Favourite TV Shows #10: The Young Ones

Although I'm not a university student, I still find this a very enjoyable series. Ben Elton's sitcom follows the lives of four undergraduate students living together: The violent punk Vyvyan, played by Ade Edmondson; the hypocritical, self-proclaimed anarchist Rick, played by Rik Mayall; the depressed and long-suffering hippie Neil, played by Nigel Planer; and the smooth-talking con artist Mike, played by Christopher Ryan.

The characters have some great chemistry. Vyvyan and Rick are always quarrelling with each other when they're not picking on Neil, while Mike remains neutral in all the conflicts and is respected by everybody else - especially Vyvyan, who refers to him as Michael and serves as his right-hand man.

In order to receive a bigger budget, the series is also a variety show, featuring a musical act in every episode, along with a stand-up from Alexei Sayle - who plays the boys' landlord Jerzei Balowski or one of his many identical relatives.

The show's humour is predominately based on slapstick, but there is plenty of surreal humour as well as many fourth wall jokes. Especially with the strong anti-Conservative sentiment it brings out during the height of the Thatcher years. In fact, the series was written as an alternative to the Oxbridge-dominated mainstream comedy of the time.

My favourite episode is 'Bambi' in which the boys are picked to represent their college on University Challenge, playing against an Oxbridge team comprised of Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, and Ben Elton. It also features a disastrous trip to the launderette, and the answer to important questions such as the world record for most marshmallows stuffed up one nostril.

If you're not a big fan of slapstick, then this isn't for you, but it's one I like to revisit every once in a while.