Last of the Summer Wine

The best sitcom ever.

I said that several years ago and nothing that has happened to it, or to other sitcoms, has changed my view.

The scripts are funny in themselves. Add a perfect ensemble of actors, faultless direction and wonderful background music and one gets, quite simply, the best ever.

Some of the situations are predictable, some slight, some bizarre. But that is life as we know it, and is all lends to the strength of the series. And it is to reasurring to know I cannot be alone, just look at the dates!

Running since the dawn of time, Last of the Summer Wine is one of the mot reliable elements of the BBC's output. Featuring wonderful actors in unique roles, it's ideal viewing for sitting down with the Sunday tea. It's warm, sentimental and old-fashioned. That every episode seems to end with a couple of OAPs rolling down a hillside in a tin bath on wheels is neither here nor there: it's charming and friendly. Spiky edges are provided by Dame Thora Hird, the wondrous Kathy Staff, and Jane Freeman, and the series is not challenging viewing. Harmless. The kind of telly you could watch with your granny. That most of the cast are your granny's age is another joy. Hardly cutting edge, and guaranteed to run until the end of the world, Last of the Summer Wine is truly immortal.

My father got me hooked on this series, after he mentioned how much he enjoyed it. A local PBS station was running it, and I just fell in love with the three old men and their antics. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Peter Sallis is also the voice of Wallace, as in "Wallace & Grommit" -- another personal favorite. My biggest frustration is that our PBS station stopped running it, the BBC has only released one set of tapes, and that is criminal for a show that's been on the air for 30 years! For gentle, character driven comedies, this show cannot be beat. Also, the scenery is beautiful. All those rural, rustic shots of the English countryside are gorgeous.

When we first started to watch this show we were in our 30's which put the actors at around 50 years of age, As I am sure most of you "younguns" out there of 30 or under will testify, 50 is an age you yourselves will never be, just as we thought then, how wrong we were, Time shoots by so very quickly that here we are 30 odd years later and still avid fans. Last of the Summer Wine was and still is wonderful viewing if you prefer your television to not be peppered with unnecessary expletives nor have endless closeups of moving bed-clothes and sundry body parts. This was a story of 3 middle-aged men who still had their wits and humour about them and most of all loved to laugh. The fact that you knew in advance the slide down the hill on a tray or running with a kite being pulled by Wesleys "jeep" would always end in disaster for one or the other of the trio was part of the attraction and still is. Viewing the programme now with many new actors in the cast, due mainly to the demise of the original cast members, is just a reflection of life and death but the humour, fun and sheer joy of living is still there despite the fact that Norman Clegg still professes to find it difficult to talk to women or for that matter anyone except his close compatriots. Now in our mid 60's my husband and I still love this programme and will always watch the repeats which are, fortunately for us, now running on cable TV. A toast to the Summer Wine-- Long may it Last-.

Simply put, this show has been my favorite discovery of late and I am definitely going to try and purchase each and every one of the episodes and specials if possible.

It has really not been done justice by the other comment here. I am absolutely in love with this show.

I had no idea it has been around as long as it has. Apparently the longest running show in England and possibly most anywhere.

With good reason as you will see if you watch a couple of episodes.

These gentlemen trying to recapture their youth are so funny and endearing