Bambi (Young Ones episode)

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"Bambi" was the seventh episode of British sitcom The Young Ones. It was written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, and directed by Geoff Posner. It was first aired on BBC2 on May 8, 1984.

1 Characters
2 Plot
3 Trivia
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Characters

As with all episodes of The Young Ones, the main four characters were student flatmates Mike (Christopher Ryan); Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson); Rick (Rik Mayall); and Neil (Nigel Planer). Griff Rhys-Jones plays the title character, a parody of real-life University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne. The opposing University Challenge team, from Footlights College, Oxbridge, comprises Lord Monty (Hugh Laurie); Lord Snot (Stephen Fry); Miss Money-Sterling (Emma Thompson); and Kendal Mintcake (Ben Elton). Alexei Sayle appears briefly as a train driver to deliver his trademark monologue.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Mike's concern over the quartet's hygiene habits prompts a first visit to the launderette in almost three years, a decision made all the more urgent, and obvious, by the escape - and subsequent murder - of one of Vyvyan's deadliest socks. The washing session goes well until one of the washing machines spits out the quartet's clothing, prompting Vyvyan to use a "special blend of psychology and extreme violence", involving the mention of Felicity Kendal's underwear, to get the machine to accept their clothes. After forcing their clothes into one of the machines, they eventually realise that none of them has the 50 pence pieces required by the machines. Suddenly Neil remembers the housemates are due to appear on University Challenge that very evening to represent Scumbag College. The group's hectic rush to catch the train leads to an unsuccessful train ride, complete with last-ditch swotting from Neil and hissy fits from Rick. Vyvyan's self-decapitation, having stuck his head out of the window (contrary to written warnings), results in a muddy hitch-hike. This finally gets to them to the studios, where Vyv tries to smuggle a pig (which he describes as a ferret named "Bacon Sandwich") in as the College's mascot. During the game, their opponents – the well-to-do Footlights team, from Oxbridge – take a commanding lead, as Neil becomes preoccupied with asking Bambi to go to the toilet. An angry Vyvyan obtains a World War II-era German stick grenade and kills the rival students. Mike's quick answers begin Scumbag College's comeback, before a trick question from Bambi reveals Rick's shenanigans of swapping the question cards. The affronted audience heckle the group, and begin to hurl items at them. They are suddenly squashed by a gigantic eclair dropped by a medical Doctor, having been shown observing the Young Ones as a culture under a microscope. The Doctor then feeds the eclair to Jumbo, his elephant subject, supposedly a horribly disfigured man, a reference to John Merrick, the Elephant Man.^[1]

[edit] Trivia

The fictional Footlights College, Oxbridge, is a reference to the real Footlights drama club at Cambridge University. The Footlights College team was played by show writer Ben Elton, and three actors who were once members of the real Cambridge Footlights: Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, and Stephen Fry.

Oxbridge is also a portmanteau of the names of the real life Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Stephen Fry, playing one of the fictional "Footlights College" contestants, had actually represented his college (Queens' Cambridge) in a genuine edition of University Challenge only a few years before the episode was made. He also later appeared on celebrity editions of the programme in aid of Comic Relief in the 2000s.

The episode features a performance of "Ace of Spades" by a particularly rare Motörhead line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel and Taylor.

In this episode, two of the questions fixed by Rick had the same answer, 'Toxteth O'Grady, U.S.A'. In a later real episode of University Challenge, when asked a question he didn't know the answer to, a student gave this as his reply.

[edit] References

^ The Young Ones - Bambi. Transcription of the "Young Ones" episode "Bambi" as it aired on American MTV in the mid-'80s. Retrieved on February 10, 2007.