Mother Nature's Son (Only Fools and Horses)
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| Only Fools and Horses episode | |
| "Mother Nature's Son" | |
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| Series | Christmas Special |
| Writer | John Sullivan |
| Director | Tony Dow |
| Producer | Gareth Gwenlan |
| Duration | 65 minutes |
| Airdate | 25 December 1992 |
| Audience | 20.1 million |
Mother Nature's Son is a Christmas special episode of the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 25 December 1992.
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[edit] Synopsis
With Christmas coming, Del's applicaton to buy the Trotter family's council flat in "Yuppy Love" has finally been granted, meaning he now owns the flat. He also inherits Grandad's old allotment and receives a summons from the council, ordering him to remove a public health hazard from his land. The health hazard turns out to be barrels containing an unknown yellow substance. Del enlists Trigger and Denzil to help him get rid of the yellow liquid by transporting it in Denzil's van to the council waste disposal depot, although they ultimately dump it in a river.
Del accompanies Rodney to an organic health food shop owned by a wealthy gardening enthusiast named Myles. When he sees the high price of the store's produce, Del develops an interest in gardening and invites Myles to the allotment to advise him on growing vegetables. At the allotment, Myles notices a mysterious water source - which Del calls the Peckham Spring - and suggests that if the water is pure, it could be bottled and sold. However, unsighted by Myles, Rodney notices that the "spring water" is actually coming from a nearby tap connected to a hose and concealed by rocks. Del instructs Albert to take a sample of the water for laboratory testing but, aware of the scam, he uses bottled mineral water instead. The water receives a certificate of purity from Myles' committee, giving Del permission to sell it.
A production line is set up in the Trotters' flat, with Del filling up bottles from his kitchen tap. Peckham Spring Water quickly becomes one of Myles' biggest-selling products, and is given a trial at a major national supermarket. Sales are further boosted by the drought warnings issued by the local water board, who believe there is a serious underground leak due to the high volume of water being used by Del. The Trotters earn enough money for a Christmas holiday at the Grand Hotel, Brighton. In the final scene, as the Trotter family go to sleep in their hotel rooms, the BBC News reports that the River Thames has been contaminated by the same yellow liquid dumped by Del, Denzil and Trigger. As a blissfully unaware Del switches off the light, a bottle of Peckham Spring on his bedside table glows yellow.
[edit] Episode cast
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[edit] Notes
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008) |
- This episode was featured heavily in the media for a time after Coca Cola imitated the plot with its Dasani product - bottled water which was found to have been tap water from Sidcup. In a further irony given Del's dumping of the unknown barrels into the reservoir, levels of chemicals above legally permitted limits were discovered to be present in Dasani water.
[edit] Episode concept
The idea for the script was based on a real-life incident where people had their water supply closed as something had been dumped in a nearby reservoir.[1]
[edit] Errors
- At the start of the episode where Rodney is having his dream, when he is holding Damien in his arms up to a mirror, it shows the reflection. Rodney is holding his arms the wrong way.
- After Del makes his bacon sandwich while talking with Rodney about his problem, Albert enters the kitchen, face covered in Weetabix, picks up the sandwich, but he only mouths the sandwich, he doesn't actually eat it.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Miami Twice |
Only Fools and Horses 25 December 1992 |
Succeeded by Fatal Extraction |
