You can walk!
The episode in which they sue the brewery. First broadcast 7 March 1985.
The Trotters have fallen on hard times, thanks mainly to Rodney's £500 investment in suntan lotion during a severe winter. To make things worse, the deep-fat fryer they sold to Mike, landlord of The Nag's Head, is on the blink and the tension brings Del and Rodney to boiling point. But throughout all this trouble, Uncle Albert, whom Rodney blames for their bad luck, keeps telling them that something will turn up.
As Albert leaves the pub, he accidentally falls through an open cellar door, and the Trotters quickly come up with a way to get some cash — by suing the pub for damages.
Albert's accident claim makes it to court, but to the shock of Del and Rodney, it appears that he has in the past used his wartime parachute training (where he learned how to fall safely) to seek fifteen identical claims, going back to 1944. The case gets chucked out of court, and Albert admits he did it to try and help Del and Rodney pay for Grandad's headstone.
Tropes:
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: The fact that Uncle Albert had parachute training while serving in the Royal Navy is an obvious Plot Hole, but most fans give this one a pass for three reasons:
- The episode's original plan was for Grandad to have had parachute training while serving in the Army, only for Lennard Pearce's death to force a hasty re-write.
- Albert's motive for staging the 'accident' is so that his great-nephews can have some money to pay for his brother's headstone (originally, Grandad's motive was to have been to make up the shortfall caused by Rodney's ill-advised investment in sun-tan lotion).
- Armed Forces personnel are sometimes trained for roles outside their normal ones, especially in wartime as this increases their availability to be redeployed if needed. Albert could well have done parachute training to enable him to serve with a naval aviation unit. To this day, the Royal Navy still has guidelines on the wearing of the Army parachutist badge on its uniforms, although instances of Navy personnel being thusly qualified are (understandably) very rare.
- Amoral Attorney: Solly Atwell, described by Rodney as being "more bent than the villains".
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Albert may have been estranged from his late brother, but he remembers how he used to look after him when they were young, and now his grandsons have taken him in when no-one else in the family would. Realising that they can't afford a headstone, he sees a final chance to repay his brother by getting the money for it himself by falling back on an old scam he used to run.Del: [awed] You did this for Grandad's headstone?
Albert: He was my older brother, Del. When I was a kid, he used to look after me. I never did anything for him, never had a chance to. Until now. - The Con: Albert uses his wartime parachute training to safely fall through open pub cellar hatches, then get compensation from the pub which should have roped the area off. It goes awry when Del (who for once is not in on the scam) gets greedy and tries to sue the brewery because he doesn't think that their compensation offer (£2,000) is enough.
- Courtroom Episode: The lawsuit goes to court — where the brewery's lawyer reveals that he's done his homework, and confronts Albert about his history of using his military training to falsely claim compensation for injuries suffered as a result of falling through open pub cellar hatches.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even though Albert isn't a villain, he still broke the law (both during the episode and in the past) by trying to claim money under false pretences. However, on this occasion, it's hard not to feel sorry for him, for two reasons.
- One; he didn't do what he did due to selfishness or greed. He did it because he wanted to help his great-nephews who were in a dire situation and had no money left. Albert even admitted that he didn't want to do it due to his age, but at the same time wanted to thank Del and Rodney for everything they have done for him.
- Two; he wanted to use his portion of the money to buy his brother a headstone. This was Albert's way of both thanking Ted for looking after him as a child and also saying that he was sorry for what happened in the past.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: The basis of the plot. Del decides to sue the Nag's Head after Uncle Albert falls into its cellar, despite the brewery's offer of an out-of-court settlement. The suit ends up being thrown out when the defence points out that Albert is a trained paratrooper (thus having knowledge of how to fall without injuring himself) and that he has "accidentally" fallen down pub cellars numerous times in the past, and taken the settlements.
- Malaproper: After the case gets thrown out, Rodney reckons that Solly will be "defrocked" for his involvement in the case. In actual fact, the term for a lawyer being suspended from practicing is "disbarred"; Rodney is using the term for a priest being suspended (although that term is actually "unfrocked").
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Del, Rodney and Solly have one of these when it is revealed in court that Uncle Albert has a long history of falling into pub cellars and claiming compensation.Rodney: I don't believe it!
Del: It's a bloody nightmare, Rodney, it's a bloody nightmare! He's been down more holes than Tony Jacklin! - Mood Whiplash: Del and Rodney are understandably furious when they learn what Albert did. Needless to say, they are initially dismissive of his apology, even though he tries to explain that he did it mostly for them. The key word is mostly. The other reason was that he wanted to get Grandad a headstone. Del and Rodney are both genuinely shocked and touched by this, so much so that they forgive Albert upon learning this.
- Blink and you'll miss it, but when Albert mentions Grandad his voice noticeably breaks. Also if you look at Rodney when Albert finishes his speech, he is actually crying.
- As a result the brothers start to take their Uncle home. Albert is still sitting in the wheelchair he was taken to court in, but a few moments later, Del remembers that Albert can actually walk and the episode ends with the audience laughing.
- Never-Forgotten Skill: Albert's parachute training came in handy when he accidently fell down a hole and then started to do so intentionally to get compensation pay; since he learned how to fall properly, he avoided harm.
- Noodle Incident: Albert's lengthy history of falling down open pub cellars to claim compensation.Rodney: He's had fifteen previous lawsuits for falling down holes!
Del: Those are the known cases, Rodney! How many times has a landlord settled out of court with a quiet backhander to save all the aggro?! I mean, what did the insurance companies nickname him?Rodney: The Ferret.Del: The Ferret!- Also, this little reference from Rodney to Albert's naval past:
Rodney: [points at Albert] What about the time he was in the Navy!? Every single ship he ever sailed on either got torpedoed or divebombed! Two of them in peacetime! - "Ray of Hope" Ending: As the episode ends, Del notes it's gotten a bit warmer out, so they might be able to sell some of the suntan lotion after all.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Del asnd Rodney, to each other:Del: Look at me, look, I'm gutted! It's all your fault, Rodney!
Rodney: Oh, don't start all that again!
Del: Well it is. I mean ever since you were that high, you've done nothing but hold me back!
Rodney: I held you back?
Del: Yeah - I mean, when Mum died I should have had you put into care! I would have been someone by now! I would have done, I would have probably had me own penthouse, and I would have had an Aston Martin with a telephone and all that!
Rodney: Well, I'll tell you something, Del - you'd have been doing me a favour if you'd had put me into care! 'Cos at least then I might have got a proper job when I left school, instead of humping your old suitcase all over London! - Sherlock Scan: Rodney points out that Albert couldn't possibly have been hurt in the fall (he wasn't) because of this trope, as there would be small signs backing this up, such as blood or at least his hat coming off.
- Staged Pedestrian Accident: Uncle Albert uses his wartime parachute training to fall safely down open pub cellars.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Albert and Rodney were perfectly fine with the original £2000 settlement, but the ever-opportunistic Del got greedy and decided he wanted more money. Needless to say, if he had just listened for once, the issues brought up by the court case would never have happened.
- The same can also be said for Rodney, who blew all of the family's money on suntan lotion in the middle of a cold spell. This left the Trotters with no money to buy any other goods, let alone pay for Grandad's headstone. Needless to say, if Rodders had used the money a bit more wisely, none of this would have ever happened.
