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
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