Hippies

I often wonder why this series was slammed so much. I thought it was brilliant and also very cleverly written and performed. I think in time to come it will be seen in the light it deserves, that is if they ever issue it. Many up and coming young comedy actors appeared in this and all went on to greater things. Maybe this fact will make people aware of its value and it will have to be issued. Sally Phillips, Simon Pegg, Peter Serafinowicz and not least Julian Rhind-Tutt of the hugely successful Green Wing. The writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews are two of the finest comedy writers of the modern age. Anyone that can produce comedy like Father Ted couldn't be capable of writing something not worthy of publication. If it is ever issued I will certainly buy it.

I cannot believe how negative most of the other comments are about this programme. Dare I say I think Father Ted is slightly overrated,I like it but it does rely on clichés about Ireland and the Catholic Church. On the other hand Hippies had mean roaring with laughter. The people in this programme show how stupid some of the 1960s people could be. I love the protest against Sandpaper. I love the way they follow the American superstar hippie blindly when he talks rubbish. The Bob Helmets episode is about the funniest thing I have seen in years. As for the cast,great performances,Sally Philips is great and I have not seen her in anything as good as this since. Would love to see the DVD in the shops. I must be in a minority because the critics were unkind to this show and it only got one series. Perhaps I like it because I remember the end of the lippy era and how daft it could be.

Let's face it - the actors were just too old too be playing young hippies in the sixties. For me this just ruined the whole premise of the sitcom. Also while we're being honest, it wasn't very funny either, just writers living off there reputation for creating the much funnier Father Ted.

It leaves me thinking where have all the good sitcoms gone and will we have to put up with repeats of "Only Fools and Horses" and "Fawlty Towers" to remind us of how good situation comedy can be?

I loved Hippies, really very, very funny. Best episode, 'Psycho Sociology, art classes one' or the 'Festival' episode. I can't understand why this series was not so popular. I suppose it lived directly in the shadow of Father Ted, so it was inevitable people would rate it against FT.It was also criticised because it was nothing like the sixties - but hey, it was a comedy, not a social commentary. 10 out of 10 for gags and great situations. Now, when's the DVD coming out?? There's a petition online to get it brought out, link can be found here: http://www.petitiononline.com/hippies1/petition.html

Please all fans of hippies go onto sign the petition!

I hated the first episode of this show ( 'Protesting Hippies' ) so much in 1999 that I shunned the rest. However, when it came on 'The Paramount Comedy Channel' I watched it in full and, to my surprise, found it absolutely hilarious ( Motto: never judge a comedy series in its first week )!

Set in 1969, 'Hippies' stars Simon Pegg as 'Ray Purbbs', editor of an 'Oz'-like underground magazine called 'Mouth'. His friends are the feminist Jill, laid-back Alex, and the half-wit Hugo. Back in the late '60's, there was a feeling of incredible optimism amongst the young, that they could change the world through the printing of magazines nobody read. Rather than sneering at the hippies' naivety, 'Hippies' is affectionate towards it. Arthur Mathews' scripts cheekily parody a number of that era's icons - 'Hair', 'Woodstock', 'The Graduate', even the infamous 'Oz' obscenity trial of the early '70's. Excellent performances from the cast; Julian Rhind-Tutt's 'Alex' strangely put me in mind of the Richard O'Sullivan character from 'Man About The House'. Its a shame that there was never a second series, possibly because of people like me. If you missed 'Hippies', give it a try. Once you get past the dire opener, you're in for a treat!