Last Of The Summer Wine: The Complete Collection [DVD]

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A live production of Last of the Summer Wine, known informally as the "summer season", was produced in Bournemouth in 1984. While Bill Owen and Peter Sallis reprised their roles as Compo and Clegg, Brian Wilde chose not to take part because of personal differences with Owen. [14] The show focused on the men's interaction with Clegg's new neighbour, Howard ( Kenneth Waller), and his wife, Pearl, played by a local actress. The first act built up to the appearance of Marina ( Jean Fergusson), who was in correspondence with Howard. At the end of the first act, Marina was revealed to be a blonde sexpot. [120] Howard and Marina's story line was partly based on an early subplot of the television show. In the first series, the librarian, Mr. Wainwright, was having a love affair with his married assistant, Mrs. Partridge. Despite their efforts to keep the plot a secret, especially from Mrs. Partridge's husband, the trio of old men were well aware of the affair. [53] The summer season reversed the roles: Howard became the married partner, and the challenge was to keep the affair secret from his wife. [14] Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (25 April 1999). "How Errol Flynn Discovered the Secret Scar of Nora Batty". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 20. Episode 2. BBC One. Mangan, Lucy (6 November 2007). "Cable girl: why has the Summer Wine lasted?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media . Retrieved 4 December 2007.

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show from late 1981 to 2010. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. [1] Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. [2] Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. [3] Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One (until 18 July 2010 when the 31st and final series started on 25 July of that year), Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, [4] including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes 'rebooted' after long hiatuses, Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running TV comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running TV sitcom in the world. [5] [6] Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (27 December 1993). "Welcome to Earth". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 15. BBC One. Christmas Special. Toy, June. "Summer Wine DVD – Fan's Review". Summer Wine Online. Summer Wine Appreciation Society. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012 . Retrieved 2 April 2017. In 1983, Lotterby returned to the show at the insistence of Brian Wilde, who preferred Lotterby's use of tight shots focused on the trio as they talked rather than Bell's wide-angle scenes. Lotterby produced and directed one additional series before departing again the same year. [13] Bell then returned to the show beginning with the 1983 Christmas special and produced and directed all episodes of the show to the end of the 31st series. [13] a b Oatts, Joanne (17 July 2007). "3.2million enjoy 'Summer Wine' ". Digital Spy . Retrieved 5 April 2017.Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (2 February 2003). "In Which Gavin Hinchcliffe Loses the Gulf Stream". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 24. Episode 6. BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine – Cheering Up Gordon". British Board of Film Classification Database. British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 2 April 2017. 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 of the Summer Wine in the months leading up to World War II. Unlike its mother show, First of the Summer Wine was not filmed in Holmfirth. Period music was used instead of Ronnie Hazlehurst's score to create a more World War II era atmosphere. [116] New supporting characters were added to those from Last of the Summer Wine. Peter Sallis and Jonathan Linsley were the only actors from the original series to appear in the spin-off: Sallis played the father of his own character from the original show and Linsley appeared during the second series as a different character. [12]

a b "Moonbather 2003". Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008 . Retrieved 24 May 2008. Although the show initially focused on the trio and four to five supporting characters, the cast expanded over the years to include an ensemble of eccentric characters who rounded out the show. The biggest expansion came in 1985 when four characters from the stage adaptation of the show were brought over to the series proper: Howard ( Robert Fyfe), Pearl ( Juliette Kaplan), Marina ( Jean Fergusson), and Ivy's nephew, "Crusher" Milburn ( Jonathan Linsley). [57] Further additions came the following year when the film Uncle of the Bride introduced Seymour's sister, Edie, played by veteran actress Thora Hird, and her family, who were brought over to the programme the following series. [58] The only addition with no professional acting experience was the Holmfirth resident Gordon Wharmby, who performed so well during his audition as mechanic Wesley Pegden, that Alan J. W. Bell cast him in one episode. Pegden would make two more appearances before being brought in permanently as Edie's husband and Seymour's brother-in-law after positive audience reception, becoming a regular character starting in Uncle of the Bride. [59] [60] [61] The increasingly large cast ensured a sense of continuity with the changing configuration of the trio, especially following the death of Bill Owen. [44]a b Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (2 January 2000). "Last Post and Pigeon". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 20. BBC One. Millennium Special a b c "First of the Summer Wine – Special Article". Summer Wine Online. Summer Wine Appreciation Society. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012 . Retrieved 2 April 2017. Vine, Andrew (17 August 2011). Last of the Summer Wine: The Story of the World's Longest-Running Comedy Series. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-845-13711-3. Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (4 June 2000). "I Didn't Know Barry Could Play". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 21. Episode 10. BBC One. Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J W Bell (director) (24 December 1988). "Crums". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 10. BBC One. Christmas Special.

Sherwin, Adam (10 May 2008). "Last of the Summer Wine antics 'dangerous' for elderly actors". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008 . Retrieved 30 May 2008. Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (9 February 2003). "The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 24. Episode 7. BBC One.Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (1 April 2001). "Getting Barry's Goat". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 22. Episode 1. BBC One.

Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (1 January 1995). "The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 16. BBC One. New Year's Special. a b Roy Clarke (writer) & Alan J. W. Bell (director) (5 January 2003). "The Lair of the Cat Creature". Last of the Summer Wine. Series 24. Episode 1. BBC One.Every episode of Last of the Summer Wine was written by Roy Clarke. The Comedy Playhouse pilot and all episodes of the first series were produced and directed by James Gilbert. Bernard Thompson produced and directed the second series of episodes in 1975. [16] In 1976, Sydney Lotterby took over as producer and director. He directed all but two episodes of the third series [6] [23] – Ray Butt directed "The Great Boarding House Bathroom Caper" and "Cheering up Gordon". [24] [25] Lotterby directed two further series before departing the show in 1979. [6] [23] In 1981, Alan J. W. Bell took over as producer and director. Bell, in an effort to get each scene exactly right, was known for his use of more film and more takes than his predecessors [6] and for using wider angles that feature more of the local Holmfirth landscape. [13] Eardley, Clive. "Last of the Summer Wine: Review". Summer Wine Appreciation Society. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015 . Retrieved 2 April 2017. Jeffries, Mark (12 August 2010). "Last of the Summer Wine: We reveal axed show's final words". The Daily Mirror . Retrieved 12 August 2010.