| "The Sky's the Limit" | |||
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| Only Fools and Horses episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Series 7 Episode 1 | ||
| Directed by | Tony Dow | ||
| Written by | John Sullivan | ||
| Original air date | 30 December 1990 (1990-12-30) | ||
| Running time | 50 minutes
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of episodes | |||
"The Sky's the Limit" is an episode of theBBCsitcomOnly Fools and Horses. It was the first episode of series 7, and first broadcast on 30 December 1990.[1] In the episode, Del acquires a satellite dish forBoycie, unaware that it has been stolen fromGatwick Airport.
AsUncle Albert prepares breakfast,Del Boy informs him thatRaquel is now sleeping with him instead of inRodney's bedroom. Rodney has beendrinking heavily since he was thrown out of his flat byCassandra, who has gone on holiday toSpain with her mother, Pam. As Del and Raquel leave, Rodney enters,hungover and asks Albert to phone his work and tell them he will be off sick.
Later, atBoycie's house, he has managed to get a new satellite dish installed. That night, at the Nag's Head, as Albert sings and plays "Red Sails in the Sunset" on the piano, Del enters, shortly followed by Cassandra's father, Alan. They chat about how Rodney's drinking problem is ruining his life. Alan then mentions that when he retires and settles into his villa with Pam, he would like to leave his business to Rodney and Cassandra. Del then gets a phone call from Boycie's brother-in-law, Bronco.
The next day, Boycie tells Del that someone stole his satellite dish, and as it was reported seen on the estate, asks Del to buy it back if it. Del follows Rodney to the balcony, and Rodney says that he will stop criticising Cassandra's promotion at her bank, as he wants their marriage to be repaired. Del suggests that when Cassandra lands, Rodney take her to the bridal suite of a plush hotel near the airport. Rodney agrees to this idea. Del then points out a satellite dish installed on the balcony, which he got from Bronco and intends to sell back to Boycie. That night, Rodney is certain that he and Cassandra will reconcile. But when he gets toGatwick Airport, he finds it in complete mayhem and is informed that Cassandra's plane has been rerouted and she has landed inManchester.
Boycie later tells Del that his satellite dish was not stolen but had been taken away to be repaired, meaning the dish Del acquired was not Boycie's. Del calls Bronco and learns that the dish was stolen from the main runway at Gatwick Airport, causing widespread chaos across Europe and forcing Cassandra's flight to be diverted to Manchester. Del and Rodney head for the balcony, and as they do so, the dish switches on and a large aeroplane flies towards Nelson Mandela House. The episode ends with the Trotter brothers holding each other, shouting, "Switch it off!"
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The final scene of the plane heading towards the flats meant that the episode was temporarily removed from repeat airings following theSeptember 11 attacks.[citation needed]
From this episode onwards, Trigger appears in every remaining episode of the show.
The idea for the script was based onJohn Sullivan's holiday toPortugal, and discovering that he was not booked on the plane.[2]
