"Sick" is the eleventh episode of British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' The Young Ones''. It was written by

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

and

Lise Mayer Lise Mayer (born November 1959) is an American television and film writer, best known as, alongside Rik Mayall and Ben Elton, a creator and co-writer of the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones''. Background and work Mayer was born in Chicago, I ...

, and directed by Paul Jackson. It was first aired on BBC2 on 12 June 1984. The episode features the song " Our House", performed by Madness, the only band to appear on the show twice.

Plot

All four flatmates have caught colds and are recuperating at their home, with all but Mike complaining and making nuisances of themselves in various ways. Neil develops a severe sneezing fit that causes large amounts of mucus to spew from his nose. Mike visits a local chemist's shop to get some medicine, but is thrown out by a female employee after trying to flirt with her. Neil's sneezes trigger a series of altercations on the street outside the house that grows into a block-wide riot; the band Madness are drawn into the chaos while performing their song " Our House". Meanwhile, Vyvyan tapes Rick's laundry bag over Neil's head to contain the mucus, and later tries to cure him through acupuncture by hammering nails into his head. During the riot, a criminal named Brian Damage escapes police custody and takes the four hostage at their home, holding them at gunpoint. Brian Damage inadvertently cures Neil's sneezes by head-butting him. The group receive a brief visit from Vyvyan's mother, who proves to be as rude and uncouth as he is. Meanwhile, Neil suddenly remembers that his parents are coming to tea that afternoon. Upon their arrival, Neil's parents are concerned about their son's decision to star on ''The Young Ones''. They suggests that the programme should be more age-appropriate in the manner of '' The Good Life''. However, Vyvyan is outraged by this idea and angrily tears down the show's title card when it appears. The scene abruptly changes to the backyard, with the four fully recovered and ineptly trying to start a garden. Irritated by Neil's constant talk about seeds and growing things, Rick knocks him out with a shovel blow to the head, and later buries him under a freshly delivered load of manure fertiliser for fear of having killed him. Triplicates of Neil rise from the pile that night. While Rick is asleep in his bed, he has a nightmare about being put on trial by Vyvyan and Mike for killing Neil. As a group of girls in the courtroom offer to strip naked for Rick, his conscience scolds him for ignoring his guilt over Neil's death. As Rick tearfully wishes that he would see Neil again, all three Neils enter the house, which terrifies Rick. Vyvyan and Mike join Rick and Neil in the living room, whereupon the back wall of the house opens up to reveal a variety show stage, on which Brian Damage and Neil's parents wave and blow kisses to the audience as the show's closing credits roll.

Characters

Vyvyan (

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series '' The Young Ones'' (1 ...

), Rick (

), Neil (

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in ''Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End mu ...

), and Mike (

Christopher Ryan Christopher Ryan (born Christopher Papazoglou; 25 January 1950) is a British actor best known for his roles as Mike TheCoolPerson in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy series ''Bottom'', Tony Driscoll in t ...

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gre ...

starred as escaped

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

Brian Damage. Brian Oulton and

Peggy Thorpe-Bates Peggy Thorpe-Bates (11 August 1914 – 26 December 1989) was an English actress who appeared in the first three series of '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' as Rumpole's fearsome wife Hilda. She also appeared in numerous other supporting roles on bot ...

appear as Neil's parents.

References

External links

Sick
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

* {{Madness The Young Ones episodes 1984 British television episodes Madness (band) Television shows written by Ben Elton