The Young Ones (TV series) Basterd (Adrian Edmondson); conceited wannabe anarchist sociology student, Rick (Rik Mayall); oppressed paranoid hippie peace studies student, Neil Wheedon Watkins Pye (Nigel Planer); and the suave, charming would-be underground mob boss, Mike The-Cool-Person (Christopher Ryan). It also featured Alexei Sayle, who played various members of the Balowski family—most often Jerzei Balowski, the quartet's landlord—and occasional independent characters, such as the train driver in "Bambi" and the Mussolini-lookalike Police Chief in "Cash". The show combined traditional sitcom style with violent slapstick, non-sequitur plot turns, and surrealism. These older styles were mixed with the working and lower-middle class attitudes of the growing
Demolition (The Young Ones) day. Meanwhile, Vyvyan drops his pet hamster in the casserole after it bites his hand. It proceeds to eat all the casserole and blow up to balloon size. Rick then sees two rats and smashes one to death with Neil's guitar. Neil is unhappy as he says the guitar was made by his grandfather out of matchsticks while dying; the living rat proceeds to mournfully eat the remains of his friend. Each character throughout the show's pilot episode has their own plan to fight the council's decision. Rick plans a protest, involving hanging himself from a cross on the front