The Young Ones S1 E1: Demolition

About this episode

The episode discusses the groundbreaking sitcom 'The Young Ones' and its impact on the genre.

Once in every lifetime comes... a sitcom that redefines the genre, smashes away the old guard and puts a rocket up the establishment. Their house is dirty, their hair greasy, their clothes smelly... and they have no plan on going to lectures! It's Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mike... The Young Ones! Talking Bottom returns to discuss the seminal, groundbreaking sitcom that starred Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan, springing from the minds of writers Ben Elton, Lise Mayer and Rik Mayall and was brought to TV by the Godfather of alternative comedy; Paul Jackson. Paul, Ange and Mat discuss the origins of the show and how it made it past the pilot, the characters and those who played them, reactions from critics and growing up watching the show. We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in May doing THREE events! Check out our socials and our linktree for details. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

People in this episode

Hosts: Paul, Ange, Mat

Topics covered

• The Young Ones
• sitcom
• alternative comedy
• Rik Mayall
• Ben Elton

Keywords

• comedy
• TV history
• character analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Young Ones, Talking Bottom

More episodes of Talking Bottom

• Mark Arden & Steve Frost (The Oblivion Boys) interview · April 17, 2026 · 1h 11m
• The Young Ones S1 E6: Flood · April 9, 2026 · 1h 3m
• The Young Ones S1 E5: Interesting · April 2, 2026 · 1h 16m
• The Young Ones S1 E4: Bomb · March 27, 2026 · 47 min
• The Young Ones S1 E3: Boring · March 20, 2026 · 1h 5m
• The Young Ones S1 E2: Oil · March 13, 2026 · 1h 23m