To Hull and Back

A 90mins xmas special episode which has some very amusing moments but is not consistently funny. Lots of plot twists and it's quite thriller like at times but the special drags in places. However, the scene on the ship at night has funny dialogue which compares to the best OFAH and its a decent episode overall. It gets two extra stars for me because of the night time ship scene which is just wonderful.

When Albert is in the pub watching t..v saying that he was in the war but doesn't know which war it was so how does he know he was in it

The first feature length Trotters Christmas episode, and it's a good one.

While perhaps a little slow, and it takes a while to get used to the show not having a laugh track, this remains a very strong episode, and one with several memorable moments.

John Sullivan manages to pen something that feels epic and like a mini movie, while not losing what makes 'Only Fools' great.

I hadn't seen it in a while, but was glad to revisit it.

The Trotters get caught up in a diamond smuggling operation.

John Sullivan's script has the perfect mix of plot and character moments. I find it hard not to get caught up in their adventure as well as enjoy the humour.

Del, Rodney and Albert are the main focus and to me they are very funny and memorable. I never tire of hearing their banter about marine navigation. This is some of the funniest dialogue to me and is performed brilliantly (like all scenes) by David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and Buster Merryfield.

Other recurring and guest characters are also used superbly, such as Roy Slater, Denzil, Boycie, Abdul, Hoskins, and Trigger, with all the associated actors on great form.

Ray Butt uses locations in London, Hull and Amsterdam very effectively to make it feel like a 'special' episode. I think it generally has a more cinematic tone and this is further enhanced by not having a laughter-track.

As always comedy is in the eye of the beholder, but I think it is possible to watch To Hull and Back without having seen any other episodes of Only Fools and Horses, and it still has the same effect. That final ironic scene on the balcony of the flat still makes me sick to my stomach!

The first of two (I think) episodes with no laugh track and as a result some scenes are shown for what they really are (like the opening scene in the pub): okay scenes but with pretty out of date jokes. There are a couple of pretty racist-sounding moments as well which might offend some people but I prefer to judge things by the period they were made and not by today's standards and so this doesn't put me off in the slightest.

This is by no means the funniest episode but there's much more to it than that. At 90 minutes it's the longest episode so far (and I think of all of them, perhaps only the Jolly Boy's Outing is of equal length) but it doesn't struggle to fill the time once it gets going.

Almost all of it is filmed out of the flat (on the road, on a boat and in various outdoor and indoor locations) and even when they are in the flat for the final scene it is filmed from unique angles and it feels different. The second of three episodes to feature Slater. His story his quite tragic in many ways but he gets what he asks for in this one.

So, a few laughs, a longer than usual episode, loads of new locations, and just a pretty damn good time to be honest.