Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3922 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-05-09
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 58 minutes

Synopsis
When Rodders acquires a new 'friend', who also happens to be the daughter of the Duke of Mallbrey, Del decides to get in on the act.

Customer Reviews

beware of this edited episode !
At last, the final piece in the jigsaw. Havng provided us with all of the other episodes several months ago, the BBC made us wait until May for this excellent offering in which Rodney is subjected to the ultimate humiliation at the hands of his brother. Having met a young lady in the market, Rodder's embarks on a blossoming 'friendship' with her. It soon turns out that she is the daughter of the Duke of Maylebury. Unfortunately, Del gets wind of her royal connections and decides to intervene in an attemp to marry him into the aristocracy - with disastrous consequences.
Excellent - now i can sit back and watch every single minute of Fools and Horses from Big Brother (1981) to Sleepless in Peckham (2003).
But hang on a minute! What's this note on the back of the case? 'Please note that this DVD contains the 2004 version and is not the same as originally broadcast.' Too right it's not the same as the original. The 1987 original has not just been trimmed, it has been butchered; reduced to a mere 58 minutes. Sections removed (as far as i can make out so far) include Del's running argument with the other opera goers at the theatre and large chunks of Del's final humiliation of Rodney at the Duke of Maylebury's dining table - so much so that, in places, the show lacks continuity.
The only question that springs to my mind is: Why did you do this BBC? Did someone think it would improve it to 'tighten it up a little'?
As far as i am concerned this is one DVD that will sit on the shelf alongside all the other Fools and Horses looking pretty. If i plan to watch this episode in future, it will be on the original uncut video.

4 stars for story, 0 stars for DVD!
'A Royal Flush' is often unfairly considered to be the worst episode of 'only fools and horses' ('Diamonds Are For Heather', anyone?). Admittedly, it falls far short of classic xmas specials like 'To Hull and Back', 'The Jolly Boys Outing' and 'Heroes and Villains', but it's still very funny. The great thing about the series is that even the less-good episodes are very watchable, which says a lot about the standard of contemporary comedy.

The BBC, in their ever mystifying ways, have done this great comedy a disservice. Due to music rights, some episodes (particularly classic xmas specials) have been edited, and the picture and sound quality of some discs is appalling. Bad marketing means that hour-long specials like 'The Frog's Legacy' which were produced as part of series 5, are put on disc on their own. Good job the show is such good comedy. What's wrong with series 4, 5, 6, and 7 boxsets putting feature length xmas specials with their respected seasons and an extra boxset for the final specials ('Mother Nature's Son' onwards)? Far better value, IMHO. Some extras would be nice, too.

But, on to 'A Royal Flush'. The episode hasn't been edited, it's been HACKED TO DEATH! The original episode ran at 80 minutes, this runs at less than 60! WHY? Why do whole segments have to be mercilessly cut out? The episode was filmed to a tight schedule, meaning there was no time to add a laughter track. Like 'Miami Twice', a laughter track has been plastered over the episode. There's nothing wrong with this in theory, but it has been so crudely done here that whenever the 'audience' laughs, the sound drops down and comes back up after the laugh, creating an unnatural feeling. The picture is just as shoddy as the other DVD's, too.

All in all, an underrated episode, but an ATROCIOUS DVD. If you're a completist you'll get it, but hope and pray that someday the BBC or someone else releases 'Only Fools and Horses' on DVD all sparkly and cleaned up, with decent extras and full wonderful episodes. But this is the BBC we're talking about...

Disappointing
Please note this DVD is missing nearly 20 mins off the originally broadcast version including most of the good parts.

It has had a laughter track added which is very annoying.

The picture quality is also very grainy.

In short disappointing.