I remember watching this with my future wife. We were 19 and 17 at the time, I’m 64 now and the song makes me long for the past. One of my all time favourites. So sad but so great.
I've seen this series many times, since the day it was First on. It means a hell of a lot to me. I had a friend and it seemed as though I was Bob and he was Terry. Somewhere along the line our roles switched. TV shows back then (I was 15 at the time) were not just a comedy vehicle for some media personality, they were about life and about the times we lived in.
Watching in the USA. I love British Comedy. The classic shows from Britain top everything we have in the USA, even classic American shows. British comedy is King!
I watched this episode for the first time in 25 years, probably more, and laughed until it hurt. They certainly don't make them like this anymore. Classic
The 70s is often looked at as the hangover of the 60s, at least the early half was, but what a golden time for comedy, there was so much going on in britain at that time both socially and economically.
“The Likely Lads” was, without a doubt, one of the best and most memorable television comedies of the 1960’s. Sequels are rarely as good as the originals but “Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads” was an exception. Most of the episodes were at least as good as the original series and quite a number were even better. The scriptwriters, James Bolam, Rodney Bewes and the rest of the cast should be very proud because it was one of the greatest comedies of the 1970’s.
Wonderful comedy from the Golden Era of British comedy, the 1960s and 70s produced some classic shows, Steptoe & Son, On the Buses, Rising Damp, Open all Hours Dads Army , Till death as to part to name but a few,.....wonderful writing, great character acting and humor delivered with a warmth and realism that is sadly lacking in modern day comedies........miss those vintage times of comedy, great times.
At the age of 56 that end theme sends chills down my spine. It meant bedtime for me at 12 years old back in '73 and I had double maths the next morning at school with a teacher I was terrified of.
A prime example of crisp writing, superb acting and the true maxim of less is more. Subtle,beautiful and forever watchable. Clement and La Frenais are wonderful writers in the same quality vein as the masters of the genre Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
I agree wholeheartedly, good script writing works in an empty garden with two actors drinking tea, millions spent on sets never makes up for a shit script.
Definitely Lee Vanessa a great show on like to do what they put on all nothing but misery and doom and gloom I also like the show Keeping Up Appearances Dame Patricia Routledge who is now 90
It's full of smut. Why do people look back with rose tinted glasses. It was excellent, yes, but there's loads of great comedy today. How about Mum, Him and Her, Detectorists etc etc...
Did you know the theme song was co-written by Mike Hugg - he was the former drummer with Manfred Mann... What a great band they were in their many incarnations.
've always loved the intro and outro song of this series. The strings make the song sound so tragic. Like recalling a time in which one can never return. Longing to be back there but knowing you can never return. It makes your heart race but then tears it down.
So true. This series is part of my adolescence that became part of my life. It truly represents those times and memories that you cherish but know are gone and buried, and can never to be returned to. I love it.
Just heard that Rodney Bewes has passed away. What a fantastic piece of work the likely lads was. Remember growing up watching it as a kid and strangely enough seeing life unfold in similar ways ha. As others have said great writing and I think wonderful observational work, including very entertaining and enjoyable performances from James Bolam and of course Rodney Bewes. Thanks Rodney for being Bob Ferris, simply brilliant RIP
Pure joy to watch this, it reflects back from 72'73 on a recent past that was vastly different. Seen now, 35 years + later it encapsulates those changes and then some.....quality writing, great acting.....and politically incorrect in just the right way.
I used to play my Dad's 7 inch of the single of the theme tune repeatedly as a youngster long before i got the chance to appreciate what a uniquely brilliant comedy this was.
Brilliant series. Still very very watchable. Makes me both happy and sad to see it. A blast from the past and my childhood. Uk as it used to be. One of my old man's favourite shows. Only surpassed by auf wiedersehen pet ....
I found this by accident it played after another comedy I was watching, I wasn’t born until the 80s so this was before my time by hats off to the people who made this, Ive been watching as many as I can, it’s brilliant I’m gutted I wasn’t around when British tv was at its best, my generation sucks they get offended by everything so comedy isn’t really that sort of comedy anymore :(
What a brilliant series this was! The perfect blend of writing, performance and direction. The scene where the lads meet on the train and Bob belatedly recognises Terry is one of the funniest moments in sitcom history. "You bastard! You rotten bastard!" Look carefully at James Bolam and you can catch him trying not to laugh and failing. The great irony, of course, is that Bob, with everything going for him is trapped by the responsibilities and pressures of maintaining his new status quo, whereas Terry, who has nothing, is actually free and can enjoy life. Wonderful stuff, many thanks.
The reading of the bands , the look on Bobs face so nervous , then the announcement and Terry's face is priceless , one of the funniest moments in comedy history ,
A classic from the golden age of British comedy. WHTTLL, Fawlty Towers, The Good Life, Rising Damp, The Two Ronnies, Porridge, Dad's Army, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Open All Hours... The 80's saw a decline but there were still a number of classics such as Only Fools & Horses, Red Dwarf, Yes Prime Minister, and Black Adder. We then had a brief resurgence in the early 90's with One Foot in the Grave, The Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Men Behaving Badly, and Keeping Up Appearances. But it's been mostly downhill since then and even the 80's and 90's couldn't touch the amazing TV of the 70's.
What killed TV sitcoms and also Variety was the rise of 'alternative' Comedy, the dreadful politically correct bollox, who chief proponent was Ben Elton. It literally killed people, Benny Hill for example, who died of broken heart after his series was cacelled because of poltical correctness. That wa sthe start of the downhill slide. Since then the number of decent comedy series and scriptwriters has dwindled to barely noticeable trickle - exceptions being Rowan Atkinson, French and Saunder, Peter Kay. Victoria Woods. I havent had a good belly laugh since about 2002.
Stephanie Sadie how about the young ones, that was funny. that was ben elton, black adder, ben again. i do nt see how ben elton really was the catalyst. though i agree, things are nt what they were.
Elton was the forefront of the 'Alternative' comedy wave in the 80s, but soon threw his student socialist principles into the bin when people started waving wodges of cash at him. Too late, the ghastly lefty PC brigade had done the damage by then and TV comedy had been strangled to death
@@stephaniesadie832 disagree , this show was about working class people , they problem is no working class people are represented like this anymore, the Likely lads are not politically incorrect as such, I don't see as they are, just good writing and it's not the pc brigade it's the middle class writers straight out of university with no knowledge of how people like Bob and Terry live, that is what has wrecked comedy ". the ghastly lefty " wrote this show by the way and in Rodney's case act in it, the Tories are horrible bastards , only good at bullying the handicapped and giving themselves big pay rise while cutting the wages of nurses , f**k the Tories ruining the UK for over a hundred years.
I love this programme but it fills me with such sadness I had just got married to the love of my life in 1970 and can remember watching this together in our first little home ...just starting out on our life together oh how I wish you could turn back time ....miss those days so much
certainly a all time classic , the proof of the pudding was that two actors who didn't get on convinced audiences that they were best pals ,now that's acting. and the song is so cool, as well ,means more now we are older, 'oh what ever happened to me what ever happened to you, what became of the people we used to be. " says it all doesn't it. I think the film was great to .
Shiela Fearn, Bobs Wife Bridget Forsyth, were my ideal women, real sexy ladies. There was a girl who looked very like Bridget , at my local, who gave me the “ Knock Back” story of my life really.
As Jimmy Bolam, said, once in one of episodes of “ Of when the boat comes in “ Never meet your heroes “ As an Actor, he is very talented, as a person, I wouldn’t give him a push of the pavement. He is a well entrenched member of the establishment, not a trace of his Geordie Accent. I bet he has never set foot up north, for years. That suits me fine.
James Unsworth Agreed, I bet he plays the “northern Socialist “ when he’s in company with other luvvies. But it’s all 2 faced, hypocritical bollox. Ask him to lend you a tenner, see where his brotherhood of man principles are then!!
A timeless classic. One of the very best television programmes ever made. I never get tired of watching it. Clement and La Frenais were decades ahead of their time. The kind of comedy they were routinely writing in the UK in the late 60's/early 70's was considered groundbreaking in the USA in the 90's when Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David began doing it. Much as I have always loved The Likely Lads there was one thing I never understood. For a programme set in Newcastle, not one character had a Geordie accent. I recently got my answer to that one. Apparently it was originally going to be set in Leeds and that's where the casting was done. Supposedly the BBC then decided they needed more regional programming and they switched the setting to Newcastle.
I've watched 'No Hiding Place' (episode 4) too many times. Just noticed that the hairdressers is called Zeus on the inside but Michelle on the outside. Still, this is one of the best episodes of any British comedy series. Faultless. And it's got Brian Glover!
Classic comedy which really was light drama such was the top quality of script and acting that you could never see the join. The fashion and standards of the day have dated now but not the relationships and friendships which were so deftly delivered that they still ring true today. No Hiding Place remains my favourite episode (1 hour 27 min) that stayed in my memory for years and now I enjoy again first viewing since the 70s. The Likely Lads (76) film was actually very good considering that TV comedy rarely made the transition to the big screen and well worth a another viewing when it comes up on RU-vid. Thanks for this wonderful upload and a big thank you still to the writers and actors😎👌
It's amazing that I forgot about the Likely Lads. This vid reminded me of how brilliant British comedy could be. I have vague memories of the original series in black and white. Not laughed so hard in years - thanks very much for posting.
Love Britcoms. Never saw this one.. Imagine guys relating like that today (June 2019)? Thanks for posting. I'm going to look for another one. Love from across the pond.🙋
R.I.P. Rodney Bewes... What a terrible shame that James Bolam wouldn't consent to the television re-runs of these wonderful shows... Rodney could have used the money but was thwarted by a greedy gesture from Bolam.
EnosEverthing ,I am of the same opinion as your self. I am 73 now, the Two guys Bolom and Bewes were fantastic entertainment for nearly 3 generations. Bolam on his own, never made a bad series. BUT as a person who was a hero of mine. I found out about the vendetta between the two. Bolam and his wife are quite rich, but when it comes to HATRED, Bolam is a master. Actor, peerless. Person, utter Twat, and I presume with an attitude like that NO friends, one horrible old bastard. I am so disappointed that he never had the integrity to say sorry. I would like to see how he would react if someone really did a bad thing against him. HAS he NEVER made a mistake, The capacity to NEVER forgive, I will never understand to my dying day.
It certainly reminds me of me and my friend when we were that age and some of the scrapes we got into !!I think his mum dreaded opening their door and me saying"is Alan there"!!!Then of to the beer and whatever followed!!Great series!!
James Bolam, is one of our most Talented Actors in the UK. EVERYTHING he was in, was a successful series. As I think he said, good fellow actors, great scripts, I was up in the North East, when the Falkland War broke out. He had just finished making the series “ When the Boat Comes in”. That for me was a series, on the second time of Watching, I realised that it was not only well acted) the actors were all from the North East) It was a Social Commentary on the First World War. The whole nation was traumatised. I used to have a “ thing “ Thelma,”Briget Forsyth how life flashes by , I am now 72. . He seemed to be a “ Private Guy” ( Never saw him on “ chat shows “ ) Audrey was a great looking woman, as well!!!!!
this bring back many memories,years ago I had a good friend and we used to go everywhere together,like a brother.when his mother died I never saw him again,we must have spent years together,so sad.
Ditto. I had a friend just the same. He got married and moved away. Tracked him down a couple of years ago, doesn't want to know now. Oh well. People change.
Funny how Bob regularly mocks Terry for dressing "old fashioned" but Terry generally, wears clothes that could pass ok nowadays whereas most every other cast member would look ridiculous and massively dated if they were to walk around currently in those clothes! Likewise for Terry's haircut in comparison to everyone else's. See the opening scene of "Count Down", here at 155:40, for an example of all this.
RIP BOB (Rodney Bewes) such a shame you and Terry couldn't resolve your differences and team up one last time, sadly the chance of that has now gone. But whatever the differences you were great together.
I love both of them but I have to say if the story is true then James is somewhat petty. Time is a great healer and even though Rod crossed a line sometimes it’s the right thing to let bygones be bygones. Even more petty allowing Rodney to die a poor man by not allowing repeats. Hope he’s not an arse in real life
It's great to find a comedy as old as this which is still laugh-out-loud funny. That skit with the train at the end of the first episode was pure genius!
