''The Young Ones'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...

written by

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (; 7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Adrian Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University, and was a pioneer of alternative come ...

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

, and

Lise Mayer Lise Mayer (born 29 November 1959) is an American television and film writer. She was creator and co-writer, alongside Rik Mayall and Ben Elton, of the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones''. __NOTOC__ Background and work Mayer was born in Chica ...

, starring

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

, Mayall,

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, writer and musician. His television credits include playing Neil in the sitcom '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in the sitcom '' Filthy Rich & Catflap'', as well as narrating th ...

Christopher Ryan Christopher Papazoglou (born 25 January 1950), known professionally as Christopher Ryan, is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Mike The Cool Person in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy se ...

, and

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th g ...

, and broadcast on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

for two series, first shown in 1982 and 1984. The show focused on the lives of four dissimilar students and their landlord's family on different plots that often included

anarchic Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

, offbeat, surreal humour. The show often included slapstick gags, visual humour and surreal jokes sometimes acted out by puppets, with each episode also featuring a notable selection of guest stars and musical numbers from various performers. ''The Young Ones'' helped bring

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

to British television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. The show became a notable icon of 1980s British popular culture, and it received its own game and a home-media release while becoming the first non-music-related programme to appear on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in the United States in 1985. The show was voted number 31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004.

History

In the early 1980s, much of the programme's cast performed on

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's comedy club circuit, gaining significant popularity at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

—

was the prominent act, drawing attention as the manic, aggressive compere;

and

worked together in the troupe

20th Century Coyote 20th Century Coyote was an English comedy group noted for first uniting Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall. Formed by Lloyd Peters in March 1976 whilst studying B.A. Drama at Manchester University, this improvisatory character-led comedy troupe was ...

and later became the double act

The Dangerous Brothers The Dangerous Brothers was a stage and TV act by anarchic comedy duo Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, performing respectively as "Richard Dangerous" and "Sir Adrian Dangerous". Originally appearing on stage in London at the comedy club The Comic Stri ...

; and

worked in the double act "The Outer Limits" alongside Peter Richardson. All principal members later opted to make their own club as The Comedy Store became popular, and they formed

The Comic Strip The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

in the

Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...

club in Soho with

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is al ...

and Arnold Brown. The new club proved immensely popular amongst London's comedy venues and brought the group to the attention of

Jeremy Isaacs Sir Jeremy Israel Isaacs (born 28 September 1932) is a Scottish television producer and executive, and an opera manager. Following a career at Granada Television, the BBC and Thames Television, Isaacs was the founding chief executive of Channe ...

, head of the new

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. Richardson opted to bring the group to television in a project entitled '' The Comic Strip Presents...'' and began negotiations with the new channel to secure a deal for a series of six self-contained half-hour films, in which the group would perform as comedy actors rather than stand-up performers. Channel 4 agreed to the deal and aired the programme on the channel's opening night on 2 November 1982. In response to this, the BBC opted to recruit the group for their own comedy projects, and they began negotiations with Edmondson, Mayall, Richardson, Planer and Sayle to star in a sitcom that would operate on a similar broadcast arrangement, under the title of ''The Young Ones'', which alludes to and subverts the song of the same name, written by

Sid Tepper Sid Tepper (June 25, 1918 – April 24, 2015) was an American songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Roy C. Bennett, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 son ...

and

Roy C. Bennett Roy C. Bennett (August 12, 1918 – July 2, 2015) was an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs. Biograp ...

and performed by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, which had become a No. 1 UK hit single in 1962. The group agreed to join the project and work proceeded on the sitcom, with Mayall co-writing the scripts with his then girlfriend

, and

(who had attended the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

with Mayall and Edmondson). Paul Jackson was installed as a producer, but his presence led to him clashing with Richardson, forcing the latter to abandon the project. As a result, his replacement was Christopher Ryan, the only member of the group who was not a stand-up comedian. According to Jackson, the finished project was met with complete disbelief by the BBC, but the recent arrival of Channel 4 led the broadcaster to air what had been created a week after its opening night, on 9 November. To help make it stand out, the group opted to combine traditional sitcom style with violent

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

, non-sequitur plot turns, and

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

. These older styles were mixed with the working and lower-middle class attitudes of the growing 1980s alternative comedy boom, in which all the principal performers except Ryan had been involved. In addition, it was also decided that every episode, with the exception of one, would feature a live performance by a band, including

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

, and The Damned. This was a device used to qualify the series for a larger budget, as variety shows attracted higher fees than comedy at the time. Episodes were generally produced to be over 35 minutes long, though were edited to half-hour when later repeated on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

or satellite channels.

Premise

The programme focuses on the lives of four undergraduate students who share a house in squalid condition (with the fictitious address of 15 Credibility Street), while attending their studies at the fictional Scumbag College,

. The content of the episodes could be classified as a

comedy of manners In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a greatly sophisticated, artificial society. ...

, because of its take on British culture, political climate and social backgrounds during the 1980s. A particular example of this is the second series' use of " flash frames", in each episode, to mock the public's fear of subliminal messages in television and music. ''The Young Ones'' was more notable for its use of violent slapstick, which Edmondson and Mayall had been using in their double-act routines, the use of surreal elements such as puppets playing the role of

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

s or objects (in a similar manner to ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940 – 12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ...

''), use of lengthy cutaways with no relation to the episode's plot, and frequent breaches of the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

for comedic efforts, either to break a punchline to a joke or make a plot point obvious; in several occasions, Sayle used this element to break from his character and address the audience in his real-life

Liverpudlian Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

accent. Rik Mayall once jokingly said that the household was effectively a nuclear family, with Mike as the father, Neil as the mother, Vyvyan as the rebellious son, and Rick (with a pig-tail) as the daughter.

Cast

''The Young Ones'' had a regular cast of five: *

as Vyvyan "Vyv" Basterd, a heavy metal fan and medical student;

psychopathic Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to s ...

sociopathic Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to st ...

sadist Sadist can refer to: * A person with a high level of everyday sadism, a personality trait characterized by enjoyment of hurting others * A person with sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete clinical term for people who enjoy the suffering of o ...

ic, and

misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude tow ...

. Vyv was mostly violent and unruly, respecting Mike and tending to pick on his fellow students Rick and Neil, primarily focusing on antagonising the former to the point that they are virtually inseparable. Vyvyan owned both a talking Glaswegian

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

named

Special Patrol Group The Special Patrol Group (SPG) was a unit of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for providing a centrally based mobile capacity to combat serious public disorder, crime, and terrorism, that could not be dealt with by loca ...

("SPG" for short), who is subjected to Vyvyan's extreme violence, and a yellow

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Angli ...

with red flames painted along the sides and "Vyv" written across the back window. *

as Rick, studying sociology and/or domestic sciences (depending on the episode);

hypocritical Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

attention-seeking Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior as a pathological personality trait is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the fo ...

, and a self-proclaimed

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

. Rick is mostly critical towards the others, often insulting Neil but also occasionally Vyvyan (despite Vyvyan's violent retaliation to criticism). He proclaimed himself as a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and an avid fan of

, while constantly adapting himself to different political beliefs, depending on how they will benefit him in a particular situation, despite displaying little understanding of them. According to Ben Elton, Mayall's character was influenced by the "try-hard wanna-be Leftie" typically found on university campuses. *

as Neil Pye, a

peace studies Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such ...

student; a morose,

pessimistic Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half ...

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

with

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

leanings. Neil often wound up having to do all the chores around the house, while the other three students barely acknowledged his presence unless they could blame him for something going wrong. *

as Mike the Cool Person, an unscrupulous student; cool, well-dressed, and generally respected. Mike was the

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

and nominal leader of the group. He often conducted profitable business to benefit himself to the detriment of others, but also to keep the others calm during unforeseen issues or situations. It was implied that he held on to his student status through blackmailing the university's senior staff. *

as various eccentric supporting characters, mostly the students' landlord Jerzei (Jeremy) Balowski and his family. Jerzei himself was a faux-Russian in that he mainly used a Russian accent to sound "more sophisticated". Alongside the main cast, the programme also featured a variety of guest appearances, including comedians, actors, and singers, who each took on the role of a supporting character in an episode's plot or cutaway elements. Notable guests on the programme included Ben Elton,

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

Hale and Pace Hale and Pace were an English comedy double-act that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo was made up of Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, with the ''Hale and Pace'' television show ...

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

Mark Arden Mark David Darwin Arden (born 31 July 1956) is a British comedian and actor, best known for his television appearances. During the 1980s, he was one half of comic double act 'The Oblivion Boys', alongside Stephen Frost. Arden was born in Newb ...

Stephen Frost Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost (born 28 December 1955) is an English actor and comedian, best known for his work on ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' as well as several projects with comedy partner Mark Arden. Early life Frost was born in Redr ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. Smi ...

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

Anthony Sharp Dennis Anthony John Sharp (16 June 1915 – 23 July 1984) was an English actor, writer and director. Stage career Anthony Sharp was a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art ( LAMDA) and made his stage debut in February 1938 ...

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown; 28 March 1960) is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show '' Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in '' Lara Croft: ...

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is a British comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series '' Naked Video'' ...

, Keith Allen,

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known by the stage name Paul Merton, is an English comedian who is best known as one of the two regular panellists on the television show '' Have I Got News for You''. Known for his improvisation skill, M ...

, Paul Bradley,

Pauline Melville Pauline Melville FRSL (born 1948) is an English-Guyanese writer and former actress of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, who is currently based in London, England. Among awards she has received for her writing – which encompasses short sto ...

Tamsin Heatley Tamsin Heatley is a British actress. She has appeared on television programmes such as The Bill, The Young Ones, Horrid Henry, Fimbles, Tweenies, Big & Small and various other children's television shows. Her father was Norman Heatley, a bioche ...

Ronnie Golden Ronnie Golden, born Tony De Meur, is a British singer, guitarist and comedian. He was the founder of the band The Fabulous Poodles. After the group broke up, he worked as a comedian as a member of The Comic Strip. From the early 1980s he made ma ...

Roger Sloman Roger Sloman (born 19 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work in theatre, film and television. Early life and education He grew up and was educated in South East London. He trained to be a teacher and then went to East 15 acting scho ...

Lee Cornes Lee Cornes is an English television actor and writer born in Worcester. A stand up comedian since 1980, he was a regular compere at London's Comedy Store throughout the 1980s and won best Stand Up Comedian at the Charrington London Fringe Awa ...

Helen Atkinson Wood Helen Atkinson-Wood (born 14 March 1955) is an English actress and comedian born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. She studied fine art at the Ruskin School, Oxford University, where she performed with Rowan Atkinson (no relation). She also perform ...

Norman Lovett Norman Lovett (born 31 October 1946) is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in ''Red Dwarf''. Career Lovett became a stand-up comedian in his thirties, initially supporting punk b ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

David Rappaport David Stephen Rappaport (23 November 1951 – 2 May 1990) was an English actor with achondroplasia (a genetic disorder where the primary feature is dwarfism). He appeared in the films ''Time Bandits'' and '' The Bride'', and television series ' ...

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

, Andy De La Tour and

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

International broadcast

In the United States, ''The Young Ones'' started airing on MTV (edited for content) on 5 June 1985. The show also ran on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

's Night Flight,

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

in 1994, and BBC America in the early 2000s. In New Zealand, the show premiered late at night on 23 August 1985, after

TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

purchased the broadcast rights. In the Netherlands, the show was aired in 1985 by public broadcaster

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

. In the Basque Country, public broadcaster ETB1 began airing the show in 1985 in

Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...

with the name '' Gazteak'' (''The Young Ones'') with great success among Basque younger audiences. In

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, public broadcaster

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

began airing the show in February 1986 on a Sunday evening slot. The show became very popular and got several re-runs in successive years. In 2016, Nigel Planer appeared in a show involving foreign travellers visiting Catalonia. One of the characteristics of the Catalan dubbing is that Vyvyan speaks with a thick Catalan rural accent, totally opposed to his urban environment in the series. In Galicia it was shown on regional channel TVG with great success among younger audiences. In Sweden it was called Hemma värst and was first broadcast in October 1985 by the public broadcaster

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

Music

The series' opening theme song featured the cast singing Cliff Richard and The Shadows's UK No. 1 song "The Young Ones" (1961), the title song from the film of the same name. Throughout the series there are many references to Richard, as Mayall's character is a devout fan. The theme over the end credits was written by Peter Brewis, who also created the

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

on many episodes. In 1984, after the second series, Planer (in character as Neil) reached No. 2 in the UK charts with a version of

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

's " Hole in My Shoe". The accompanying ''

Neil's Heavy Concept Album ''Neil's Heavy Concept Album'' is a 1984 recording of songs and spoken comedy routines by British actor Nigel Planer, in character as the long-suffering hippie Neil from the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones''. Production, arrangements and k ...

'', a loose collection of songs and spoken comedy, included appearances by ''The Young Ones'' alumni Dawn French and Stephen Fry. In 1986 the cast sang " Living Doll" with Cliff Richard and

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

for

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

. The song, a reworking of his 1959 hit, reached the top of the UK, Australian, and New Zealand Charts. Eleven of the twelve episodes had a musical guest performing in the house or street. By including the groups, the show qualified as variety rather than

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In the UK In the early days of the BBC, virtually all broadcast entertainment would b ...

by the BBC and was allocated a bigger budget than a sitcom. Groups that appeared included

Amazulu Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni people, Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They o ...

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

, The Damned,

Nine Below Zero Nine Below Zero are an English rock band who have a cult following throughout Europe. They became popular during the period 1980–1982 and are still performing currently throughout the UK, Scandinavia and Europe as of 2025. Career The band ...

Rip Rig + Panic To rip is the act of tearing an object. Rip may also refer to: Places * Nioro du Rip, a town in the southern Kaolack Region of Senegal * 7711 Říp, an asteroid * Rip Bridge, New South Wales Australia * Říp, a mountain in the Czech Republic ...

, Ken Bishops Nice Twelve, Radical Posture,

John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography Early life Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. From the age of nine all he ever wanted ...

and

, who appeared in two episodes. The one episode that featured no musical act still fulfilled the variety criteria by including a

lion tamer Lion taming is the taming and training of lions, either for protection or for use in entertainment, such as the circus. The term often applies to the taming and display of lions and other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and ...

whose presence also directly contributed to the plot. Some of these performances were omitted from DVD release for

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

reasons. Some musical acts were also edited out for similar reasons on some satellite reruns. On the 2007 DVD release, all the music acts are restored uncut.

The fifth housemate

In the first six episodes of the series, a person whose face is covered by hair appears in the background of some scenes, such as to the left when Neil gets hit by Vyvyan with a kettle in "

Bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

". In the episode Demolition, the person appears slumped against the back wall when Rick is watching TV. These rumours of a mysterious fifth housemate have been the subject of fan speculation on the internet. In 2016 journalist Peter Farquhar sent members of the cast and crew email enquiries about this unnamed character. Writer Ben Elton replied, saying "I have no idea what you are talking about I'm afraid..." By contrast, one of the directors of the series, Geoff Posner, said that he and Paul Jackson "thought it would be fun to have some ghostly figure in the background of some scenes that was never explained or talked about..." During an event at the Bristol Slapstick Festival 2018, Adrian Edmondson was asked about the fifth housemate during an audience question session, and named the person playing the 'fifth housemate' as his university friend Mark Dewison. Mark also played a speaking role as Neil's friend (also called 'Neil') during series one episode "Interesting". He emerges from Vyvyan's full vacuum cleaner bag and ends up being shoved into the fridge by Rick. However, Dewison and the fifth housemate appear together in the same shot towards the end of the episode. In a documentary, ''How the Young Ones Changed Comedy'', that aired in 2018 on

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, series co-writer Lise Mayer said she believed the housemate had arrived to a party at the student house at some point in the past, and had never left.

Filming locations

Although the series was set in

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, many external scenes were filmed in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, namely the suburb of Bishopston, where the student house is situated at the top of Codrington Road. Other locations include the Fascist Pig Bank, the Launderette and the Army Careers Office, all around the corner on Gloucester Road. The pub in which Vyvyan's mum works, the Kebab and Calculator in the series, was the Cock of the North (since renamed the Westbury Park Tavern) in Northumbria Drive, Bristol. A brief scene in a pharmacy was filmed outside GK Chemists, later taken over by Lloyds Pharmacy, in St Johns Lane, Bedminster. The shop was renamed "OK Chemists" for the scene, in which Mike goes to buy cough medicine, but orders £180 worth of

Durex Durex is a British brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by Reckitt, Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured betwee ...

condoms instead—"Force of habit".

Reception

As of 2024, Rotten Tomatoes reports five positive reviews. The series was also praised by

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, and television personality. He is the editor of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'', a position he has held since 1986. He has appeared on many radio and television pr ...

Legacy

The end of the series was not the last appearance of ''The Young Ones''. For the British charity television appeal Comic Relief, the four recorded a song and video for Cliff Richard's "Living Doll", accompanied by Richard and Shadows guitarist

Hank B. Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

. Alexei Sayle was not involved, as he felt collaborating with Richard was against the

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

ethos of the show, but had already achieved chart success in 1984 with " 'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?". In 1984, Planer released an album of music and skits in character as Neil, entitled ''Neil's Heavy Concept Album''. Musical direction was by

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

keyboardist Dave Stewart. It featured Stewart's alums

Barbara Gaskin Barbara Gaskin (born 5 June 1950) is an English singer formerly associated with the UK Canterbury scene. Gaskin was lead vocalist in British folk-prog band Spirogyra (1969–1974). From 1973 to 1976, she sang backing vocals with Dave Stewart ...

Jakko Jakszyk Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk ( , born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as lead singer and se ...

Pip Pyle Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield and the North ...

Gavin Harrison Gavin Richard Harrison (born May 28, 1963) is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016� ...

Jimmy Hastings James Brian Gordon Hastings (12 May 1938 – 18 March 2024) was a British musician associated with the Canterbury scene who played saxophones, flute and clarinet. Early life Hastings was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He started playing the saxop ...

and Rick Biddulph. "Hole in My Shoe", a single taken from the LP, reached number 2.

Soulwax Soulwax are a Belgian electronic band and DJ/production collective from Ghent, who formed in 1995. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor and Laima Cavalera, and Stefaan Van Leuven. The group first ...

used "Hello Vegetables" to kick off their Radio Soulwax mix "Introversy." The program became a cult hit in the United States after

began broadcasting edited versions of the episodes during the summer of 1985.

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...

cited the show as one of his influences during a Q&A at the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

. At the 1986 Comic Relief stage shows, The Young Ones performed "Living Doll" live (following a short skit which involved Rick doing a comic song about showing his underwear and bodily parts, before being ejected from the group by Mike, and Vyvyan supposedly having backstage sex with

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

with Neil as his

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

). The skit climaxed with Neil claiming Cliff Richard could not perform with them as he was "doing time" (the musical Time was premiering the following week) and

John Craven John Raymond Craven (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', '' Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''. Early life Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...

had been booked as a replacement, only for Cliff to then appear. However he was only available to appear on the second night of the run, with

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

replacing him on the other two nights. On one occasion, Edmondson, Mayall and Planer as their "Young Ones" characters did a parody of the song "

My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the " 500 Greatest S ...

" by

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

. Mayall, Planer, and Edmondson reunited in 1986 for the Elton-written ''

Filthy Rich & Catflap ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'' is a BBC sitcom produced in 1986 and broadcast in 1987. The series featured former '' The Young Ones'' co-stars Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as its three titular characters. It was written by Ben Elton ...

''. The series had many of the same characteristics as ''The Young Ones'' as did Mayall and Edmondson's next sitcom '' Bottom''. Ryan, for his part, was regularly recruited to play roles on associated series (such as ''

Happy Families Happy families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on profession, occupation types. The object of the game, which is simi ...

'', ''Bottom'' and ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

''). Mayall, Edmondson and Planer have also appeared in episodes of ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...

''. Both series were repeated consecutively over twelve weeks in early 1985, but went unrepeated for four years, when the second series was shown on BBC2. In the mid-1990s all twelve episodes of ''The Young Ones'' were shown on BBC2 in a 30-minute revised format, missing scenes and dialogue. The series was also shown on digital channel UK Gold throughout the 1990s. A mix of both the edited and unedited versions was shown in the 2000s (decade) on UKTV G2 and

Paramount Comedy 1 Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US versi ...

. DVD releases were initially very basic: Only the US "Every Stoopid Episode" edition featured excerpts from existing documentaries, and no extra footage was included. Musical references proved difficult to clear so "

The Sounds of Silence "The Sound of Silence" (originally "The Sounds of Silence") is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. The duo's studio audition of the song led to a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original a ...

" (one line) and "

Subterranean Homesick Blues "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It is the first track on the album ''Bringing It All Back Home'', released som ...

" were excised from the US editions. A new DVD release of all episodes ("Extra Stoopid Edition") was launched in November 2007, containing new documentaries and two commentary tracks. This edition restores the line from "The Sounds of Silence" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues". The music video "Living Doll" featuring Cliff Richard has not been included on any edition, and neither is the live performance done for comic relief in 1986.

American pilot episode

A pilot episode was filmed of an American version of ''The Young Ones'', titled '' Oh, No! Not THEM!''. It featured Planer as Neil and

Jackie Earle Haley Jack Earle Haley (born July 14, 1961) is an American actor and director. His earliest roles included Moocher in '' Breaking Away'' (1979) and Kelly Leak in '' The Bad News Bears'' (1976), '' The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' (1977) and '' ...

, and had a

claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

opening credit sequence. The

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

network did not pick up the series. It was produced by

David Mirkin David Mirkin (born ) is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Mar ...

Robert Llewellyn Robert Llewellyn (born 10 March 1956) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He plays the Android (robot), mechanoid Kryten in the Science fiction, sci-fi television sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and formerly presented the engineering gam ...

wrote in his book ''The Man in the Rubber Mask'' (1994):

Links to other shows

In the episode "

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

", the housemates appeared on ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'', where they played against Footlights College,

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

, a reference to the

Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...

drama club at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The Footlights College team was played by show writer Ben Elton and three actors who were once members of the real Cambridge Footlights: Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, the last of whom had actually appeared on the quiz show while at Cambridge. The episode title is a reference to the show's presenter,

Bamber Gascoigne Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (, 24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster of '' University Challenge'', which initially ran from 1962 to 1987. Early life and education Gasc ...

, impersonated by Griff Rhys Jones. In the episode " Sick", the quartet enter a scenario parodying '' The Good Life'', after Neil's mother says the sitcom should be more like ''The Good Life'' and Vyvyan has an outburst against it, saying, "It's so bloody nice! Felicity 'Treacle' Kendal and Richard 'Sugar-Flavoured Snot' Briers! What do they do now?! Chocolate-bloody-button ads, that's what! They're nothing but a couple of reactionary stereotypes, confirming the myth that everyone in Britain is a lovable middle-class eccentric. And I! Hate! Them!" Mayall and Edmondson elaborated on some of the series' concepts later in their sitcoms ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'' (written by Elton, with additional material by Mayall) and ''Bottom'' (written by Mayall and Edmondson. Christopher Ryan also appeared as Dave Hedgehog). Most of the regular cast (and several of the guests) also appeared in Channel 4 and

's ''

The Comic Strip Presents The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'' comedy shows. All four main actors went on to gain reputations as both dramatic and comic actors. In 1988, while playing main character

Alan B'Stard The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine. New Statesman or New Statesmen may also refer to: * ''The New Statesman'' (1984 TV series), a British television sitcom starring Windsor Davies * ''The New Statesman'' (1987 TV ser ...

during a brief skit of his political sitcom ''

The New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' on the BBC's Comic Relief telethon, Mayall switched characters to become Rick again and deliver a brief lustful turn to camera on the subject of "Cecil Parkinson and a whip". In the same year, Planer and Edmondson revived the characters of Neil and Vyvyan, albeit grown up and wearing standard clothes, in an advert for

Friends Provident Friends' Provident Insurance was a banking institution founded in 1832 to serve the needs of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Based in Bradford, Yorkshire, it concentrated on sickness and annuity policies until its life fund acquired Century I ...

. Planer played an older Neil on an in-house BBC promotion for the international channel

BBC Knowledge BBC Knowledge was a British television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 1 June 1999, broadcasting documentary, cultural and educational programmes. It was shut down permanently on 2 March 2002, and was replaced by BBC Four. ...

("I haven't got a TV, I used it for firewood") in 1999 and a commercial for

Castrol Castrol Limited is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The company was originally named CC Wakefield; the nam ...

a year later. In 1990,

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

puppet series ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...

'' made reference to ''The Young Ones'' when four members of the

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

cabinet reminisced about their younger days, with all four playing one ''Young Ones'' character each:

Cecil Parkinson Cecil Edward Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, (1 September 1931 – 22 January 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician and cabinet minister. A chartered accountant by training, he entered Parliament in November 1970, and was appointed ...

as Mike,

Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and ...

as Vyvyan,

Michael Heseltine Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...

as Rick and

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to ...

as Neil. The 2006 ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' episode " Chimps Ahoy" featured Mayall, Ryan and Planer as guest stars, playing a trio of

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

s who come to inspect the progress

Sandy Cheeks Sandy Cheeks is a fictional character in the American animated comedy television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and the Nickelodeon franchise of the same name. She is voiced by Carolyn Lawrence and first appeared in the episode "Tea at the ...

has made with her inventions.

Episodes

When originally broadcast, episodes were shown on BBC2 Tuesdays at 9 pm.

Series 1 (1982)

Series 2 (1984)

Repeats

The series achieved a larger audience through 1980s repeat screenings than it did on first run. Repeats of the programme in the 1990s, when the series was considerably older and less topical, fared less well. As Bambi was also screened during a BBC1 Comic Relief evening (not included below), it was the most-repeated episode, with six repeat screenings from 1985 to 1999. The repeat details of the series up to 2000 were as follows: * Joint chart placing.

Home media

Both series of ''The Young Ones'' have both been released on DVD individually and in a special edition boxset in both regions 2 and 4. Region 1 has two boxsets, one with certain sequences removed due to licensing issues, the other uncut. The entire series is also available for download on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. The series was released on Blu-ray on 28 November 2022 in region B. The original VHS releases were in a set of 4, each tape containing 3 episodes. The Series 1 and 2 DVDs are rated 15 and three of the VHS releases were rated PG. There were also complete series 1 and complete series 2 VHS releases. In March 2022 the series was added to

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

. The episodes are the 30-minute '90s edits.

Video game

''The Young Ones'' is a 1986 video game based on the British comedy television series of the same name. The game takes place in the students' home. The player can choose to play as either Mike, Neil, Vyvyan or Rick to explore the house and enter different rooms. The other characters become computer-controlled players. All characters can move around the house, pick up and drop objects, as well as break and fix things. The characters often talk, giving the player clues as to what the character is intended to do. The aim of the game is to try and move out of the house with all the character's belongings in the shortest time possible. This is not so easy, because these possessions are typically not in their preferred condition, or are hidden around the house, and players need various tools to get to them. The other characters will move around the house, behaving in-character, occasionally moving around or further damaging the possessions—making the task harder. The game was published by Orpheus Software, based in Hatley St George in Bedfordshire. The Young Ones characters were licensed from the owners of the BBC TV series, Rik Mayall, Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. Due to difficulty in licensing the original series music from the BBC, an alternative music sound track was commissioned to sound similar to the original theme. Over 10,000 copies of the game were sold, mainly through Boots stores, Woolworths, and independent computer stores. Due to obscure bugs in the software, it was impossible to solve the game, although few users realised this at the time. Orpheus ceased trading before the problems could be remedied.

Other media

* *

References

External links

''The Young Ones''
at The bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy * * * * *

The Young Ones
on BBC Radio Four's ''The Reunion'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Ones, The 1982 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British satirical television series BBC television sitcoms British college television series BBC television sketch shows British English-language television shows British musical television series Punk television series Metafictional television series British surreal comedy television series Self-reflexive television British television shows featuring puppetry Musical comedy television shows Slapstick television series