The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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Storyline
Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson), Rick (Rik Myall), Mike (Christopher Ryan), and Neil (Nigel Planer) are four college students who share a house in North London: Vyvyan is a violent punk who smashes everything to pieces, Rick is a political fan of Cliff Richard, Mike is the serious and bossy cool person, and Neil is the depressed hippie who does most of the cooking and cleaning in the house, and his only desire is to commit suicide. Vyvyan, Rick, Mike, and Neil pay their rent to their Russian landlord Jerzy Balowski (Alexei Sayle) and his various family members. The world of this show is surreal, hilarious, and violent as the show also interacts with other characters, and featured live performances from bands. —Daniel Williamson
- Taglines
- BBC DVD VIDEO RELEASE: Every stooped episode
- Genre
- Certificate
- TV-14
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaNone 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.
- Crazy creditsAfter the closing credits at the end of 'Oil', the 2nd show of Series 1, Vivian breaks the fourth wall and confesses to the audience that he lied to Rick, Neil and Mike about the oil.
- Alternate versionsThe original episodes when first broadcast were 35 minutes long. Some repeat showings were edited versions running 30 minutes long, abridging various bits of material from each one.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Comedy Classics of the 80's (1991)
Top review
Anarchy Rules, OK!
... How fortunate that on this one project the nations foremost figureheads in alternative comedy were gathered together and allowed to give their imaginations free reign. I don't think you'll ever see a sitcom as gleefully silly or unconventional as this one, partly because of the personalities involved in making it and partly due to the regular musical interludes that were thrown in purely to give the team more cash.
Incidentally, "Cash" from series two is my favourite episode, and Neil my favourite member of the gang. What can you say about a scenario where Vyvvian (a bloke) learns that he's pregnant, except that it's utter genius?! Neil's whole demeanour seals it for me; he doesn't even have to say anything, and Nigel Planer's mournful expression will still crack me up, without fail.
It's the absolute opposite of those cosy, easygoing shows where everybody likes one another really. You can't really call it 'The Good Life' when you're living in what most would describe as 'a hole'... As it happens, I don't really have any objection to such a nice '70's comedy, although listening to Vyvvian launch into a verbal tirade against it almost changed my mind, delivered as it was with such unchecked outrage. You can always trust "The Young Ones" to offer some biting political comment, unless you're talking to Rick, that is... !
Incidentally, "Cash" from series two is my favourite episode, and Neil my favourite member of the gang. What can you say about a scenario where Vyvvian (a bloke) learns that he's pregnant, except that it's utter genius?! Neil's whole demeanour seals it for me; he doesn't even have to say anything, and Nigel Planer's mournful expression will still crack me up, without fail.
It's the absolute opposite of those cosy, easygoing shows where everybody likes one another really. You can't really call it 'The Good Life' when you're living in what most would describe as 'a hole'... As it happens, I don't really have any objection to such a nice '70's comedy, although listening to Vyvvian launch into a verbal tirade against it almost changed my mind, delivered as it was with such unchecked outrage. You can always trust "The Young Ones" to offer some biting political comment, unless you're talking to Rick, that is... !
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- Howlin Wolf
- Jun 5, 2007
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