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The Young Ones - Series One [DVD] [1982]
![The Young Ones - Series One [DVD] [1982]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5157AQ896GL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £3.69 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
"A horrible, vile, disgusting sitcom about four students who live in the most revolting house in Britain", The Young Ones became an instant BBC comedy landmark in 1982 by launching an all-out assault on the moribund sitcom, mixing Monty Python-esque madness with post-punk anarchy. There are no real stories, only a succession of often hysterically funny scenes as ingenious gags collide with deliberately corny lines, cartoon-like ultra-violence, pop music breaks, surreal interludes with characters ranging from the Three Bears to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and gross-out moments based on various bodily functions and substances. Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan are the four housemates: Rick (Cliff Richard-worshipping radical sociology student), Vyvan (violence-loving punk medical student), Neil (put-upon suicidal hippie) and Mike (self-styled cool guy). Alexei Sayle appears regularly playing various mad Russians. Taking a cue from National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) the show now seems to anticipate the teen gross-out flicks of the late 1990s but to far more amusing effect. In retrospect The Young Ones is cheerfully un-politically correct in a way which may shock more now than 20 years ago; certainly some of the insults and drug-taking would have trouble getting on TV today. The first series was followed by a second equally hilarious series; Mayall and Edmondson played essentially similar characters in Filthy, Rich and Catflap (1987) and Bottom (1991-5). On the DVD: The Young Ones on disc has disappointingly no extra features except optional English subtitles. The sound is full, clear mono and the 4:3 picture is as good as can be expected from a 1980s BBC comedy shot on video and certainly far better than the show appeared when it was broadcast.--Gary S Dalkin
Completely Fantastic!
Review date: 2009-03-30 Rating: 10 out of 10
The seminal comedy from the early eighties comic strip members,there's not much to be said about this except if you haven't already seen it,BUY IT NOW!
I could wax lyrical forever about how great it is,but I wont bore you,just see for yourself...
ReviewsThe Young Ones - Series OneReview date: 2009-03-09 Rating: 8 out of 10The Young Ones is a real gem of British alternative comedy; slapstick, satrical, musical and incredible, it is a must-see for anyone interested in modern culture, modern comedy, or general unnecessary violence! Series one, like the others, is full of oddities, including Mike's romance with Cinderella, the horsemen of the apocolypse playing Scrabble, the arrival of a nuclear bomb and Rik's try-hard poetry and references to Trotsky. But whether you get (or care about) the political undertones, this show is great fun and worth a watch by any Young One - especially students, who may well find themselves shifting uneasily as they realise they're the 'Rik' of the house!Laughter coming in Floods.Review date: 2008-05-23 Rating: 10 out of 10The Young Ones first appeared on BBC2 in 1982 in a complete lack of publicity and advertising that would be unheard of today. At that time I'd never heard of `The Comic Strip' comedy club where Ade Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Alexi Sayle had been effectively honing these characters for some time. I initially tuned in as the pilot episode was noted, in that weeks Radio Times, to feature music from Nine Below Zero whom as a R'n'b band jumping up and down on the Mod revival bandwagon which put them pretty much on my radar at that time.
What a revelation, no one had made a sit-com like it before, changing scenes with links by dodgy puppets, cartoon violence, surrealism, clever wordplay and familiar stereotyped characters, it was fantastic. It was discussed in the playground the following day in the sort of awe that had previously been reserved for `Not the Nine O'clock News' and repeats of Fawlty Towers'.
Over subsequent weeks the standard was raised with `Oil' seeing the student house become a fascist police state, `Boring' see's the students playing monopoly and venturing to the Kebab and Calculator pub to see `Madness' perform. In `Interesting' they hold a party which is attended by fellow Comic Strip regulars French & Saunders and Arden and Frost while in `Bomb' they gain possession of a nuclear which they intend to sell to cover there TV licence fine whilst Dexy's Midnight Runners (whom had Nigel Planer and Outer Limit partner Peter Richardson, who was supposed to originally play Mike, as there support act on the `The Projected Passion Review') play in the bathroom.
The final episode is the best, in `Flood' London is flooded and a wardrobe which acts as a bridge to place called Narnia (which you may have heard of) is discovered in the flat. Absolutely Fabulous, attending college was always going to be a disappointment after this.
The Funny Side of the Thatcher YearsReview date: 2007-07-07 Rating: 8 out of 10The Young Ones epitomised the confusion of the generation that came of age in the Thatcher Years. Caught between a right wing government, the residue of punk and left-wing ideas from the 60s and 70s, and the continued disolution of the class system, British youth went through an identity crisis, struggling to find a suitable sub-group to belong to, whether it be punk (Vyv), spiv (Mike), hippy (Neil), or 'right-on' left-wing radical (Rick). Throwing these 4 student-types together in an anarchic, surreal house-share was a stroke of genius.
The main focus is the explosive relationship of the pretentious Rick (Rik Mayall) and the brutally straightforward Vyvian (Adrian Edmonson). These 2 actors later reprised a stripped down version of this relationship in "Bottom". Neal the Hippie and Mike the Spiv provided useful ballast and a wider range of plot options preventing this central comedic relationship from imploding.
People who saw the Young Ones the first time round tend to remember it as much funnier than it really is. With repeated viewing the some of the weaknesses in the writing become apparent. Nevertheless there is also a lot of comedic genius and an anarchic spirit that remains eternally refreshing.
Amazing!!Review date: 2007-05-25 Rating: 8 out of 10
If you are "bored, and might as well be listening to Genesis" then you should buy these they are fantastic - however if you already own the VHS versions then hold onto them, because these DVD's have been subject to some editing. Series one has lost 40M (the DVD runtime stated on the packaging is 160m as apposed to the 200m quoted on here, and as stated on my original VHS box set) - I haven't actually seen which bits yet however this is a real shame, because this is a treasure and should be preserved onto DVD, however bits have been taken out. Therefore I can't give it 5 stars
Product Details/SpecificationsActor(s):
Rik Mayall
Ade Edmondson
Nigel Planer
Christopher Ryan
Alexei Sayle
Creators:
Rik Mayall (Primary Contributor)
Ade Edmondson (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
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Recording label: 2 Entertain Video Manufacturer: 2 Entertain VideoEAN: 5014503113629Binding: DVDNumber of items: 1Format: PAL, Release date: 2002-08-05Number of discs: 1Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and overRegion code: 2Running time: 200 minutesTheatrical release date: 1982-11-11Language: English (Original Language)
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