Customer Reviews

The Young Ones: Demolition/Bomb/Sick [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is really the only non-animated show I've seen that plays precisely like a cartoon. It isn't just "wacky", it is gleefully sadistic. I love the violence and animosity each character expresses quite vividly towards one another and everyone else. On "Sick" on this tape, Madness performs "Our House" as a riot blossoms on the street around them. Gradually the band becomes involved until they too are fully enganged in an orgy of senseless violence.

The political aspect of the show remains relatively vague. Rick pretends to be an anarchist but he's a weeping ladies' blouse. Vyvyan has no political consciousness and just smashes everything because it is really fun to smash things. Mike is too cool for politics and Neil is a hippy.

"Demolition" is great for Vyv's unbridaled explosion of destruction. Also, Mike's attempt to score with the lady from the coucil, who is leading the demolishing brigage, is classic. But, like every episode--the best bits are from Alexei Sayle. His turn as Jrzy "Jeremy" Balowski in this episode is typically brilliant. He gives a lecture in semantics: "Abba...Abba...Swedish? I new them when they were a Lanceshire clog-dancing trio."

"Bomb" is the weakest episode on the tape. Except for the bit with the tv licence man--he's wondefully authoritative-- and, of course, "Dicky and Dino". It also features Rick with a royal hair up his bum, parading about in his silly military fatigues. He looks like a semi-aggro Ed Grimley. Alexei Sayle plays Reggie Balowski, international arms dealer, scrap metal merchant and french cabaret chanteuse. Vyv enjoys a light snack and desperately tries to activate the atom bomb blocking easy access to the refridgerator.

"Sick" is typically vile, replete with the aformentioned riot action. Neil is spewing some green slime and the boys fashion a garbage bag about his head to contain the discharge. Again, Alexei Sayle's turn as madman hostage-taker Brian Damage Balowski is fabulous. Of course the whole mess turns ugliest just at the moment Neil realizes his aged parents are paying him a visit. The rest is inspired lunacy and quite explicitly states just what kind of show "The Young Ones" isn't.

My wife introduced me to these maniacs years ago, and I'm still hooked. And, as other reviewers have pointed out, this is the place to start.

DEMOLITION--This is your primer to the Young Ones. Here is where the newcomer is introduced to the characters and what makes them tick (and then explode). Musical guest: Nine Below Zero.

BOMB--So, a misdirected (maybe) nuclear bomb winds up in the boys' kitchen. Rik wants to blackmail Thatcher with it. Neil wants to defend himself against it. Mike wants to sell it to the underworld. Vyvyan, of course, wants to explode it (complete with wrecking ball). Alexei Sayle is brilliant as an arms merchant who, on the spur of the moment, decides to erupt into a fit of "Cockney Patois". Dexy's Midnight Runners do Van Morrison.

SICK--This is perhaps the most scatalogical of all of The Young Ones' episodes. After Vyv tosses a molotov cocktail (made of vodka) into Rik's room, Neil explodes into a sneezing fit that sends his snot flying. A feces smeared toilet eats a plunger. A street riot breaks out while Madness performs "Our House". Another brilliant turn by Alexei Sayle who plays Brian Damage, an escaped psycopathic killer.

This trio of episodes is not to be missed.

The Young Ones epitomised the confusion of the generation that came of age in the Thatcher Years. Caught between a right wing government, the residue of punk and left-wing ideas from the 60s and 70s, and the continued disolution of the class system, British youth went through an identity crisis, struggling to find a suitable sub-group to belong to, whether it be punk (Vyv), spiv (Mike), hippy (Neil), or 'right-on' left-wing radical (Rick). Throwing these 4 student-types together in an anarchic, surreal house-share was a stroke of genius.

The main focus is the explosive relationship of the pretentious Rick (Rik Mayall) and the brutally straightforward Vyvian (Adrian Edmonson). These 2 actors later reprised a stripped down version of this relationship in "Bottom". Neal the Hippie and Mike the Spiv provided useful ballast and a wider range of plot options preventing this central comedic relationship from imploding.

People who saw the Young Ones the first time round tend to remember it as much funnier than it really is. With repeated viewing the some of the weaknesses in the writing become apparent. Nevertheless there is also a lot of comedic genius and an anarchic spirit that remains eternally refreshing.

THE YOUNG ONES is an offbeat, off the wall British television show from the early 80's. It was great back then, and it is great today. No show on TV today dare imitate what it did in terms of wild humor, wordplay and destructive slapstick violence. Vyvian the punk, Rick the anarchist, Neil the Hippie, and Mike the schemer were all introduced in the episode DEMOLITION where city hall has decided that the boy's house is a health hazard and will tear it down, but if Vyvian destroys the inside before the arrive, will the city still go to the trouble? BOMB is even better, After an atomic bomb falls through the roof and into the kitchen, Neil prepares for World War 3, Rick is off to blackmail Prime minister Thatcher, Mike trys to sell the bomb to the CIA and China, and Vyvian tries to blow the bomb up while still in the house!-"All I need is the hedgetrimmers, a drill and some ordinary household bleach!" SICK wraps this tape up with all four of the guys haveing the worst headcolds imagineable and getting on each others nerves. Look out for Neils flying snot! One of the funniest moments from the series is at the end with Rick trying to sleep with his conceince harrassing him. Truly a great and original show that was ended too soon. Pick one up today for a great TV experiece. Unless you perfer to settle with some humdrum TV show.

The Young Ones may seem a bit sophomoric at first, but look at it closely enough, and you'll realize that it's not at all as mindless as it may seem at first. As goofy as they are, the dialogue is just so well-written that the characters feel real. It's not something I can easily describe, but it's there. And the comedy is just so utterly anarchic. Sometimes things happen that are more bizarre than really *funny*, per se, but which just add to the overall atmosphere. There's the time-outs for discussions between really fake-looking inanimate objects, the musical segments coming up at strange places (including some really good bands such as Madness and Dexy's Midnight Runners, by the way), and of course, the little half-second flashes of strange scenes utterly unrelated to the story (such as it is...TYO was never terribly heavy on plot). If Monty Python's Flying Circus has been a sitcom, it probably would have looked something like this. Now if only they would get off their arses and release Bottom stateside...

The Young Ones are absolutely hilarious. I watch them over and over again. I bought all four tapes (my MTV recording was worn out), but I was so depressed to find out that's all there are! It's funny to see cameo's of a young ( and thin) Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous). Are there any Brits out there who can tell me more about the group Nine Below Zero (Demolition episode)?

I recommend this wacky and irreverent series to any one who likes British comedy

It's a rare thing when a short lived TV show maintains a cult status. Especially Brittish comedey. Benny Hill ran for years. Monty Python filmed several seasons and many movies. The Young Ones only made twelve episodes over two years. With so few installments the show packed such a punch to the funny bone that it's still being felt today. Every episode contains so much humor that watching them over and over is an easy thing to do. Any fan of laughter and truly unpredictable comedy must buy these tapes. You won't be sorry.

The bomb is one of my favorite episodes ever. I love picturing Vivian with his sledgehammer, swinging it as hard as he can trying to crack the bomb which fell into their apartment. Nothing compares to the Young Ones, I miss staying up late every Sunday night waiting for the show to come on. I live in the US, but recently I was in Scotland I was so excite to see the show still on the air. Keep em rolling.

The Young Ones Is and Will Always Be THE BEST TV SHOW EVER ! The only place you'll find a hippy, a punk, a cool guy, and an idiot in one video fighting, killing, and talking to rats. Great show and if i had money i'd buy all the videos. Definetly worth buying if you like English Comedy *ie AbFab/Monty Python*

A trio of episodes from the 80s British hit comedy series THE YOUNG ONES. Starring Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan. This tapes features DEMOLITION, the pilot episode for the two year series.

DEMOLITION - (1982 season) - The house the boys are living in is set to be demolished. See how the adventures all began. Meet Special Patrol Group, Vyvyan's hamster, for the first time. Musical guest is Nine Below Zero.

BOMB - (1982 season) A typical day in the communal household includes a bomb in the kitchen, a tv detector man barging in the front door and a musical appearance by Dexy's Midnight Runners in the loo.

SICK - (1984 season) Everyone has a cold ("even SPG's all covered in snot") and tempers are running high around the house. Neil's sneezing is causing problems, and Vyvyan is out of vodka. The band Madness makes an appearance, singing "Our House" in the middle of the street.