After the two-part monstrosity that was Miami Twice, the following year's Only Fools and Horses Christmas special was decidedly more low-key. Mother Nature's Son opens with a big Christmas party scene at the Nag's Head, with everyone in a terrific mood and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody blasting on the soundtrack. However, this most festive of openings proves to be a dream sequence, Rodney's idealistic projection of what he would like the forthcoming holidays to be like. The truth is somewhat bleaker, with Del struggling to make any money and the pressures of just having bought the flat in Nelson Mandela House mounting up. These early scenes in which Del confesses his troubles to Rodney and is then confronted by Raquel make for a strong opening and the far-fetched (though comparatively grounded compared to Miami Twice) plot that follows is cleverly constructed and results in a fantastic payoff that leaves the whole Trotter family obliviously on the cusp of complete disaster. It's far more satisfying not having to watch the fallout from Del's scheme but merely imagine what horrors await instead, making for a great ending with a very memorable final image.
However, Mother Nature's Son does lose a little in the execution. There are some nice scenes with Trigger and Denzil and a great one in which Cassandra, usually a despairing bystander, is revealed to be thoroughly, if unknowingly, implicated in Del's scheme to sell tap water back to the public under the guise of being natural spring water. But what feels like the makings of a good 50 minute plot are stretched a little thin over 65. The subplot about Rodney's stress-induced erectile dysfunction is not especially funny and the final section in which the Trotters go away for the weekend to celebrate seems to drag on forever, including the obligatory inclusion of another of those maudlin monologues from Del to a sleeping Damien.
Generally though, Mother Nature's Son works quite nicely and if Del's actions are a bit too reprehensible for everyone involved to go along with as easily as they do, that only means we get to relish the comeuppance waiting in the wings even more. The tie-in Del Boy autobiography He Who Dares explained the aftermath of the Peckham Spring incident in detail, confirming that the comedy arises from not knowing the details, rather than in lengthy explanations about Raquel going bald, Rodney getting sick and a lawyer miraculously getting Del off scot-free. Fortunately, He Who Dares can easily be dismissed as not being canon and the ambiguity of Mother Nature's Son's ending is preserved. It may sag a little in the delivery of the details of Del's scheme but in this case the destination justifies the sometimes bumpy journey.
However, Mother Nature's Son does lose a little in the execution. There are some nice scenes with Trigger and Denzil and a great one in which Cassandra, usually a despairing bystander, is revealed to be thoroughly, if unknowingly, implicated in Del's scheme to sell tap water back to the public under the guise of being natural spring water. But what feels like the makings of a good 50 minute plot are stretched a little thin over 65. The subplot about Rodney's stress-induced erectile dysfunction is not especially funny and the final section in which the Trotters go away for the weekend to celebrate seems to drag on forever, including the obligatory inclusion of another of those maudlin monologues from Del to a sleeping Damien.
Generally though, Mother Nature's Son works quite nicely and if Del's actions are a bit too reprehensible for everyone involved to go along with as easily as they do, that only means we get to relish the comeuppance waiting in the wings even more. The tie-in Del Boy autobiography He Who Dares explained the aftermath of the Peckham Spring incident in detail, confirming that the comedy arises from not knowing the details, rather than in lengthy explanations about Raquel going bald, Rodney getting sick and a lawyer miraculously getting Del off scot-free. Fortunately, He Who Dares can easily be dismissed as not being canon and the ambiguity of Mother Nature's Son's ending is preserved. It may sag a little in the delivery of the details of Del's scheme but in this case the destination justifies the sometimes bumpy journey.