Talk:The Young Ones (TV series)

Characters
The main characters were four undergraduate students sharing a house: violent punk Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson), pompous would-be anarchist Rick (Rik Mayall), long-suffering hippie Neil (Nigel Planer), and the suave and diminutive Mike (Christopher Ryan).

Vyvian wasn't really a punk, he was more a heavy metal fan - he may have had a vaguely punk style haircut (although in reality it was more akin to the future style used by Keith Flint in the Prodigy) but the idea of wearing a sleeveless denim jacket is certainly a metal thing, and the T shirts he wore were usually metal bands (Motorhead etc), I don't recall him ever wearing anything like a "Exploited" T shirt. When the guys had their party, Vyvian was seen chatting to a load of bikers. Definitely not a punk. And I would have said that Rick was more of a "trendy lefty" student than an anarchist, wasn't he? He mentions in "Sick" that he is a member of the "Friends of Stalin Society" - he'd hardly join that if he was an anarchist! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.139.222.104 (talk) 10:06, 12 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Rick claimed to be an anarchist in the pilot episode and later during an exchange with one of the party guests, but I think the "poser leftie" moniker fits him better than any other. Vyvian was modeled after punkers, but you're right in that his music taste ran more toward metal. At the time the series was made, there was a great deal of visual commonality between the metal and punk community. Intothatdarkness (talk) 14:39, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

Vyvyan came across as a punk to me, no metal head has hair like that, or acts like that, and the studs in the forehead are a reference to punk piercings, not literally a 'metal head' joke. The name Vyvyan is also a referece to Vivienne Westwood, noted punk fashion designer.--Dr zoidberg590 (talk) 05:35, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

Is Note 1 necessary? Seems to be stating the obvious — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.40.177.176 (talk) 02:12, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Songs
I moved the content from the disambiguation page, reorganising it slightly in the process. I'm not convinced that the last paragraph is correct. I thought they only recorded "Living Doll" with Sir Cliff (in fact, I've got the record), but they used "The Young Ones", sung by themselves, as the theme tune to the programme. Is that not right? Deb 22:10 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)


 * You're right about that. Bagpuss 22:31 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)
 * Yes you are right. The last fact is incorrect. See the Comic Relief page, where I added the Comic Relief singles. Mintguy

What was this show?
From the article:
 * "famous bands would play, for no apparent reason...by including the groups, the show qualified as light entertainment and therefore got a higher budget than a mere sitcom."

then near the end
 * "The reason bands appeared in the first place was because it categorised the show as Variety rather than Entertainment and consequently got a larger BBC budget."

So which exact categories were they using the bands to get from and to? Does it really need to be said twice? Boffy b 15:18, 2004 Sep 18 (UTC)


 * To my knowledge, BBC allowed a bigger budget for variety shows than the typical "sitcom" shows. By having a live band they were able to classify themselves as variety and therefore ask the BBC for a larger budget.  It would seem it would be classified as a variety show, only by the strictest definition pertaining to the BBC.  It would really just be a comedy where the creators used a loophole to get a bigger budget.--Skeev 19:04, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

If I recall correctly, the BBC category the show was shooting for was "Light Entertainment."DegreeAbsolute 06:12, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Ben Elton confirmed this "band = light entertainment = bigger budget" formula for "TYO" in an interview somewhere in the early ninteies. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.72.216.84 (talk) 17:22, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Peace Studies
I've made a slight change to Neil's information. It did say "non-existant Peace Studies degree". I don't know if this is meant to reter to "then" (i.e. when the series was made) or not, but this degree does exist and I know people who've graduated with it! Bradford University at the very least was doing it about 8 years ago when I was there, and in fact had a Peace Studies department.

Perversely, they studied war for 4 years. Go figure. IainP (talk) 12:07, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Reminds me of 1984. The Ministry of Love is all about War.

Peace studies was indeed a Degree course in Early 1980s Britain, as there was a small number of them in my University (Poly it was called then) onfortuntaly life imitates art and they were all exactly like Neil!!. 217.44.63.245 19:40, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Actually, it was earlier than that; I started the degree course in 1976. RolandR (talk) 09:38, 12 October 2010 (UTC)


 * No, the Ministry of Peace (Minipax) is all about War in 1984 :) See Ministries of Oceania - Man in shack (talk) 02:27, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


 * And of course the Ministry of Love was all about Hate(torture, humiliation, dehumanization etc.)Racerx11 (talk) 00:43, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

short film featuring young ones cast!!!!!!
can ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME if they remember a show, or short film, which i saw on MTV after an episod of the Young Ones, probably in '89, featuring definately Rik and I think Ade and Nigel. it WAS NOT FUNNY. it was desperately dark and the guys were involved in some sort of anthropology dept. recreation of early human existance. they lived in a little tee pee out on the quad of the college or something. I think someone got killed in the end a la Lord of the Flies.....It's been bugging me for YEARS!!! HELP!!! mojojo33@yahoo.com


 * Hello Mojo: no need to shout. Sounds like you're thinking of "Summer School", an episode from Season One of The Comic Strip Presents. Nigel, Rik and Adrian were all in the cast, and the plot fits what you remember: an experimental Iron Age settlement on a University Campus. While it was a comedy, it was a lot darker in mood and less slapstick than the Young Ones. potatoscone 11:29, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Cameo Role
One cameo role that is not mentioned in the list on the main page is of the psychopath who appears for no apparent reason in a blank background shot by himself in Summer Holiday. He mutters - whilst staring and gesticulating wildly - something like 'I went to me neighbours house to borrow his drill, but he weren't in, so I broke in and ate his fish tank! Ha-hah, you won't catch me with me trousers!'.

Anyone know who was the actor who played that role? Martyn Smith 11:58, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Sounds like Mr Brian Damage, played by Alexei Sayle DavidFarmbrough 08:55, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

No, it wasn't him. Brian Damage was a character 'within' the show wasn't he? The character above appeared out of nowhere, in his own scene, wasn't played by Alexei (it was an actor who doesn't appear anywhere else in the series), and didn't have any connection with any other part of the show. Wasn't Brian Damage the character who didn't like anybody being 'sar-cah-stic'? Martyn Smith 10:49, 20 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Yeah, that's Brian. I know who you mean - he sort of slide-cuts in, says his peice (no-one laughs and then he's gone - but I can't find any info on who he is. I'm guessing he;s some shite alternative comedian.--Crestville 13:04, 20 June 2006 (UTC)


 * The episode he appears in is Cash, between the scenes where Vyvyan announces his pregnancy and Mike bites off all his fingernails in the hallway with worry. I can't remember his name, but I'll dig out the DVD and find out... Bentley Banana 11:40, 21 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Oh this is going to be very annoying. I've got the DVD here, and the credits are all in one big chunk. Unless you indervidually eliminate all the names from the 'With' credit section, I think we're stuffed. - Treen

First of all, that scene does not occur in Summer Holiday, instead it's in Cash. The guest star credits are all like that, making it difficult to identify roles... however I am 90% certain the psychopathic nudist cameo is played by none other than Nigel Planer! A similar actor inversion occurs in Bomb when the DHSS lady is watching "Dicky and Dino" before telling off Rick, who's there to send a telegram to "Thatcher." Dicky is none other than Rik Mayal and Dino is Nigel Planer. If you watch the extras disc which shows clips from The Outer Limits and The Comic Strip, you'll see Nigel's non-hippy appearance is very much like the psychopath nudist. He also plays Famine in the the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse scene in Interesting. -Keith Savage
 * It's not Nigel Planer, it's a totally differant actor. I think eveyone knew Dicky and Dino were Planer and Mayall - stuff like that happened regularly - but this was certainly a differant actor.--Crestville 12:53, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Definitely not Planer. I'm pretty sure it's Daniel Peacock. I couldn't find any decent pictures of him on the web, but perhaps these might be good enough to confirm? --HappyDog (talk) 12:49, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

IMDB lists in its cast credits for the episode "Cash" - Steve Dixon as "Madman". If you think it deserves mention in the main article I can or anyone can add it to the list.Racerx11 (talk) 21:05, 2 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I went ahead and added Steve Dixon as Madman to the guest list.Racerx11 (talk) 05:03, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Im unsure if its the intent to list every actor and role in the list of Guest Appearances. I noticed when I found the madman character in Cash that IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has much more complete list than this article. Should I add to this list using IMDB as a source? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Racerx11 (talk • contribs) 21:38, 9 July 2010 (UTC) Racerx11 (talk) 21:40, 9 July 2010 (UTC)


 * IMDB isn't considered a reliable source, so I would say not. Personally, I'm not a fan of cameo sections, as unless the actor/actress is generally as famous as the main stars themselves they often end up being fancruft.   a_man_alone (talk) 05:06, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

images
I recently bought the dvds of the young ones and on at least a few episodes (i havent watched them all yet) there are images put in for maybe 10 frames, for example in the episode 'nasty', the is an image of someone making pottery with a potters wheel. Is this just on the dvds or on the program itself? Does anyone know anything about this? Raemie 12:53, 24 June 2006 (UTC)
 * There is some info on this in the article. They were shown on the orginal arings, removed for repeats and restored on the DVD :)--Crestville 17:11, 25 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks, i really should start reading more carefully. Raemie 12:35, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

They were on the vhs releases as well.

I remember this - one or two very strange blipvert/subliminal inserts in shows in the second series, one featuring a bird (maybe a parrot or similar). Who was behind this? What was it all about? Shows you how much freedom they had.

i noticed the bird on season 2 episode 5 - sick. About 20:42 to be exact, i have no idea what its about. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.18.30.129 (talk) 21:45, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

Vyvyan's T-shirts
For being a such a hardcore punk rocker, Vyvyan didn't wear a lot of punk rock bands on his t-shirts, did he? I remember him wearing t-shirts for Whitesnake, Motorhead, KISS, and Rush. Can anyone remember any others?

Saxon — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.76.41.239 (talk) 11:01, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Vyvyan's Denim Jacket
His jacket had the words VERY METAL on the back. Not very punk really!! Chilkoot
 * How so?--Crestville 15:58, 24 February 2007 (UTC)


 * His so called "punk" image, I think, is satirising what a punk really was. It was just making satire out of the character and the stereotype. You know, an ironic punk.

I disagree. Very Metal, despite their name, were actually a hardcore punk band in the same vein as Exploited or Black Flag. So, it actually goes quite well with his punk image. Eugenespeed


 * Is it this band?, -- Trevj (talk) 10:31, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Very Metal was indeed a hardcore punk band, but they did not form until 10-12 years after The Young Ones was made (1994). They actually took their name from the words on Vyvian's jacket, not the other way round. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.8.200.213 (talk) 11:32, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

The Young Ones Stage Show
Whilst watching a Comedy Connections programme on The Young Ones tonight on BBC 1 it mentioned that there was a Young Ones theatre tour. Could anyone with any knowledge of this add any information relating to this and was it ever released on video or broadcast on television? --Wrh1973 22:11, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Series ended too early?
I recall a recent interview with Alexei Sayle where he commented that he thought that it was a mistake to end the programme after only 12 episodes, apparently with the justification that "Fawlty Towers did it and finished on a high, so we will too". Personally I'm inclined to agree, and think it's a shame they didn't do a third series. Anyway, my feelings aside, would this be worth a mention in the main article? Can anybody else remember the interview in question? Chris 11:17, 25 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Better to leave the party too early than too late. As John Cleese Anyway, you've got Filthy Rich and Catflap, Bottom and all of the The Comic Strip Presents... as worthy successors.--Crestville 11:24, 25 July 2006 (UTC)


 * The Comic Strip Presents... was technically not a successor to TYO. It was started in 1982, the same year as TYO. Filthy Rich and Catflap, while still starring 3 of the 4 boys from TYO, was very much a Ben Elton thing in my opinion, and missing the depth of humour that TYO had. Bottom is probably the best example as a "successor" series, with Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmundson writing, directing and starring, thought it doesn't have the variety format of TYO. - Man in shack (talk) 02:19, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The show went out on such a high that if they made a third series I don't think it could match up to the second. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.240.155.95 (talk) 00:40, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Location
Is there anywhere that says it's set in North London? There's one episode (can't remember which but I think it's the second season) where a sign says Carshalton. Timrollpickering 03:39, 23 December 2006 (UTC)


 * It is in the last episode "Summer Holiday", on the estate agent's sign outside the house after Belowski evicts them. Of course this means the estate agent is based in Carshalton. Danny Darko (talk) 00:49, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Also, in the episode “Boring” the regular show “Bastard Squad” is interrupted by a siege in north London, which is outside the house. Mike, Neil, Vyvyan and Rick are inside watching the siege on TV. Honeybadger69 (talk) 08:05, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Rick
203.213.7.130 has just reverted all the mentions of 'Rick' to 'Rik' again. While the actor is called Rik Mayall, the character is called Rick. (It's the basis of the 'He spells it with a silent P' joke in 'Bambi'.) See photograph from 'Bambi'here -->  Spugmeister 14:36, 14 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Someone did it again. I've reverted their change. Mark Grant 21:34, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

SPG
I've just reverted a change and forgotten to put why in the hitory- SPG is from Glasgow and says, 'Oh, is that right? I'm a Glaswegian'. It's not said very clearly which is what probably led to the mix up Spugmeister 22:34, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Neil's album
Planer, as "Neil the Hippy", re;eased an LP, with cover versions of, amongst others, songs by Caravan. Members of Caravan were the session musicians used. There were one or two singles, also. Anyone know more about this? Andy Mabbett 20:42, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

True. The album was called "Neil's Heavy Concept Album", and was preceded by a single, a cover of the song "Hole in My Shoe" by Traffic (band), which was a big hit in the UK in the summer of 1984. He also did a song called "Hurdy Gurdy Mushroom Man", not to be confused with Donovan's song.

A pretty shameless cash-in, like "Neil's Book of the dead" - all of this is referred to pretty scathingly in the Bachelor Boys book.

Comic Relief: Cliff?
"At the 1986 live Comic Relief television performance they gave a live performance, but with Bob Geldof accompanying instead of Cliff. This version with Geldof was released on LP and on video."

Am I going mad, or is this cobblers? I'm pretty sure Cliff was in the live performance. Moreover, I have no memory of Geldof appearing on stage with the Young Ones. Why else would Rick have said, "remember, Cliff's in the building, and we don't want anyone saying 'penis'".

It's Bob Geldof. I have it on video. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.69.95.31 (talk) 19:38, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Radio times cover
When the second series started in 1984, TYO got the front page of the Radio Times - very unusual for a BBC2 show and a stronbg indicator of its impact. It also shows how, no matter what anybody says, the BBC were right behind it once it was up and running.

Social Impact?
A good detailed article, but it would benefit from some discussion of its impact/role in Britain in the early 80s. Whilst Alternative Comedy had been around for quite a while, this is probably its 'big splash' on TV. Also, it is seen as one of those generational dividers - where your parents hated it, and that was part of the attratction. I'm happy to put some general comments in if there's nothing else doing.

cheers.81.145.241.103 17:32, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

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Rick's accent/speech impediment ?
There is a slight Elmer Fuddish quality to Rick's pronounciation - Rs being pronounced like Ws ("that'd be pwetty stewpid"). Does anyone know if this is supposed to imitate some accent or speech impediment?

It's called a Rhotacism, much like Jonathan Ross's speech impediment.GuanoLad 11:24, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

All four of them are Cliff Richard fans
I know this isn't popular knowledge, but the reason such disparate characters share a flat together is because all four of them are fans of Cliff Richard. That's why the show is called "The Young Ones", it's why the book was called "Bachelor Boys", it's why the last episode was called "Summer Holiday", why they all sung "Living Doll" with him, and it's why in episode one, when Rik asks Vyv "Why isn't Cliff Richard boring, clever trousers?", Vyvyan's answer is to be lost for words and push Rik into the lentils. My cite is an interview with the creators from back when it was first broadcast, which is unfortunately impossible to link to. - GuanoLad 21:59, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't call Vyv resorting to violence him being, 'Lost for words', that's just his typical response. Next you'll be saying he re-named SPG 'Cliff Richard', not to piss off Rick, but because he's really a massive fan! Just because it's a common theme throughout the show, doesn't make them all fans.

Oh Cliff, sometimes it must be difficult not to feel as if you really are a cliff, when fascists keep trying to push you over it. Are they the lemmings, or are you Cliff? Or are you Cliff? Spugmeister 13:27, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

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Original research
Removed the following;- Its original research, and needs to be referenced. Apologies if the way I did this isn't encyclopedic. but yeah. No original research, gotta source stuff 58.7.0.146 (talk) 21:41, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

''They can also be seen as a family; Mike is the father, Neil the mother (as he says himself, "My function 'round here, I might as well be your mothers",) Vyvyan the son and Rick the daughter (particularly shown in the episode "Nasty"). It is also possible to see the four characters as representatives of four decades: Mike the 1950s Fonzie-style ladykiller; Neil the 1960s hippy; Vyvyan the 1970s punk; and Rick the 1980s sociology student. ''

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DVD Cuts
Being the obsessive compulsive that I am and considering how iconic the Young Ones is, I would like to catalogue the edits made on each of the DVD releases for the main page. I believe the Region 1 "Every Stoopid Episode" and "Extra Stoopid Edition" releases are the same as their corresponding UK releases, with different box art, special features and menus. This is what I've got so far:

Danny Darko (talk) 23:54, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

I've heard, though have not yet confirmed, that the complete box set is uncut. In particular, this includes the sequence of Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve performing the Dylan Cover "Subterranean Homesick Blues". - Man in shack (talk) 02:07, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Surnames
Are the surnames legit? I don't remember any of them having surnames, and Mike's especially seems suspect. Yes, he occasionally referred to himself as "Mike, the cool person" but I don't think counts for anything. 4.237.204.249 (talk) 20:36, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

There's been a running edit war over the names for quite some time. Neil's is definitely 'Pie' because it was in the episode 'Sick' but I don't know about the rest. I think Mike's comes from a book that followed the show. Vyv's I'm not sure on and Rick's is definitely NOT 'Britain' as people keep trying to add. Spugmeister (talk) 20:06, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The 'Rick Britain' reference comes from Bambi, where the "world's stupidest bottom burp" is claimed to be "Rick, Britain" (as in Rick who comes from Britain). Just in case there was any confusion about other people's confusion. :-) --HappyDog (talk) 12:57, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

I just watched "Sick" and Mike refers to Neil's mom a couple of times as "Mrs. Pye" (or Pie), so that one's confirmed. 68.161.25.245 (talk) 23:59, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Vyvian's was also Basterd as this was refered to in The Bachelor Boys book.

Eugenespeed (talk) 19:20, 17 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Vyvian Basterd and Mike Thecoolperson are both listed in Bachelor Boys, but then it also lists a lot of highly suspect details in keeping with the notion that it is written by the characters themselves (Leon Trotsky writes one section, with the implication it's actually Rick) 87.115.31.184 (talk) 13:10, 18 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Mike "TheCoolPerson" is a whole different ball game - see the paragraph below for comments on the validity of his surname... I personally view it as a title, not a surname.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by A man alone (talk • contribs) 16:21, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I did also comment on it below. Bachelor Boys treats it as a surname. Capital T all the rest lower case, he even uses it in formal correspondance. 87.114.29.255 (talk) 17:00, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Fair point, see my comments and rebuttal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by A man alone (talk • contribs) 17:55, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Are you all Americans with no sense of how a comma works? Sure, Mike said "Mike, The Cool Person," but that doesn't mean it's his surname. Is Peter Peter's surname The Pumpkin Eater? I suppose the real question is whether Bachelor Boys is canon or not. If it is, so be it. If it's not, then a lot of ink has been split over editors who don't have a grip over grammar. Beag maclir (talk) 16:51, 3 April 2014 (UTC)


 * It's canon, it was written and produced by the same bunch, at the same time, under the same auspices, and as part of the same thing as the TV show. Til Eulenspiegel /talk/ 17:07, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Subliminal
Is it true there are subliminal messages in the young ones? if so this shoel be inncluded 79.74.123.16 (talk) 15:42, 28 September 2008 (UTC)


 * It's kind of true, they're actually too long to be subliminal. And it is included under 'synopsis'. Spugmeister (talk) 16:29, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

Mike The Cool Person
I was wondering if we could come to a general concensus on Mike's section, basically as to if it should be entitled Mike or Mike The Cool Person.

There is quite clearly an edit war developing. In this respect, I wonder if it would be wise to consider protecting this article.

What are your opinions?

Thanks

Eugenespeed (talk) 12:20, 21 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I notice that another user has changed Mike to read his surname as "Thecoolperson" - so it looks like the edit war is back on again.


 * My thoughts on this: Mike's appends the phrase "The Cool Person" often when he refers to himself - this seems more like a title than a surname.  I've just read through the entire Young Ones Bachelor boys book, and Mike has the suffix applied in several different ways - Mike (The cool person), Mike "The cool person", and Mike Thecoolperson - there is no conformity as there should be for an established surname, such as Pye, or Basterd.


 * Seems to me that although "the cool person" is definitely part of his name, it's a title he applies to himself, not a surname - much in the same way we have Brian "Damage" Balowski.


 * Wiki rules state that unless something can be cited as fact it shouldn't be included - we cannot conclusively show that The cool person is Mike's surname, ergo it shouldn't be stated as such. I would suggest a compromise that includes a sentence similar to the above - that "the cool person" is how Mike refers to himself as a title - and that he is the only person ever to use the phrase.
 * a_man_alone (talk) 20:28, 3 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Bachelor Boys (The Young Ones book) gives Mike's name as Mike Thecoolperson on many occasions. If that's a good enough source for the unusual spelling of Vyvian's surname why not this? 87.115.31.184 (talk) 09:00, 18 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Because Bachelor Boys is inconsistent all the way through, that's why. See my comments above - "The Cool Person" is refered to in three very different ways - and not even in the wild and crazy world of the Young Ones does a surname have brackets around it.  Or even if I concede that it does - why does it not in the other instances?


 * A reference needs to be consistent, and Bachelor Boys isn't. a_man_alone (talk) 18:00, 20 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Probably then this fact in itself is notable enough to be added to Mike's character description? It will stop the edit warring. 87.115.131.46 (talk) 09:49, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree - in fact I should have done it weeks ago, but, er didn't. I'll do so now in fact...  a_man_alone (talk) 13:54, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Rick Mayall?
During a preformance with Bob Geldof during Comic Relief '86, Rick is given a formal introduction by a voice-over MC as Rik Mayall, in spite of the fact that he's clearly appearing in character (and proceeds to refer to Ryan, Edmondson and Planter as Mike, Vyvyan and Neil as they come out onstage.) Perhaps this means that Rick's last name is Mayall? Again, he's clearly in character and none of the other actors are refered to by their real names. Here's the link:. Tenk you veddy much. --Wack'd Talk to me! • Admire my handiwork! 22:26, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Rick's politics
Just had to make an edit and point out that while Rick's politics are confused at best, there is nothing 'ironic' about being both an anarchist and having a liking of Lenin/Trotsky. There is this thing called anarcho-communism, you know. 86.139.27.165 (talk) 11:47, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

It describes Rick in the article as reactionary. He is certainly not. "Reactionary" is the term for extreme right-wing views and ideals. Quite the opposite, Rick would be better described as a wanna-be left-wing radical or as stated above, an anarcho-communist. In the episode Flood, he in fact expresses disgust at a comic book of his which, in his opinion, takes a reactionary stance. "This (comic book) is so reactionary!". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Racerx11 (talk • contribs) 05:42, 4 July 2010 (UTC)


 * If no one objects, I am considering replacing the word "reactionary" in the sentence in question with "radical" and/or "left-wing" and/or "anarchist" or something like that. Any thoughts, input, suggestions...anyone?Racerx11 (talk) 02:04, 8 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Not sure what you mean about replacing the last couple of words? Do you mean replacing "reactionary" with "radical anarchist" - or similar. My personal feeling is that Rick would not class himself as being left-wing, as he fervently believes himself to be a follower of Lenin, not any particularly British held political policy.  (wp:or there!)  Rick is already described as "...a self-proclaimed anarchist..." in the first paragraph, so I think it's only really necessary to call him a radical in his political beliefs.  a_man_alone (talk) 07:35, 8 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I wanted to replace the word "reactionary" with something else. Perhaps its opposite, "radical". Your comments address precisely why I haven't made the edit yet. How would one label Rick's politics other than what, as you pointed out, has already been stated, an anarchist? "Reactionary" is clearly wrong. While the article states he is really quite conservative, there is no evidence to support that claim other than his parents being conservative. (And I dont know if he lied about it. He confesses to Mike that his father votes "Torie"(sp?) Im an American so not familiar with "Tories". i dount spel two goud eether,huh huh. But it is my understanding that voting Torie = voting conservative in Britain) Just because one is raised conservative doesn't mean that's what you become. Sure he fails in actually executing any real radical actions. But he still apparently believes passionately in the things he says . He is not "right-wing", "conservative" or "reactionary" at all. He is the opposite of "reactionary" so labeling him as such is wrong. At the end of Rick's section, there is a quote by Ben Elton that describes Rick as "the 'try-hard wanna-be Leftie' typically found on university campuses at the time". This along with "self-proclaimed anarchist" decription earlier in the article make two very accurate descriptions of Rick's political ideals. Although I wouldn't be totally opposed to simply changing the word "reactionary" to the word "radical", I now suggest that we delete the sentence calling him reactionary. It is inaccurate and it is not neccessary to label him a third time anyway.


 * Addressing your comment about Rick not classifing himself as being left-wing, as he fervently believes himself to be a follower of Lenin - While extreme left-wingers may reject Marxism-Leninism, generally anyone claiming to be a follower Lenin, could be accurately described as left-wing. They are certainly not right-wing. Leninists might also call themselves communists, socialists, revolutionists, anarchists, atheists etc; all labels either Rick has used to describe himself or labels that can be shown to describe Rick. And all these ideals fall on the left side of the politcal spectrum. Rick's politics are not as confused as the article leads the reader to be. It would appear that we have slightly different interpretations of "left-wing" I see it as a generic placement on a spectrum. Any political ideal or stance can be placed somewhere on either the "left" or "right" side of this spectrum. Anything on the left, I call left-wing. Most people probably reserve the left-wing or right-wing labels for the far/extreme left and right ideals. It appears that you see it as a more specific classification that is usually associated with particular British held political policies. Racerx11 (talk) 00:26, 9 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Just read the whole thing and sorry to get all long-winded. My last post sounds argumentive and that wasn't my intent. Your points are well taken. Indeed Rick may not call himself left-wing for the reason you suggest. And thanks for the input. I agree, if I change "reactionary" it would only need be replaced with "radical". NOT "left-wing radical" or "radical anarchist"Racerx11 (talk) 00:40, 9 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Be bold - Make the change!  a_man_alone (talk) 11:01, 9 July 2010 (UTC)


 * okRacerx11 (talk) 21:14, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Someone added a note on Rick's apparant conservative views, exposed when he's deep in conversation with an old man at the post-office (or what Rick thinks is the postoffice): "I wonder why they don't just turn the entire country over to Oxfam" - from memory. The conversation is not elaborated on in the show, and the conclusion (the oxfam-remark) could sound rather conservative. On the other hand, it could also be a radical-left comment on Oxfam and the way developing aid is being administrated, i.e. a very ideological opinion on Rick's side that collides with Oxfam's purpose, rather than being a latent conservative conviction. (left-wing organizations were and are popular targets for ridicule as they are each others worst enemies, bickering over minute details rather than uniting against their obvious ideological enemy. Monty Python made an entire movie on the subject, called Life of Brian.)--Nwinther (talk) 08:14, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

You are all missing the point, Rick's political views are confused and contradictory because he is an immature student trying to find his place in the world. 90.249.185.101 (talk) 06:42, 30 October 2021 (UTC)

Telling the time
Neither Vyv nor Rick can tell the time. This is established in Bambi for Vyvyan (Mike - "Ah, now Vyv - here's your chance!") and in Cash for Rick (Rick - "I've got a watch! I'm just not very good at telling the time yet.")

The phrase "a trait he shares with" means he has the same trait as, not that he shares the information regarding the trait with somebody, therefore he shares the trait with Vyv, not with Mike. In both scenes it's Mike who assists the other in telling the time. a_man_alone (talk) 10:51, 5 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Here we go again. An anonymous user has again changed the inability to tell the time to Mike.


 * Clarification:


 * "A trait he shares with xxxxxxx" = something held in common with xxxxxxx.
 * "A trait he shares with xxxxxxx" <> sharing information with xxxxxxx.


 * a_man_alone (talk) 21:06, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Characters picture
The picture beginning the Characters section shows Mike, Rick, Vyvyan and Neil on University Challenge. I have no problem with the fact that Rick's name happens to have a "P" drawn in front of his name in the still photo. It was part of a running gag in the episode Bambi. In fact, its a great reminder of a very funny scene in that episode. However in the caption below the picture, it identifies the characters as "Mike, (P)Rick, Vyv & Neil on University Challenge".

I feel that its unnecessary and unencyclopedic to add the (P) in front of Rick's name in the caption. The episode implies this is a joke intended to irritate Rick. There is no implication that Rick may, by any chance, actually spell his name with a silent "P". It is not the intention of this article to participate in the show's humor or continue the humor of the TV series "in universe". The (P) in the caption slightly crosses a line in this regard.

I also feel since the joke "P" is already depicted in the photo, repeating the joke directly below is not only unneeded, but actually lessens the humor. Much like repeating a punch line, it makes the whole joke less funny somehow. Im deleting the (P) in the caption. You are welcome to put it back if you object.Racerx11 (talk) 15:56, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

Rip, Rig + Panic
Someone keeps changing the page back to saying it was Neneh Cherry perfoming with RR+P on the show. But it was actually Andrea Oliver, who was in the band before Neneh. If you look at the video, it's clearly not Neneh. DavidRavenMoon (talk) 05:59, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

It's not Cliff Richards on their version of Living Doll at Comic Relief
"In 1986, the cast sang "Living Doll" with Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin for Comic Relief." Wrong. Check youtube's copy of the performance. They announce the guest as Cliff Richards but then realize it's actually Bob Geldof (they guy who played the main character in the movie version of Pink Floyd's The Wall). And yes, it's the comic relief one not a reperformance of it elsewhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.68.131.138 (talk) 03:37, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Article Length
The article seems to be rather overly long. I'm wondering if the sections "Fourth Wall" and "Guests" are necessary; they're just long lists of trivia examples which anyone that watches the show could see for themselves, or get from any number of other fan sources -- and Wikipedia is not the same thing as TVTropes, which would (and likely does) relish such things. Also, the musical performances are listed twice - once in the episodes list, and also earlier after the section about the music, and all that seems redundant. I didn't want to just go excising these sections that someone obviously spent some time on without requesting comments. - Salamurai (talk) 03:04, 17 September 2011 (UTC)


 * I've nuked the fourth wall section. I remember adding it a year or so back, thinking that it was a rare thing and worth highlighting, but it's become obvious that it happens several times in pretty much every episode.  I think in this case it's enough to say it happens without listing the occurances.  It's worth keeping the section in, as the actual breaking of the fourth wall, certainly the regularity, was quite rare for a comedy programme at the time.


 * I'll leave the guest appearances for somebody with more stamina...   a_man_alone (talk) 16:32, 21 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Okay. I sliced the guest list down to a handful of seemingly significant names -- and I checked every article first -- and merged that and the fourth wall text into the Synopsis section. – Salamurai (talk) 08:08, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Last edit
I've partially reverted an edit made recently. Rationale is outlined below, as it's too long for an edit summary:


 * They live in a house, not a flat, so all instances of flatmate -> housemate
 * humourous is not a word - humorous is the correct spelling. I was caught out with this myself - on this very page some time ago.
 * I removed Phil Taylor, and re-instated Magic Johnson - as it was me who originally inserted that comment I did so specifically using both an English and an American example so that both sides of the Atlantic would know who the article referred to.
 * The quote is "Prick is a wonker" as read out by Neil.
 * Hoover is a trademark and refers to a specific type of vacuum cleaner, which is not the case here. Whilst it has passed into (certainly in the UK - can't speak for anywhere else) generic usage, the term vacuum is more accurate, especially when we wikilink to things.  Chaheel Riens (talk) 05:15, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Codrington Road on Google Earth
With regard to this edit - the author is correct.

If you use Google Earth/maps to try and look at Codrington road, it isn't there. You can see it on the overhead map, but if you descend to street view, it jumps you past each turning which would normally take you into the road - street view stops quite a bit short, and someway up Broadway road on both exit/entrances to Codrington. I noticed this a few months ago when planning a pilgrimage to said road, but didn't think it worthy of note on the page itself.

I wondered if this might be because Codrington road has since become a private street, but that shouldn't be the case, because a private street is still a public highway. Perhaps there was some reason that the google van simply coulnd't get down the road when it was passing at the time. Chaheel Riens (talk) 11:43, 13 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the explanation. I'm the one who reverted the edit. It didn't sound like something that belonged in the article, but I invited the author to bring it to the talk page just in case. -- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  12:29, 13 July 2013 (UTC)


 * No problem. It is curious, and as Codrington Road is google map linked in the article perhaps it could be mentioned, although it would need to be worded carefully to avoid all the classics "Note that", "Curiously", "Interestingly enough" etc:


 *  " Codrington Road is not available on Google Street view but can be seen from above on satellite view" 


 * Something like that? Chaheel Riens (talk) 15:32, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Mayall and Edmundson - Comedy Store - mid-1980
Mayall and Edmundson did not join the Comedy Store until mid-1980, which makes the "late 1970s" claim rather inaccurate - http://www.thecomicstrippresents.webs.com/sitepages/rikmayall.html. The series was, of course, helped to the screen by the launch of Channel 4 in 1982, which apparently prodded the BBC on into producing the series. If the origins of the series are to be traced to the stars' various careers in clubs, 1980 was surely the year - when Mayall and Edmundson met Sayle. One could, of course, claim that the origins of the series lay in which year each performer was born!

(86.158.224.24 (talk) 21:56, 26 May 2014 (UTC))

Edits regarding Enn Reitel & The Cure.
Amaury & Debresser - please take a look at the edit history of the article, and indeed read the article itself. The IP editor is completely correct - The Cure never appeared in The Young Ones, and Christopher Ryan played Mike in the show, not Enn Reitel.

Instead of spasm reverting, please check the circumstances surrounding the edits first. Thanks Chaheel Riens (talk) 21:15, 11 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Those two things I agree with, but he changed a lot more than that in his edit. Debresser (talk) 22:16, 11 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, and those other elements probably need to be addressed, rather than 'spasm reverting' to the blocked accounts' version, and characterizing a good faith edit as vandalism: . 2601:188:1:AEA0:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 15:03, 12 July 2016 (UTC)


 * I think that in the current version these concerns are addressed. Debresser (talk) 15:07, 12 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you, . 2601:188:1:AEA0:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 15:15, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Category:British television sketch shows
I am not convinced that the article belongs in this category. I know The Young Ones was a bot of a mix of genres, but it does not really fit the description of a sketch show and nowhere in the article is it described as one. Dunarc (talk) 18:53, 4 April 2018 (UTC)

Grammar problem
The sentence beginning "Mayall portrayed his character as..." has bad grammar and unclear meaning. 2A00:23C5:FE0C:2100:C1D9:74BC:176:4A09 (talk) 23:41, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Legacy
The 'Legacy' section should reference 'Girls on top' which was clearly derivative, and has its own wiki page which could be linked to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dean1954 (talk • contribs) 19:59, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

What kind of critical reception did it get at the time?
The current Reception section is extremely short and modern. Interesting to know how it was received in the '80s, when it was quite rude and anarchic and may have upset some viewers. Equinox ◑ 22:40, 25 May 2024 (UTC)