Last of the Summer Wine

The best sitcom ever.

I said that several years ago and nothing that has happened to it, or to other sitcoms, has changed my view.

The scripts are funny in themselves. Add a perfect ensemble of actors, faultless direction and wonderful background music and one gets, quite simply, the best ever.

Some of the situations are predictable, some slight, some bizarre. But that is life as we know it, and is all lends to the strength of the series. And it is to reasurring to know I cannot be alone, just look at the dates!

This is by far the best British comedy ever shown in the US. The relationships between the characters are real and the humor of the show comes from this fact. The idea of a show about three old men who come up with such outrageous things to do with their time is pure genius. No wonder it's lasted so long.

Running since the dawn of time, Last of the Summer Wine is one of the mot reliable elements of the BBC's output. Featuring wonderful actors in unique roles, it's ideal viewing for sitting down with the Sunday tea. It's warm, sentimental and old-fashioned. That every episode seems to end with a couple of OAPs rolling down a hillside in a tin bath on wheels is neither here nor there: it's charming and friendly. Spiky edges are provided by Dame Thora Hird, the wondrous Kathy Staff, and Jane Freeman, and the series is not challenging viewing. Harmless. The kind of telly you could watch with your granny. That most of the cast are your granny's age is another joy. Hardly cutting edge, and guaranteed to run until the end of the world, Last of the Summer Wine is truly immortal.

Several of listeners or watchers felt the series would not be as good without Compo. But this is not the case. We in Australia are seeing on UK TV, a pay channel, The new episodes from 2002 to 2004. BBC listeners are now seeing the new 2005 series.

Unfortunately UK TV does not have the rights to episodes from 1973 to 2001. It is the greatest show ever and Roy Clark is a genius, he also wrote "Keeping up Appearances" I have both DDVs from Amazon.A hope some of the old episodes will soon appear. There is a ready market out there.

The great strength of British sitcoms over American is the small number of episodes made each year. Let us hope Roy does not tire of the series.

I was a big fan of this series before i appeared in it. I still get letters and cards from fans despite leaving the show in 1988. Roy Clarke is one of the greatest comedy writers of his generation, he explores the British class system, old age, and the relationships between Yorshiremen and the Women they love brilliantly. The early shows were about boredom, retirement, life in Yorkshire and friendship between men of differing backgrounds. When the show was taken over by Alan J W Bell ,who produced and directed all the episodes i appeared in, the comedy broadened. Wonderful slapstick and unlikely romance became the strong central themes. In 1987 the show regularly had viewing figures just below 20 Million, and it continues to have a cult following to this day. I made some wonderful friends on the series too, Jane Freeman (who played my Auntie Ivy), Bill Owen (who i sadly miss) Peter Sallis (who taught me so much when we worked on stage together) Thora Hird (who told great stories of her early life in the Co-op as a sales assistant) Joe Gladwyn (who told me the most wonderful tales of early music hall and variety shows) to name just a few... I think one of the best qualities of this show is that anyone of any age can watch it and find something amusing, popular family entertainment is rare these days and this is a gem.