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.

UltimaDeplete Not one person who has commented on this series has left a bad review. Seriously. Go to "hated it" at the top of the page and you'll get one entry who gave it an 8/10, and that's it.If no-one on IMDb has given this series less than an 8/10, you can guarantee that you should watch it. What else can I say? It's a great series, if you like surrealism, mindless violence, or us wonderful British people.OK, so it's low budget and generally strange, but that's not a bad thing now is it? Sometimes it can be a bit gross, and Alexei Sayle annoys the HELL out of me, but that's just me, and I can't fault it in any other way. Hilarious.

paulbg Written at a time when Students got paid to go to college (Student Grant) and against a backdrop of mass unemployment in 'Thatcher's Britain 'the Young Ones, showed the privileged classes in a whole new light. Neil, a hippie (some 13 years too late for the hippie movement) and Rick, an anarchist (many decades too late) both came from upper middle class families. The rebellious youth passing through the phase of adolescence would soon, inevitably, become their parents. Vivian, son of an alcoholic mother and Mike, who's background never really became clear gave us the more down to earth values of working class life (Vivian and Mike usually joined forces).The writers, Ben Elton, Lisa and Rik Mayall give us the most enduring memory of student life in Britain that has ever been portrayed on screen. While exaggerated in places, this is what student life was like in the 70's,80's. A massive shock to most BBC audiences I suspect. Why is it so popular still? Because it is the essence of adolescence in a beautifully crafted package. It will still be popular in 50years time. All the great rites of passage are dutifully lampooned. Exposing the reality of becoming a'young adult': visiting the launderette, cleaning the toilet, cooking,shopping and all the other duties till now done by your Mum! Even being ill brings the hierarchy of nursery rivalry. And of course sex!My favourite bit; the tampon sketch. "It's a telescope…with a mouse in it!" I was at my girlfriend's house when I first saw this, her parents had let us watch it as we were there for tea. I rolled about on the floor in hysterics to a deadly silence from her Mum and Dad. The Young Ones,leaves no stone unturned, it uncovers all the taboos of those teenage years from masturbation to ignorance, anxiety to childish tantrums,Communism to Fascism in a single household, all of which, is cushioned against reality by a Student Grant. Why do we never see college (except for the opening credits)? Because that isn't really what the Young Ones is about, is it! Could they make the Young Ones today? I doubt it, all that flash framing of leaping frogs, and PoliticalIncorrectness. Britain isn't so polarised as that now, Mrs Thatch' has gone and we live in New Labour's classless society. We are all better off, and Britain is a fairer place but the climate for this kind of drama has passed

michellemurmurs6244 Back in the days when MTV really meant MTV they would show this imported britcom on Sunday evenings. I always looked forward to watching it. This show was so different than any other kind of show I had seen before that it absolutely fascinated me. The characters of Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mike had me hooked with their loud, obnoxious and rowdy behavior. On one level it's lowbrow, juvenile and shrill. On another it's clever, original and refreshingly unlike anything else. It's partly a situation comedy, partly a musical variety show. I love the arguments between Rick and Vyvyan and Rick and Neil and well.....Rick and anybody! I love Vyvyan's random destruction of the house and random abuse of well.....everybody. If you want a reason to really laugh out loud this is the show that will help you do it.