The Sky's the Limit

"**The Sky's the Limit**" is an episode of the BBC sitcom *Only Fools and Horses*. It was the first episode of series 7, and first broadcast on 30 December 1990. In the episode, Del acquires a satellite dish for Boycie, unaware that it has been stolen from Gatwick Airport.

## Synopsis

It's another beautiful morning at Nelson Mandela House. As Uncle Albert prepares some breakfast, Del Boy tells his uncle that Raquel is now sleeping with him instead of in Rodney's bedroom. Albert then asks Del if he'll do something because Rodney has been drinking at *The Nag's Head* every night ever since he was thrown out of his flat by Cassandra, who has gone on holiday to Spain with her mother Pamela. Del says that he's having a chat with Cassandra's father Alan later tonight to try and solve the problem. As Del and Raquel leave, Rodney enters from the bedrooms completely hung-over and asks Albert to telephone *Parry Print Ltd.* since he doesn't feel well enough to work today. Del re-enters the flat just to find the keys to the Trotter Van. He also tells Rodney that Alan won't be very happy because of how Rodney's drinking and taking various days off work.

Later, at Boycie's house, he has managed to get a new satellite dish installed. Also, Marlene's brother, Bronco, has done a bit of decorating around the house. Del shows up, talks to Bronco, then delivers printing paper from Parry Print Ltd.

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 Alan. They chat about how Rodney's drinking too much and pretending he's enjoying it, which is why he's been having so many days off work recently due to Cassandra throwing him out. Alan then mentions that when he retires and settles into his villa with Pamela, he would like to leave his business in Rodney and Cassandra's hands. Del then gets a phone call from Bronco.

The next day, Rodney doesn't like the idea of picking up Cassandra from Gatwick Airport, but before Del can explain to him, Boycie arrives and tells Del that someone stole his satellite dish. Del then promises to help get him a new one. Del follows Rodney to the balcony, and Rodney says that he'll stop complaining about Cassandra's big promotion at her bank. Del then points out that he knows the manager of a luxury hotel not too far away from the airport. So when Cassandra flies in, Rodney will be waiting to take her to the bridal suite. Rodney now agrees to this idea. Del then points out that a satellite dish is installed on the balcony.

That night, Rodney is confident that things between him and Cassandra are going to be patched up well. But when he gets to Gatwick airport, Rodney finds out that Cassandra's plane has been rerouted and she has landed in Manchester.

Back at The Nag's Head, things become more worse for the Trotters when Boycie enters and tells Del that his satellite dish wasn't stolen, it was just taken away by engineers to be repaired. Albert appears to tell Rodney that Cassandra has phoned and he has told her that Rodney's spending the night in a hotel booked under the names "Rodney and Mrs. Trotter", thus giving the impression Rodney is with another woman.

A few minutes later, back at the flat, Rodney is not having any luck phoning Alan, since he's driving to Manchester. Just then, Del remembers that Bronco told him that he and his family are living in a small bed-and-breakfast hotel called *The Hotel Schubert*. Del phones Bronco, only to learn from him that the satellite dish on his balcony was stolen from Gatwick Airport's main runway, causing internation chaos throughout Europe, which explains how Cassandra's plane ended up in Manchester. The Trotter Brothers head for the balcony, and as they do so, the dish switches on and a huge 747 airplane flies towards Nelson Mandela House. The episode ends with the Trotter Brothers huddling together while yelling, "Switch it off!"

## Featured characters

* Del Boy
* Rodney
* Uncle Albert
* Raquel
* Boycie
* Marlene
* Bronco Lane
* Tyler
* Duke
* Trigger
* Mike Fisher
* Alan Parry

## Other notes

### Episode concept

* The idea for the script was based on John Sullivan's holiday to Portugal, and discovering that he wasn't booked on the plane.
* This is John Challis' favourite episode.

### Production goofs

* The studio scene on the balcony when the satellite dish is seen for the first time shows a small window in the kitchen wall, yet in "Fatal Extraction", when the riot starts due to Del's drunken singing, the outside scene shows the block of flats used for Nelson Mandela House clearly is built in a way that the door is on the side of the kitchen and not from the lounge.

"Go West Young Man" ·
"Cash and Curry" ·
"The Second Time Around" ·
"A Slow Bus To Chingford" ·
"Ashes to Ashes" ·
"A Losing Streak" ·
"No Greater Love" ·
"The Yellow Peril" ·
"It Never Rains..." ·
"Healthy Competition" ·
"Friday the 14th" ·
"Yesterday Never Comes" ·
"May the Force Be with You" ·
"Wanted" ·
"Strained Relations ·
"Hole in One" ·
"It's Only Rock and Roll" ·
"Sleeping Dogs Lie" ·
"Watching the Girls Go By" ·
"The Miracle of Peckham" ·
"The Longest Night" ·
"Tea for Three" ·
"Video Nasty" ·
"Danger UXD" ·
"Chain Gang" ·
"The Unlucky Winner Is..." ·
"Sickness and Wealth" ·
"The Chance of a Lunchtime" ·
"Stage Fright" ·
"The Class of '62" ·
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" ·
"Diamonds Are For Heather" (1982) ·
"Thicker than Water" (1983) ·
"Licensed to Drill" (1984) ·
"To Hull and Back" (1985) ·
"A Royal Flush" (1986) ·
"The Frog's Legacy" (1987) ·
"Dates" (1988) ·
"The Jolly Boys' Outing" (1989) ·
"Rodney Come Home" (1990) ·
"Miami Twice" (1991) ·
"Mother Nature's Son" (1992) ·
"Fatal Extraction" (1993) ·
"Heroes and Villains" (1996) ·
"Modern Men" (1996) ·
"Time On Our Hands" (1996) ·
"If They Could See Us Now" (2001) ·
"Strangers on the Shore" (2002) ·
"Sleepless in Peckham" (2003)
"Beckham in Peckham" (2014)