experience with their relationship. This aspect is necessary for a certain chain of events to happen. By this point in the show the arc of their marriage problems had run its course for me and this feels like a contrivance. On the other hand it gets us to Miami, so it's not worth getting overly picky.

Roger Lloyd-Pack's character Trigger makes a strong contribution to the banter with some typically show-stopping one liners in several scenes.

As ever all performances are excellent, with David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, and Lloyd-Pack standing out.

I wasn't looking forward to this one until I realised that this special was made up of 2 episodes (I had in on VHS when I was a kid) but this first part of Miami Twice is actually pretty good. First half at Damien's christening and after-party and the second half in the flat discussing the coming trip to Miami.

It's a shame the second part of Miami Twice couldn't live up to this set up.