On The Buses - Series 2 (DVD)

On the Buses ran from 1969 to 1973 for a total of seven series. It is a classic situational comedy that focuses on the work and home life of bus driver Stan Butler. The series follows Stan and the rest of his family including his overbearing Mum, his slightly stupid sister Olive and her husband Arthur as well as his best friend and fellow Bus depot worker Jack Harper.

The On the Buses series 2 DVD contains all 6 fantastic episodes ...
...2 sees Doris Hare take on the role intended and written for her, Mum. For me this is the most important thing as Doris Hare really fulfils the role in a way the Cicely Courtneidge, Mum in the first series, never could. She plays up the overbearing mother side of things and settles into the family with an ease that suggests she was there all along.

After the first series together the rest of the cast are already well settled in their ... more

On the Buses ran from 1969 to 1973 for a total of seven series. It is a classic situational comedy that focuses on the work and home life of bus driver Stan Butler. The series follows Stan and the rest of his family including his overbearing Mum, his slightly stupid sister Olive and her husband Arthur as well as his best friend and fellow Bus depot worker Jack Harper.

The On the Buses series 2 DVD contains all 6 fantastic episodes from series 2, which was first broadcast between May 1969 and July 1969. Together the episodes lead us further into the lives of Stan and his family as they cope with all eventualities.

Unlike in series 1, series 2 sees Doris Hare take on the role intended and written for her, Mum. For me this is the most important thing as Doris Hare really fulfils the role in a way the Cicely Courtneidge, Mum in the first series, never could. She plays up the overbearing mother side of things and settles into the family with an ease that suggests she was there all along.

After the first series together the rest of the cast are already well settled in their roles and so this series sees some more fantastic performances on their part. The relationship between Olive and Arthur played by Anna Karen and Michael Robbins respectively feels more and more natural as the series progresses as does the sibling relationship between Stan and Olive. This is vital to the series as it gives it a real sense of authenticity meaning that the atmosphere and comedy that stems from it seem natural and unforced.

The comedy in this series comes in thicker than it did in series 1 and due to a great blend of subtle comic moments as well as some more obvious slapstick ones the comedy seems fresh throughout. Like in the first series the majority of the comedy stems from the antics of Stan at work and usually involves a few jokes at Inspector Blake's expense. However more and more of the comedy starts it's journey in the Butler household and so involves more and more people making for a much more interesting show.

Each episode is roughly 25 minutes long and tells another tale of the Butler household. In this way each episode can of course be watched as a stand-alone piece but in my opinion more joy is to be had from the series if each episode is watched in the order intended.

Out of the 6 episodes on this DVD I definitely have my favourite and that is episode 1 entitled "Family Flu". In this episode we see Stan rushed off his feet as he tries to cope with his job and Mum and Olive ill at home. This gives scope for numerous numbers of comic events including broken shopping and Arthur doing the washing up. But as usual when Stan thinks things are as bad as they can possibly be the downward spiral begins again.

The remaining five episodes are also very well scripted and acted and certainly provide a great deal of laughs, as Stan struggles with Arthur's new bike, takes Karate lessons from the Inspector and loses his uniform outside the cemetery gates.

All in all therefore this series is in my opinion a real classic and one I would highly recommend. 

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