"The Young Ones" (1982) TV series 1982-1984

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

11 November 1982 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Student | Punk | University | Hippie | Anarchist

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Adrian Edmondson	...	Vyvyan / ... (12 episodes, 1982-1984)
Rik Mayall	...	Rick / ... (12 episodes, 1982-1984)
Nigel Planer	...	Neil / ... (12 episodes, 1982-1984)
Christopher Ryan	...	Mike (12 episodes, 1982-1984)
Alexei Sayle	...	Jerzy Balowski / ... (12 episodes, 1982-1984)
Mark Arden	...	Boy in Comic Strip / ... (7 episodes, 1982-1984)
Stephen Frost	...	Bank Vault Manager / ... (7 episodes, 1982-1984)
Ben Elton	...	Baz / ... (5 episodes, 1982-1984)

Runtime:

35 min (12 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Bristol North Swimming Baths, Gloucester Road, Bristol, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Despite being set in North London, the external scenes were actually filmed in Bristol, just over 100 miles away; the show's producer, Paul Jackson, lived in Bristol at the time. The house used for the external scenes is in Codrington Road, Bristol.

Quotes:

Vyvyan: You can't clean the toilet, Neil - it'll lose all its character!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Homestarrunner.com: Everything Else, Volume 2 (2006) (V)

This Is The Way To Do Comedy

With few exceptions, today's comedy scene is abysmal. Canned laughter and absolutely nothing funny. No-one seems able to write a funny script now. The Young Ones didn't have to try too hard to be entertaining-it just was, period.

It was set in a student household and didn't really have plots-just craziness. Margaret Thatcher was UK Prime Minister at the time and the characters made frequent digs at her and her regime. Rik Mayall played Rick who was the craziest of the lot and always picking on Neil who was played by Niger Planer. Neil was the hippy who cared about everyone, man and beast but was bullied constantly. Adrian Edmondson played punkrocker Vivyan who was violent at times and simply didn't give a toss. Then there was Mike played by Christopher Ryan. It is hard to define Mike-I challenge anyone to give a character description to Mike. He wasn't as crazy as the rest of them but he was weird. And that is what I liked about The Young Ones.

As I said earlier, don't expect any plots because there are none. And as for them being students, well I never saw them revising in their spare time. There were some great scenes throughout the show and some very surreal scenes as well. Items of food in the fridge spoke on the state of things at times and there was the two speaking rats. Alexi Sayle as the landlord Balowski popped in from time to time.

Expect the crazy when you watch this. Great scenes throughout the show included a nuclear bomb landing in the kitchen, Vivyan eating the TV to escape prosecution by the TV Licence man, the students fighting and Neil being planted like a seed in the ground and spouting other Neils.

A fantastic cartoon-like comedy which had some impressive cameo appearances throughout it's run. If you're fed up with the boring tripe that tries to pass itself off as comedy nowadays, then check this out.