Hi,
Thanks for my first ever diamond and of course the continued rrc's. It's beginning to look a lo...
Hi,
Thanks for my first ever diamond and of course the continued rrc's. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! xx
Member since:08.02.2008
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On the Buses is a classic TV comedy that ran for seven series between the years of 1969 and 1973. This situational comedy revolved around the life of bus driver Stan Butler and the rest of his family, which include his overly doting mother, his sister Olive and her husband Arthur. Other important characters include Stan's best friend Jack, the conductor on his bus and Inspector Blake.
The On the Buses series 1 DVD contains the first 7 episodes of this fantastic comedy. All 7 episodes were first broadcast between February 1969 and April 1969 and are a great introduction to both the working and home life of Stan Butler.
Unlike in future series, series 1 sees Cicely Courtneidge play the role of Mum as although the role was intended and so written for Doris Hare, who played mum in all following series, she was not available for filming during the production of series 1. This is for me the major problem with series 1, as although Courtneidge does a decent job as the overbearing and somewhat controlling mother she just isn't as good as Doris Hare and at times her voice can become a little irritating. For someone however that has no knowledge of future series Courtneidge does play a credible part but those who have seen future episodes before they view this series will in my opinion feel a little let down.
The rest of the cast in this first series continue to play the same parts throughout the remaining series' and really do pull of some outstanding performances. The cast gel together extremely well and the family atmosphere that is created between them seems real and unforced. It is easy therefore to believe the idea that Jack and Stan have known each other for a long time and that Olive and Arthur have been married the duration stated in the series.
Being a comedy series however it is obviously this that is most important. This series is a fantastic blend of comedy ranging from the slapstick to the more subtle and grown-up. The majority of the comedy comes from Stan's stupid antics at work as he and Jack try and get through the day by doing the minimum amount of work as possible. Comedy however can also be found in the way in which Stan interacts with the other members of his family and the relationship between Olive and her rather grumpy and extremely lazy husband.
Despite the huge comic element within the series the storylines are very different from one another, which ensures the series remains fresh and enjoyable. Furthermore the stories told within the episodes are vibrant and allow the viewer to really build up a picture of what life is like in the Butler household.
Out of the 7 episodes contained within the first series my favourite simply has to be episode 6 "The Canteen". In this episodes the busmen of the Luxton depot become dissatisfied with the food provided by their canteen and after management reluctantly decide to let them run it themselves Stan is placed in charge of co-ordinating everything. As you can imagine things don't exactly go to plan, as they rattle through numerous cooks, plunder the canteen into debt and ultimately realise they were better off before.
The remainder of the episodes in series 1 are also brilliant and in my opinion there isn't a weak episode like there will be in later series. Despite this however I can only give this series 4/5 stars due to the fact that Cicely Courneidge's performance as mum simply isn't the best it could be and seeing as she is such an integral character this does put a bit of a dampers on the series as a whole.
Pictures of On The Buses - Series 1 (DVD)
The DVD cover
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
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lasted for a tremendous seven series - from 1969 to 1973.Starring Reg Varney as jack-the-lad Stan butler and Bob Grant as 'clippie' Jack Harper, their objective is...
One of the most successful TV series ever made running from 1969 to 1973 On the Buses is ... more
great British comedy at its best. Starring Reg Varney as jack-the-lad bus driver Stan and Stephen Lewis as the long-suffering dim-witted Inspector Blake ('Bla...
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![On The Buses - Series 1 [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78513572.jpg "On The Buses - Series 1 [DVD]")
Sep 20th, 2008
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