Sayle I was the first one to be on television in a substantial way – on OTT, which was a late-night version of the kids’ show Tiswas. But what I really needed was rather than being in a show that was at odds with my ethos, to be in something that was part of it. As soon I read the scripts for The Young Ones, I realised this was it. Rather than just us doing our acts, it deconstructed the sitcom. It took a TV form and blew it apart in the way that we’d done to cabaret at the Comedy Store. They didn’t need me, really. But I’d been the dad at the Comedy Store. So they were too frightened of me to exclude me! Neil’s sneezes are finally cured, however, by the arrival of Brian Damage Balowski, who has escaped from a police van during the riot and forced his way into their home. But he’s not the only unexpected arrival, as Vyvyan’s mother ( Pauline Melville) turns up briefly to give her son a prank gift, before Neil suddenly remembers that his parents are coming over for tea (played by Brian Oulton& Peggy Thorpe-Bates, who were married in real life). So the students all try to tidy up a bit, while Brian Damage polishes his shotgun. Alexei Sayle (Jerzei Balowski) The first time I met Rik and Ade was a night at [Soho venue] the Comedy Store when I chose to do a really ill-advised piece of material. I was drunk as well, and there was a journalist in from the Observer so it seemed important. And I died really badly, so it was upsetting to see how funny they were! The Young Ones The Complete Collection Blu-ray releases on 28th November 2022 in the UK. Recent Blu-ray News / Releases

The Young Ones (1982 - 1984) - Blu-ray The Young Ones (1982 - 1984) - Blu-ray

Neil: Do you think that's where they get the questions from? "The world's record for stuffing marshmallows up one single nostril..." The Young Ones take on the toffs of Footlights College Oxbridge in Bambi. Photograph: BBC British Broadcasting Corporation Plot: What’s it about? Video: How does it look? Audio: How does it sound? Supplements: What are the extras? Plot: What’s it about? Mayer Mainly me and Rik chose the bands. The Damned and Motörhead were really sweet. The naughtiest person we had on – and you probably wouldn’t even notice it was her – was Andi Oliver, when she was in Rip Rig & Panic. Sayle When you’re in the middle of a thing like that, you don’t understand the impact. You’re the one group of people who isn’t part of that conversation. You don’t get to say: “Wow, did you see The Young Ones?” For years, I probably paid no attention to it at all, really; it’s only in the last 10 years or so that I’ve looked at the episodes. But it’s very evocative to watch them. We were happy and young.Extracts of songs by various other artists, from a surprising variety of genres and time periods, can also be heard during the series, and they’re always good choices. And Peter Brewis deserves a lot of credit for the opening theme (a great reworking of Cliff Richard’s hit performed by the cast), the closing theme and other incidental music he composed for the show. You can hear clean copies of some of his music in the extra features. Alternative Rebellion (13:25) & The Guest Stars (11:22)– These were recorded at the same time as the 25th anniversary Making Of documentary above, so they involve the same people and were also on the previous DVD set. They’re nice little featurettes discussing the rise of alternative comedy along with the many bands and comedy friends they invited to be part of the show. Finally, it’s worth noting and celebrating the fact that the series appears to be completely uncensored on this Blu-ray, evidenced in particular by the inclusion of the racist policeman scene in the Boring episode, which is usually edited out of TV repeats and was cut from early commercial releases. There are also a few other terms of abuse uttered during the series that would never be used on TV today.

The Young Ones - The Complete Collection: 40th Anniversary

They're saying it's completely uncut. And the suggestion is also that the flash frames that were cut for original broadcast will be in the extras. For me, aside from the comedy, is the show captured a particular formative phase of my life. I was 18 in 1982, hated Thatcher (still do!) and was also a student. The show kind of spoke to my generation and I'm sure my parents would've hated it if they'd watched it! Babakazoo There were two DVD sets, the initial "Every Stoopid Episode" release and the "Extra Stoopid Edition," and incredibly each set had DIFFERENT cuts. It's been a while, but IIRC I think one could have edited a complete uncut version together from the two sources if they wished. This is surprising - even considering the source material, I'm still in to get what will hopefully be an upgrade and more transparent to the video source material than the DVDs are. I've got the first US release, will import this.Ryan I can be anywhere and people will bring it up. Just today, I was walking down the street and someone told me they knew me. People smile when they talk about The Young Ones. On that note can we have an ultimate box set for Bottom too? Maybe the "You've hit the F***ing nail on the F***ing head there ya C***ing B*****d" Edition? All the material shot on film survives and has been retransferred, plus there are trims etc in the extras.

The Young Ones: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] The Young Ones: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray]

Both Episodes of ‘Boom Boom… Out Go The Lights’ Introduced By The Producer Who Put Alternative Comedy On The Telly I loved this when it was first shown. I bought the DVD and fully expected to love it all over again. I watched several episodes and didn't laugh once. A huge disappointment. At least I have that performance from one of my favourite bands Rip Rig And Panic. Well, that's why I'd want two versions. One uncut, one with the more problematic material excised. But I mean, this isn't a thought-out proposal I'm making here. I just think some of the series uses language that you would never, ever get in a comedy programme in 2022. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, it’s a product of its time and in terms of the racist policeman skit, it’s done for a reason. I wouldn’t advocate cutting Blazing Saddles for the same reasons, but I wouldn’t show it to my kids either. That’s a bit of a shame, because I really loved the Young Ones when I was a kid. I don’t think it’s worth the risk that they would go off and use some of the unacceptable language in the playground. I dunno how old your kids are, but mine are probably too young for Blazing Saddles. They’re the absolute prime age for the bogies & physical violence of the Young Ones, though. I would definitely have the conversation with them before watching something like that - it’s not on the same league, but I was planning on letting my son watch Ghostbusters this weekend and was going to have a chat about the language in there beforehand.

See also

Disclaimer - These episodes have been restored and remastered using the existing film where available, with any standard definition content upscaled during this process. The special features in this release are a mixture of standard and high definition. Due to the age of the original materials, the technical quality of the extras may vary in places. The only word of warning I'd give you is this show is very much a product of early-80's Britain; the political references and music will be quite dated/unknown for a lot of Americans, one would imagine. Ryan Everyone involved was brilliant: witty, clever, energetic. I didn’t feel I really belonged. I wasn’t of their stable. Nothing against them because they were fantastic. But I never got hold of that character. People often say: “You must have had great fun; you must have really enjoyed it.” And I always say: “I wish I had.” It was brilliantly written. But I was never relaxed enough to enjoy it.

The Young Ones ‘We took the sitcom and blew it apart’: how The Young Ones

Love London, love a laugh, love life. Visually impaired blogger, culture vulture & accessibility advocate, with aniridia & nystagmus, posting about my experiences & adventures. Sayle When the Comedy Store opened it was kind of a circus, really. Rik and Ade started putting it on the path where it was noticeably different: it wasn’t just mad people; it was people with something identifiably different and identifiably good. And young. The BBC is to release the classic 80s comedy series The Young Ones – The Complete Collection onto Blu-ray featuring a remastered image and many great extras.That means the picture quality may vary between the different elements but should be a big improvement over the current DVD. In addition, almost every episode includes a musical performance by a guest artist and/or Alexei Sayle, with just one episode featuring a lion tamer instead. Some are better than others, naturally, but none are awful. They’re loosely shoehorned into the plot in some way, and were included so that the show could be classified as a variety series instead of a standard sitcom. This gave them a higher budget and allowed them to spend two days filming in the studio instead of one, so they could get a lot more done. Rik Mayall & Ade Edmondson being interviewed on Steve Wright In The Afternoon on Radio 1 in 1991, talking about the anarchic style of The Young Ones and other comedies they were influenced by. They have a good laugh throughout, it’s quite fun. Fundamental Frolics (3:23)– A brief but fun clip from this 1981 charity comedy & music event, where Rik Mayall delivers a poem about theatre and Vanessa Redgrave, demonstrating where the angry poetry in his Young Ones character originated from. It’s an extract from the 20th Century Coyote segment he did with Ade Edmondson, so it’s a pity they haven’t included all of it (but they do perform together in the second Boom Boom episode below).