On the buses
| On the Buses | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
|
| Starring | |
| Music by | Tony Russell ("Happy Harry") |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 74 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | London Weekend Television |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 576i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Original release | 28 February 1969 – 6 May 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Don't Drink the Water |
On the Buses is a British sitcom created and written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney (although stars Stephen Lewis and Bob Grant also wrote several episodes) broadcast from 1969 to 1973. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Despite the writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife with the BBC, the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers. In a 2004 poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom, On the Buses was rated 53rd.
Seventy-four 25-minute episodes were made, as well as three spin-off films.
At the beginning of the seventh (and last) series Arthur, who is not seen, has left Olive and they are divorced. Olive again gets a job as a clippie on the buses as they are short of money. Stan takes a job in the north of England in a car factory in the "Goodbye Stan" episode, and the Inspector takes Stan's old room as a lodger.
In addition, two five-minute Christmas specials were made by LWT as part of an All Star Comedy Carnival in 1969 and 1972, ITV's answer to the BBC's Christmas Night with the Stars programme. The 1969 edition has been lost, but the 1972 edition – featuring a goose that the cast are chasing for Christmas dinner – exists in the Thames Television archive, which is now owned by FremantleMedia. A spin-off series, Don't Drink the Water (1974–75), ran for thirteen episodes, featuring Blake retiring to Spain with his sister Dorothy (Pat Coombs).
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