Nasty (Young Ones episode)
Encyclopedia
"Nasty" was the ninth episode of British sitcom The Young Ones
. It was written by Ben Elton
, Rik Mayall
and Lise Mayer
, and directed by Geoff Posner. It was first aired on BBC2 on 29 May 1984.
); Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson
); Rick (Rik Mayall
) and Neil (Nigel Planer
). Alexei Sayle
starred as a South Africa
n vampire
and driving instructor. Monty Python
alumnus Terry Jones
makes a cameo as a drunken vicar
and comedy duo Hale & Pace appear as a pair of gravediggers that the lads tell their story to.
. The show then takes a flashback to events leading up to the burial. It's bath night, and while Neil jumps into the muddy bathwater used in the three others' previous baths (inadvertently finding his long-lost bicycle
in the process), Rick locks himself in his room for a sneaky read of Cosmopolitan
. Here, he nearly gets sawn in half by Vyvyan's cleverly placed circular saw. Mike and Vyvyan spend the time trying to set up the new video they have secured, in order to watch a video nasty
. A scene-stealing postman then arrives to deliver a human-shaped package from the Transvaal. This turns out to be a vampire, who disguises himself as a driving instructor from Johannesburg. He gets caught out by one of Vyvyan's Highway Code questions - what to do when crossing a humpback bridge. When the four realise that vampires only attack virgins, it leads to them all unconvincingly denying their sexual purity. However, they are saved by the clock, as the sunlight streaming through the window hits the vampire, who despairs at having his wristwatch still set to South African time - and they manage to wrap him up in their handy red dual-purpose sofa
-coffin
. This results in the funeral. Back at the graveyard, the vampire escapes from a now white sofa-coffin and turns out to be Harry the Bastard, from whom they rented the video, and he quickly announces that their deadline for returning it had just elapsed and that they owe him ₤500 in late fees.
The episode features punk
pioneers The Damned, performing "Nasty", a song written especially for the episode.
The opening scene of a man playing chess with Death is a reference to Ingmar Bergman
's 1957 film, The Seventh Seal
.
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 Geoff Posner. It was first aired on BBC2 on 29 May 1984.
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...
starred as a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
and driving instructor. Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
alumnus Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
makes a cameo as a drunken vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
and comedy duo Hale & Pace appear as a pair of gravediggers that the lads tell their story to.
Plot
The show begins with a late-night burial at a local cemeteryCemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
. The show then takes a flashback to events leading up to the burial. It's bath night, and while Neil jumps into the muddy bathwater used in the three others' previous baths (inadvertently finding his long-lost bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
in the process), Rick locks himself in his room for a sneaky read of Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
. Here, he nearly gets sawn in half by Vyvyan's cleverly placed circular saw. Mike and Vyvyan spend the time trying to set up the new video they have secured, in order to watch a video nasty
Video nasty
"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
. A scene-stealing postman then arrives to deliver a human-shaped package from the Transvaal. This turns out to be a vampire, who disguises himself as a driving instructor from Johannesburg. He gets caught out by one of Vyvyan's Highway Code questions - what to do when crossing a humpback bridge. When the four realise that vampires only attack virgins, it leads to them all unconvincingly denying their sexual purity. However, they are saved by the clock, as the sunlight streaming through the window hits the vampire, who despairs at having his wristwatch still set to South African time - and they manage to wrap him up in their handy red dual-purpose sofa
Couch
A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge...
-coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
. This results in the funeral. Back at the graveyard, the vampire escapes from a now white sofa-coffin and turns out to be Harry the Bastard, from whom they rented the video, and he quickly announces that their deadline for returning it had just elapsed and that they owe him ₤500 in late fees.
The episode features punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
pioneers The Damned, performing "Nasty", a song written especially for the episode.
The opening scene of a man playing chess with Death is a reference to Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's 1957 film, The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal
The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
.