"Go West Young Man" is an episode of the BBC
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
, ''
Only Fools and Horses
''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...
''. It was the second episode of series 1, and was first screened on 15 September 1981.
This was the lowest rated episode of the entire series, with only 6.1 million viewers. In the episode, Del sells a faulty car to an Australian man.
Synopsis
Rodney is unhappy, since his friend
Mickey Pearce
Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include:
People Given name or nickname Men
* Mickey Andrews (b ...
has stolen his latest girlfriend, Monica.
Del Boy
Derek Edward Trotter, more commonly known as Del Boy, is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' and one of the main characters of its spinoff series, '' Rock & Chips''. He was played by David Jason in the original s ...
on the other hand is happy as he lays down his latest idea of where the future of Trotter's Independent Traders lies to Rodney and
Grandad. He suggests they enter the second-hand car trade. Del buys an old
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fiv ...
for £25 from
Boycie
Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce (born 31 January 1948) is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin-off series '' The Green Green Grass'' in which Boycie and hi ...
's used car lot, while also agreeing to store a
Jaguar E-Type in their garage for a week, which Boycie has bought for his "bit on the side" and wishes to hide from his
wife
A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...
.
When driving back to Nelson Mandela House, Rodney discovers that the Cortina is a "death trap" due to many faults, particularly its brakes. The next day, Del sells the Cortina to an Australian man for £199, which Rodney is uncomfortable with due to the car's unsafe condition. That night, Rodney decides to go out on the town and forget about Monica. He asks Del to go with him, but Del says he will only go with him if he has no one else to go with. Rodney instantly dismisses this by claiming that he has several friends who are ravers, although Del is not convinced. After some intense persuasion, Del agrees to join Rodney, taking Boycie's Jaguar.
The brothers visit a nightclub but because it is still early evening, it is quiet. Del questions how many times Rodney has gone to the club, as he told him that it was one of his regular clubs; it transpires Rodney has never been to the club. After having trouble ordering drinks from the waiter, Rodney tells Del about his "women in uniforms" fantasy, to which Del accuses Rodney of being a pervert. Rodney then notices two women at the bar but as Del charms them, it transpires they are a pair of
cross-dressers
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
. Realising that they are in a
gay club
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once served ...
, Del and Rodney abruptly leave.
Later that night, at another nightclub, they meet two beautiful women named Nicki and Michelle. Del lies about Rodney being an international tennis player, christened "Hot Rod" by the press, who faced "Jimmy Conelley" (
Jimmy Connors, whom Del states was knocked out in the first round by Rodney) in the final of the (indoors)
Miami Open. Despite this, they are able to persuade the two ladies to write their telephone numbers on Del's cigar pack, with the promise of a date next Friday.
On their way home, Rodney unwittingly throws the cigar pack out of the car, and when Del stops to retrieve it they are rear-ended by another car. Del and Rodney get out of the car to investigate, and discover the other car is the Cortina driven by the Australian man, who gets out and angrily chases the Trotters up the street.
Episode cast
Nick Stringer also appeared in another episode of ''Only Fools and Horses'' five years later, this time playing a different character. He played Del's old friend and business partner Jumbo Mills in the fifth series finale "
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
". He also appeared alongside David Jason in ''
Open All Hours
''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronn ...
''.
First appearances
*
John Challis
John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Onl ...
as
Boycie
Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce (born 31 January 1948) is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', played by John Challis. His story is continued in the spin-off series '' The Green Green Grass'' in which Boycie and hi ...
Music
*
Enigma: "Ain't No Stopping"
Ronnie Hazlehurst
Ronald Hazlehurst (13 March 1928 – 1 October 2007) was an English composer and conductor who, having joined the BBC in 1961, became its Light Entertainment Musical Director.
Hazlehurst composed the theme tunes for many well-known Briti ...
: ''Original Theme Tune''
Note: In the original series 1 broadcasts of Only Fools and Horses, the theme tune was very different to the version adopted from series 2, which became the standard version known today. Composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst, the original theme tune was a jazzy instrumental tune that played over the start and end credits. This tune was replaced in series 2 with a version written and sung by John Sullivan. After the initial run of series 1, all future re-runs replaced the Hazlehurst version with John Sullivan's to match the other series. The VHS/DVD versions all contain John Sullivan's version, and recordings with Hazlehurst's original tune are extremely rare, though it can be heard in a scene during episode 1 of the first series.
References
External links
*
*
{{Only Fools and Horses episodes
1981 British television episodes
British LGBT-related television episodes
Only Fools and Horses (series 1) episodes