The séance episode. First broadcast 5 February 1989.
Del is suffering from an undiagnosed illness that is giving him severe stomach pains, but he refuses to acknowledge it or to see a doctor. Things aren't helped by a downturn in recent sales which has raised the prospect of eviction as he hasn't paid the rent for three months. Despite this, he's still living the yuppy lifestyle, eating out most nights and running up bar bills in the pub.
Albert's new girlfriend Elsie Partridge used to be a medium in the 1960s and thinks their bathroom is haunted due to it being so cold. Seeing a chance to make some much-needed money, Del convinces Elsie to hold séances in the function room above the Nag's Head. Despite Mike's concern about "messing with the forces of darkness", a séance is held, during which Elsie passes on two messages from the dead — Boycie is told by his father to look after his child (despite it having been previously established that Boycie and his wife Marlene cannot have children), and Del's mother Joan tells him to go to the doctors. Del refuses to believe Elsie until Marlene announces she is pregnant. It's subsequently revealed that the message from Joan was actually a ploy by Albert to get Del to go to the doctors.
Del goes to see a doctor, although he's disappointed to find that his regular GP, Dr. Meadows, has left general practice and been replaced by a young Indian woman. Del fails to impress her by making inappropriate jokes, and lies throughout the examination — claiming to be a teetotal, celibate, health conscious non-smoker. Puzzled as to how a man with such a healthy lifestyle should be so ill, she sends him to hospital, where the doctors are just as baffled.
When Rodney, Albert, and Cassandra visit Del in hospital, he worries that he might have contracted AIDS due to his womanising past. He also finds out that Elsie's second séance ended with the pub being trashed after a mix-up with the posters led to a gang of punks showing up expecting to see an Iron Maiden-style band.
Whilst still pondering his health, Del is approached by his former GP, Dr. Meadows, who now works in the hospital. Having heard Del's name come up in conversations with his colleagues, he asked to see Del's medical file and has subsequently been put in charge of his case. Knowing him well (and seeing his claims to be celibate and healthy for the lies they are), Meadows quickly diagnoses Del as having irritable bowel syndrome caused by his busy, unhealthy lifestyle. He criticises Del for lying to his GP, telling him that this had confused the doctors handling his case. Warning him to actively lead a healthier lifestyle, Meadows then reveals that he has phoned the council, who have given Del some breathing space with regard to his rent arrears. He then discharges Del, who after an initial macho display of claiming that he knew he was fine all along, breaks down in tears of relief.
A few days later, back at Nelson Mandela House, a housebound Del is appalled at his muesli diet but is getting better, until Rodney comes home and announces that he and Cassandra are getting married, prompting him to do a spit-take.
Tropes:
- Blatant Lies: When he finally goes to the doctors, Del claims to be a teetotal, celibate, vegetarian health-conscious non-smoker. None of this is true, as Dr. Meadows later lampshades:Dr. Meadows: I just happened to be talking to some colleagues when the name "Derek Trotter" cropped up. So I asked if I could read your GP's report and have a look at your tests. I was amazed. I found myself reading about this non-smoking, teetotal, celibate, vegetarian health freak. I thought, can this be the same Derek Trotter that I know and begrudgingly admire? That uptight, wheeling, dealing Pina Colada lout? The Castella king? The curry connoisseur? The same man who's lived his life on nervous tension, fried bread and doubtful women?Del: And was it?Dr. Meadows: Yes!
- The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: Del is worried that he might be suffering from a certain unnamed disease, although the dialogue makes it clear that he's talking about AIDS. The disease was still pretty taboo in 1989, hence why it isn't mentioned by name, but the episode shows quite a surprising degree of AIDS awareness, most notably the fact that it's expressly stated that it isn't — as was widely considered to be the case at the time — something that only gay men contract, although Del does fear that he may have contracted it as a result of having had his hair cut by a man he thinks is gay.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Boycie's is Aubrey. This is the first time most of the main cast (many of whom went to school with him) discover this — although due to the audience laughter obscuring some of the dialogue, some viewers may assume it's his first name note ; either way, the only person who ever called him that was his father.Trigger: You never told us your name was Aubrey.Boycie: Nor would you, if your name was Aubrey!
- Everyone Has Standards: Elsie doesn't want to use her psychic skills to make money. For his part, Del — who sees her skills as a money-making opportunity — insists that if the Nag's Head is going to charge for people to attend her séances, she's entitled to a cut of the takings.
- Haunted House: Well, haunted pub. Maybe. Mike worries about the séances unleashing the "forces of darkness" due to the Nag's Head apparently being built on the site of a Medieval plague pit.
- Heel Realization: Rodney apologises to Albert for mocking him for suggesting that Del was suffering from "Green Parrot Disease".
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Elsie Partridge thinks the Trotters' bathroom is haunted because it's so cold, although Del reckons that's because of a faulty extractor fan. Elsie actually comes across as a genuine medium, although it is later revealed that the appearance of the ghost of Del's mum was a ruse to get him to go and see a doctor. Her knowing about Boycie's middle name and Marlene's pregnancy is harder to explain note .
- Noodle Incident: The second séance is unseen; according to Rodney, it was a disaster thanks to a mix-up with the publicity posters which caused a load of punk rockers to turn up expecting to see an Iron Maiden-style band; when the actual nature of the evening's entertainment became clear, they trashed the pub. Elsie was unharmed...Rodney: Fortunately, she remained in a trance throughout the riot!
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Del is occasionally quite homophobic; this aspect of his character was very much a product of its time, but the show often addressed this by gradually playing his homophobia at his expense and having his more idealistic younger brother call him out on it. This time, Rodney is rightly scornful of Del's speculation that he could have caught AIDS as a result of having his hair cut by a man who he thinks is gay.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Dr. Meadows, who in addition to diagnosing Del's health problems puts in a friendly word with the council about his rent arrears.
- Spit Take: The episode ends with Del doing one of these in response to Rodney's news that he and Cassandra have got engaged.
- Spooky Séance: Conducted in the hall above the Nag's Head, with Uncle Albert's psychic girlfriend Elsie Partridge in contact with the spirits.
- Story Arc: A few...
- Elsie has been mentioned before, but his is her first (and only) appearance. It's later revealed that she ends up cohabiting with Albert after he moves out of Peckham following the events of "Time on Our Hands".
- Mickey and Jevon start trading together, and sell Del some mobile phones ... which will get all three of them into trouble with the Driscoll brothers in the next episode, "Little Problems".
- Rodney announces that he and Cassandra are to marry, which happens in the next episode, "Little Problems".
- Marlene's pregnancy, revealed here, will lead to the storylines about her and Boycie raising Tyler, along with rumours about the boy's parentage, which will continue on into the spinoff series The Green Green Grass.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: As Del finds out, lying to his doctor about his lifestyle meant it took longer for his problem to be diagnosed.
- What You Are in the Dark: Albert cares enough about Del to get his psychic girlfriend Elsie to fake a vision in order to get him to see a doctor — and Elsie is happy to go along with the deception. No-one else knows that they concocted this plan.
