The Young Ones (TV series) opening night on 2 November 1982, with "The Young Ones" following a week later on BBC2. The series was written by Mayall, his then-girlfriend Lise Mayer, and Ben Elton (who had attended the University of Manchester with Mayall and Edmondson). Richardson was originally set to play Mike, but clashed with Jackson. He was replaced by Christopher Ryan, the only member of the group who was not a stand-up comedian. The show was voted number 31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004. The main characters were four undergraduate students who were sharing a house: aggressive punk medical student, Vyvyan
Bambi (The Young Ones) Edmondson); Rick (Rik Mayall); and Neil (Nigel Planer). The title character was portrayed by Griff Rhys Jones in a parody of real-life "University Challenge" presenter Bamber Gascoigne, while Jones' comedy partner Mel Smith has a cameo as a security guard. The opposing "University Challenge" team, from (the fictional) Footlights College, Oxbridge, comprises Lord Monty (Hugh Laurie); Lord Snot (Stephen Fry: who had himself appeared on "University Challenge" while a Cambridge student); Miss Money-Sterling (Emma Thompson); and Kendal Mintcake (Ben Elton). Alexei Sayle appears briefly as a train driver to deliver his trademark monologue (in this case to a lone Mexican