The Greatest Underrated Comedy Shows

A look at Rock & Chips, The Bubble, Stag and more.

Nicholas Lyndhurst interview

"John Sullivan, who wrote Only Fools And Horses, died in April and we were working together on Rock & Chips, the prequel. I know John had so many more ideas for episodes - he loved writing it, and it was a privilege to be in it, but sadly we can't do it any more."

I must confess that I hadn't seen the previous two editions of this Only Fools and Horses prequel. It's a shame because I rather enjoyed this (most probably) final outing.

In this episode, the young Del Boy (James Buckley) decides to find his fortune by going into movies, proposing his cinematic masterpiece Dracula on the Moon. Meanwhile, gangster and father of Rodney, Freddie "The Frog" Robdal (Nicholas Lyndhurst) is trying to avoid being arrested after a robbery he carried at during The Jolly Boys Outing.

The thing you have to remember when watching Rock & Chips is not to treat it as a sitcom but as a comedy drama. There are no real belly laughs, but a few chuckles along the way. At times it is rather tender. It is also ruder. I cannot recall an episode of Only Fools which included the phrase: "F*** off".

The series is basically the backdrop to everything we have already seen in the original classic series, with many references to the Only Fools, such as Del's fondness for the song "Old Shep".

Sadly, this looks to be the final edition of the series following the death of writer John Sullivan, to whom the episode was dedicated to. Of course they could always get another writer to continue it, but there seems little point. As it is a prequel, we already know what happens. We know that Robdal is blown up during a botched raid, that Joan (Kellie Bright) dies young, that Reg (Shaun Dingwall) leaves the family when Rodney's aged two, and that it is not the last time Del has an idea for a movie - but like Dracula on the Moon, There's a Rhino Loose in the City also never took off.

It is a pleasing hour of well written material, and John Sullivan will be sadly missed.

Rock & Chips DVD review

Lovely jubbly? Not really. A far cry from the best of Only Fools... But still a lot better than The Green Green Grass.

It may not be ­remembered as the late great John Sullivan's finest work, but Rock & Chips still wipes the floor with most of the dross drama we have to put up with. Packed with great one-liners, BBC1's Only Fools and Horses prequel is what feelgood telly is all about.

Rock & Chips is a poor man's Only Fools And Horses

Rock & Chips returned for another one-off special, but there isn't much that's special about this poor man's Only Fools And Horses.

John Sullivan's death gave added poignancy to last night's Rock & Chips, the occasional series of prequels to his masterpiece, Only Fools and Horses. As with earlier instalments, it was carried by a combination of nostalgia and charm (though not, it's fair to say, ground-breaking comedy). It was all there: the soundtrack - Buddy Holly followed by Chubby Checker followed by The Marvelettes followed by The Shirelles - the hammy performances, the jokes so subtle they could double as sledgehammers. The best bit came when the young Del Boy took posh girl Barbara out for dinner. "Waiter," he called out, on inspecting his plate of fish. "I think you've dropped a bit of lemon on my fish." "That's garnish," said the waiter. "Oh no - I think you'll find it's lemon."

Rock And Chips: The Frog And The Pussycat review

Den Of Geek looks at the excellent third Rock And Chips special, and laments the passing of its writer, the great John Sullivan...

A sad end for Sullivan

Rock & Chips was a total dud. It bore all the hallmarks of a writer who'd become such a revered television institution that no one in authority was prepared to say 'no' to him.

The third one-off special in this prequel series to Only Fools And Horses sees the Trotters still stuck in 1961, with Joan holding the family together as layabout husband and Grandad look on, while carrying on an affair with Rodney's dad Freddie, under the pretext of working as his charlady. Young Del, meanwhile, is wooing the daughter of a stuffy local undertaker. There's slightly more emphasis on the comedy than the drama this time but it's hardly rollicking stuff and works best as an hour or so's ambient period recreation of pre-Beatles repressed Britain.