The Young Ones

[wood and iron]

Just finished watching the first episode of The Young Ones. Yikes. It's got some esteem in the comedy world, right (or at least that's a young Yankee's impression)? But holy shit, it's just them yelling throughout the entire thing. And not even yelling funny things.

Anyway, keep at it? Is it worth it? Or was I misinformed on the opinion of the show? Because right now, I really just want to shove the disc back into the Netflix envelope as fast as possible.

Obviously, I'm not asking for you to dictate my taste in shows to me, but I just want some idea of if the show improves or ditch it now before I completely lose my hearing and respect for British comedy.

[fonpr]

I only saw the Motorhead episode.

I liked Motorhead.

[Christina]

Just finished watching the first episode of The Young Ones. Yikes.

Try and think of it as a comedy portal that you could only successfully travel thru in the '80s.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Just finished watching the first episode of The Young Ones. Yikes.

Try and think of it as a comedy portal that you could only successfully travel thru in the '80s.

This is well put.

I will always love "The Young Ones" but I have the DVD's and must admit that it does not hold up over time.  I still laugh at some things, but far fewer things.

[Reeleyes]

I like the one where they all switch places.

[betheboy]

The Young Ones never did it for me.  It's not that I didn't get it, I just didn't think it was funny.

[buffcoat]

I feel sympathy for Rik.


Not empathy.  But it's hard to be the mean, manipulative, lying one in a group like that.  Or so I've heard.

[courtney]

Sorry - I still love it.

I usually re-visit it once a year or so and still laugh. I have memories of me as a very strange little insomniac kid watching it when it was on MTV - when was that? '84? Something like that. I didn't really get most of it but it was bizarre enough for me to be fascinated by. Then I got the videos as a gift, like, 10 years later and was hooked once I understood what they were talking/yelling about.

I guess it depends on what you normally watch.

[courtney]

Here, just watch these:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8feNFx3y3U[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGd3y37Eb7Y[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eRe7yTMoXE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-qAYbFNvEQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUTCbObfHVs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmxKcoketGA[/youtube]

[kittykittymeowmixhead]

Keep at it! You really have to give it a whole season.

[Chris L]

Check out the episode "Bambi," which as far as I know marks the only time Emma Thompson and Motorhead have appeared on the same show. 

[Martin]

Alexei Sayle cannot be defeated.

[Phantom Hugger]

I love(d) this show but must admit that the last season ain't so hot, it became weirdly slap-shtick. I watched it back in the 80s at a young age and it was one of the first outsider (in the US) comedy that I discovered, so there is the nostalgia factor.

After Bambi, watch Sick. I don't remember the name of the episode, but the one where Rik accidentally kills Neil and plants him in the garden is pretty good.

[yesno]

There's no reason to work at liking old comedy.  With music and literature you can better trust the judgment of time, and if there's something that's "classic" and you don't like it, you're probably best seeing if you can broaden your horizons or something before just saying "I don't get it."  There's plenty of stuff I didn't like when I was younger that I do now.

But you can't learn how to find something funny.  At most you can learn to "appreciate" it the way that you "appreciate" the jokes in Shakespeare.  Which is to say that you don't really appreciate them, you just know they're there.

As discussed before on this board, very little comedy ages well: it's too bound up in a particular time and place.

http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,2487.0.html

I would add to my previous list of old-timey stuff that holds up really well the author Jerome K. Jerome.  Also H.L. Mencken.

The Young Ones doesn't hold up as well as some other Mayall stuff (The New Statesmen is funny if you like broad political humor) or even other British shows of the period, like Black Adder.  It does have moments though.  It comes up all the time in my house as lentils are probably my favorite food.

[masterofsparks]

There's no reason to work at liking old comedy.  With music and literature you can better trust the judgment of time, and if there's something that's "classic" and you don't like it, you're probably best seeing if you can broaden your horizons or something before just saying "I don't get it."  There's plenty of stuff I didn't like when I was younger that I do now.

But you can't learn how to find something funny.  At most you can learn to "appreciate" it the way that you "appreciate" the jokes in Shakespeare.  Which is to say that you don't really appreciate them, you just know they're there.

As discussed before on this board, very little comedy ages well: it's too bound up in a particular time and place.

http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,2487.0.html

I would add to my previous list of old-timey stuff that holds up really well the author Jerome K. Jerome.  Also H.L. Mencken.

The Young Ones doesn't hold up as well as some other Mayall stuff (The New Statesmen is funny if you like broad political humor) or even other British shows of the period, like Blackadder.  It does have moments though.  It comes up all the time in my house as lentils are probably my favorite food.

Speaking of The Young Ones and Blackadder, the recurring character Lord Flashheart (played by Rik Mayall) is very, very funny. But then again, Blackadder always connected more directly with me than The Young Ones.