The Young Ones (TV series)

The Young Ones
The Young Ones Series 1 title screen.
Written by	Ben Elton Rik Mayall Lise Mayer Additional material from Alexei Sayle
Directed by	Paul Jackson Geoff Posner Ed Bye
Starring	Adrian Edmondson Rik Mayall Nigel Planer Christopher Ryan Alexei Sayle
Opening theme	"The Young Ones" performed by the cast
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Producer(s)	Paul Jackson
Running time	approx. 35 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Original release	9 November 1982 (1982-11-09) – 19 June 1984 (1984-06-19)
Website

The Young Ones is a British sitcom, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1984 in two six-part series. Shown on BBC2, it featured anarchic, offbeat humour which helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. In 1985, it was shown on MTV, one of the first non-music television shows on the fledgling channel. In a 2004 poll, it ranked at number 31 in the BBC's list of Britain's Best Sitcoms.

The series was met with complete disbelief when the BBC first saw it, but thanks to the beginning of Channel 4 they decided to air it.

The series originated on London's comedy club circuit in the early 1980s, where most of the cast had gained popularity at The Comedy Store. Alexei Sayle was the prominent act, drawing attention as the manic, aggressive compere. Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall worked as the double act 20th Century Coyote, which later became The Dangerous Brothers. Nigel Planer was in a double act with Peter Richardson called "The Outer Limits".

As The Comedy Store became popular, Sayle, 20th Century Coyote, and The Outer Limits, with French and Saunders and Arnold Brown, set up their own club called The Comic Strip in the Raymond Revuebar club in Soho. The Comic Strip became one of the most popular comedy venues in London, and came to the attention of Jeremy Isaacs of Channel 4. Peter Richardson then negotiated a deal for six self-contained half-hour films, using the group as comedy actors rather than stand-up performers. In response, the BBC began negotiations with Edmondson, Mayall, Richardson, Planer and Sayle to star in a sitcom in a similar style. Paul Jackson was installed as a producer. Richardson's project, The Comic Strip Presents..., aired on Channel 4's opening night on 2 November 1982, with The Young Ones following a week later on BBC2.