| The Russians Are Coming | |
| Series 01, Episode 06 | |
 | |
| Air Date | October 13, 1981 |
| Written by | John Sullivan |
| Director | Martin Shardlow |
| Length | 30 minutes |
| Previous episode | "A Slow Bus To Chingford" |
| Next episode | "Christmas Crackers" |
| List of episode | |
Fearing that a war is coming, Rodney and Grandad persuade Del to build a nuclear war shelter.
Sypnosis
Del Boy purchases a pile of bricks and discovers several boxes of lead underneath, Rodney discovers (in some old paperwork found with the lead) that the lead is for a do-it-yourself nuclear fallout shelter. Rodney persuades Del that, with a potential World War III looming, they should build the shelter rather than sell it. Del agrees to test out the shelter over the weekend.
Several potential locations for the shelter, including Grandad's allotment and his own idea of a spot in the New Forest, prove unworkable as the trio are unable to beat the four minute warning (due to a run-in with the police).
The remainder of the episode is set in the shelter, where the discussion turns to war and the potential aftermath of the impending one. Del suggests that the present generation of British youngsters have been denied their birthright of a war, which sparks a tirade by Grandad, who gives a passionate "war is hell" speech. The episode ends with Del dreaming aloud of what could become of the world in the event of nuclear fallout, while the camera zooms out to reveal the location of the Trotters' fallout shelter; at the top of their tower block, Nelson Mandela House.
Featured characters
Other notes
Story arc
- During his "war is hell" speech, Grandad mentions his brother, George, who would also be mentioned in "Strained Relations" as being Del's assumed godfather.
- Grandad's allotment is not only mentioned in this episode, but it also appears eleven years later in "Mother Nature's Son", which would contradict what Grandad said about never having a garden in "Homesick".
Episode concept
- The idea for the script was based on a true story which John Sullivan was reading about, which involved a group of people who did as the script suggested: purchased lead and built an air-raid shelter.
Miscellaneous trivia
- The episode was first screened whilst the real-life Soviet war in Afghanistan was ongoing.
- In his "war is hell" speech, Grandad mentioned that his brother fought at Passchendaele. Known as the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign fought on the Western Front of Belgium during World War I from the 31st July to the 10th November 1917 for control of the Passchendaele Ridges south and east of the Belgian town of Ypres.
- Grandad also mentioned the reality in association of what had occurred during both the outbreak, and the campaigns of the First World War, including teenage boys young as 13-14, putting their ages up for enlistment, men enlisting, thinking it is their duty to their homeland, and it is an adventure, the horrors of trench warfare on the Western Front, including the first use of mustard gas on the battlefield, and the roles that the politicans played in military strategic decisions.
- Another point that Grandad mentioned was the effects that the First World War had on the men who survived, including physical, and the psychological injuries, and the treatment of those who suffered from the psychological effect - e.g., Shellshock (now known as Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) including being housed in psychiatric hospitals.