Only Fools and Horses home video releases

Only Fools and Horses DVDs have been sold in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Only Fools and Horses started in 1981 and ended in 2003. 64 episodes were broadcast in total. Six shorts were made, four of which were broadcast commercially but none of them have been released on official DVDs.

This is a rough guide to the various cuts made to episodes of Only Fools and Horses released on DVD in the UK. Despite the BBC's claim that many of these edits have been made with the cooperation of John Sullivan's family, his son Jim has criticised them:

Most cuts date back to the initial VHS releases starting in the early 1990s and were often made due to licensing issues of the music played in the background. Licensing was done separately for broadcast and then, often at a much later date, home video. This meant that sometimes the music granted for use in the broadcast was later refused for use in the home video release.

Some of the edits were made subtly by replacing music, but some were made by removing entire conversations or even scenes. These edited versions are still the only versions available on DVD today.

In the Late 2000s, changes in UK music licensing arrangements (also known as 'blanket licensing' deals) meant that music previously replaced for BBC DVD releases (such as the initial release of Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks) could now be reinstated as originally broadcast. However, the BBC would first have to re-submit the episodes to the BBFC to be classified, so effectively although the law has changed, the BBC would still have to formally re-release any relevant episode, and could not simply quietly substitute the already existing DVDs on the shop shelves.

The currently available range of Only Fools and Horses DVDs often carry disclaimers such as on the reverse of The Complete Collection which states, 'For contractual reasons certain edits have been made.' Similar disclaimers can be seen on the reverse of To Hull and Back, Mother Nature's Son, Fatal Extraction and Heroes And Villains. However, there is sometimes no disclaimer where the DVD is known to have been edited.

Some minor edits have been noticed over the years, that differ from the original broadcast such as those in 'It's Only Rock And Roll' and 'Tea For Three'. Particularly with early series, it is possible that some episodes overran thirty minutes and were subsequently edited down on repeats to keep within the stringent 30 minute timeslot that modern TV scheduling requires.

Some of the most noticeable cuts are detailed below.

DVDs

Series DVDs

Christmas special DVDs

Compilation DVDs

Three compilation DVDs were issued in 2004:

Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 1

• Big Brother
• The Russians Are Coming
• A Losing Streak
• No Greater Love
• A Touch Of Glass

Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 2

• Friday The 14th
• Thicker Than Water
• Hole In One
• The Longest Night
• Tea For Three

Only Fools and Horses: All The Best Volume 3

• Yuppy Love
• Danger UXD
• Stage Fright
• Three Men, a Woman and a Baby

iTunes Downloads

Along with series 1-4 being released on iTunes (minus their Christmas specials), the following collections were also released. Some featured material that had previously been cut for VHS/DVD:

The Best Of Only Fools And Horses

• A Touch Of Glass
• Yuppy Love
• Danger UXD
• The Unlucky Winner Is...
• Three Men, a Woman and a Baby
• Stage Fright
• Mother Nature's Son
• Heroes and Villains
• Time On Our Hands
• From Prussia With Love

The Best Of Christmas Only Fools and Horses

• Christmas Crackers
• Dates
• The Jolly Boys' Outing
• Mother Nature's Son
• Fatal Extraction
• Heroes and Villains
• Modern Men
• Time On Our Hands

'''Only Fools and Horses: Classic Del Boy Episodes

• Big Brother
• A Losing Streak
• Friday The 14th
• Tea For Three
• Dates
• Yuppy Love
• Sickness and Wealth
• The Jolly Boys' Outing
• The Class Of '62

Only Fools and Horses: Classic Rodney Episodes

• Homesick
• Healthy Competition
• Wanted
• It's Only Rock And Roll
• Watching The Girls Go By
• Rodney Come Home
• Modern Men
• Video Nasty
• Go West Young Man

See also

• List of Only Fools and Horses episodes
• The Only Fools and Horses DVD Collection
• Only Fools and Horses cuts - full details of edits made