First of the Summer Wine

First of the Summer Wine
First of the Summer Wine intertitle
Created by	Roy Clarke
Written by	Roy Clarke
Directed by	Gareth Gwenlan (Pilot) Mike Stephens (Series)
Starring	Derek Benfield Sarah Dangerfield Linda Davidson David Fenwick Judy Flynn Joanne Heywood Richard Lumsden Paul McLain Paul Oldham Maggie Ollerenshaw Helen Patrick Peter Sallis Gary Whitaker Paul Wyett
Theme music composer	Al Bowlly
Opening theme	"Sweet and Lovely"
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Gareth Gwenlan (Pilot) Mike Stephens (Series)
Running time	30 minutes (per episode)
Release
Original network	BBC1
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original release	3 January 1988 – 8 October 1989
Chronology
Related shows	Last of the Summer Wine (1973–2010)

First of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed on 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes each, with the final episode airing on 8 October 1989. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Gareth Gwenlan. Both series of episodes were produced and directed by Mike Stephens. The BBC has never shown repeats of the show, although repeats do occasionally appear in the UK on satellite station Gold. The show was broadcast in Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation network in the early 1990s.

First of the Summer Wine was a prequel to Clarke's long running show, Last of the Summer Wine, portraying the youth of the principal characters from the mother show in the months leading up to World War II. With the possibility of war hanging over them, the young men and women enjoy their youth while trying to find a place for themselves in the world. The show used young, mostly unknown actors to play the characters, with only two actors from the original series making an appearance in the prequel.

With the success of Last of the Summer Wine, the BBC approved a new series which Roy Clarke would carry over characters of the original show. With the new series, Clarke hoped to show the lives of his characters as they were in the "first summer" of their lives, as opposed to the last summer depicted in Last of the Summer Wine. While there would still be the "shadow of the Grim Reaper" hanging over them, this time it would be because of World War II, not due to their old age.

For the new series, Clarke used mostly young, inexperienced actors to fill the roles of the characters carried over from the original series. The actors were required to mimic the vocal characteristics and mannerisms already established in Last of the Summer Wine to create a continuity between the two series.

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