Demolition

Demolition was the pilot and very first episode of The Young Ones.  It was originally  shown on BBC2 on Tuesday 9 November 1982.  The storyline of this episode is fairly simple.  The Council has decided to knock down the boys' house, so Vyvyan (Ade Edmondson) decides that he needs to to do it first from the inside.  Rick (Rik Mayall) decides to hang himself from Neil's crucifix which in turn is mounted on the front of the house.

Nigel Planer's character Neil (greatest ambition, suicide) plans to insert himself into the cavity wall (and pretend to be thermal insulation), whilst Mike (Christopher Ryan) attempts to head the Council off at the front door by seducing its female representative (an excellent cameo by Maggie Steed).  Unfortunately for all involved, neither the Council nor Vyvyan were unable to complete the job before an aeroplane crashed into the house.

Earlier on we had been treated to our first visit from Alexei Sayle's thoroughly obnoxious Jerzei Balowski and we had also met Vyvyan's vicious Glaswegian hamster SPG (Special Patrol Group - dropping the nut for Glasgow a good 6 years before Rab C. Nesbitt, lol!)

All in all, a promising start to a series which just got better and better...