The Young Ones [TV Series] (1982)

Review by All Movie Guide
Consisting of only 12 brilliant, Dadaist episodes, The Young Ones is perhaps the ultimate example of an alternative sitcom. In 1982, producer Paul Jackson thought he'd throw recent Manchester University drama grads Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson into a sitcom, with their fellow-graduate Ben Elton handling a share of the writing duties. The show follows four completely disparate students of Scumbag College living together in a mess of an apartment. Though there was an occasional political bent, it's mostly a hodgepodge of absurd humor held together by the superb characterizations of the four lead actors. Rik Mayall's Rick might be just be the star. He fashions himself a reactionary, routinely protests fascism in everyday activities, sometimes ridiculously refers to himself as "The People's Poet," and gets flustered whenever he feels he's not being given due attention or respect. Adrian Edmondson's Vyvyan is the raging punk of the group who randomly destroys the house, inflects massive wounds upon himself and his friends, and goes about life in a generally extreme and ultra-violent manner. Nigel Planer plays the depressed and frequently suicidal Neil, a slow-moving hippie with a heart of gold who's forced to do a majority of the housework. Christopher Ryan's Mike thinks he's a lady-killer, but his droll, debonair demeanor and self-congratulatory air isn't justified by any real world accomplishments; he might just be the laziest of the bunch. Comedian/writer Alexei Sayle acts as a kind of fifth wheel, showing up here and there in various roles and offering hilarious rants about modern life that are so nonsensical as to almost make sense. His most common running joke on the series is playing various members of the Balowski family, one of whom is the lads' landlord. His most sublime achievement might be his impromptu performance of "Dr. Marten's Boots" in the episode "Oil." Though the structure of the episodes could be as elliptical as a series of Monty Python sketches and frequent allusions to literary works are littered throughout the series, The Young Ones is all about chaos and outrageousness. In what other television show does a character attempt to destroy an atom bomb that's landed in a living room? Where else has a punk rocker given birth to a baby of flatulence? Where else has Motörhead broken into "Ace of Spades"? Just as charming as the humor is the plethora of musical performances and guest stars that appeared regularly and suddenly. Besides Motörhead, other famous musical artists showing up to be immortalized include Madness, Dexys' Midnight Runners, the Damned, and Stewart Copeland and Jools Holland performing as part of Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve among others. Future British stars of the small screen or the big screen Emma Thompson, Jennifer Saunders, Robbie Coltrane, Griff Rhys Jones, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie all received career boosts from appearances on the show. Season one of The Young Ones aired on BBC2 in 1982. The second season didn't air until 1984. One fun trivia fact is that every episode other than the finale has just a one-word title. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Movie Guide