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{{work|wppage=The Young Ones (TV series)}}
[[File:youngones372_52.jpg|frame|L to R: [[In-Series Nickname|(P)Rick]], Mike, Neil and Vyvyan.]]
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So basically, it's ''[[La Boheme|La Bohème]]'' set in [[The Eighties]]. Or ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' with idiot bastards instead of nerds.
* Rick (Rik Mayall): The hypocritical, Cliff Richard-loving lefty activist who was convinced that he was a Marxist rebel, a poetic genius, the voice of an entire generation and the most well-liked and attractive member of the household; [[
▲* Rick (Rik Mayall): The hypocritical, Cliff Richard-loving lefty activist who was convinced that he was a Marxist rebel, a poetic genius, the voice of an entire generation and the most well-liked and attractive member of the household; [[Ted Baxter|he was spectacularly wrong on all counts]];
* Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson): The psychotic but strangely child-like punk who couldn't go an entire episode without destroying something - or, usually, ''several'' somethings;
* Neil (Nigel Planer): The whining, put-upon and suicidal hippy who acted as the [[Bumbling Sidekick|dogsbody]] for the entire house and is convinced (accurately) that no one likes him and everyone is out to get him;
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Worth a mention as a show which ''never'' relied on cliché to any extent; any tropes that popped up were usually subverted and [[Double Subversion|double-subverted]] within minutes, if not seconds. The entire premise of the series, such as it was, was a particularly odd subversion of the [[Dysfunctional Family]] trope. Its [[Spiritual Successor|spiritual descendant]], ''[[Bottom]]'' -- basically Mayall and Edmondson playing even more unpleasant [[Expy|Expies]] of their ''Young Ones'' characters -- premiered in 1991.
Not to be confused with [[The Young Ones (1961 film)|the 1961 film of the same name that starred Cliff Richard]].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Abbey Road Crossing]]: During the "House Of Fun" sequence in the episode "Boring".
* [[Absurdly Youthful Mother]]: Vyvyan has one, whom we also meet in "Boring". The actress, Pauline Melville, is only nine years older than Adrian Edmondson.
* [[Almost-Dead Guy]]: [[Lampshaded]] -- the two men who are the recipient of the message aren't terribly concerned with it.▼
* [[All Just a Dream]]: The end of the episode "Interesting", subverted when it's revealed that the [[All Just a Dream]] scene was the dream.
** The opening scene of "Time" was Neil's dream. For him, [[I Was Having Such a Nice Dream|it was a pretty good dream]], so when he wakes up he just says "oh no" in a miserable tone.
▲* [[Almost-Dead Guy]]: [[Lampshaded]] -- the two men who are the recipient of the message aren't terribly concerned with it.
* [[Amusing Injuries]]: ''All'' the time. It's like ''[[Looney Tunes]]''.
* [[Animated Actors]]
* [[Author Tract]]: Vyvyan's tirade against ''[[The Good Life]]'' (see [[Berserk Button]] below) mirrors series writer Ben Elton's own disdain for the programme and all others like it.
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Mike is in the habit of referring to himself as "Mike the Cool Person". It might actually be his name - Mike Thecoolperson.
* [[Ax Crazy]]: Vyvyan in
{{quote|
** (It turns into a completely lampshaded [[Chekhov's Gun]].)
* [[Batter Up]]
* [[Behind the Black]]: Vyvyan gives this as a justification for pointing everything out in one episode.
{{quote|
'''Mike''': Vyvyan, why do you keep telling us what's just about to happen next?
'''Vyvyan''': Because it's a studio set, Michael, and they can't afford any long shots.
* [[Berserk Button]]: ''[[The Good Life]]'' causes Vyvyan to erupt in rage over its [[Tastes Like Diabetes|extreme niceness.]]
{{quote|
'''Mike''': That was a highly articulate outburst, Vyvyan. I only hope they're not watching.
** Picking on Neil's flares isn't the best idea either, at least if Vyvyan's there to egg him on.
* [[Brick Joke]]: Frequently. Most are called back within ten minutes, but some go almost the entire episode.
** Done literally once, as Vyvyan tries to eat the house to prevent the council knocking it down because it's such a craphole. He leans out the window and bites a brick which disintegrates loudly.
{{quote|
* [[British Brevity]]: A grand total of 12 episodes were made, spanning two seasons.
* [[
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Neil and Rick:
{{quote|
'''Neil:''' That wasn't a sack of potatoes, Mike, it was a packet of smash!
'''Mike:''' Well everyone knows they're better than real potatoes!
**
{{quote|
'''Vyvyan:''' That is the first sensible thing you have said all day.
(''picks up a loose floorboard and smashes Rick's skull with it'')
* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: According to Neil, Rick has passed out after half a glass of cider
* [[Casanova Wannabe]]: Mike! MIKE! '''MIKE!'''
** Rick also believes all the ladies love him. Of course, he is very wrong.
* [[Catch Phrase]]: Rick and Vyvyan love to call each other, and everyone else, "BASTARDS!"
** Vyv is also partial to "Brilliant!"
** Neil’s favorite adjective is "heavy", and he often complains that he's "having a really bad time
** "Mike, the cool person..."
* [[Cross Dresser]]: Although he is never seen in women's clothes, Rick is obviously a crossdresser. At one point, Neil comes downstairs in a Gingham dress and says that because he couldn't get into his own room to get dressed, he went into Rick's room and found a dress. [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|When Rick denies it]], Vyvyan points out the nametag says 'Rick.' Also, Rick has several very feminine habits, such as braiding his hair and crossing his legs and reading Cosmopolitan.▼
* [[Cosmic Plaything]]: Rick.
▲* [[
* [[Curse Cut Short]]: In ''Sick'', during the [[Grange Hill (TV)|Grange Hill]] parody, one of the kids says:▼
{{quote| '''Mr Liberal:''' Hang on, you pair of young scruffy tearaways! Don't you realise the way you act is influencing millions of children to talk Cockney and be insubordinate?<br />▼
'''Pupil:''' Well, come on Sir, don't be silly, we're the only kids in Britain who never say fu--''(CUT)'' }}▼
* [[Crystal Clear Picture]]: Taken to extremes -- it's taped to the screen.
▲* [[Curse Cut Short]]: In
▲{{quote|
▲'''Pupil:''' Well, come on Sir, don't be silly, we're the only kids in Britain who never say fu--''(CUT)''
* [[Dead Baby Comedy]]
* [[Double Entendre]]
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* [[Everything Explodes Ending]]: The end of the pilot and the end of the series finale.
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]: Vyvyan has eaten teabags, exploding bricks and [[Take That|Neil's lentil and seaweed casserole]], and at one point in the series [[Refuge in Audacity|eats the television]] to hide it from the television license inspector.
{{quote|
'''Vyvyan (electric cord hanging from mouth):''' It's a toaster!
* [[Fartillery]]
* [[Fauxreigner]]: Quickly subverted.
{{quote|
** Made funnier by the fact that the fake persona he assumed was one of a foreigner ''in denial'' about being foreign. Plus that the rest of the Balowskis have normal English accents.
* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Redheads don't get much more fiery than Vyvyan.
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* [[Giant Food]]: One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse once dropped a gigantic sandwich on the lads' house, so they turned it into a sofa.
* [[Giftedly Bad]]: The work of the "People’s Poet" is howlingly wretched. Even more so when he recites it:
{{quote|
* [[Good Thing You Can Heal]], Vyv. Good thing indeed.
* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: Parodied.
* [[Groin Attack]]: "Ha, ha, joke's on you, missed both my legs."
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]
* [[Hope Spot]]
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* [[How We Got Here]]: “Nasty” opens with the lads bearing a casket to the local cemetery, and then flashes back to show the events that led up to that point.
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Most of the scenes involving Rick.
* [[I Cannot Self-Terminate]]: Neil botches his every attempt at suicide (gallows rope too long, can't hammer in the last nail to crucify himself), so eventually resorts to putting his head in the path of a worker's sledgehammer, remarking "You'll be doing me a favor." The demolition-worker just lifts the hammer higher to strike the wall ''above'' Neil's head.▼
* [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming]]: A single-word adjective (or occasionally noun). The only exception is the last episode "Summer Holiday".
* [[If I Had a Nickel]]: From "Bomb":
{{quote|
▲* [[I Cannot Self-Terminate]]: Neil botches his every attempt at suicide (gallows rope too long, can't hammer in the last nail to crucify himself), so eventually resorts to putting his head in the path of a worker's sledgehammer, remarking "You'll be doing me a favor." The demolition-worker just lifts the hammer higher to strike the wall ''above'' Neil's head.
▲* [[I Lied]]: {{spoiler|It was a complete lie about the oil.}}
* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] when the characters are trapped in their house with no food.
{{quote|
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: Just before their bus drives through a billboard and runs off the cliff, Rick shouts, "Look out! Cliff!" It's a [[Cliff Richard]] billboard.
* [[Indulgent Fantasy Segue]]: One so powerful, it damaged Neil's clothes.
* [[Jerkass]]
* [[Kid
* [[Kill'Em All]]
* [[Lack of Empathy]]: ''Everyone''. Mike is notably bad, especially towards Neil; Rick is even worse.
{{quote|
* [[Large Ham]]: Parodied
* [[Loophole Abuse]]: A strange... version with regards to the treatment of their newly acquired VCR:
{{quote|
'''Vyvyan:''' It says here "ensure machine is clean and free from dust."
'''Mike:''' Yeah, but it don't say "ensure machine is full of washing-up liquid."
'''Vyvyan:''' Yeah, but it doesn't say "ensure machine ''isn't'' full of washing-up liquid."
'''Mike:''' Well, it wouldn't would it? I mean, it doesn't say "ensure you don't chop up your video machine with an axe, put all the bits in a plastic bag and bung them down the lavatory!"
'''Vyvyan:''' Doesn't it? Well maybe ''that's'' where we're going wrong!
* [[A Man Is Not a Virgin]]: Subverted for the sake of lampshading when Sayle's South African vampire/driving instructor wants to kill them in "Nasty" (and vampires generally only go after female virgins, so that's another lampshade hung) -- and quickly forgotten about afterward. It turns out they are ALL virgins.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Parodied with "Mike Thecoolperson". While Mike speaks of himself as "Mike the cool person", there is no indication in the series that that is his last name. There is however is a book of the series, ''Bachelor Boys'' in which they feature official paperwork about the characters. In the book at least Mike's surname is Thecoolperson. The book's [[Canon|canonicity]] has been debated.
** Played absolutely straight with Vyvyan (translates to "lively") [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Mister Seahorse]]: {{spoiler|Averted/subverted with Vyvyan
** Some [[Hilarity Ensues]]:
{{quote|
Mike: How old are you, Rick?
** Even funnier:
{{quote|
Vyvyan: [[Inverted Trope|Yeah, that's what she said!]] [[Double Standard|You just can't trust women, can you?]]
** In the end, it turns out that {{spoiler|Vyvyan was never actually pregnant -- he was just suffering from a particularly bad case of trapped wind, which comes out in the form of the world's longest, loudest fart. Said fart is then ignited by Mike's cigar, and the resulting blast all but destroys the house}}.
* [[Muppet]]: SPG, the [[Violent Glaswegian]] hamster, [[Medium Blending|and many, many others.]]
* [[Mysterious Past]]: Mike is the only lad for whom no definite [[Backstory]] is given.
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* [[Negative Continuity]]: As noted, everybody dies multiple times.
** Lampshaded in "Time";
{{quote|
'''Mike:''' They think we're witches and they're gonna burn us!
'''Vyvyan:''' We're completely trapped! The outlook is bleak!
'''Neil:''' Oh, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?
'''Vyvyan:''' [[Shrug Take|...Oh, who cares.]] (Episode ends.)
* [[Never My Fault]]:
{{quote|
'''Mike:''' Vyvyan!
'''Vyvyan:''' Vyvyan, Vyvyan, Vyvyan! Honestly! Whenever ''anything'' explodes in this house, it's always "Blame Vyvyan"!!
'''Mike:''' Well, who do you suggest we blame?
'''Rick:''' Thatcher!
'''Vyvyan:''' No! Blame whoever rang the front doorbell, 'cuz they obviously triggered off the bomb I set up!
* [[No Ending]]: Inevitably for a comedy where most episodes feature the absurdity piling higher and higher, rather than trying for an anticlimactic resolution, they sometimes simply end with no attempt at a resolution. For example, "Time" ends with the lads sitting down to a game of cards as their house is invaded by a horde of mediaeval peasants, while "Sick" ends with the house set moving aside to reveal the set of a glitzy variety show hosted by Neil's parents and Brian, the Bolowski of the Week.
* [[No Fourth Wall]]
* [[No Indoor Voice]]: Rik and Vyvyan are pretty much always shouting at the top of their voices.
* [[Noodle Implements]]: What Vyvyan needs to dispatch the ''Bomb'' are the drill, the hedge trimmers, and some ordinary household bleach.
* [[No Periods, Period]]: Averted. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5pO06BdSk "Oh look, it's a telescope! With a MOUSE in it!"]
** The second series featured the lads watching a video with an advert featuring Dawn French and Helen Atkinson Wood:
{{quote|
Dawn: She's talking about periods.
* [[Oh Crap]]: All the lads (except Vyvyan, who is positively ''smiling'') as they watch a plane fall out of the sky directly over their house.
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]: The intro to
* [[One-Note Cook]]: Neil does the cooking for the household; unfortunately, he only seems to be able to cook lentils.
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Mike, but barely. However, all the characters have their moments, usually when breaking the fourth wall.
* [[Overly Long Name]]: Alexei Yuri Gagarin Siege of Stalingrad Glorious Five-Year Plan Sputnik Pravda Moscow Dynamo Back Four Balowski.
{{quote|
* [[Parachute in
* [[Perpetual Poverty]]
* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: The protagonists are university students. Good luck trying to catch them going to classes -- although Rick studies occasionally, and all the cast sit their exams
** Lampshaded in "Boring", when Neil's suggestion that the guys should try alleviating their boredom by actually ''going into college'' is greeted with aghast shock from the others.
{{quote|
* [[Planet Eris]]
* [[Prison Rape]]: Any time there is any chance of them getting into legal trouble, Rick panics and immediately starts shrieking "I can't go to pwison! I'm too pwetty! I'll get waped!"
* [[Psycho Serum]]: Vyvyan's potion designed to turn a person into an axe wielding maniac.
{{quote|
* [[Quirky Household]] Subverted.
* [[Rearrange the Song]]: Most of the time the opening credits used Rik Mayall singing Cliff Richard's 'The Young Ones', but rearranged this on two occasions.
* [[Rule of Funny]]: The entire series, but Vyvyan getting decapitated and his body getting yelled at by his head is a major example.
* [[Running Gag]]: Whenever Neil sneezes, [[Stuff Blowing Up|something explodes.]]
* [[Sadist Show]]
* [[Schmuck Bait]]: "'Do Not Lean Out Of The Window'. Wonder why?" [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Cue decapitation.]]
* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Neil has one in
* [[Sick Episode]]: The ([[Exactly What It Says
{{quote|
* [[Soft Glass]]: Generally played straight ''and'' for laughs, though notably defied in one instance -- Vyvyan tries to throw their television out the living room window when a TV licence man visits, only for the glass to remain intact and the television to bounce off harmlessly.
* [[Somebody Else's Problem]]
* [[Something That Begins With Boring]]: Rik's botched game of "Botticelli" with Mike.
* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: Neil's letter to the bank.
{{quote|
* [[Squee]]: Rick in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGOU0o9K89g the music video] for "Living Doll". "''It’s Cliff Richard!!''"
* [[Standardized Leader]]: This might be the reason why Mike isn't as popular (or funny) as the other three - he is the "leader" of the house, and is relatively grounded and subtle in his mannerisms. He helps to balance out the craziness of everyone else, and has his own gems occasionally though, as well as driving key "plot" moments and setting up some jokes for the rest of the cast. One could say he gives a little more direction when it's needed, and comes up with all the plans.
* [[Starving Student]]: Taken to ridiculous extremes.
* [[Strawman Political]]: Rick -- although the character is more making fun of university students who become political [[Did Not Do the Research|without really studying up on the subject.]]
** Or [[Alternative Character Interpretation|alternately]], a parody of how conservatives see liberals.
* [[Stupid Statement Dance Mix]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cextNxZ9KWE Rick is still a virgin!]
* [[Suicide As Comedy]]▼
{{quote| '''Neil''': Vyvyan. Is it actually possible to kill yourself with laxatives?<br />▼
'''Vyvyan''': I dunno, Neil. But I'm going to stay and find out. }}▼
** Doubles as [[Toilet Humour]] given the effects of laxatives.▼
* [[Subliminal Seduction]]: Parodied: at the time there was a great fuss over -- and paranoia of -- subliminal messages in shows or adverts. Thus, the show inserted at least one "subliminal message" in each episode: a non-sequitur image flashed up on the screen for five frames.
▲** Doubles as [[Toilet Humour]] given the effects of laxatives.
* [[Swapped Roles]]: "Bambi" features a brief, surreal segment where the boys rush down the stairs in the morning to reveal the characters/actors have inexplicably swapped roles; Nigel Planet is now Rick, Rik Mayall is Vyvyan, Christopher Ryan is Neil and Adrian Edmondson is Mike. Aside from a lampshade from 'Neil' about how he "doesn't feel himself today", this is never commented on, and they're back to their usual roles the very next scene.
** Combined with a bit of [[Stylistic Suck]], as the actors aren't much good at playing each others' characters. Edmondson's quip about laundry being [[Self-Deprecation]] rather than Mike's usual boastfulness suggests this is deliberate, not just poor acting.
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* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Everyone. And they pay for their stupidity with their lives [[Unexplained Recovery|several times over]].
* [[Trash the Set]]
* [[The Unintelligible]]: All four lads have instances of this. If you’re not British, watching with subtitles isn’t a bad idea.
* [[Unintentional Period Piece]]
* [[University Challenge]]:
▲* [[The Un-Reveal]]: Vyvyan's sex {{spoiler|(Vyvyan was never pregnant).}}
* [[Unspoken Plan]]: Subverted.
* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]
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{{reflist}}
{{BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series)}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Comedy Series]]
[[Category:British Series]]
[[Category:The Eighties]]
[[Category:Britcom]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Ones, The}}
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