The Young Ones: Every Stoopid Episode
"Anything could happen!" declares Rik Mayall, co-writer and co-star of British TV showThe Young Ones--and he's right. Though this manic comedy series centered around the petty bickering of four layabouts living in a communal house in London--paranoid, hyperactive new waver Rick (Mayall), dense punk rocker Vyvyan (Adrian "Ade" Edmondson), lugubrious hippied Neil (Nigel Planer), and would-be sharp guy Mike (Christopher Ryan)--at any moment the show could switch to kibbitzing rats or romantic vegetables, or Buddy Holly could be discovered hanging from a parachute in the attic. Bands (as varied as Madness and Motorhead) suddenly appear in their living room and pound out a pop hit. It all seems a bit spastic at first, but the frenzy grows infectious, becoming funnier the more you watch it (in sharp contrast to most sitcoms).The Young Onesaspires to have the elastic energy and surreality of a living cartoon and comes pretty close to the mark. Guest stars include Emma Thompson, Terry Jones ofMonty Python, and Jennifer Saunders ofAbsolutely Fabulous. This compilation also includes a few documentary features and a couple of episodes from other sitcoms starring Mayall, Edmondson, and Planer (Filthy Rich & CatflapandBottom).--Bret Fetzer