A mad, helter-skelter, rude, awesomely violent, unpredictable, swaggering, staggering, joyously infantile, exhilarating steamroller of a sitcom, The Young Ones provided the breakthrough for the new generation of aggressive... more » and forthright 'alternative' comedians. With surreal comedic scenarios and a myriad of guest stars including Emma Thompson, and Hugh Laurie, and musical non sequiturs featuring Dexy's Midnight Runners and Motorhead, the style of The Young Ones gave the show its individuality, whi remains cutting edge to this day.DVD Features:
Actors:Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan Genres:Television Sub-Genres:Comedy Studio:BBC Warner Format:DVD - Color,Widescreen - Closed-captioned DVD Release Date: 11/13/2007 Release Year: 2007 Run Time: 6hr 45min Screens: Color,Widescreen Number of Discs: 3 SwapaDVD Credits: 3 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 9 Edition: Box set,Special Edition MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English
The Young Ones ran from 1982 to 1984, and too briefly at that. Two seasons, 12 episodes. Pure genius comedy, ranking with or better than Monty Python. I've watched these episodes so many times since a child that I've lost count. It's off the wall situational comedy with quite violent slap stick combined. Four of the most unlikely college students you can think of are sharing rent, paid to a crazy Russian landlord who tends to show up out of the blue and cause chaos (Alexei Sayle). One never knows what's around the corner each episode.
Each episode features a musical artist from the day, like Madness, The Damned, or Motorhead. Several cameos you'll recognize along the way too. This newer release appears to have been remastered. A couple scenes have been restored as well. And another removed, which was on the previous set. The extras are not as good in this newer release either. Guess I'll have to keep both. Either way, this is one of those must own shows; and I highly recommended seeking it out.
Sadly, Rik Mayall died early in 2014 at the age of 56. Most of you will recognize him from the movie "Drop Dead Fred".
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Relax, make stupid noises!
Sir Walter "Spud" Raleigh | Tempe, Arizona United States | 12/23/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're reading this, you should already know this was the series that turned British television comedy upside down in the early Eighties (granted, parts of it haven't aged so well...). So I'll just get on with reviewing the particulars of this issue of the series on DVD. On one hand, these look like they're remastered - the picture looks sharper and the sound is improved, not to mention better subtitles this time. For anyone who bought the last box, the Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve (featuring Jools Holland, Stewart Copeland and many others) musical segment from "Cash" has been restored, and Neil's "Sound of Silence" bit that he sings in the bathtub in "Nasty" is back in place, so now that scene has its punchline in its original spot. Yet in the scene that immediately follows it in that episode (Rick sneaking into his bedroom), the "teddy-bear sex" shot is now gone. What, is that scene now considered too "offensive" or something? Anyone that's upset by an image like that shouldn't be watching the bloody "Young Ones" in the first place!
The extras? Well, I wish they'd kept the documentary bits from the "Every Stoopid Episode" one on here and just put this new stuff in place of the "Filthy Rich And Catflap" and "Bottom" episodes. At least with the first set, you could see vintage clips of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson on stage. This time around there's not much cast participation in the interviews aside from Alexei Sayle and Nigel Planer.
So, I'm giving this one 4 stars - "right on" to the improved picture and sound, "sod off" to the inferior extras and inexplicable editing-out of a short but pretty funny scene.
I'm sure I echo the sentiments of other "Young Ones" fans when I ask... when is someone going to issue the "Comic Strip Presents" DVD box set in Region 1?!? Not only does it feature many of the cast, writers and crew that worked on "The Young Ones", but it's the only way to get the "Bad News" shows on DVD.
"
Young Ones Extra Stoopid - Good Deal, But Extra Features Suc
Jerome Moshindog | Chicago, IL | 01/31/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I love the Young Ones, so I decided to buy the latest collection of the entire series. I should have bought the older one, from 2002 ("Every Stoopid Episode"), which has all the same episodes but (from what I hear) much better extras. The extras on this newer edition are impossibly dull. Other than that, awesome show."
Briliant British Comedy!
Boom Shanka | 03/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rik Mayall is a genius! He is undoubtedly "Bigger than Hitler, Better than Christ!"
I've been watching this Britcom since the 80s and even tho I've seen every episode at least 20 times, I still laugh out loud and continue to catch jokes I may have missed before.
You gotta watch Bottom, too! Simply Brilliant!"
British comedy at its best
T. Hunter | Sacramento, CA United States | 11/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This show is my absolute favorite British comedy. If you have never seen the Young Ones but find yourself laughing at Monty Python, The Black Adder or Absolutely Fabulous, then you are doing a great disservice to yourself. This set includes extras that were (for some reason) left out of the original DVD realease but are added in this set.
"
Better than before
Jennifer Uselton | 06/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When The Young Ones were on MTV I was in my early teen. Now when I watch them I see and hear things I did not understand at the time. It is even better than before. It's a must have for everyone who ever watched The Young Ones growing up. The comedy is better and the music is just great!"