scumbag-monthly

[scumbag-monthly]

Happy Birthday to Rik Mayall!

Born: 7th March 1958, in Harlow

Died: 9th June 2014, in London

TV: Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights; Wolcott; A Kick Up The Eighties; Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind The Green Door; The Young Ones; Northern Lights; The Comic Strip Presents...; Blackadder; Happy Families; Jackanory; Saturday Live; Filthy, Rich & Catflap; Hardwicke House; The New Statesman; Grim Tales; Bottom; Rik Mayall Presents; Jonathan Creek; Tales of Uplift and Moral Improvement; Believe Nothing; Violent Nation; All About George; King Arthur's Disasters; Midsomer Murders; Man Down; Damo & Ivor

Film: An American Werewolf in London; Shock Treatment; Whoops Apocalypse; Drop Dead Fred; Carry On Columbus; Remember Me?; Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis; Guest House Paradiso; Merlin: The Return; Kevin of the North; Chaos and Cadavers; Oh Marbella!

Theatre: A Comedy of Errors; The Government Inspector; The Common Pursuit; Waiting for Godot; Bottom Live: The Stage Show; Cell Mates; Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour; Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island; A Family Affair; Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity; Present Laughter; Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour; The Blair B'Stard Project

Books: Bachelor Boys; The B'Stard File; Bigger than Hitler, Better than Christ

Alma mater: University of Manchester

#happy birthday #rik mayall #the young ones #tyo #kevin turvey #the comic strip presents #blackadder #filthy rich and catflap #the new statesman #rik mayall presents #jonathan creek #man down #an american werewolf in london #shock treatment #whoops apocalypse #drop dead fred #guest house paradiso #bbc bottom

[scumbag-monthly]

The goody bags have been posted!

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo

[scumbag-monthly]

The Young Ones Were: A Final Word from Scumbag Monthly’s Editor 🖕💚

I was going to post this on 7th March – the birthday of the pan global phenomenon himself – but I think the emotion will be stronger tonight. Either way, I’ve chosen this post to say my last farewells to Scumbag Monthly and thank the people who helped make it what it was.

It was my decision as editor to end SM at Issue #25 and it was a difficult one to make. Although SM has come with both pros and cons, it’s something I’ve enjoyed creating and is something I’m very proud of. In a way, it would have been easier to carry on – sticking with the familiar is always easier – but I didn’t want our fanzine to drift off into nothingness. I thought twenty-five was a good number to end it at. Three years; twenty-five issues; three Rik specials; a zine for the fortieth anniversary – I think we’ve done alright, all things considered. More than alright! I’m so happy that we were able to add to the fandom in some small way.

I have a head for dates, so I can tell you with 99% certainty that I took on the reins of editorship at SM on 14th May 2020. It’s weird that that time feels both close and far away – international pandemics will do that to you. I’ve seen engagement and interest in this zine ebb and flow over the years. We’ve never really received enough submissions to keep us afloat long term. I used to ask my mutuals if I could add old art of theirs to zines to keep the Drawing Room full, and the amount of my fic that made its way into SM was not the result of an overinflated ego (I promise!), more the result of fic submissions falling even lower than art submissions. We’re a small fandom; that’s always been a problem for SM. While I’ve continually emphasised the importance of submissions to SM – how else would SM involve those not working behind the scenes? – the truth is that the end products simply wouldn’t have arrived on our website be it not for the so-called scumbag staff who dedicated their free time to making pages and content.

With a small fandom and ergo a small team, SM’s ambitions had to be realistic. We would all have loved to bring new segments out in every issue but, with a lot to do and limited time to get it done each time, this often wasn’t possible. I never wanted SM to become a burden to the people who made pages for it, as we all lead offline lives and SM was simply a passion project – we made this because we wanted to, because it was fun.

I won’t deny there have been points where SM burnt me out a tad. I think it was easy to lose sight of things during the lockdowns, or simply fall completely into one project. There are some zines where well over twenty of the pages were made by me because they had to be, and I’ve often feared that The People’s Poetry suffered because of this. I’m very pleased and grateful to point out that the page share became slightly less exaggerated after we found different people for each character, but (and I’m afraid I am going to have to be egotistical now XD) I’d be lying if I denied every zine since Issue #4 isn’t drenched in my blood, sweat, and improvised version of graphic design (not actually my passion, me being primarily a writer and all XD).

I hope this isn’t sounding too negative because SM really does mean a lot to me. I think it’s just that a mixed relationship is guaranteed with anything you give a lot of yourself to and I want to be honest here, at the end. It’s going to feel weird for me for a little while: no more new documents to set up, no more new pages to make, no more themes to discuss, no more Google Forms to collect. I will miss SM, but thanks to the internet it’ll actually still be here. We’ll be keeping the website up as an archive and the same with our Tumblr blog and Instagram (scumbag_monthly). For future runs of the Rik and Ade Fest, another blog has been set up (@rikandadefest). SM has also had a Redbubble on the down low for some time now and we’re planning on adding our designs of the lads there soon, if any of you fancy owning something with those on.

I realise this whole post comes at the risk of sounding pretentious and melodramatic… but sod it, you know? Here are the people I’d like to thank individually, on behalf of our fanzine.

@theevilesteviled -

First of all, the creator of SM: the reason you’re even reading this right now. During the period in which SM got going – that calm before the utter shitstorm of 2020 – we spoke nearly every day… though, living on different sides of the globe did limit our talk time to early mornings and late evenings. Ed is the reason SM ever launched. She did almost everything for the first few zines, often at the cost of her own sanity, and she inspired a passion for this fanzine within me.

In May 2020, when I found myself in lockdown limbo between college and university, Ed was struggling with the brunt of SM plus the new hell of online classes. When I took charge of Issue #4, I don’t think I realised the extent of what I was taking on – I certainly didn’t expect to still be editor nearly three years later! Even so, without Ed SM wouldn’t have gotten as far as Issue #4. I’ll admit when she initially proposed the idea for a The Young Ones fanzine, I didn’t assume it would ever actually happen. I agreed to take on Rick’s page, but never allowed myself to imagine we’d end up with a project that’d last three years. Surely, it was only other people who could pull off that kind of thing, right? Surely, a group of introverted young adults online weren’t really going to get anywhere with this, were we?

I’m not trying to make SM sound bigger than it is – I’m well aware how niche we are, have always been – but the point I’m trying to make is: thanks to Ed spearheading SM in the early days, I had the profound realisation that I can actually be creative and try new things and they’re not destined to fall completely flat on their faces. I think everyone involved with SM, be it through making pages or submitting their work, has experienced a version of this same realisation with the publication of each zine.

That’s thanks to Ed, so I’d like to formally express my gratitude. Thank you, ya bastard.

@xgardensinspace -

The lovely Deya! Deya has always been a big part of SM, right from the beginning. The portraits of Vyvyan, Rick, Neil, Mike, Balowski, and P that appeared regularly in our zines were drawn by them, as well as the ten portraits of our staff on our website. That’s not even mentioning the five exemplary covers they’ve whizzed up for SM!

Not only is Deya an exceptionally talented artist, they’re also an enthusiastic team player. From Issue #11 onwards, they’ve been our resident Mike. As most of us agree, Mike is the most difficult young one to characterise – Deya rose to the challenge with full commitment. Alongside taking on Mike’s Moments, for a period of time in late 2021 Deya posted as Mike to SM’s Instagram every Thursday, providing all of us with funny insights into Mike’s sense of fashion. There have also been times when my SM workload proved too much and they stepped up to write Comic Strip reviews for our Strip Tease – in fact, one of my favourite reviews is the one of Five Go Mad on Mescalin we wrote together for Issue #18.

Deya has always been passionate about SM, even when it seemed there were only a few of us who were. They’ve been incredibly supportive and understanding, often one of the first to volunteer to make art or write pieces for specials. To put it lightly, SM would be left severely lacking without their endless contributions and help and for that reason I’m incredibly thankful to them.

Last spring, I was lucky enough to finally meet Deya, when they visited the UK on holiday, and they were just as lovely in person as they are online. Thank you ever so much for your work on SM, you really are a cool person.

@drinkysketch -

I felt it only right to single out Julia here. Fandom spaces are ever changing and the individuals who’ve contributed to SM are no different. Despite this, Julia has been a constant cover artist for SM – not only did she create our first ever cover art back when SM was completely unknown, she’s since provided us with five more pieces for our covers. As the clever trousers among you will have worked out, that’s six in total. Almost a quarter of our regular zines!

There’s something instantly likeable about Julia’s art style: the shapes, the bright colours, the insistence on always giving Vyvyan one eye bigger than the other. The cover of Issue #1 especially is representative of SM – it’s the establishing shot – and I couldn’t imagine a better piece of art than the one Julia provided us with. I’d like to thank her for always being so eager to make art for us, even as the world’s gotten crazier and crazier. True scumbag style!

@codrington-road -

It was April 2020 when Haley first emailed SM with a fanfic submission and an offer to make pages for Neil. These were the early days of SM – Ed and I were just about keeping up with the zine’s Rick and Vyv content but were seriously struggling where Mike and Neil were concerned. It’s thanks to Haley that Neil is the only young one I’ve never had to make a page for… well, aside from that time we switched characters for April Fool’s in Issue #14… and she’s been a constant, reliable presence at SM since Issue #4.

There probably aren’t many people who could come up again and again with hilarious horoscopes on purpose, and I don’t know for exactly how many Wednesdays Haley manned Neil’s entries to our Instagram stories, but it was a lot. 9th June 2021 fell on a Wednesday – a little daunting for anyone. Yet, I think it’s that entry from ‘Neil’, a touching piece about missing people who are no longer here while still carrying the warmth they gave us within us, that sticks out to me the most.

Haley has always brought the exact right levels of surrealism, humour, and bloody hippie moping to Neil. She is probably secretly Nigel Planer. She’s helped keep the excitement for SM alive in me when I’ve been at my wit’s end with it and is in fact the main reason this fanzine didn’t fold after Issue #19. Honestly, she’s great. Have you read the fanfic she’s submitted? Pure brilliance. Her reviews of Rik Mayall's Bedside Tales and GLC were sublime.

Thank you, Haley, for encouraging not just me but everyone behind the scenes of SM and for being our resident Neil for so long. I know you’re a girlie, but I hope the seed of your loin is fruitful in the belly of your woman. Ta very much!

@martian-martian-martian -

Part of SM since Issue #18, Wisely is a person who truly deserves so much love. I first spoke to Wisely on Tumblr when they signed up to write about Rick and Kevin in our second Rik zine, in 2021. Needless to say, the results of their endeavours were some of the most memorable pieces in that zine. Rick still hasn’t recovered.

After that, Wisely only became more and more involved in SM, until they’d taken on the enigmatic fifth housemate, that scumbag named Petyr, as a regular in our zine. They did this despite the graphic design element being out of their comfort zone and even came up with a whole new page idea to spearhead. Cliff ‘sHits – as well as having a perfectly Young Ones-esq name – is exactly the kind of thing I always hoped would start happening with SM: that staff would strike out with new page ideas when they had the time. Wisely has a talent for twisting well known verses to fit the scumbag agenda and we thank them for it.

A keen promoter of SM – they could frequently be found suggesting submitting to our fanzine in the comments of TYO fanart on Tumblr – they’ve even written fanfic to keep zines full of content. I’d like to thank them for joining the team and enhancing the zine in the process. SM is all the better for having them.

@the-tardis-in-221b-baker-street -

Zoe already has a name for herself in Rik Mayall circles outside the scumbags; what fan wouldn’t go absolutely crazy at the sheer time and dedication she puts into her many cosplays? Zoe has a knack for morphing into the bastards she portrays… physically, at least. I’ve always found her to be as friendly as Alan B’Stard is devious. XD

It was during SM’s hiatus, when the spot of resident Vyvyan fell vacant, that Zoe immediately jumped at the chance to help SM out. Since Issue #20, she’s provided the voice of the beloved punk as well as producing a page of her own design, Top of the Plops. Zoe has also been quick to help out where reviews of Filthy, Rich and Catflap and of the music in The Young Ones are concerned, for which I am very grateful. Despite being the newest staff member at SM, she’s thrown herself fully into it and offered much needed reassurance and submissions whenever necessary. Zoe has been an optimistic voice at the fanzine: always up for new ideas and competitions, always there with schemes to boost engagement. Her DnD stats for the lads in Issue #24 were incredible.

We’ve had many scumbags writing for Vyvyan at SM over the years – more than we’ve had for any other character – and I’m thrilled we got Zoe in for our final run. She even made the cover art for our last issue. Thank you!

@aspinecone -

Aspen is someone I’ve shared online fandom spaces with since 2017. We’re both fans of Red Dwarf, but it was our shared enjoyment of The Young Ones that finally got us talking to one another. Last autumn, we finally met in person when we went to see Ade in A Christmas Carol - a brilliant day with a great friend that I'll always remember.

Aspen has had a presence behind the scenes of SM since the beginning, often submitting fanart and the odd piece of fanfic, until they took on the role of resident Balowski at SM from Issue #16 onwards. Creating content for the character most out of the loop with the others isn’t as easy as you might think, but Aspen has always produced insane, amusing pages for him. Aspen was also the original cover artist pencilled in for Issue #21, but graciously stood aside when they realised offline commitments were going to need more of their time.

During SM’s run, I’ve sometimes had hairbrained schemes such as making the badges several scumbags will be receiving very, very soon. I’m no design whiz – Ed and I always made SM out of Word Documents – and Aspen helpfully volunteered to remove the backgrounds from designs and clean them up. Like I’ve always said, producing SM has been a team effort. I’d like to thank Aspen for always being in my corner.

@cloubdustings -

Ava, the mad meme machine! If I recall correctly, Ava first popped up in scumbag circles in late 2020. She surprised SM with cover art for Issue #10 and kindly took on the role of resident Vyvyan from that same issue until Issue #19. 2021 was not a fun year – in fact, I’d argue it was worse than 2020 in some respects – so having Ava on the SM team to handle all Vyvyan content was a great help.

Ava has a very distinct sense of humour and you can usually tell which British comedian she’s most recently become obsessed with by checking her Instagram. XD Even with changing tastes, she’s still making content about Mr Mayall and her brand of whackiness is most definitely beloved by the fandom. Thank you for sharing it with SM!

@lumivarjo -

Lumi was around at the very beginning of SM and is actually responsible for the piece of grey tape bearing the zine’s name that became our logo. He was our original resident P, producing pages for us during the autumn of 2020. Lumi has always been more behind the scenes than at the forefront of SM, but has nonetheless also always been supportive. Being an artistic sod, Lumi is to thank for many of the key headers SM used, which were all vital pieces of the SM brand… if we want to get really pretentious. Thank you for being there for the zine!

@serenpop -

Pol was also around when Ed was proposing this insane new idea of a fanzine for The Young Ones and was our first resident Neil. Offline commitments saw them have to drop the role, but they reappeared again to help us out when we needed cover art at a pinch for Issue #9. A lot of SM’s Drawing Rooms have featured art from Pol, so I’d like to thank them for brightening up our pages!

Additionally, I'd like to thank the other scumbags who’ve made cover art for us: @frankenbolt (who made three(!) beautifully chaotic covers, including everybody’s favourite Modern AU); @whatacompletebastard (for the fab Breakfast Club parody that’s always been popular with the scumbags); @heinzpilsnerbloody (another talented artist who drew me a whole bunch of cool stuff in an exchange and kindly helped SM out); @colourshot-draws (our first anniversary zine cover artist and a genuinely lovely person); @postpunkpontypandyphantomthief (a massive Rik Mayall fan and integral part of the fandom); thedinodoodles (for being ahead of the curve and bringing us pirates before the Tumblr obsession); @rikhead (for the sheer dedication to detail on her cover and for her legendary skills in Rik Pic Hunting™); and @smashingblouses (for providing us with the brilliant TYO 40th anniversary zine cover art). I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: SM couldn’t have functioned without its cover artists. Thank you all. Big respec.

There are a few final scumbags I wish to mention and thank - SM's cheerleaders, if you will. These people have brightened up my day on various occasions and their enthusiasm helped make the zine what it was: @anglophobias, @my-blood-is-maple-syrup, @friedhofcreative, @shotsofnovacaine, @5gogh2, @mariigoldmayall, and @fourstarsandahamster.

Finally, of course, I’d like to say a quick thank you to the people who inspired this fanzine in the first place. Without the canon, there would be no fanon. They’re never going to read this thank Cliff but without the brilliance of Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, Alexei Sayle, Ben Elton, Lise Mayer, and all the recurring comic guest stars of The Young Ones, SM would have quite literally never existed.

We need comedy in hard times – to call out the shits in power, to keep us grounded, to simply make us laugh. I count myself incredibly lucky to have stumbled across fans of this anarchic ‘80s sitcom on Tumblr. Despite the time gone by between 1982 and 2023 and the changes in society and sensibilities, I think it’s an incredibly good thing that this comedy still connects with us. Most of the people I’ve spoken to on here, like me, weren’t alive during TYO’s initial run. It’s often assumed by certain bastards who shall remain nameless that the youth are trying to kill comedy, that we take offence too easily, that comedy classics are a thing of the past. To them I say: UP YOURS, UGLY! As long as there are people, there will be laughter; and among those of us laughing, there will be the young ones.

So thank you, scumbag reader, for downloading our zines and supporting our bastardly endeavours.

Signing off from Scumbag Monthly for the last time,

- R / @neil-neil-orange-peel <3

"This is it! It's really happening! Who needs qualifications? Who cares about Thatcher and unemployment?! We can do just exactly whatever we want to do! And you know why? Because we're Young Ones. Bachelor boys! Crazy, mad, wild-eyed, big-bottomed anarchists!!" - The People's Poet, 1984

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #rik mayall #fanzine #notice #goodbye

[scumbag-monthly]

The Young Ones shouldn't be afraid... ✨

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #cover art #fanart #2020 covers #2021 covers #2022 covers #2023 covers #❤️❤️❤️

[scumbag-monthly]

The final edition of Cliff 'sHits!

Tumblr anonymity is a small, brittle stickbug and I've worked hard to maintain it, but before I was Martian, I was Rat, and for a few years I've had the privilege of writing under that name on and off for the incredible folks at @scumbag-monthly!

It was my honor to play us out of the building like a pianist in the back of a moving truck as the poor, poor, student budget-level man's Weird Al.

So long, kiddies. I guess it's time for us to graduate. <3

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #cliff 'shits

[scumbag-monthly]

ISSUE #25 OUT NOW FOR ALL SCUMBAGS TO DOWNLOAD!!!!!!!!! 😁

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #calling all scumbags #fanzine #spring 2023 #band au

[scumbag-monthly]

Check out this frightfully groovy cover art, scumbags! You know what they say, finish on a song...

BAD NEWS X THE YOUNG ONES CROSSOVER ANYONE?

Ever though of what would happen when Bad News met The Young Ones for one almighty gig? I think it'd go a little something like this! Vim and Vyvyan would be shredding the guitar together at volume 11, Den would be heavily distracted by Neil's incense, Spider would be living up to his name now he's got the addition of Mike on the drums and Colin and Rick would be in a scrap (yes that's Colin's wig flying off)!

This piece will be the cover of Issue #25 of @scumbag-monthly! Proud!

#the young ones #scumbag monthly #cover art #fanart #band au #spring 2023 #calling all scumbags

[scumbag-monthly]

SCUMBAGS!!! 🔉🚨

Scumbag Monthly is endin- oh yes, you already knew that. But what don't you know? As a final hurrah, we're hosting daily watch parties for The Young Ones in early March!

Where? The SCUMBAGS UNITE!!! Discord server. If you're over 16 and interested, DM @neil-neil-orange-peel for an invite!

When? 7pm-8:30pm GMT from Wednesday 1st March to Monday 6th March. On Tuesday 7th March, to celebrate our Lord of Misrule's birthday, we'll be watching a collection of Rik's work at various points throughout the day.

The Schedule:

1st March: Demolition & Oil

2nd March: Boring & Bomb

3rd March: Interesting & Flood

4th March: Bambi & Cash

5th March: Nasty & Time

6th March: Sick & Summer Holiday

7th March: Rik Fest

If you'd like to join the party to see Scumbag Monthly off with a bang, feel free to pop by the server on any (or all) of the dates! Get comfortable with a babycham and packet of roast ox crisps as we speed run two years' worth of alternative comedy madness in a week. We'll even give you a break in-between episodes to check on your lentil casseroles.

Why should you come along? To watch this seminal sitcom with bastards as nutty about it as you. The Scumbags Discord is a welcoming place, whether you're a regular or only show your face once in every lifetime. So, come and park your bottom on the rickety chair. The Young Ones are waiting for you...

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #rik mayall #discord #watch party #calling all scumbags

[scumbag-monthly]

Happy Birthday to Nigel Planer!

Born: 22nd February 1953, in London

TV: Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights; The Young Ones; The Comic Strip Presents...; Shine on Harvey Moon; Roll Over Beethoven; King and Castle; Filthy, Rich & Catflap; Blackadder; Jonathan Creek; Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids; Marcella; There She Goes

Film: Carry on Columbus; Ratburger

Theatre: On the Ceiling; Death of Long Pig; The Magnificent Andrea; Game of Love and Chai; Vulcan 7; All Above Board

Books: Neil’s Book of the Dead; I an actor: Nicholas Craig; A Good Enough Dad; Let’s Get Divorced; Therapy and How to Avoid it; Unlike The Buddha; The Right Man; Faking It; Jeremiah Bourne in Time

#happy birthday #nigel planer #the young ones #tyo #the comic strip presents #filthy rich and catflap #blackadder #jonathan creek

[scumbag-monthly]

I just noticed I've got polls now so let's start basic:

#the young ones #polls #signal boost

[scumbag-monthly]

These reviews - available in our TYO 40th anniversary zine - are now all also available to read on ao3! Thank you once again to @ivegotaporsche, @mariigoldmayall, @smashingblouses, @the-tardis-in-221b-baker-street, @neil-neil-orange-peel, @xgardensinspace, @syb-ill-ah, @rikhead, @my-blood-is-maple-syrup, @postpunkpontypandyphantomthief, plus those not on Tumblr who contributed for reviewing the twelve episodes of The Young Ones for us! 👏❤️

by scumbaganarchy, ScumbagMonthly, st4rsh1ne, xWastedIntellectual_13

Just twelve episodes reviewed by twelve different scumbags. Check back each week for the next review!

Words: 862, Chapters: 1/12, Language: English

Fandoms: The Young Ones (TV 1982)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Vyvyan Basterd, Rick (Young Ones), Neil Wheedon Watkins Pye, Mike (Young Ones), Jerzei Balowski, SPG (Young Ones), The Fifth Housemate (Young Ones)

Additional Tags: Episode Review, Essays, Collaboration

#the young ones #forty years of the young ones #reviews #ao3

[scumbag-monthly]

The Young Ones - Summer Holiday 🌞

Original air date: 19.6.84

Reviewed by: @postpunkpontypandyphantomthief

Summer Holiday, the final flash in the pan, while The Young Ones had become a comedy sensation, all good things must come to an end “as they say” and the writers of The Young Ones made sure that this would go out with a bang, because they ran out of ideas.

The title Summer Holiday is a reference to a Cliff Richard song and film of the same name, this will be relevant later.

One of the details of Summer Holiday that makes it stand out compared to other Young Ones episodes is the emotion, while the cast of chaotic characters were definitely not devoid of that. In the previous episodes their reactions were always comedic and tongue in cheek, (ooer), this episode has some surprisingly serious moments for a British sitcom finale.

Scenes like when Rick has to process the fact his parents are dead, the lads realizing that they have nowhere else to go but the streets and Vyvyan, who sobs upon realizing SPG died in a brief car crash, some of these scenes still have 4th wall jokes thrown in but it’s still a surprise to see these characters acknowledge the dreaded reality of “the real world”, the fact that Thatcher was as ruddy terrible as Rick made her out to be, that the smug posh tory students had no idea about what it was like for working-class university students in the 1980s, being told and trained to enter adulthood only to have to deal with unemployment and bastard landlords.

Apathy is referenced quite a lot in this episode, there’s Mike being an inconsiderate git to Neil about his birthday, there’s Mr Balowski making the characters homeless, Dawn, the one-off university friend of the lads saying that surely their exam results will help them forget about the fact that they don’t have a place to live anymore and SPG, even in death as he rises up to the golden cage in the sky, he remarks that Vyvyan is a “wimp” for crying in his grief.

Part of what made The Young Ones stand out to other sitcoms was that it was anarchic and angry, with characters who hated each other, this is usually played for laughs, but in this episode, we see that realistically they have a lot of communication problems.

For starters, Mike the so-called “dad figure” for the group ends up not being the cool, voice of the reason that he was perceived to be, he’s a selfish tory who cares about nobody but himself and even when the lads are evicted, he’s only whining about the fact that he has to deal with it.

He is such a nasty git to Neil, when Neil was just trying to find the silver lining and celebrate something positive he had to just shut it down, more like Mike the cold, cruel person.

Neil isn’t as gloomy as he usually is, he ends up getting the top exam results out of all the lads, he has a few funny quips about the BBC’s music choices and getting his wig snatched, but he still moans which is mocked by someone drawing silly faces over him, to be fair he has a reason to moan, he wants to just celebrate his birthday party but the spirits are down, which makes him very “heavy”.

Not as heavy as when he briefly turns into the Hulk, throwing Rick and Mike over the grass like a wrestler, quite the change from his typical pacifist attitude, until it’s revealed it was merely him being shirtless and “presumably” high.

Vyvyan is lacking stimulation, he is very bored and sober which he makes everyone aware of at the start of the episode, even his meaningless violence feels less extreme than usual, he likes pondering about silly stop-motion ants being at discos (complete with sequins) and playing a bit of cricket which is really "let’s play swing the bat into rick’s face", while he gets top marks like Neil, he can’t celebrate for long because soon he crashes his car and kills his hamster (accidentally), his crying shows that he did actually care for SPG, they just had the typical snarky like/dislike relationship that some people can have with their pets.

Vyvyan also remarks that Rick is a pervert when Rick asks about gender in his Botticelli game, would this imply that Vyvyan is trans or transphobic, who knows, but people can make their own interpretations, he is quite offended when Rick mentions about Vyvyan being a girl's name, but let’s not forget when Rick said “I’m not a girl at all” snarkily in the interesting episode, and when he remarks “I am a boy” after making an insistent remark about blue aeroplanes on his bedroom wall, some say Rick’s a trans dude, most of the early fanwork depicts Rick as transfem, it depends.

Speaking of the transvestite sapphic with a cartoon worm on his y fronts, Rick is one of the few characters in the episode who is being somewhat sympathetic about their situation, he complains about his parents, and he tries to come up with distractions for their boredom (despite some tone miscommunication), he complains about being evicted, about fighting the establishment, referencing the Red Army Faction, issues that are relevant to left-wing/anarchist circles, while some usual performativity does show when he talks about his parents, thatcher and the unemployed, the eviction is quite a wake-up call, he’s still a bit of a pratt to Neil but not as much as Mike is, it’s implied that Vyvyan fancies him, he could be messing with him but also why else would he choose to mess with the prick so much? Why else would he go rummaging through his things?

"He was the punk and Rick listened to Spandau Ballet"~

Another actually “anarchist” thing that Rick does in this episode is that he manages to successfully steal a bus.

There are a few typical young ones regulars and tropes, Helen Lederer speaking like a robot clerk at the bank robbery, Jools Holland in the queue and John Otway singing Body Talk, if you look closely you can also find Norman Lovett of Red Dwarf fame, Ben Elton appears in a beer advert parody referencing the sexist stereotypes of adverts at the time, Vyvyan mentions Keith Harris the puppeteer, Mike mentions a Gone with the Wind quote and there’s a cutaway sketch of a dysfunctional “nuclear family” being gross and deviant, a mocking social commentary of the “family-friendly” 70s sitcoms that the young ones were up against, this reminds me a bit of a monty python sketch of a similar premise.

This might seem like just one of the many satirical cutaway gags made in The Young Ones about its mark in the comedy world at the time and how subversive it was, but it’s also symbolic in how comedy was moving forward, it wasn’t just a technical transition but a metaphorical one, as this was the last Young Ones episode aired and produced.

As the Lads drive off away from the city, they suddenly feel happy and energized, they’re just singing along to cliff Richard songs while Neil plays guitar, determined that they can still have a good life without silly o level results, Rick briefly mentions Una Stubbs, one of Cliff’s brief love interests, before they realize a Cliff Richard billboard is in their way, they then crash, turns out Rick was right, there were now at the gates of oblivion before the bus combusts into flames as the credits roll.

For some fans of the ratty britcom lads, this episode is more sad than funny, and as you read this analysis I’m sure you can see why, from 1981-1984, Britain had gotten used to these punk students on the television screen, they opened people’s minds and made a few knob and bum gags but they changed comedy and the world, highlighting the political issues of thatcher’s government aswell as the social issues teens were dealing with, complete with topical references to the popular shows and films like The Good Life, Dallas and The Hulk.

So to see these characters that we had gotten so used to, suddenly dying in a comedic bus crash, was quite a shock for some viewers, but it had to happen, how else was comedy gonna progress after that?

There was more comedic chaos to come both on Rik’s end (ooer) and from Britain’s alternative comedy circuit, but even today in modern shows like IT Crowd and Derry Girls, the influence and impact that The Young Ones had left can still be seen to this day.

The Young Ones would appear once again for a comic relief special cover performance of Cliff Richard’s Living Doll, it ended up being top of the charts for three weeks in March 1986.

Showing that their song shall always be sung.

#the young ones #tyo #summer holiday #reviews #scumbag monthly #forty years of the young ones

[scumbag-monthly]

Happy Birthday to Christopher Ryan!

Born: 25th January 1950, in London

TV: The Young Ones; Doctor Who; A Small Problem; Only Fools and Horses; One Foot in the Grave; Bottom; The New Statesman; Absolutely Fabulous; My Family; The Green Green Grass; The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle

Theatre: The Devil is an Ass; Measure for Measure; The Cure for Love; Bleak House; A Flea in Her Ear; Of Mice and Men; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Kiss Me, Kate; Valued Friends; Waiting for Godot; On the Ledge; His Girl Friday; Arsenic and Old Lace; Cinderella; Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense

Film: Santa Claus: The Movie; Dirty Weekend; Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

Alma mater: East 15 Acting School

#happy birthday #christopher ryan #the young ones #tyo #doctor who #only fools and horses #one foot in the grave #the new statesman #absolutely fabulous #bbc bottom

[scumbag-monthly]

Happy Birthday to Adrian Edmondson!

Born: 24th January 1957, in Bradford

TV: Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights; Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind The Green Door; The Young Ones; The Comic Strip Presents...; Happy Families; Saturday Live; Filthy, Rich & Catflap; Hardwicke House; French and Saunders; Snakes and Ladders; Blackadder; Bottom; Absolutely Fabulous; If You See God, Tell Him; Jonathan Creek; Holby City; Teenage Kicks; Ade in Britain; War and Peace; EastEnders

Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show; Waiting for Godot; Bottom Live: The Stage Show; Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour; Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island: Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity; Bottom Live 2003: The Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour; Vulcan 7; Once Upon A Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia; A Christmas Carol

Books: How To Be A Complete Bastard; The Complete Bastard's Book Of The Worst; The Gobbler; Tilly and the Time Machine; Junkyard Jack and the Horse That Talked

Film: Guest House Paradiso; Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Alma mater: University of Manchester

#happy birthday #adrian edmondson #the young ones #tyo #kevin turvey #the comic strip presents #happy families #filthy rich and catflap #french and saunders #blackadder #absolutely fabulous #jonathan creek #eastenders #star wars: the last jedi #guest house paradiso #bbc bottom

[scumbag-monthly]

LOOK OUT! CLIFF!!!!

Yes, we're afraid so: Scumbag Monthly is ending! After three years of flicking the Vs (and a fair few lentils) from every page, doling out advice (medical, poetical, astrological, and romantic...al), and behaving like a right load of soppy girlies over this crazy show we all love so much, the scumbag staff are calling it a day. As we've already mentioned, Issue #25 will be coming to you on 1st March 2023, our three year anniversary.

But what about you? You bunch of bastards? What about the kids? Well, if you count yourself a really crawly bumlick SM fan, we've got something that might soften the fall at the bottom of the cliff: Goodbye Goody Bags!

Up to 25 scumbags will be able to claim a Scumbag Monthly goody bag to say goodbye to our fanzine! These goodie bags will contain:

*A set of 6 SM badges, featuring @xgardensinspace's bloody brilliant character portraits (as seen in our zines)

*A mini poster of 1 of the 25 exemplary covers

*A personalised student identity card for Scumbag College

*A thank you for supporting SM from 1 of the 4 young ones... Or maybe someone else...

Pretty bloody brilliant stuff, eh? All we're asking in return is that you pay the postage, which we've broken down into regions (if your region isn't here, let us know):

UK - £1.05

Europe - €3.67 (equiv. £3.25)

USA - $5.15 (equiv. £4.20)

Canada -$6.90 (equiv. £4.20)

Australia - $7.40 (equiv. £4.20)

If you're interested, DM @neil-neil-orange-peel to bagsy a bag. Once they're gone, they're gone! The bags will be posted in March.

***Now is also the moment, if you'd be so kind, to write in and tell us what you've enjoyed about Scumbag Monthly. Did you have a favourite page or issue? If you've contributed, did you have fun? How did you find out about us? Let us know in the replies to this post, via our ask box (Mayall Box), or via email ([email protected]). We'd love to hear what SM has meant to people. ❤️***

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #calling all scumbags #fanzine #goodies

[scumbag-monthly]

The Young Ones - Sick 🤒

Original air date: 12.6.84

Reviewed by: @my-blood-is-maple-syrup

I’ve got to be honest, Sick was never one of my favourite episodes. Despite the comedy and less coherent plotlines (compared to most of the episodes) it just never really stuck in my head. Unlike the rest of the second series, Sick always felt a bit weak next to such episodes as Bambi or Nasty. However, I wanted to give the episode another chance, to see if I missed anything, and then see if I judged it too poorly. 

It's just another one of those days in the lads’ house, except for one key difference. Everyone is ill (hence the title). We can see how each of the guys are dealing with it; Vyvyan smashes his head into a mirror (taken off of his car) in an attempt to threaten both himself and the illness, then almost immediately chugs a bottle of vodka. Rik is blaming everyone around him for making him feel worse than normal; his self-aggrandising attitude rearing its head claiming everyone’s just feeling unwell because they know “he’s ill!” Neil’s self-pitying, though this seems to be annoying Rik more than usual. Even poor old SPG isn’t kept clean from the array of snot, himself covered with Vyvyan’s mucus. Because these poor bastards can’t go five minutes without a fight, there’s a shouting match that ends with Vyvyan destroying the house. Typical!  To be fair, I’ve lived through this exact situation at Uni myself. I’ve acted like all the lads, minus destroying the property (though I will admit that did happen). It’s a lot more entertaining now that I can relate to this opening, and I feel a lot more engaged with the rest of the episode. 

From this point onwards, we see the episode deteriorate into what we’re used to, with lots of Vyvyan on Neil violence, Mike trying (and failing) to seduce women, and a lot of guest stars, including Mr and Mrs Pye, who are thoroughly disappointed with their son’s decision to be in the show, instead of The Good Life. The gag of Vyvyan destroying the fourth wall by tearing the title card for The Good Life whilst screaming always made me laugh, and it still does. The absurdity of it mixed with “WE ARE NOT WATCHING THE BLOODY GOOD LIFE” speaks to thousands of young adults everywhere, forced to watch their parents boring old shows. Taking the piss out of both The Good Life and Grange Hill is what we’ve come to expect from The Young Ones, so is a joy to see.

The episode ends with an almost separate plotline, with Rik killing Neil whilst gardening (dressed as Windy Miller from Camberwick Green) , but he is resurrected and multiplied through the healing power of nature. The ending speaks to the uncanny world of The Young Ones, and is a great example of the show’s humour and surreal worldbuilding. 

Overall, whilst rewatching this I had a lot more fun than I thought I would, I remembered a lot of scenes, though didn’t realise they were from this episode! 

Final rating: 7/10 SPGS

#the young ones #tyo #sick #reviews #scumbag monthly #forty years of the young ones

[scumbag-monthly]

Issue #25 🎸

Hi there, scumbags! We hope you're enjoying 2023 so far.

This is just to let you know that Issue #25 will be coming to you on 1st March (our 3 year anniversary), with the submissions deadline being 23rd February. The theme is Band AU, meaning this is the perfect time to introduce the Scumbag lads to Bad News!

By now, you all know what we accept and where to submit to, right? If not, you can scroll down to a past post to find out (or checks the tags in our Mayall Box). As Issue #25 is going to be Scumbag Monthly's last, this will be your final chance to submit to us. We're not expecting a sudden deluge of submissions - we're not completely potty like Rick - but, if you've ever been on the fence about submitting to us, now is your moment. We're not picky or snobbish or judgemental about what we'll showcase in SM: everything we've ever received has gone into our zines. We're all about having a diverse range of voices and skillsets. We can't give you anything in return for submitting something to us, apart from a place on a page in an incredible niche fanzine, but we've always made SM for free and for fun.

So, fancy casting the lads as musicians? Staging a crossover with Bad News? Exploring what might happen at a concert in the TYO world? Imagining what conversations between the lads and the various musical acts on the show might have been like? Have some headcanons about their favourite music? You know where we are!

#scumbag monthly #the young ones #tyo #calling all scumbags #fanzine #band au #spring 2023