“Yes, we’ve got a video!”
“A package from the Transvaal … how strange!”
“Bad for society … when the kids start to get into it!”
It’ll be difficult for readers under the age of 30 to believe, but if you were watching TV between 1982 and 1984, these phrases are like “Garlic bread!”, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” and Andy Pipkin’s “Yeah, I know” all rolled into one. They helped cement The Young Ones’ reputation as the high watermark of 1980s comedy. This month marks 25 years since the airing of the first episode, Demolition, and sees the rerelease of all 12 shows on DVD. In a fittingly iconoclastic gesture, that episode ended with the entire cast being wiped out in a plane crash; but then logic and continuity were never the show’s strong points. Rather, it was their disregard for convention that people found most endearing about The Young Ones, and this stemmed largely from producer Paul Jackson, who cobbled together the best new acts appearing at The Comedy Store, then London’s pivotal alternative comedy venue. Bar the 1980 BBC2 showcase Boom Boom … Out Go The Lights, the cast and crew had virtually no TV experience, which Jackson turned to his advantage.
more from The Guardian here.