The Young Ones

[Paul Calf]

But series two has four people killed in a crashing bus, and actually get laughs from it.  That requires a certain skill.

For years, I didn't know how The Young Ones ended because we were on holiday when the last episode was broadcast and set the video to record it. It missed the end off, cutting out just as Rick sings "We're all going on a Sum...". No catch-up services, DVD releases and not many repeats of stuff like that, so I didn't see the ending until about 1990.

The episodes Interesting and Flood: I didn't even know they existed until 2007.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

For years, I didn't know how The Young Ones ended because we were on holiday when the last episode was broadcast and set the video to record it. It missed the end off, cutting out just as Rick sings "We're all going on a Sum...". No catch-up services, DVD releases and not many repeats of stuff like that,

And your friends point blank refused to tell you how it ended?

[greenman]

Whilst were on ths subject what was the track played after the bus explodes? shawaddy, shawaddy, na na na,

[Phil_A]

Whilst were on ths subject what was the track played after the bus explodes? shawaddy, shawaddy, na na na,

I think that was a Brewis original, sneakily incorporating a bit of "Summer Holiday" in there as well.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I recently found out Young One's writer Ben Elton was, in 1983, with Richard Curtis, co-writing a sitcom for pop group Madness to star in.  For some reason though, it never got off the ground.  I can imagine it might have come somewhat close to the Young Ones, so maybe that's why it never got made.

[Uncle TechTip]

Some clips turned up on a bad TV round up recently. It looked bloody dreadful, and the band are particularly poor actors.

[Gurke and Hare]

"Come Doctor Notthenineoclocknews, we are men of science." might be the best line in anything ever.

[Mr Banlon]

Neil : I thought you were Australian, like David Bowie.
I'm guessing a reference to the 'Let's Dance' video.

[Paul Calf]

And your friends point blank refused to tell you how it ended?

They didn't watch it. I was 11 at the time.

[Gulftastic]

Some clips turned up on a bad TV round up recently. It looked bloody dreadful, and the band are particularly poor actors.

Watch 'Take It Or Leave It' for further proof of Madness' lack of acting talent.

Bloody good songs, mind.

[Steptoes_Son]

"NO, NO, IN THE PIT!!!!'

followed by

"Being Scottish and Jewish: two racial stereotypes for the price of one! Perhaps the best value in the graveyard this morning. Perhaps not."

Brilliant. That whole episode, in fact, is an astonishingly fun half hour of lunacy.

"Why not? CLANG!!!"

[Gulftastic]

Tiny moment I love is Mike's monologue in 'Summer Holiday', specifically when he says '..and I'm never going back. Do you hear me?' and a voice (Rik, I think) says 'what?'.

Also, the phrase 'wide eyed, big bottomed anarchists!'

[Sydward Lartle]

"Come Doctor Notthenineoclocknews, we are men of science." might be the best line in anything ever.

You know when you're a child, your sense of time is pretty skewed to the extent of things that happened relatively recently happened "absolutely ages ago"? Well, I distinctly remember hearing that line when Bambi first aired in 1984, and thinking "Ha! I remember Not the Nine O'Clock News!", like the smug ten-year-old who was allowed to stay up and watch the BBC2 nine o'clock alternative comedy slot that I was. It also inspired me to borrow the Hedgehog Sandwich album from the local library, which I made a copy of by the less-than-ideal method of sticking a mono tape recorder with a built in microphone directly in front of the stereo and turning the volume up (we were quite a poor family and couldn't afford separates or a midi system).

I was properly surprised when I found out the final series of NTNOCN had only aired two years ago in 1982.

[Steptoes_Son]

I've never seen this discussed, but this clip of Elton mentioning his seeming indifference to the puppet side of the young ones is pretty disappointing to consider:

https://youtu.be/pxG4XtNlHA0

The puppets, along with the cutaways and non-sequiters, helped give the show a large amount of its charm. I do wonder what TYO would have been if just penned by Rik or Ben, or even Elton alone. It sometimes seems Mayer didn't get as much credit for the show, simply because she wasn't really in the public eye as much as Mayall and Elton, plus I don't think she wrote another sitcom (though I might be mistaken)

[Sydward Lartle]

I have no idea when that documentary was made, but good gravy, Lise Mayer was gorgeous.

[thraxx]

I'd love to know who did the voice for the sock "I'm not going back in there - it stinks", it has such a wonderful grotty timbre to it.

[DrGreggles]

I'd love to know who did the voice for the sock "I'm not going back in there - it stinks", it has such a wonderful grotty timbre to it.

Planer

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

Madness' video for "Wings Of A Dove" was YO-style silly nonsense, and that was 1983.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Mark Arden later turned up in Bottom as the fun fair employee who gets an airgun pellet in the eye, then gets to kick Eddie in the nadgers, so obviously Mayall and Edmondson thought he, rather than Stephen Frost, was the funny one.

Or maybe Mayall and Edmondson liked them both, but Arden happened to be available at the time and was perhaps better-suited to the role.

[Sydward Lartle]

What happened to Edmondson-as-Vyvyan's promos for Dupont(?) carpets? Pretty sure that used to be on YouTube but it's vanished.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I've never seen this discussed, but this clip of Elton mentioning his seeming indifference to the puppet side of the young ones is pretty disappointing to consider:

https://youtu.be/pxG4XtNlHA0

The puppets, along with the cutaways and non-sequiters, helped give the show a large amount of its charm. I do wonder what TYO would have been if just penned by Rik or Ben, or even Elton alone. It sometimes seems Mayer didn't get as much credit for the show, simply because she wasn't really in the public eye as much as Mayall and Elton, plus I don't think she wrote another sitcom (though I might be mistaken)

He used puppets in Man From Auntie.

[Gurke and Hare]

"Come Doctor Notthenineoclocknews, we are men of science." might be the best line in anything ever.

Although "Guys, guys, I'm going to have to wee on Lord Snot's head" later in the episode runs it close.

[DrGreggles]

"Wasn't it Monk D'Wally de Honk?"

A quote used at every pub quiz since 1984, no  doubt.

[Sydward Lartle]

"My nob's bigger than Heathrow Airport" - John Noakes.

[DrGreggles]

"My nob's bigger than Heathrow Airport" - John Noakes.

I wish I knew what I'd done with that book.
The computer game less so...

[Sydward Lartle]

The computer game (well, the Spectrum port of the game, anyway - not sure if the versions on other platforms were any better) was pretty much universally panned, if I remember correctly. It was slightly closer in spirit to the series than you might have expected, but it was just a thoroughly bloody dull game, as witnessed by this advertisment...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaiSIhE24i4

Voice-over man sounds more like Zippy having a stroke when he impersonates Vyv, and the less said about his Neil routine, the better. Also, look how long the advert simply allows us to watch the game trundling on with no distractions whatsoever!

[Twed]

These were in-store advertisements[nb]or advertisements for potential vendors, which they'd send out en-masse on VHS[/nb]. The pacing is different than it is for television adverts.

I love the atmosphere of that game. A grim world where they've all gone absolutely insane and can't stop talking out loud about picking things up, or the prospect of picking things up.

[LORD BAD VIBE]

"Oi! Stop having a wet dream, you little pervy! You're supposed to be wracked with remorse!"

[greenman]

Watching "Nasty" again for the first time in over a decade and it does rather stand out as a likely influence on the Simpsons Halloween episodes doesn't it? especially the opening.

[MuteBanana]

Holy shit. Did you guys know about this?

5th housemate

Lise Mayer?