John Leguizamo Almost Starred In A Remake Of British Sitcom Only Fools And Horses
It's an old adage that comedy doesn't travel well, but some shows definitely fare better than others. As a Brit, I've met many Americans with a creepy zeal for quoting sketches from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" at me. "Red Dwarf" is hugely popular where I live in the Czech Republic. And the bawdy BBC sitcom "'Allo! 'Allo!" sold to 56 countries – the cast was reportedly greeted "like the Beatles" during a visit to Bulgaria. I once had the pleasure of dining at a pizza restaurant in the Serbian capital of Belgrade called 'Allo! 'Allo! where all the pies were named after the characters.
But one British sitcom that doesn't seem to travel well is also one of our most enduringly popular, "Only Fools and Horses." The show follows the fortunes of the Trotter family, headed by a dodgy wheeler-dealer whose dubious get-rich-quick schemes always go disastrously wrong. It aired from 1981 to 1991 and was followed by a series of Christmas specials. It was on telly for my whole childhood, and it is still a ubiquitous presence on UK cable schedules to this day. Perhaps more than any other sitcom, it has permeated British popular culture. Its catchphrases have become part of our lingo — as an ex-pat, I've found that throwing a "Lovely jubbly!" or a "He who dares" into conversation when around a fellow Brit is a bit like a verbal handshake.
Perhaps one of the reasons "Only Fools and Horses" doesn't travel well is that it is so specifically British. But that didn't stop ABC from trying to remake it for an American audience, with John Leguizamo ready to don Del Boy's sheepskin jacket and flat cap. Or not, as things turned out.
What is Only Fools and Horses about?
"Only Fools and Horses" is set in Peckham, London, where go-getting chancer Derek "Del Boy" Trotter (David Jason) lives in a flat in Nelson Mandela House with his younger brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and their feckless Granddad (Lennard Pearce). Del likes to think he has the gift of the gab and is always looking for a money-making opportunity, from posing as a chandelier cleaner to buying a shipment of dangerously defective sex dolls. Del often manipulates Rodney into taking part in his scams, often with the encouragement, "This time next year we'll be millionaires."
The show's cast was rounded out with a gallery of colorful side characters. There is Boycie (John Challis), a snide used car salesman who loves boasting about his comparative wealth; Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack), a dimwitted road sweeper whose running gag is constantly calling Rodney "Dave;" and Denzil (Paul Barber), a good-natured Scouse lorry driver who is often the victim of Del Boy's scams. On top of this, you also have rich recurring characters like DCI Roy Slater (Jim Broadbent), a corrupt policeman, and Del's old enemy from their school days.
Pearce died during the filming of the fourth season and was replaced by Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert, a conniving old sea dog with a line in tall war stories. As with many British sitcoms, there was an element of tragedy. Del raised Rodney after the death of their mum and their no-good dad left them to it. While the show has an undercurrent of sadness and failed ambitions, by and large, these elements are played lightly. Even the somber scene at Granddad's funeral is undercut by a simple but effective gag involving the vicar's hat.
Why is Only Fools and Horses so popular in Britain?
As a working-class bloke with middle-class pretensions, Del Boy has something in common with the classic frustrated little men of British sitcoms such as Harold Steptoe ("Steptoe and Son"), Captain Mainwaring ("Dad's Army"), and Arnold Rimmer ("Red Dwarf"). Unlike those great comedy characters, Del Boy is a far warmer presence and a huge part of the show's long-lasting appeal. He may be constantly trying to swindle his mates and often takes advantage of his naive brother, but he also brought Rodney up on his own and holds the family together with his relentless optimism and ability to make a few quid through thick or thin.
Back when there were only four terrestrial channels to choose from, we Brits were largely a nation who spent our lives sitting around the telly, even if we weren't watching it. As such, the Trotters became part of the family. Their lives were so relatable, especially when things got hard. "Only Fools and Horses" debuted as the country was emerging from a recession, and viewing figures peaked again as we entered another. We mourned Granddad, felt elated when Del Boy and Rodney found love in Raquel (Tessa Peak-Jones) and Cassandra (Gwyneth Strong), and all of us dearly wanted Del's dream of becoming a millionaire to come true.
The show's writer John Sullivan finally gave us our wish in the 1996 Christmas special "Time on Our Hands." Twenty-four million people, almost half the population of the UK at the time, tuned in to watch the Trotter boys strike rich and walk off into the sunset with a nice bit of "bunce" in their pockets at last. Their success felt like our success — but it was the end of an era. (A few more specials followed, but "Only Fools and Horses" just wasn't the same after that celebratory episode.)
John Leguizamo was cast in the American remake
In early 2012, it was announced that "Scrubs" writers Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley would adapt "Only Fools and Horses" for ABC network. Naturally, the news caused speculation about whether it would make a successful transition to an American audience like "The Office" and "Sandford and Son" (the '70s U.S. remake of "Steptoe and Son"), or flunk miserably like "The Rear Guard" (a disastrous remake of "Dad's Army") and the three failed attempts at "Fawlty Towers." Del Boy star David Jason chipped in with his opinion (via BBC), leaning towards the latter:
"They can do brilliant comedy [in America] but I don't see that they can bring off 'Fools and Horses.' I don't see that it will travel across the pond... It's so London and so British, [in] its humor, that you wonder. It's London based and it took quite a long time for the rest of the country to catch up with the phrases. I have no idea what the American equivalent of 'plonker' is, for example. Or 'dipstick'."
Not long after, it was revealed (via Deadline) that John Leguizamo would step into Jason's role. Meanwhile, Dustin Ybarra was cast as Rodney, Christopher Lloyd as Granddad, and BJ Bales as Trigger, one of the most popular side characters from the original (via What Culture). Come the spring, Wendi McLendon-Covey ("Bridesmaids") had signed on as Raquel. The show would also change its name to "Kings of Van Nuys." But by the time the festive season rolled around, the show had been axed — then ABC boss Paul Lee wasn't happy with the pilot. Lee was enough of a fan of the original show to greenlight a second attempt, but it still didn't pass muster and was finally shelved.
So did we miss out on a great remake?
While there have been some decent American remakes of British shows and movies over the years, I have struggled with a lot of them. That includes even the Emmy-winning "The Office" that everyone seems to love apart from me. That said, I could totally see how, with a decent script, the cast put together for "Kings of Van Nuys" might have worked well. John Leguizamo and Christopher Lloyd are terrific actors capable of great comic performances, so I would have enjoyed seeing them play off one another as Del Boy and Granddad.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely we'll get to see whether the show deserved the axe. Details about the pilot are scarce — the plot revolved around Del and Rodney's attempts to buy a DeLorean monster truck, which sets alarm bells ringing straight away. The few clips available don't look promising at all. Rodney became a slobby stoner. And the dopey old Trigger was turned into a hyperactive small-time crook with "not one but two ankle monitors."
In another clip, Del hooks up with a feisty woman in a bar restroom and crashes in on a guy drinking a beer in one of the stalls, before escaping out of the window and losing his trousers in the process. According to The Futon Critic:
"'Kings of Van Nuys' plays like a lost Fox pilot from the 1990s, complete with cheesy sets, a piercing laugh track and also-ran protagonists. It's a show with both feet firmly planted in the lowest common denominator."
From the evidence I've seen, watching the full "Kings of Van Nuys" pilot episode might have sent me over the edge. Even with Leguizamo and Lloyd in the cast, I think we dodged a bullet on this one.