Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. The original trio consisted of Bill Owen as the mischievous and impulsive Compo Simmonite, Peter Sallis as easy-going everyman Norman Clegg, and Michael Bates as uptight and arrogant Cyril Blamire. The men never seem to grow up, and they develop a unique perspective on their equally eccentric fellow townspeople through their stunts. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of theSummer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. The final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010.

About Last of the Summer Wine in brief

Summary Last of the Summer WineLast of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of theSummer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. The final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. The show inspired other adaptations, including a television prequel, several novelisations, stage adaptations, the BBC’s Head of Comedy, Duncan Wood, and The Misfit and The Last Summer Wine. It is also seen in more than twenty-five countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. The original trio consisted of Bill Owen as the mischievous and impulsive Compo Simmonite, Peter Sallis as easy-going everyman Norman Clegg, and Michael Bates as uptight and arrogant Cyril Blamire. The men never seem to grow up, and they develop a unique perspective on their equally eccentric fellow townspeople through their stunts. After the death of Owen in 1999, Compo was replaced at various times by his real-life son, Tom Owen,. Keith Clifford as Billy Hardcastle, and Brian Murphy as the cheeky-chappy Alvin Smedley.

Although many felt that the show’s quality had declined over the years, it continued to receive large audiences for the BBC and was praised for its positive portrayal of older people and family-friendly humour. The programme was nominated for numerous awards and won the National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Programme in 1999. There were twenty-one Christmas specials, three television films and a documentary film about the series. In 1972, Roy Clarke chose the title The Last Of The Summer Wine to convey the idea that the characters are not in the autumn of their lives, but even though it may be the summer of the year, they are free to roam around the prime of their life in the summer. The title also refers to the fact that the men are all unmarried, unemployed or divorced or widowed, leaving them free to wander around like adolescents in the spring and summer, even though they are in their 70s and 80s. The series generally revolved around the exploits of the main trio, with occasional interaction with a few recurring characters, but over time the cast grew to include a variety of supporting characters and by later years the series was very much an ensemble piece. This group consisted of Russ Abbot as a former milkman who fancied himself a secret agent, Luther \”Hobbo\” Hobdyke, Burt Kwouk as the electrical repairman, \”Electrical\” Entwistle, and Murphy as Alvin SMedley.