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
Oil (The Young Ones) Rick briskly between the legs with a cricket bat (Rick: "Ha! Missed both my legs!"). After Neil unwittingly injures Vyvyan with a pickaxe through the head whilst digging for oil, Rick commands Neil to "Throw off the shackles of oppression" and prompts a workers' revolution which is ultimately proved futile by a demanding benefit band headed by Alexei Sayle in his Balowski persona. In the first instance that Rick, Vyvyan and Neil are in the cellar digging for oil, there is a song playing on the radio, which is an obscure Soul hit from 1973 called "I'm Bustin' My Rocks