"Only Fools and Horses", unequivocally regarded as one of the very best British sitcoms (in fact it was named Britain's best sitcom in a BBC2 poll), is all about the lives of Del and Rodney Trotter. The south London brothers duck and dive through life, just managing to make a living. They often rope in their friends and family to help out with their dodgy money-making schemes. The Trotters conduct their business via their company "Trotters Independent Traders", the company transport being an ancient yellow Reliant Robin three-wheeler, now an icon of the show.

The characters are beautifully drawn by Sullivan and just as brilliantly acted out. The BBC signed up Nicholas Lyndhurst to play Rodney very quickly but the casting of the elder Trotter brother, Derek, was more problematic. Jim Broadbent passed the role as he was committed elsewhere (although he did appear in the programme later as DCI Slater) as were a number of other well-known actors. The production crew finally decided upon David Jason to play Del after watching a repeat episode of "Open All Hours". Thank goodness they did as Jason was perfect as the sharp-talking, tough, streetwise cockney trader and it would now be hard to imagine anyone else in the part.

Although much of the action revolved around the Trotter family it featured some truly excellent support characters, including the suave villain Boycie and his vacuous wife Marlene, the glum Denzil and Trigger, a long-faced, mentally-challenged road sweeper who, throughout the entire run of the show, thought that Rodney's name is Dave.

The programme's position as one of the nation's favourite TV shows is a world away from its humble beginnings. The public were very slow to react to the sitcom when it was first aired, and with mediocre ratings for the first and second series the BBC almost cancelled it. However thankfully they gave the show one last chance and when it was repeated, word of mouth caused it to notch up massive viewing figures thus causing the BBC to quickly change their mind and commission a third series. Since then the show has always enjoyed massive viewing figures as was demonstrated when 24 million watched the 1996 Christmas special (a UK TV ratings record). Unlike some other Britcoms though it hasn't seen much success abroad, most notably in the USA where viewers just couldn't identify with the cockney way of life (its reported that they actually had to subtitle some of the slang in America). In the UK watching "Only Fools and Horses" on Christmas day has become quite a tradition, in all 18 Xmas specials have been made meaning that since 1981 there has only been a few years when a high-quality new episode of OFAH hasn't been broadcast on the 25th of December.

The programme's success at home isn't a surprise though as it has almost universal appeal. John Sullivan's realistic dialogue, the funny scripts and soap-like storylines combined with an outstanding cast is a definite winning formula.

Unlike many sitcoms "Only Fools and Horses" has a very strong storyline threaded through the series. As the show progressed Del and Rodney began to settle down with respective partners, but both experienced problems; Rodney, who married the bright Cassandra, became intimidated by her career and friends; Del endured a volatile relationship with Raquel, an aspiring actress who, when they met, was moonlighting as a stripagram. Eventually, Del and Raquel cemented their relationship with the birth of a baby. By this time, the show had moved on from its initial premise of the two roguish but likeable brothers, to cover wider themes. It also kept pace with real-life events: for example, during the 1980s Del became a yuppie and tried to move up in society. Whilst there is some rather dark, sad and moving moments in the show (like when Del was beaten up) viewers are safe in the knowledge that an uplifiting scene is just round the corner.

In 1996 it was announced that there would be no more OFAH. It ended with a bang, in the shape of three hour-long rating-breaking episodes that introduced Raquel's long-lost parents and culminated in a glorious triumph for Del and Rodney when an antique watch Del has had hanging around for years turns out to be a rarity of enormous historical value. It sells at auction for over £6m and the Trotters finally achieve their aim of becoming millionaires!

It wasn't long before rumours began to circulate that Sullivan might bring the Trotters out of retirement for a millennium special. Although this didn't happen, in 2001 it was announced that the show would return for three multi-million pound special episodes. The first materialised on Christmas Day 2001. Buster Merryfield (Albert) had died since the previous broadcast as had Kenneth MacDonald (Mike), so their characters were written out - Uncle Albert was said to have died peacefully on the coast whilst publican Mike was ensconced in jail - but all the other regulars were back on board to find that, owing to some dodgy stock market dealings, the Trotters had lost their fortune. The last special was shown in 2003 and this time it really does look like the end, a shame but probably for the best as 1996 was the golden era of OFAH which will never be beaten.

Summary: A brilliant sitcom!