Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that was so popular in the eighties among the youth as it was so different to anything anyone had ever seen on television – The Young Ones

Opening Titles / theme tune

About the Show

Summary of Plot

The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher’s Britain. – IMDb

Number of Seasons / Episodes

2 Seasons

Characters:

Adrian Edmonson – Vyvyan

Rik Mayal – Rick

Nigel Planner – Neil

Christopher Ryan – Mike

Trivia

• The reason for including a performance by a live band in each episode was that this caused the BBC to categorize the show as “Light Entertainment” rather than “Situation Comedy”, which meant it got a budget, as no budget was available for further sitcoms.
• None of the writers had ever done anything for television before and simply wrote what they thought would be funny, not giving any thought to how it would actually be filmed. When they arrived on set the first day they realized how much work the crew had gone to for what were, in a lot of cases, throw-away jokes with no real connection to the plot. They apologized and promised to write things that would be easier to film, but the crew told them they had enjoyed the challenge and to keep writing as they had and they would find a way to film it.
• Rik Mayall once remarked in an interview that The Young Ones were designed to be a nuclear family, with Neil as the mother, Mike as the father figure, Vyvyan as the rebellious young son and Rick as the daughter (complete with pigtails).
• Unusually for a BBC sitcom at the time, most of the location scenes were recorded on video using Outside Broadcast facilities instead of 16mm film.
• Madness made two guest appearances in the sitcom performing two of their hit songs. “House of Fun” in The Young Ones: Boring (1982) and “Our House” in The Young Ones: Sick (1984). The reason they made two appearances was that the BBC was considering giving them a series in the same vein as _The Monkees_. This never happened.
• Mike’s surname is ambiguous, The Bachelor Boys book refers to him as “The Cool Person” several times, but in different styles including quotes.
• Adrian Edmondson’s future wife Jennifer Saunders appeared in the sitcom as two different characters. As Sue in The Young Ones: Interesting (1982) and as Helen Mucus in The Young Ones: Time (1984). They were married on May 11th 1985.

Classic Clips
Boring Cornflakes

It’s My Room

South African Lentils

The Licence Anarchy