The answer Rick, should be that we all like you. You were the moral center, the deepest and most flawed character, and the fever pitch gauge of the program. Your continued quest for respect, power, and acceptance was a brilliant journey. Most of this was offset of course, by the fact that you were a complete bastard.
After four plus years since the VHS release, and countless emails to the BBC, the DVD version of the Young Ones has *finally* been released. Having it on pre-order for months through Amazon[.com], I was excited to see it arrive a few days ago. Like many others, I first became aware of them during their playback on MTV in the mid/late? 80's. As hilarious as it was then, it's aged well and plays even better today as a marvelous sitcom and character study. Continued viewing brings out new subtle and not so subtle nuances each time out.
How would one describe the program to a newbie. Four students at Scumbag college, living in filth on their scholarship grants, battle daily tedium and their own stereotyped existence. Simmering beneath this conflict are abstract meetings of inanimate objects, cleaning utensils, neighbors, and random occurrences. The four students are archetypes for future comedies.
1. The nillilistic punk, Vyvyan. Played by Ade Edmondson, Vyv, complete with iron stars permanently attached to his forehead exists only to destroy. Like a vengeful Hindu god, he smites everything in his path, except those he exhibits the barest traces of humanity towards; his hamster SPG, his car, and his begonia. Introduced to the viewer by crashing through a wall riding a wrecking ball, Vyv is involved in the majority of the physical humor.
2. Neil, the vegetarian hippie. Always dirty, always downtrodden, and almost always on the toilet, in the kitchen, or in bed, Neil is the shows spiritual den mother. He is also probably the recipient of most of the pain doled out by Vyv.
3. Mike, the playboy hipster. Seems a bit old to be in college still, doesn't allow is small stature to get in the way of his grand plans and over exuberant braggadocio. The only flat mate capable of reigning in Vyv and focusing that power with dictatorial precision. Mike's role doesn't have much depth as written, and perhaps that's with just cause for a guy who travels with a blow up doll and old tapes of women moaning his name. Essentially a smooth straight man in the mold of Bud Abbott.
4. Finally, Rick. The sociology student, people's poet, anarchist, and all around poseur. Rick never lets an episode go without commenting on some aspect of current life in Thatcher's Britain, how he'd fix it, or, tear it down. It seems terribly difficult to take his anarchist rantings seriously as he flops about in his yellow dungarees, red shoes, and pig tail sprigs. Still, I find Rick the most consistently amusing of the lot. His whip quick mood changes from obsequious currying Mike or Vyv's favor to righteous indignation over Neil's choice of South African lentils is priceless.
Combined, these characters create an incredible dynamic as they interact with each other and their varied guest stars. Additionally, early 80's musical groups could appear without any form of story set up and play in the bathroom or living room at any given time. When the boys would go out on the town ala Bambi, appearing on University Challenge, it was especially amusing to see the reaction of people on the street who couldn't make sense of them.
I find some of the references are still obscure to someone not familiar with early 80's English lifestyle, but the DVD contains subtitles which were definitely helpful for allowing one to hear some of the more hushed secondary conversations missed in the first go around. The third disc contains snippets of comedy documentaries produced since the Young Ones aired, as well as the first episodes of the spiritual successor series to the Young Ones. Filthy Rich & Catflap, and Bottom. They also included a 'where are they now' section that shows just who all came out of the Young Ones and got their start there. The number of today's successful actors, and comedians is staggering. Groundbreaking and incredibly funny, The Young Ones is a classic. Highly recommended.
