The Young Ones (TV series)

The Young Ones
Genre
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme"The Young Ones" written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett performed by the cast (originally performed by Cliff Richard and The Shadows)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
ProducerPaul Jackson
Running timeapprox. 35 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release9 November 1982 (1982-11-09) –
19 June 1984 (1984-06-19)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Young Ones is a British sitcom written by Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, and Lise Mayer, starring Adrian Edmondson, Mayall, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, and Alexei Sayle, and broadcast on BBC Two for two series, first shown in 1982 and 1984. The show focused on the lives of four dissimilar students and their landlord's family on different plots that often included anarchic, offbeat, surreal humour. The show often included slapstick gags, visual humour and surreal jokes sometimes acted out by puppets, with each episode also featuring a notable selection of guest stars and musical numbers from various performers.

The Young Ones helped bring alternative comedy to British television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. The show became a notable icon of 1980s British popular culture, and it received its own game and a home-media release while becoming the first non-music-related programme to appear on MTV in the United States in 1985. The show was voted number 31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004.[1]

  1. ^ "BBC – Britain's Best Sitcom – Top 11 to 100". 2 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007.