9 TV Shows That Tried To Exploit Nostalgia (And Failed)

7. Rock And Chips

Fools Rock And Chips
BBC

Only Fools and Horses is one of the most beloved British sitcoms of all time, and while writer and creator John Sullivan managed to maintain a high degree of quality for over two decades, his attempts to keep the franchise alive through spin-offs weren't quite as successful.

The first, a spin-off focusing on Boycie and Marlene's escape to the country, aired immediately after Only Fools ended and was mostly inoffensive. The second, Rock and Chips, was a far different beast, dropping the sitcom framing entirely for a dramedy prequel series focusing primarily on Del and Rodney's mother.

As a one off, this kind of worked, shedding light on a past talked about but never seen in the main show. It was full of fan service as well, with callbacks to the original series, jokes explained with new context, and characters showing up who had only been mentioned in passing.

That was fine for a special, but when more episodes were commissioned the best parts remained these references to the main show, rather than anything new the series brought to the table. Unlike a great prequel such as Better Call Saul, even the shift in presentation and genre couldn't help Rock and Chips feel like it wasn't simply colouring between the lines.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Heroes Reborn
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.