Bambi

Summary

Bambi is the first episode of the second series of The Young Ones, and was first aired on BBC2 on 8 May 1984.

Plot

Mike expresses concerns to the household that they haven't been to the launderette since 1981, and urges them all to bag up their dirty washing and head into town. The visit is made more urgent by the outbreak of one of Vyvyan's socks. The boys decided to go the following morning, and inexplicably arrive downstairs with the actors playing different characters; Rick is now dressed as Vyvyan, Vyvyan is now dressed as Mike, Mike is now dressed as Neil and Neil is now dressed as Rick. A quick and unexplained teleport to the launderette quickly solves this quandary, and they encounter a problem when the washing machines refuse to take their filthy clothes. Vyvyan temporarily solves the matter with a combination of "psychology and extreme violence," although all appears futile when they discover that they have to pay to use the machines.

Later on back at the house, Neil suddenly remembers something really important he had been meaning to tell everyone; they've been invited to appear on University Challenge on that very evening to represent Scumbag College. The boys scramble to the train station and hitch a ride to the studio. The journey is temporarily delayed when the train is held up by a group of Mexican bandits. Further delays are caused when Vyvyan sticks his head out of the train window and becomes decapitated. The four are ejected from the train and forced to walk the rest of the way, which takes them several weeks.

Finally arriving at the studio, they are greeted by the presenter Bambi, who allows them in despite being long overdue, where they face off against Footlights College, a well-to-do team of rich folks. Neil becomes hooked on getting Bambi to let him go to the toilet, and Vyvyan becomes frustrated at the progress of the game and chucks a grenade at the opposing team.

The episode ends when an enormous chocolate éclair lands on them, revealing the lads to live in a microscopic world on a glass slide.

Guest Stars

Griff Rhys-Jones as Bambi

Mel Smith as Guard

Alexei Sayle as Train Driver

Ben Elton as Kendal Mintcake

Stephen Fry as Lord Snot

Hugh Laurie as Lord Monty

Emma Thompson as Miss Money-Sterling

Robbie Coltrane as Dr Carlisle

Tony Robinson as Dr Not The Nine O'Clock News

Music

Ace of Spades by Motorhead

Trivia

1. Stephen Fry made a genuine appearance on University Challenge whilst he was a student at Cambridge.
2. University Challenge was at the time broadcast on rival channel ITV. The producers of ITV were happy to allow the BBC to parody the show.
3. The show lampoons the split-screen editing trick employed by the real University Challenge which shows competing teams on top of one another, when in fact they are side by side in the studio. The joke is employed when Vyvyan kicks a hole in the floor and boots one of the other contestants in the head.
4. Gryff Rhys-Jones' character Bambi is a parody of real-life University Challenge host Bamber Gascoigne. Rhys-Jones previously portrayed Gascoigne in an episode of Not the Nine O'Clock News.
5. Tony Robinson's character Dr Not The Nine O'Clock News is a reference to the TV show of the same name.
6. Alexei Sayle did not agree with the choice of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Emma Thompson as guest stars, as he felt as comedians they did not embody the anti-establishment spirit of the show.
7. The episode features one of the most unusual animal guest stars - an adult elephant - in the cutaway scene featuring Robbie Coltrane and Tony Robinson. The scene implies that the entire lives of the four main characters are being acted out in a petri dish.
8. Headless Vyvyan was played by visual effects artist David Barton who had the uncanny ability to tip his head so far forward that he appeared headless from behind.