Last of the Summer Wine Barry trying to better himself (at the insistence of Glenda), and Tom trying to stay one step ahead of the repo man. "Last of the Summer Wine" is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain, and the longest running situation comedy in the world. Each series has between six and twelve episodes; most were thirty minutes in length, with some specials running longer. There were 295 episodes and 31 series between 1973 and 2010, counting the pilot, all episodes of the series, specials, and two films. In 1978, the BBC commissioned a "Last of the Summer Wine" Christmas special instead of
The Weekenders (TV pilot) Big Night Out". Reeves co-wrote the show with Mortimer under his real name, Jim Moir, which is also the name given to his character. The show was produced as a pilot for Channel 4's "Bunch of Five" season - the network's own version of the BBC's "Comedy Playhouse", in which new sitcom ideas were tried out. Out of the five pilots that were broadcast, only one - a Frank Skinner sitcom entitled "Blue Heaven" - was made into a full series. The show co-starred several comedians and actors who were unknown at the time, but had worked with Reeves and