RaspberryLucozade 'The Young Ones' was one of the first sitcoms to appear as part of the 'alternative comedy boom'. It went out on BBC2 in November 1982 and met with very little reaction, yet when it was repeated a short time later in early 1983, it established itself as one of the most popular shows on television.I loved 'The Young Ones' as a child though at the same time I was terrified of it. It had the feeling of being trapped in a nightmare. It was written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Meyer and was all about four students - psychotic punk Vyvyan, tantrum-throwing Cliff Richard fanatic Rick, glum hippie Neil and smooth-talking wideboy Mike, none of which seemed to do any studying. Each week, we would see incredibly surreal things taking place, such as a giant flood sealing the characters in their house or inanimate objects talking to each other, however the four seemed to take it all in their stride. Alexei Sayle appeared each week in different guises but most of the time was seen as the boys' deranged landlord Mr. Balowski. Musical acts were also commonplace in the show, with top bands such as Madness and Dexys Midnight Runnners making appearances.It was violent, crude and heavily reliant on slapstick, more so than any comedy show had been previously but it struck a chord with millions of viewers. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson seemed to be the main comedians in the show but Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan also made 'The Young Ones' the great show it was. I am not really a fan of Alexei Sayle but some of his scenes here were undeniably hilarious. Further proof that the show had caught on came when the cast did a recording ( in character ) with Cliff Richard of 'Living Doll' for 'Comic Relief' in 1986. A video game version of 'The Young Ones' was released in 1985 for both the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum but due to glitches in the programming ( the game was unsolvable ) it was considered a commercial failure.The most memorable moments from the show for me included Rick mistaking a tampon for a 'telescope with a mouse in it' ( don't ask! ), Vyvyan eating the television set in a bid to hide it from the T.V detector man, Vyvyan expressing his hatred for the sitcom 'The Good Life' ( you would have to see it to find it funny ) but my favourite had Vyvyan leaning out of the window of a moving train, only to be decapitated by a train coming in the other direction. We then see his headless body pull the emergency cord, get out of the train and kick his disembodied head up the track like a football! The show came to a conclusion after only two seasons. In the final episode, 'Summer Holiday', the boys were killed off when the double decker they had stolen went over a cliff and burst into flames. Talk was rife of a Christmas special after the final series ended but the plan never came to fruition.In 1987, Ben Elton and Rik Mayall teamed up once again with Ade Edmondson and Nigel Planer to do 'Filthy, Rich & Catflap' in which Rik played an out-of-work actor, however it didn't catch on in the same way 'The Young Ones' did and only ran for six episodes. In 1991, Mayall and Edmondson wrote and starred in the show for which they are best remembered - 'Bottom'.Even though much of it has dated now, 'The Young Ones' is loved by fans as much now as when it first appeared. Special mention must be made of Peter Brewis' superb theme music.

general-melchett The Young Ones does not have the sharp wit and sarcasm that made Blackadder great. But it is far more hilarious and pant-wettingly funny than Blackadder, and it really recaptures the gritty feel of student homes in the 80s. Obviously done on a higher budget than Blackadder, there is ALWAYS action in the Young Ones, and it shows how little things have changed here since the 80s. This show is zany with a capital Z - there is no order or peace in this show - and nothing is normal. However, this only makes it better, and this classic of a comedy has not been ruined by a cr*p third series (Little Britain and the Fast Show have been marred by this) or any specials shown ten years after the show finished. The video quality is OK, but the outside filming is not as bad as it is in Blackadder. Ben Elton has proved himself to be one of the 80's greatest comedy writers - if it wasn't for him, Blackadder would have been rather a limp fish, and we wouldn't have this - an action-packed, completely barmy look at what life is like for four very bored students.If you watch this, bring a spare change of underpants - you will wet yourself with laughter! A riot of a show! 9/10

Johann Ah yes, The Young Ones. This is a quintessential British 80's comedy series. As much as I enjoyed Monty Python (as a kid I was a total Python freak), the Young Ones really put me over the edge. I think that it was that The Young Ones was basically a sit-com with some elements of a variety show thrown in (according to the IMDb it was so they could get a bigger budget for the show).The premise is extremely simple; four college students live in squaller in North London. The roommates are Rik, the people's poet who no one else likes, Vyvvian, the punker medical student, Mike the cool person, and Neil the depressed hippie. The foursome go around being all in all bastards to each other and have the occasional run in with their landlord (Alexi Sayle) who is constantly trying to bilk the four for every penny he can get out of them.All of this is punctuated by explosions, filth and things that are very boring. Vyvvian's hamster is also pretty amusing.

Robert Redmond This is my favorite show of all time... no questions asked. My mother introduced it to me last year when she bought a video called "The Very Best of The Young Ones" which featured 5 episodes. They were Bomb, Boring, Bambi, Interesting and Summer Holiday. I was so hooked on it! I gave the video away to someone else... not before getting the complete series of season 1 and season 2 on DVD. It's absolute kick@ss and stuff and I can't help but watch it all of the time. I blooming love it.I love Vyvyan the most out of them all, followed by Rik than Neil and of course Mike TheCoolPerson. But they're all hilarious. My favorite episode was probably Bambi... but they're all good.Alexei Sayle would have to have been recognized as the funniest man in the whole entire world during this series.The musical guests are fantastic as well with Madness, Motorhead, and so much more.Hilariously written, wonderfully over the top acting, very original the whole way. Great... great... great... great show! This is proof that the British do comedy 100,000,000,000,000,000 times or better than the United States of America. Sorry Yankees... bow down before the Oxford graduates, Cambridge graduates and gifted high school dropouts!