Last of the Summer Wine
| Last of the Summer Wine | |
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A typical intertitle
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| Also known as | The Last of the Summer Wine (Pilot episode) |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Roy Clarke |
| Written by | Roy Clarke |
| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Ronnie Hazlehurst |
| Opening theme | "The Last of the Summer Wine" |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 31 |
| No. of episodes | 295 (list of episodes) |
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| Location(s) | Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England |
| Cinematography | Pat O'Shea |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
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| Original release | 4 January 1973 – 29 August 2010 |
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Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke that was originally broadcast on the BBC. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Tom Owen criticised the BBC for not permitting a special final episode. Roy Clarke, however, stated that he was fully aware this was the last series, and preferred the show to have a quiet ending. The final line was said by Peter Sallis, the longest serving actor. Since its original release, all thirty-one series—including the pilot and all Christmas specials—have been available on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than twenty-five countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running sitcom in the world.
Last of the Summer Wine was set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, and centred on a trio of old men and their youthful misadventures; the membership of the trio changed several times over the years. The original trio consisted of Bill Owen as the mischievous and impulsive Compo Simmonite, Peter Sallis as easy-going everyman Norman Clegg, and Michael Bates as uptight and arrogant Cyril Blamire. When Bates dropped out due to illness in 1976 after two series, the role of the third man of the trio was filled in various years up to the 30th series by the quirky war veteran Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst (Brian Wilde), who had two lengthy stints in the series, the eccentric inventor Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge), and former police officer Herbert "Truly of The Yard" Truelove (Frank Thornton). The men never seem to grow up, and they develop a unique perspective on their equally eccentric fellow townspeople through their stunts. Although in its early years the series generally revolved around the exploits of the main trio, with occasional interaction with a few recurring characters, over time the cast grew to include a variety of supporting characters and by later years the series was very much an ensemble piece. Each of these recurring characters contributed their own running jokes and subplots to the show and often becoming reluctantly involved in the schemes of the trio, or on occasion having their own, separate storylines.
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