Only Fools and Horses Review: Britain's Favourite Sitcom
9/10 — Only Fools and Horses (1981)
Pros
- Jason and Lyndhurst's chemistry
- Brilliant writing
- Mix of comedy and pathos
Cons
- Uneven later specials
Del Boy Trotter and his younger brother Rodney scrape a living on the fringes of the law in a Peckham tower block, selling dodgy goods from a three-wheeled van. The show ran for seven series and many Christmas specials.
What works
David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst are brilliant, and Lennard Pearce and Buster Merryfield add warmth as Grandad and Uncle Albert. The writing mixes slapstick, like the famous bar fall, with real pathos, and the Christmas specials are classics.
Where it falters
Some of the early series show their age, and the later specials are uneven.
Verdict
A British comedy treasure.
