Oil (Young Ones episode)
Encyclopedia
"Oil" was the second episode of British sitcom
The Young Ones
. It was written by Ben Elton
, Rik Mayall
and Lise Mayer
, and directed by Paul Jackson. It was first aired on BBC2 on 16 November 1982.
); Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson
); Rick (Rik Mayall
) and Neil (Nigel Planer
). Alexei Sayle
appeared as Alexei Balowski, a protest singer and nephew
of the students' landlord
Jerzei.
in the cellar
, and instantly forms a coalition
with Mike (whom Vyvyan calls "El Presidente") to extract the oil, using Rick and Neil as well-digging slaves following Vyvyan hitting Rick briskly between the legs with a cricket bat (Rick: "Ha! You missed both my legs!"). After Neil unwittingly injures Vyvyan with a pickaxe
blow through the head, he and Rick prompt a workers' revolution
which is ultimately proved futile by a demanding benefit band and, in a post-credits scene, Vyvyan's admission that it was all a lie. Meanwhile, Mike discovers a man resembling Buddy Holly
in his new room, having survived the plane crash by parachuting from the plane on The Day the Music Died
, and crashing through the roof--in fact, he is still hanging upside down from the ceiling by his parachute. Having survived since the 1950s by eating a steady diet of beetles, he proceeds to sing a song about his diet.
The episode featured a performance from electronic band Radical Posture, with a member of the Balowski family as their singer.
on DVD.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
. It was written by Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
and Lise Mayer
Lise Mayer
Lise Mayer is a television and film writer. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, and is best known as a creator and co-writer of the BBC comedy series The Young Ones, alongside Rik Mayall and Ben Elton...
, and directed by Paul Jackson. It was first aired on BBC2 on 16 November 1982.
Characters
As with all episodes of The Young Ones, the main four characters were student flatmates Mike (Christopher RyanChristopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan is an English actor. Ryan is perhaps best known for his role as Mike "The Cool Person" in the BBC comedy series The Young Ones.-Early life:...
); Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
); Rick (Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
) and Neil (Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
). Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
appeared as Alexei Balowski, a protest singer and nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of the students' landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
Jerzei.
Plot
As they settle into their new house and allocate the bedrooms, Vyvyan announces that he has struck oilOil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
in the cellar
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
, and instantly forms a coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
with Mike (whom Vyvyan calls "El Presidente") to extract the oil, using Rick and Neil as well-digging slaves following Vyvyan hitting Rick briskly between the legs with a cricket bat (Rick: "Ha! You missed both my legs!"). After Neil unwittingly injures Vyvyan with a pickaxe
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
blow through the head, he and Rick prompt a workers' revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
which is ultimately proved futile by a demanding benefit band and, in a post-credits scene, Vyvyan's admission that it was all a lie. Meanwhile, Mike discovers a man resembling Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
in his new room, having survived the plane crash by parachuting from the plane on The Day the Music Died
The Day the Music Died
On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll pioneers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean, in his song...
, and crashing through the roof--in fact, he is still hanging upside down from the ceiling by his parachute. Having survived since the 1950s by eating a steady diet of beetles, he proceeds to sing a song about his diet.
The episode featured a performance from electronic band Radical Posture, with a member of the Balowski family as their singer.
Edited scene
When the episode was originally aired, an extended scene was shown at the basement oil well involved Vyvyan criticising Rick for not working hard enough, and then head butting the ground to speed up the digging (which then leads to Neil accidentally putting the pick axe through Vyvyan's head). In VHS and DVD releases, this scene has been edited to just show the pickaxe event and aftermath. The scene began with a Beatles song playing on Rick's radio, so the reason for its omission may be a failure by the BBC to secure broadcast rights for the music. A similar problem afflicted the re-release of CashCash (Young Ones episode)
"Cash" was the eighth episode of British sitcom The Young Ones. It was written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, and directed by Geoff Posner...
on DVD.