Talking Bottom

The Bachelor Boys: The Young Ones book

What do you do when you've ended your show after two series, leaving people in no doubt it's finished by killing off the characters, but the public is hungry for more and you've got a ton of brilliant unused gags? Release a book, of course! But fear not, this isn't a crap spin-off cash-in, it's authored by the writers of the show and is incredibly funny. It's Bachelor Boys: The Young Ones Book!

Mat, Ange and Paul discuss TV spin-off books, the success of the show and the book, the public appetite for more Young Ones, lager and curry diets, interviewing David Bowie in Wembley Stadium, the brilliant photos, reading the book as a child in the 80's and generally how great the entire book is while trying not to just spend the episode reading out the best bits - of which there are many.

Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Oh No, Not Them (The U.S. pilot version of The Young Ones)

There's no business like show business and there's no shortage of TV execs trying to capture lightning in a bottle. In 1989, U.S. TV network Fox decided to take one of the most uniquely British sitcoms of the decade, put it in a blender and shotgun the remains into an American sitcom format. The results were... not good.

Paul, Mat and Ange dive headlong into the disastrous pilot, trying to glean the positives but turning up handfuls of crushing disappointment. They discuss other failed attempts at remaking shows across the pond, the cheesy, formulaic format of U.S sitcoms, how money doesn't fix everything, why the original Young Ones characters are so special, being too meta, being a grubby Benny Hill, U.S shows needing a "likeable" character and why seeing Neil the Hippy in a gunfight is just wrong.

Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Audiobook announcement!

You asked and we delivered! Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom is now available as an audiobook, read by none other than Bottom's friendly pub landlord Dick Head himself - actor Lee Cornes! You can literally have Dick coming in your ears!

It's out NOW via your usual audiobook platforms. You can listen while driving, on the commute, doing heavy housework or simply having a wangle. Get your copy now or Dick will set the dawgs on ya!

Check out our socials and our linktree for the audiobook, previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Rik Mayall: Magnificent B'Stard

What a ruddy treat! The long-awaited Rik Mayall documentary "Rik Mayall: Magnificent B'Stard is out now on Sky Documentaries, PLUS Sky Arts is screening the brand-new "Rik Mayall's Sketches: Rare and Unseen." It's a day of new Rik stuff!

Ange, Paul and Mat dive into the doc, looking at what new nuggets about Rik and his work have been shared. They chat about Rik's life, the impact of his quad bike accident and the immense legacy he left after his untimely passing. Plus, a look at what's in the sketch show and the exciting previously-unseen stuff!

Check out our socials and our linktree for previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

Lise Mayer interview

Once in every lifetime comes a guest like this - someone who created and wrote one of the most influential, revolutionary and most-loved sitcoms ever, alongside her co-creators and co-writers Rik Mayall and Ben Elton. It's Lise Mayer!

Lise chats with Paul, Ange and Mat about the genesis of The Young Ones and the challenges faced to get a show full of unlikeable characters, a grotesque student setting and exaggerated situations to air. She shares her thoughts her own comedy influences, writing with Rik on Carrot’s Lib and for his beloved character Kevin Turvey, the unintended hurt caused by The Young Ones’ bold decision to satire racism in the police, her friendship with Rik Mayall and how she learned of his untimely passing.

In a Talking Bottom exclusive, Lise reacts to and reads aloud sections of the famous but largely unseen essay (which Paul Jackson previously alerted Talking Bottom to being the BBC Archive) that Lise was required to write alongside Rik and Ben back in 1982 in ‘defence of The Young Ones’ on the grounds of Language, Violence and Grossness. The BBC had requested the writers’ defence of the sitcom in writing as they needed a robust argument as to why the show was funny before it aired.

Check out our socials and our linktree for previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic Bottom themed tea towels and now Talking Bottom t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

The Young Ones S2 E6: Summer Holiday

All good things must come to an end and school' out not just for summer but for ever as it's the start of the summer holidays for the lads at Scumbag College AND the final episode of the show, ever, with the creators determined to end it all with a literal bang.

Ange, Mat and Paul wang on about celebrity death rumours, shooting film on buses, the boredom of summer, horrible families, 80's cheesy comedians, grasping landlords, Fluff Freeman, bank robberies, exploding buses and communal end credits. Plus, the Summer Holiday quiz!

Check out our socials and our linktree for previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic tea towels and now t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

The Young Ones S2 E5: Sick

The boys are surrounded by soggy tissues, and for once it's not for the reason you'd think - they've got the dreaded lurgy. Their efforts at recuperation escalate to violence in the streets while Neil's parents visit the fetid house. If only they were in a nice sitcom like The Good Life!

Mat, Paul and Ange splutter over competitive illness, breaking the 180 rule, Hyacinth Bucket, being polite to your friends' parents, speech impediments, sentient toilets, escalating violence, Richard "Sugar-Flavoured Snot" Briars and Felicity "Treacle" Kendall. Plus, a fiendish quiz!

Check out our socials and our linktree for previous episodes, the book "Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom," our fantastic tea towels and now t-shirts! https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

The Young Ones S2 E4: Time

After a Dallas-style opening, the boys wake hungover to discover they have travelled back in time. And even more unbelievable; Rik seems to have "done it" with a girl!

Paul, Mat and Ange chat about Dallas, time travel, Rick graduating towards Richard Richard, French and Saunders, Hale and Pace and all manner of subjects before diving head-first into a fiendish quiz!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival this month doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details and tickets. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

The Young Ones S2 E3: Nasty

Filmed in Horror-vision! It's a terrifying tale this week as the boys have a body to bury, with a flashback to bath night revealing Rick's penchant for Cosmopolitan magazine, Neil's fetid bath, the arrival of a South African Vampire and the fact they've got a video. YES, WE'VE GOT A VIDEO.

Ange, Mat and Paul discuss video nasties, Hammer Horror, future Bottom references, celebs laughing at themselves, Jeremy Beadle's fake and real beards, putting the boiler on for a bath, vampires, edible pot noodles and pervy Wrick. Plus, a ruddy marvellous quiz!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival this month doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details and tickets. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom

The Young Ones S2 E2: Cash

It's freezing in the student house and all the furniture has already been burned. Someone needs to get a job and that some is Neil, who joins the filth while Rick, Mike and Vyvyan enjoy some remarkable good fortune until an explosive conclusion. 

Mat, Ange and Paul chat about filming angles, burning things, austerity (oh no, not politics even though The Young Ones literally rips into Thatcher!), stunts, risotto, Rik's pervy face, cartoon endings and fascist coppers. Plus contemporary reviews AND a quiz where nearly every question had already been answered!

We're back at this year's Rik Mayall Comedy Festival this month doing THREE events - two of which are with Young Ones director/producer Paul Jackson! Check out our socials and our linktree for details and tickets. https://linktr.ee/talkingbottom