Time on Our Hands
| "Time on Our Hands" | |
|---|---|
| Only Fools and Horses episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 15 (Christmas Special) |
| Directed by | Tony Dow |
| Written by | John Sullivan |
| Produced by | Gareth Gwenlan |
| Original air date | 29 December 1996 (24.3 million viewers) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
"Time on Our Hands" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of the 1996 Christmas trilogy and the fifteenth Christmas special, It was first screened on 29 December 1996. It attracted a television audience of 24.3 million, a record for a British sitcom. In the episode, the Trotters finally become millionaires and Del decides to invest in the futures market.
The episode opens with a nervous Raquel planning the visit of her parents, James and Audrey, for dinner at the flat, and worrying about them meeting Del Boy for the first time. Del and Albert reassure her that they will help out. Del is still worried about Rodney after he and Cassandra had suffered a miscarriage two weeks previously, and Albert suggests that they come up with a "counter-worry" to take his mind off it, which leads to Del pretending to be ill, though Rodney barely notices.
Later that day, Rodney is cataloging stock in the Trotter's garage. Rodney wishes that something good would turn up in their lives. Del says that life is not like that. He picks out an old pocket watch to illustrate his point that their lives will not suddenly get better, out of the blue. Del tosses the watch onto a gas cooker.
Del and Rodney return to their block of flats but the lift breaks down. After being trapped in there for some time, the two brothers have a discussion about Rodney and Cassandra's miscarriage. A distraught Rodney confesses that he has spent too much time feeling sorry for himself since Cassandra lost their baby. Del tells Rodney that it is just a dropped stitch in life's tapestry, which their late mother Joan used to say whenever things went wrong. Rodney agrees and is finally at peace with the whole thing, and Del suggests to Rodney to go home and have a heart-to-heart with Cassandra. Once the conversation is over, Del successfully fixes the lift himself, and gets it working again. Only then does Rodney realise that Del had in fact tampered with the controls, in order to force Rodney to talk. The Trotter Brothers share a hearty laugh.
That evening, James and Audrey Turner, Raquel's parents, arrive for the meal, and all appears to be going well. However, whilst moving the coffee that Albert has prepared in the kitchen, Del realises that it is actually gravy, and thus Albert's "gravy" that they are pouring on their dinners is in fact coffee. The dinner ruined, all around the table politely mention that they are full up (apart from young Damien who exclaims, "this is horrible!"). When picking up his car from the Trotters' garage the following day, James – an antiques dealer – spots the old pocket watch. It is engraved "Harrison". After closer examination, he suggests that it may be the work of John Harrison, the man who designed and built the world's first successful maritime clock in the 18th century.
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