"The Chain Gang" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Otto

Del and Rodney and some friends have started frequenting a casino. The fact that one needs to be a member is rarely a problem. If anyone "forgets" their membership card, Otto says, "If you give me 20 quid, I'll let you in free." To anyone who gets in his bad books and/or doesn't have 20 pounds, he says, "I'm afraid I shall 'ave to ask you to leave! Where would you like to land?"

Answer: Cassandra

That night Trigger and Delboy are enjoying themselves at the blackjack table when Trigger notices the other Trotter is absent. Del replies that Rodney is arriving soon, with his "new bird". Both men are surprised Cassandra is still seeing Rodney; he rarely sticks with a girl for so long.

But Del shakes his head, convinced the relationship won't last. As he points out, "That boy's been blown out more times than a wind-sock!" (He is proven wrong, however, in a few episodes when Cassandra becomes his sister-in-law!)

Answer: Jeweler

Arnie is relatively new to this casino, but most people seem to like him. Arnie is a retired jeweler and lets slip to Del he still likes to do a bit of business. He tells everyone how he was a high-stakes jeweler years ago, but had a heart attack and took early retirement when the doctors said he only had a few months left unless he changed his lifestyle. "You can't beat it, Trig," he tells Trigger, "Drag yourself out of bed at 11am." Then he sings Louie Armstrong's "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!" Well, he seems harmless enough. Doesn't he? (Then again, don't they always?)

Answer: Gold chains

Rodney is annoyed. He wants to take Cassandra home, but Del insists he stay behind to help dealing with Arnie. Rodney is annoyed because Del doesn't get the "I want to take Cassandra HOME" hint. (But he's doubly-annoyed when he's in the car with his bride-to-be saying, "I love you" for the first time - and they smell Del's cigar smoke who must be listening in!) Finally, the two Trotters are in the back of Arnie's car.

The latter produces his briefcase and opens it... to reveal 250 chains of 18-carat gold.

The brothers' jaws drop! Rodney exclaims, "What'd you do?! Mug Mr. T?" Their jaws drop even lower when Arnie claims he can sell them for 50 pounds each - when they're normally sold in shops for 200!

Answer: Cassandra going out of town

Rodney wants to meet his new girlfriend next week for dinner, but she's going on a course. "Well you must be able to get a few hours off," he insists. Cassandra replies, "Yes, if you fancy flying over to Guernsey." (For those of you who don't know, Guernsey is a British-governed island off the coast of France.) She adds, "I did ask Guernsey if it would like to come to me, but it refused point blank." Rodney is suspicious.

He has heard work courses like this are just an excuse to behave badly! Needless to say Cassandra does not appreciate his paranoia or over-active imagination.

She is his girlfriend after all, she believes in monogamy. But she smiles, "I mean I'll take my whip, just in case."

Answer: False

Although the lovable Mrs. Boyce is not in "The Chain Gang", Boycie's mates mention her a few times. For example, Del is trying to convince Boycie to buy some of Arnie's gold chains and Boycie says, "I don't like being premature." Trigger comments "Yeah, Marlene said something about that the other day." Also, Del later tells Arnie, "Don't mind Boycie, he's got his funny little ways. You ask his missus!"

Answer: Denzil

Denzil appears later in this episode, but he isn't one of the investors. Arnie refuses to sell his gold chains individually; it's the whole lot or none at all. So Del gets together a little consortium. His mates are all keen. Why not? The worst they will do is double their money. Rodney is not interested at first, since the chains are only so cheap because they're part of a tax rip-off. ("That's why they're so cheap!" his great-uncle Albert says, clearly missing the point.) But when Del, Boycie and the others realise they are 36 pounds and 24p short, Rodney changes his mind. Arnie is thrilled! The money changes hands and Arnie trusts them all so he doesn't bother counting. (He doesn't notice Del pocketing a 10 penny piece behind him.)

Answer: True

Mike, the pub landlord, thinks it wise to have the jewels examined by an independent dealer. They do, and everyone is happy! They are indeed worth 25,000, as Arnie claimed. But Arnie is only asking for 12,500 from Del and the others. Boycie cannot understand how this newcomer in the parish can afford to sell his chains so cheap. Mike explains that Arnie bought them a long time ago when the price of gold was down. Del also points out that he never told the tax department, as he assumed they were for sale overseas. Arnie's client, a rather nasty Mr. Stavros, was supposed to pay 25,000 pounds for them but then he vanished. That's why Arnie has to sell so quickly; he's broke.

But when Arnie rings his wife, she informs him Stavros is back in town, demanding the chains! Arnie hisses "No Pat, I haven't got them! I've just this minute sold them to Del and his consortium." Uh oh. Now what are they supposed to do?

Answer: Selling the merchandise to Stravros themselves

Everyone is concerned when Arnie's on the phone and seems on the verge of a new heart attack. His Godfather-like client, Mr. Stavros, has returned to London from New York, to buy the chains after all! (Arnie mutters "It's ironic; he's got 25,000 quid in cash and I've just let them go for 12 and a half.") It would be unwise to mess with a character like Stavros, but Boycie exclaims, "If he wants a war, we'll give him one!" (Albert doesn't like the sound of that, but Mike assures him there won't be many naval engagements.) Del and Rodney point out Stavros could hurt poor Arnie, who after all has a heart problem. Boycie shakes his head, "At the end of the day, it's like Mike's pub grub - tough!" (Perhaps he forgot Mike was in the same room?) But then Del has a brainwave.

They were going to sell the jewels anyway - why not simply sell them to Stavros? After all, this character has the cash on hand.

Answer: Arnie has a heart attack

With Del and Boycie watching across the restaurant, Arnie takes a seat by the window. The staff inform him the infamous Mr. Stavros has booked a table for two but hasn't arrived yet. The rest of the consortium are parked outside, watching nervously. (In the van Albert and Rodney see Arnie reading a menu. "Bit suspicious, innit?" Albert comments. "What? A bloke sitting in a restaurant reading a menu? Yes, very iffy." Rodney is still miffed Cassandra is in Guernsey.) Then suddenly, Arnie clutches his chest and keels over onto the floor. Oh no! His heart trouble has finally caught up with him.

In the confusion Del and Boycie try to retrieve the chains, foolishly pretending to be a doctor and a cop, Mike's car gets clamped, and the ambulance arrives in the midst of the fiasco. Rodney drives after it, not thinking to take the others with him.

Answer: They don't

Back at the flat, Rodney and Albert return dejected. They inform their waiting partners they've lost the ambulance. Del exclaims, "How could you possibly lose an ambulance?! It's a ruddy great big white thing - with a flashing blue light on the top! And in case your peepers ain't too clever - it makes a sound like an air-raid siren!" Rodney retorts, "It ALSO goes through red lights." So now what are they supposed to do? Suddenly, a hospital doctor with an Indian accent rings up asking for Del. Did Del know Arnold, the deceased, very well? "Deceased?" exclaims Del "Do you mean to say that he is dead?" ("Oh I just love him," groans Rodney). Unfortunately Pat the widow has taken Arnie's property (including the gold and the money) and, since hospitals cannot give out next-of-kin contact details, the doctor hangs up. Now what are they supposed to do? They can't look up Arnie's address because no one caught his surname, and the casino won't have it because he wasn't a member. So how can they get their gold and money back?

Answer: The redial button

Wondering how on earth they are supposed to locate their gold, Albert suddenly exclaims "The phone!" Rodney groans "Oh god, he's hearing things." Albert excitedly points at the phone. Arnie was the last to use it when he called his wife - so if they press the REDIAL button, they should get straight through to her. Del walks slowly over to Albert, pulls his great-uncle's cap off, and kisses his forehead passionately! "Get off!" Everyone gathers round as Del places the call. But, after a brief chat with the lady at the other end, he glowers at his younger sibling. "I just got through to the Highcliff-ruddy-Hotel in Guernsey!" Rodney gulps. Now he recalls Arnie wasn't the last one to use that phone after all.

Answer: They spot Arnie, very much alive

About a week after the bitter break-up of the consortium and angry words hurled at Delboy, Rodney is driving Cassandra home. She mentions Rodney was right, there was a lot of immoral behaviour after all. He smiles, so presumably he has learned to tell when she's only joking.

They stop behind an ambulance parked outside a restaurant. The two paramedics are bringing out a stretcher... with Arnie lying on it! He is carrying the very same jewel briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Cassandra wonders why Rodney looks like he's seen a ghost.

The consortium meet at the pub shortly thereafter, and discuss this revelation. Arnie is still alive, and obviously still active. Trigger comments, "You think he'd be taking things easier in his condition."

Answer: False

In fact Trigger is the last to realise. At the pub, Del explains patiently to his old class-mate, "He's not a sick man. I mean, he's a CON-man." Trigger asks, "So you don't reckon he's really ill?" The others try to make this simple for Trigger. Arnie just pretended to have a heart attack so the ambulance would take him and his jewels and their cash away.

As Rodney found out, one can't follow an ambulance because it goes through red lights. But, Boycie points out, it was actually the staff at the restaurant who called for the ambulance. But, Del explains, he's phoned that restaurant and they revealed another ambulance arrived 10 minutes after Arnie had gone.

The two paramedics who took Arnie away were the same men Rodney and Cassandra saw. They're probably Arnie's sons.

It's a beautiful con, all right! Trigger asks, "So what's Mr. Stavros got to do with it all?" Del explains, once again trying to be patient, that Stavros does not exist; Arnie just invented him. After all, no one ever saw him, did they? Boycie complains impatiently, "This still doesn't get me my money back!" Del tells Boycie to be patient.

They'll think of something. Then Denzil turns up, and he may have a solution to their problem.

Answer: Inside an ambulance

Arnie's sons are about to help their father pull one last con with the gold chains before they leave London. Dressed up as ambulance drivers, they argue about whose turn it is to ring and pretend to be the Indian hospital doctor. But when they arrive at the latest restaurant, Arnie is gone! The staff say an ambulance has already come and gone.

The two con-men cannot understand. Then suddenly, Denzil and two of his large brothers appear behind them. "Get in!" they bundle the brothers into the back of the ambulance and drive off. (It turns out Arnie had met one of Denzil's brothers in another casino, and Denzil realised this was the same swine who'd conned Del) In the other ambulance, Arnie opens his eyes... to find himself surrounded by Del, Albert, Mike and Boycie - dressed as ambulance officers! (Rodney and Trigger are driving, and smiling.) "Now take it easy fellers," he grins, "I can explain." Mike coldly replies, "We're not looking for explanations.

It's all very clear." The gold chains are still in the handcuffed briefcase. "Try this, Del." Albert hands his great-nephew some bolt-cutters. Arnie assures Del he has the key to the handcuff chain.

But Del responds "Who said anything about cutting the chain?"