Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) episodes, however the pilot still was not included in the re-release. The pilot episode was released on the final boxset series 31 & 32 as an extra on disc four on 15 August 2016. Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) Last of the Summer Wine's first series originally aired on BBC1 between 4 January 1973 and 29 December 1973. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by James Gilbert. The pilot episode, alternately known as "The Last of the Summer Wine" and "Of Funerals and Fish," originally premiered on the BBC's "Comedy
Last of the Summer Wine regular character starting in "Uncle of the Bride". The increasingly large cast ensured a sense of continuity with the changing configuration of the trio, especially following the death of Bill Owen. When Alan J. W. Bell took over as producer, the plots of "Last of the Summer Wine" moved away from the original dialogue-packed scenes in the pub and the library; guest actors were brought in to interact with the trio in new situations. Although many of these guest appearances lasted for only one episode, some led to a permanent role on the show, as in the cases of Gordon