As One Door Closes
"As One Door Closes" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses. It was the final episode of series 4 and first broadcast on 4 April 1985. In the episode, Del and Rodney hunt for a rare butterfly.
| "As One Door Closes" | |
|---|---|
| Only Fools and Horses episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Series 4 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Susan Belbin |
| Written by | John Sullivan |
| Produced by | Ray Butt |
| Original air date | 4 April 1985 (14.2 million viewers) |
| Running time | 29:48 (DVD) / 29:00 (iTunes) |
Synopsis
Del Boy's latest get-rich-quick scheme involves super-sharp combs and louvre doors funded by Denzil's £2,000 redundancy money, which was forcibly attained by Del. But Brendan O'Shaughnessy and Teddy Cummings do not want the louvre doors, which lands Del in trouble with Denzil, who is demanding his money back.
Rodney reads an article about a rare butterfly, and a butterfly collector's desire to catch it and pay a large sum of money to whoever brings it to him. Later, while on the run from Denzil's angry brothers, they see the butterfly in the local cemetery. Rodney eventually captures it in the lake of the nearby park.
He hands it to Del, but Denzil, after hearing that Del has got him his money back, skates by and gives Del a high five, crushing the butterfly.
Episode cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Jason | Derek Trotter |
| Nicholas Lyndhurst | Rodney Trotter |
| Buster Merryfield | Uncle Albert Trotter |
| Paul Barber | Denzil |
| Doug Rowe | Man in crowd |
Episode concept
The idea for the script was based on a true story of a rare butterfly that John Sullivan had read about.[1]
Production
This episode contains a rare instance of the series using video rather than film for location scenes. This came about because the location sequences in some of the earlier episodes this series (including "Hole in One") had been filmed with Lennard Pearce prior to his death. When Buster Merryfield joined the series, the earlier episodes had to be refilmed, which left them with only enough money to film half of the location sequences in this episode. The BBC agreed to cover the budget shortfall, but on the condition that video be used instead of film, due to its lower cost.
References
- Did You Know? ofah.net