 In 1983 , Bill Owen suggested to returning producer Alan J. W. Bell that Roy Clarke 's novelisation of the show should be made into a feature @-@ length special . Other British sitcoms such as Steptoe and Son and Dad 's Army had previously produced films made for the cinema , but the BBC were initially sceptical as they had never before commissioned a film based on a comedy programme for original broadcast on television . They nevertheless commissioned a ninety @-@ minute film named " Getting Sam Home " , which was broadcast on 27 December 1983 , and started a trend which would continue with other British sitcoms , including Only Fools and Horses . 
