Shame About the Music (Young Ones, The)

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Product:	Young Ones, The
Date:	01/12/03 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great characters, Funny and simple writing style, Some things are very silly and funny

Disadvantages: The music from Madness and a number of other early 80s groups gets on my nerves, Alexei Sayle often interrupts the episode too much, Some things are too silly to find funny

British alternative comedy was at its satirical prime in the 1980s, and shows such as the Young Ones managed to tread new ground with the franchise as well as make a lot of over-emphasised comments on Thatcher's government. The series was written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, although it's no surprise if only two of those names are familiar. The series charted the lives and exploits of four different students living in central London who meet bizarre people and hurt each other a lot.

Running for two series of six episodes each, the Young Ones starred Rik Mayall as 'peoples' poet' virginal fan of Cliff Richard, Adrian Edmondson as insane and violent punk Vyvian, Christopher Ryan as 'cool guy' Mike and Nigel Planer as depressed hippy Neil. Alexei Sayle would also often show up as part of the Russian/Scouse/Cockney Balowski family, crack a joke, and leave.

The series was famous for its very strange style; episodes would always include something impossible happening both as part of the plot or as aside gags such as talking food, as well as its musical interludes. Not being a young rioter in the early 1980s, I was not even a young human, these can often be annoying 'fast-forward' material although some of the later ones integrate well into the plot.

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Noteable episodes include:

"Bomb" - a bomb falls out of an aircraft and lands in the students' house, although they don't notice it until they try and get tomato ketchup for Rik's cornflakes out of the fridge. When they do, Vyvian begins ecstatically smacking it with a hammer while Neil paints himself white to deflect the blast and hides under the table.

"Boring" - boredom sets in, although it's not enough for the Young Ones to bother actually going to college. Neil digs himself a grave
in case he accidetnally decides to kill himself and Vyvian's entertainment comes when he cuts his own finger off. It's not an accident.

"Bambi" - the classic University Challenge episode in which Scumbag College take on the Oxbridge Footlights. Despite problems of decapitation on the train journey the students eventually arrive at the show three weeks late and don't stand a chance unless they replace the sensible questions with "who has the world's stupidest bottom burp?"

"Summer Holiday" - the gripping (well, not really) final episode in which the Young Ones hijack a bus but accidentally drive it off a cliff. They're alright though, at least until it explodes.

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Needless to say, the Young Ones' target audience seemed to be seventeen to twenty five year olds who would get a kick out of the exaggerated political humour, although simply calling everything a "Nazi" didn't seem particularly intelligent. Others will have been attracted to the cartoon-style violence, unusual talking things and musical tracks, but for me the real humour just comes from the idiocy and stereotypical nature of the characters, and the way they deliver their lines.

The early 1990s sitcom "Bottom" stars an older Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondon, although Christopher Ryan makes a number of guest appearances, and while this is often seen as the middle aged equivalent of the Young Ones it doesn't really have much in common. I prefer Bottom's more straightforward style as the silliness of this show sometimes detracts, but I always try and watch it if it's on- an advantage of this programme is that apart from the occasional "b***ard" it's swear-free and will likely be enjoyed by children as well, I know I used to love it.

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