Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3560 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-08-18
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 210 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The second and final series of The Young Ones was screened in 1984 and continued in the anarchic, surreal, scatological, slapstick yet subtly satirical vein of the first series. When hippie Neil's blazer and furcoat-clad parents step horrified into the filthy student digs he shares with prissy sociology student Rick (Rik Mayall), the psychotic punk Vyvyan (Ade Edmondson) and wide-boy Mike (Christopher Ryan) a parody of The Good Life promptly ensues, signalling just what a giant leap this show represented from mainstream sitcom of the time.

Nigel Planer's put-upon Neil is as fine a creation as the putting-upon Vyvyan. Guest appearances from Alexei Sayle, Stephen Fry, co-writer Ben Elton and Jennifer Saunders among others confirmed The Young Ones' status as an academy for future establishment comedians. But Mayall's creation is still the show's greatest legacy: Rick is self-righteous to the point of fascism in his right-on-ness, a mass of studenty pretentiousness, pathetic inadequacy and egotism ("Hands up who likes me!"). Anything went in The Young Ones--talking hamsters and toilets, bizarre digressions into period sketches, subliminal images, guest appearances by bands from Dexy's Midnight Runners to Motorhead--yet through Rick in particular, the show implicitly mocked shopworn Goodies-style notions of "zaniness" ("You have to watch me, I'm a bit nutty!").

This series includes "Bambi", the University Challenge episode; "Cash", in which Vyvyan announces his pregnancy; and the final show, a parody of Cliff Richard's The Young Ones itself, in which the quartet exit ingloriously. The Young Ones is among the most youthful and radical of all sitcoms, yet it still manages to contain a timelessly astute critique of youthful radicalism--and bottom-burp jokes aplenty.

On the DVD: The Young Ones, Series 2 comes to DVD with no extra features. Visually, it's well up to the usual BBC standards but the transfer can't disguise the datedness of some of the early 80s special effects. --David Stubbs

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Originally broadcast in 1984, the second series of THE YOUNG ONES continues in exactly the same vein as the first, courtesy of the inspired writing of Ben Elton (Blackadder, The Thin Blue Line) and Lise Mayer. That means more anarchic, surreal comedy revolving around the empty lives of a household of students who will do anything rather than go to lectures, except maybe their laundry! Not only are the demonstrations of apathy, anger and nihilism indicative of youth in the Thatcher era, but each episode acts as document of pop music history by featuring a performance from the likes of Madness, The Damned and most notably Motorhead with their classic "Ace Of Spades."

Customer Reviews

One star withheld for meanness!
A review of two halves: skip the next bit if you dislike ranting reviewers. I tend to as well, but the slight afforded anyone buying this DVD needs to be aired:
As the previous reviewer mentioned, not only has the Beeb edited out Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve and their rendition of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (if I recall correctly?) from CASH, but even Neil's classic moment from NASTY, in the bathroom, in the bath, in the dark, with his guitar, strumming "Hello darkness my old friend..." was deemed too expensive for Auntie to pay Paul Simon his royalty. Where does this miserliness end, I wonder? Perhaps next we'll be getting Dr Who DVDs without the title music because it's cheaper not to pay Ron Grainer. Or The Onedin Line without Khatchaturian?
An open letter to the BBC: For God's sake: you sorely underestimate your consumers; they know your products much better than you think, so why don't you just swallow hard, flick the moths from your wallet and pay all the damn people their damn money all the damn time: you'll recoup it tenfold from DVD sales, rather than foisting stillborn releases like this on your public.

Grr!! Thank you.

And now my review:
The Young Ones is great (or graet, even!). You have to leave it a few months between viewings to keep it fresh (especially if you grew up on it like I did), but it still works on several levels: as an 80s period piece, it sums up all that was alternative in Alternative Comedy. Any student of comedy should appreciate that like Python before it, The Young Ones broke a lot of the rules about how to do sitcoms (if it was even one itself) and indeed what was funny most of the time, with its combination of surreal interludes, extreme violence, (now dated) political sideswipes and cheap-looking-but cosy traditional BBC TV production values. It also features an awesome cast of regulars, all of whom went on to greater success and each giving 101% of their energy throughout each pulsating episode, as well as a treasure trove of cameos from famous and soon-to-be-very-famous-indeed comic actors thoughout the series: Robbie Coltrane, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Ben Elton appear in the first episode of this DVD alone. But for the rest of you, who just enjoy comedy because it makes you laugh, The Young Ones manages to do just that, whether it be through witty observation of commonplace manners and mores, even in surreal situations ("Shut up, Vyvyan, that's my dad you're talking to" ), grotesque exaggeration (the almost apocalyptic proportions that Rick and Vyvyan's fight to establish Rick's virginity takes on) or plain, daft slapstick (ditto).
Buy it because it makes you laugh: keep it because it's a part of British comic mythology. Enjoy it for both!

AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF ANARCHY!!!
How good is the young ones?! After all these years i can still watch and laugh at the antics of Rik, Vyv, Neil, Mike and a string of other wacky characters. This series takes me back to my extreme youth. And i love every single second of it!

My favorite episode has to be sick, it is so funny seeing how the students from hell cope with being ill. Watch out for Neil in this one!!! Second has to be Bambi, one of my favorites also, when i think f young ones this is the one that usually springs to mind. The best bit is when they are all travelling to be on University Challenge (watch out for some familiar faces in this one including Stephen Fry).

All in all a comic masterpiece, recommended to children of the eighties everywhere!

GREAT AGAIN FROM GEOFF POSNER AND THE STUDENTS FROM HELL
The second installment of the 80's surreal but rather funny comedy is my personal favourite and most reviewers I think would agree except for the BBC's ridiculous decision on not including all the material. Even though the cut is very small just pay the money you TIGHTWADS! O.k enough of that these six episodes go from good to great as the four students assault you with the usual toilet humour and general bizarre british laughs.
My favourite episode "Bambi" with the exellcent rendition of university challenge and Vyv's head coming off is quickly followed up by "Cash", "Nasty", "time", "Sick" and the climax of "Summer holiday".
This era in comedy is unforgettable and must be bought by anyone who is up for a laugh. Would have been five out of five if it wasn't for the cut.