''Get that bus out!''

RaspberryLucozade

'On The Buses' is in my book one of the funniest and most underrated British sitcoms of all time. Despite running for seven series and spawning three movie spin-offs, it strangely seems to have fallen off the radar.

'On The Buses' was the brainchild of writing duo Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney and starred the late, great Reg Varney as cheeky chappie bus driver Stan Butler. The premise was pretty basic - Stan worked for the Luxton & District bus company and lived with his domineering mother ( Cicely Courtneidge, then Doris Hare ), his well meaning but none too bright sister Olive ( Anna Karen ) and her layabout husband Arthur ( Michael Robbins ). His best friend is Jack Harper ( Bob Grant ), who also works for Luxton & District as a conductor and spends much of his time with Stan either trying to pull the clippies or making life hell for the small minded Inspector Cyril Blake ( Stephen Lewis ).

The idea was originally put to the BBC by Wolfe and Chesney but the corporation, thinking it would not have been a success, rejected it ( despite the fact that the writers had earlier devised for them the hugely successful 'The Rag Trade' and 'Meet The Wife' ). It was then taken to ITV where Frank Muir, then head of the light entertainment department of London Weekend Television, recognised the show's potential. The critics tore it apart, of course, but viewers took to it straight away.

If you were to discern from my description of 'On The Buses' that it was cheap, smutty and had all the subtlety of a slap in the face with a wet fish, you would be right, but to say that it wasn't funny would be nothing short of churlish. I have been a fan of 'On The Buses' ever since I was a child and to this day I never tire of watching it. 'On The Buses' was also a hit over in America, so much so that they even attempted their own version - 'Lotsa Luck' - which starred the late Dom DeLouise as Stan Belmont, a lost property clerk at New York City's bus depot. It bombed.

My favourite characters apart from Stan and Jack, were Mum and Arthur. Michael Robbins in particular was one of the jewels in the show's crown and when he left after series six it just was not the same. To make matters worse, Reg Varney jumped ship half way through the final series as he felt the show was running itself into the ground. That seemed to be it for 'On The Buses'.

Well, no, not quite. Stephen Lewis' Blakey received his own show - 'Don't Drink The Water' - in which he, along with prudish sister Dorothy ( Pat Coombs ), retired to Spain. Anna Karen's Olive was also spun off into another show - the late '70's retread of 'The Rag Trade'. A revival entitled 'Back On The Buses' ( reuniting the entire cast including Michael Robbins ) was planned in the early '90s but due to Reg Varney's health problems, the project was sadly abandoned.

Even allowing for the fact that much of it has dated, 'On The Buses' is still an absolute joy to watch and will remain so for years to come. Favourite episode? Probably it would be 'Brew It Yourself' in which Stan takes up home brewing. Second to that would be 'Vacancy For Inspector' in which Jack gets promoted to the rank of inspector.

score 10/10

RaspberryLucozade 13 October 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3104068/