Last of the Summer Wine episodes from series seventeen and the 30th anniversary documentary. A 2008 release named "Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1976" focuses on the third series of the show and includes bonus interviews with Peter Sallis, Brian Wilde, and Frank Thornton. Subsequently, every episode from the third to the twenty-seventh series has been released on DVD in "Vintage" collections, many including special features and interviews. A spin-off prequel show, "First of the Summer Wine", premiered on BBC1 in 1988. The new programme was written by Roy Clarke and used different actors to follow the activities of the principal characters from "Last
Last of the Summer Wine (series 1) 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 Playhouse" on 4 January 1973 "The Last of the Summer Wine" was the first episode of that show's fourteenth series. The pilot received a positive enough reaction that the BBC ordered a full series