Once in Every Life Time Comes a Love Like This

WARNING: if you are not familiar with the British TV show "The Young Ones" which gained a large cult following back in the 80s, you may not really understand this post. You should read it anyway, because my ego is fragile right now.

I've gone ahead and Netflixed every episode of "The Young Ones" ever made. I grew up watching "The Young Ones" on MTV and the show has left an indelible impression on me. I remember it being so hilarious. It's typical British humor--silly, slap-stickish, irrreverent, full of talking rodents--and now that I watch it as an adult it's not really quite as hilarious as I once thought. It's sort of like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Junior high is the peak age of finding that the most hilarious and quotable movie on earth. I still like it, though, it's just not the same. But I digress.

What I've noticed as I've watched Neil, Rick, Vyvyan, and Mike yuk it up is that they are a chillingly accurate representation of each member of my family at his or her worst. Observe:

Rick:
Is just like Holden. Constantly lecturing someone about SOMETHING, in need of enormous amounts of attention, an activist for the sake of being an activist(don't get Holden started on the evils of land development), and completely full of himself. (Hey I said they reflect us on our worst days.)

Vyvyan:
Is just like Hazel: he loves violence and destruction (usually choosing Rick as his primary target), yells everything he says, has a special understanding with machinery, and spends his time bossing the others around.

Neil:
Is an amalgam of Michael and me: usually downtrodden and depressed, thanklessly serving everyone else, and complaining all the time. The words "heavy," "guys, you're really bringing me down," and "oh no!" are the most frequently used by Neil. Poor Neil. Poor us, too.

Mike:
Is like Ruby. He's the shortest, the cool guy, the one who stays above all the squabbles, and the one with the worst jokes.

You should watch "The Young Ones." At least don't miss the episode called "Bambi" where the guys go on University Challenge and compete against a young Emma Thompson. See clip....