List of Only Fools and Horses home video releases
Only Fools and Horses DVDs have been sold in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Only Fools and Horses started in 1981 and ended in 2003. 64 episodes were broadcast in total. Six shorts were made, four of which were broadcast commercially but none of them have been released on official DVDs.
This is a rough guide to the various cuts made to episodes of Only Fools and Horses released on DVD in the UK. Despite the BBC's claim that many of these edits have been made with the cooperation of John Sullivan's family, his son Jim has criticised them:
“ | The large majority of these [edits] were truly awful, with little, or in most cases no, consideration whatsoever given to story coherence or gags. Many were so bad and poorly executed that they really had to be seen to be believed. Still many more were completely baffling. For example, Del Boy saying "Monchengladbach" to Anna in the episode "From Prussia with Love" had been removed – our only conclusion being that some bright spark at the BBC, unsure of what this actually means, but gripped by the sheer terror of possibly, perhaps, just maybe offending somebody, decided it best to be safe than sorry.
We found the BBC’s attitude towards these edits, and the show in general, to be careless, lazy and indifferent. It was made perfectly clear to us that the BBC has no concern whatsoever for quality and precision; only a bizarre obsession with whether or not they may be offending certain people. Sadly, I expect that the fact that they are, in taking this approach, actually offending a lot of people, has never even crossed their minds. When Dad first envisioned and wrote Only Fools, it was his intention to explore and express the vibrant, multicultural face of (what was then) modern London. Why the BBC has such a problem with this and is so afraid of it that it resorts to censorship is beyond me. All I do know is that they are extremely determined to create problems where there aren’t any. |
” |
Most cuts date back to the initial VHS releases starting in the early 1990s and were often made due to licensing issues of the music played in the background. Licensing was done separately for broadcast and then, often at a much later date, home video. This meant that sometimes the music granted for use in the broadcast was later refused for use in the home video release.
Some of the edits were made subtly by replacing music, but some were made by removing entire conversations or even scenes. These edited versions are still the only versions available on DVD today.
In the late 2000s, changes in UK music licensing arrangements (also known as 'blanket licensing' deals) meant that music previously replaced for BBC DVD releases (such as the initial release of Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks) could now be reinstated as originally broadcast. However, the BBC would first have to re-submit the episodes to the BBFC to be classified, so effectively although the law has changed, the BBC would still have to formally re-release any relevant episode, and could not simply quietly substitute the already existing DVDs on the shop shelves.
The currently available range of Only Fools And Horses DVDs often carry disclaimers such as on the reverse of The Complete Collection which states, 'For contractual reasons certain edits have been made.' Similar disclaimers can be seen on the reverse of To Hull and Back, Mother Nature's Son, Fatal Extraction and Heroes And Villains. However, there is sometimes no disclaimer where the DVD is known to have been edited.
Some minor edits have been noticed over the years, that differ from the original broadcast such as those in 'It's Only Rock And Roll' and 'Tea For Three'. Particularly with early series, it is possible that some episodes overran thirty minutes and were subsequently edited down on repeats to keep within the stringent 30 minute timeslot that modern TV scheduling requires.
Some of the most noticeable cuts are detailed below.
Series: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Specials: 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1996 1 | 1996 2 | 1996 3 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Story of... |
DVDs
Series DVDs
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
20 November 2000 | 3 May 2004 | 7 October 2003 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
2 April 2001 | 3 May 2004 | 7 October 2003 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
4 June 2001 | 6 May 2005 | 7 October 2003 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
Albert: Some of them married now, are they? The following dialogue has been cut because of music. Del: Oi Orlando! | |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
1 October 2001 | 6 May 2005 | 12 October 2004 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
Music cut: "I who have nothing" by Joan Baxter and following dialogue.[1] Dialogue Cut: Various bits of dialogue have been cut when Del, Rodney and Lisa are sitting at the pub table. The scene is intact, however, on the iTunes version. Pub Cut 1
Pub Cut 2
Pub Cut 3 <Albert is on the stage at the piano> The Flat Cuts Back at the flat when Albert has finished his tanning session, a line of Del's dialogue is cut:
As Rodney starts his tanning session, a line of Albert's dialogue is cut:
Dinner with Lisa at the flat table.
All scenes restored on iTunes release. | |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
30 September 2002 | 4 August 2005 | 12 October 2004 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
Several cuts because of music[2] Mickey: Jevon! Jevon! Two attractive girls pass by. They stop and smile at Jevon. This cut leads to the scene at the Disco cutting in awkwardly from the opening long shot to Jevons line "And tonights lucky winner is, that chick sitting at the corner table." indicating Cassandra and her friend. After Rodney and Cassandra Say Hello their next exchange is cut: Cassandra: Erm, was there something? Two music tracks are cut but its unknown what they are. "Love Goes Up and Down" by Errol Brown is not cut it plays over the whole scene of Mickey, Jevon and Rodney attempting to get Cassandra and her friend Emma to dance. On the original broadcast version, Simply Red's 'It's Only Love' is playing in the background of the Nag's Head in the scene where Rodney and Albert are discussing their concerns for Del's health with Cassandra. In the DVD and video versions, this song has been removed, and no music plays, removing some of the emotion of the scene. | |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
22 September 2003 | 4 August 2005 | 11 October 2005 |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
In the scene where Rodney is holding Trudy up against a car, 20 seconds have been cut after Cassandra drives away. In the complete episode, Rodney walks away as Trudy slides down the side of the car laughing. Scene restored on iTunes release. Music ‘Mighty Quinn’ by Manfred Mann, the scene of Del and co singing along drunkenly to the track has been cut from the complete Series 7 video from 2000 but can be seen/heard on the earlier 1993 ‘Danger UXD’ video, so it is obvious that the BBC had the rights earlier but the record company has since withdrawn them. Scene restored on iTunes release. Music O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff is replaced when Damien looks at Rodney for the first time. The replacement is noticeable as it covers the audience laughter. | |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
6 September 2004 | 4 May 2006 | 10 October 2006 |
Christmas special DVDs
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
12 November 2001 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
For the UK DVD release the episode was heavily re-edited (including at least 18 minutes of cuts). An audience laughter track was also added. The back of the DVD release refers to this version as 'The 2004 Version'.
The reasons for this alternative edit were because of John Sullivan's dissatisfaction with the finished version as originally broadcast. The final transmitted episode was hastily edited, as it was being prepared for transmission on Christmas Day 1986 and there was not enough time to run the episode in front of a live studio audience. Also, Sullivan has stated that he felt in the scene where Del is drunk at dinner, he came across as too nasty. The original 1998 UK video release did not contain an added laughter track and more accurately reflected the running time of the original 1986 broadcast version. The version released in the DVD partwork collection is the complete version as it was released before Sullivan had made the edits,
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
9 May 2005 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
20 November 2000 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
6 May 2002 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
6 November 2000 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
6 November 2000 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
For the 1998 video release, the two episodes were edited together as one continuous episode, and a laughter track was added to the second part for consistency. This resulted in the removal of the end credits sequence of Part 1, and the omission of the beginning credits of Part 2 (which originally appeared over the "Summer In The City" track). The final credits were also amended to reflect the cast and crew for both parts. This 1998 Version was also the version released on DVD. The original 1991 'movie' version of Oh To Be In England without a laughter track has never been commercially released on home video or DVD, although it has been repeated in broadcasts.
Closing shot where Del and Rodney enter plane has been cut from the 1998 video release. Del: Hey, hey! Come on Rodders! (Singing) Everything’s free in America, kippers for tea in America. (To stewardess) Have a nice day."
Soundtrack music track ‘Rockin’ All over the World’ by Status Quo replaced by 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by Tears For Fears at the start of the episode where Del and Rodney are on the plane. Most dialogue is intact apart from a brief section when Del removes his headphones. On the broadcast, he says, 'Oh'. On the DVD, the sound of him laughing at the start of the scene is noticeably repeated in its place. Del and Rodney meet the Mafia at the nightclub and the following lines are cut. 'Killer' by Adamski featuring Seal is on the original soundtrack at this point, but this does not seem to be why the cut has been made as other music tracks in this episode have simply been replaced. It is possible that the track was actually being played at the time of filming, and so the dialogue could not be isolated. This track continued originally over the next scene of Lurch breaking into Del and Rodney's camper van. As a consequence of this cut, Del and Rodney's introduction to the mafia members is greatly shortened, a gag where the mafioso mistake them for Australians is omitted, and it is now left unexplained how Lurch knew that they had a camper van outside. Both episodes are uncut and available to purchase on YouTube. | |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
19 May 2003 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
24 May 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
12 July 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
9 February 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
9 February 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
9 February 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
11 November 2002 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
17 November 2003 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
4 October 2004 | — | — |
Set Details | DVD Cuts | |||
|
| |||
Release Dates | ||||
United Kingdom | Australia | United States | ||
7 April 2003 | — | — |
Compilation DVDs
Three compilation DVDs were issued in 2004:
Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 1
|
Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 2
|
Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 3
|
iTunes Downloads
Along with series 1-4 being released on iTunes (minus their Christmas specials), the following collections were also released. Some featured material that had previously been cut for VHS/DVD:
The Best Of Only Fools And Horses
|
The Best Of Christmas Only Fools and Horses
|
Only Fools and Horses: Classic Del Boy Episodes
|
Only Fools and Horses: Classic Rodney Episodes
|
See also
- List of Only Fools and Horses episodes
- The Only Fools and Horses DVD Collection
- Only Fools and Horses cuts - full details of edits made
References
- ↑ Sullivan, John (7 October 1999). Only Fools and Horses: The Bible of Peckham v.1. BBC Books. p. 306. ISBN 0-563-55150-X.
- ↑ Sullivan, John (19 October 2000). Only Fools and Horses: The Bible of Peckham v.2. BBC Books. pp. 20–22. ISBN 0-563-55177-1.
- ↑ Sullivan, John (18 October 2001). Only Fools and Horses: Bible of Peckham v.3. BBC Books. pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-563-53745-0.