Only Fools and Horses - Miami Twice [1981] [DVD]

The 1991 Christmas Special of the best-loved UK sitcom of its time, Only Fools and Horses: Miami Twice is a two-parter which takes Del Boy and Rodney on a transatlantic jaunt that turns out to be more than the jolly boys' excursion they'd bargained for. The action begins in Peckham, with the christening of Del's recently born child Damien. Never without an eye for the main chance, Del takes the vicar aside and outlines a scheme to save "vicar hours" and get a "nicker and a bit ahead" by "pre-blessing" lorry loads of Romanian wine he's arranged to be imported, selling them on to other clergymen. Rodney, meanwhile, has received a pensions fund rebate and Del unscrupulously engineers it so that the pair of them jet off to Miami where he looks forward to showing off his leopardskin trunks.

The first part of Miami Twice is classic stuff, featuring the familiar ensemble with some vintage idiocy from Trigger and some hilarious farce involving a baby intercom. The second part, however, set in America, is a let-down, involving as it does a rather lame and far-fetched plot in which Del turns out to be the double of a local Don (an excuse for David Jason to deliver a hackneyed Godfather impersonation). A cameo from Richard Branson feels like product placement and generally the Trotters feel all at sea when off their home turf. A Christmas audience, stuffed with pudding, would have indulged this over-rich fare but there's no reason to come back for seconds. Still, it's worth it for the first 50 minutes.

On the DVD: Only Fools and Horses: Miami Twice has no special features on DVD but holds up well visually, albeit unable to rid the original of blights such as a distracting burst of studio light in the first part. --David Stubbs