LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE

'''Last of the Summer Wine''' (occasionally billed as '''The Last of the Summer Wine''' in the 1980s and early 1990s), written by Roy Clarke, is the United Kingdom's longest ever running sitcom. It was first broadcast in 1973, and as of September 2007 the 28th series is being broadcast and it remains the longest-running comedy series in the world. It is produced and transmitted by the BBC.

Description

The continuing focus of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a trio of retired men, whose differing views of life provide much of the comic tension. Until the death of Compo in 2000 (following the death of actor Bill Owen), the trio consisted of scruffy lower-class "Compo" Simmonite, meek and timid middle-class Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis) and a "third man". The character in the role of third man varied over the years (the longest standing and most famous being Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst (Brian Wilde)), but he was always an authoritarian figure, playing the ring-leader in the escapades of the friends. The series is filled out by many other local characters, many of which have come and gone over the years, and whose roles have been greatly expanded over time, with the series over the past decade or so becoming very much an ensemble piece. In particular, in the 1990s, scenes of "the ladies" coffee meetings, discussing the oddities of men and the world in general, became very popular with viewers and were soon expanded to become a staple of each episode.
The show's working title was ''The Library Mob'', reflecting the library being one of the main trio's regular haunts when the series began.
A spin-off series, ''First of the Summer Wine'', used different actors to follow the exploits of the main characters in their youth, with Peter Sallis playing the father of his own regular character in ''Last of the Summer Wine''.
In 2004 the series came 14th in a high profile BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom.

Major characters - the "Summer Wine" trio

Now in its twenty-eighth series, with another currently in pre-production, it is filmed in and around Holmfirth, Yorkshire, and revolves around the adventures of three elderly, unmarried friends: Norman Clegg or "Cleggy" (Peter Sallis), a shy and self-effacing widower; William "Compo" Simmonite (Bill Owen), sly, small, scruffy and amorous towards one of the women, the ever-frumpish Nora Batty (Kathy Staff); and a third member, who varies through the series. This third member generally acts as an unofficial - and pompous - leader of the more mischievous Compo and Clegg, who usually mock their companion. However, on the occasions where Compo and Clegg were left to their own devices, they would usually find themselves bored and in need of someone to take them on an adventure. The original third member was Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates 1973-1975), who always wanted to better himself and was embarrassed by Compo's poor personal hygiene; then - and most famously - Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst (Brian Wilde 1976-1985), a pompous and boastful ex-army corporal; then the ineffectual eccentric would-be inventor Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge 1986-1990), the brother of Edie Pegden (Thora Hird); then a return by Foggy Dewhurst (1990-1997); and currently, retired police officer Herbert "Truly" Truelove (Frank Thornton).
After the death of Bill Owen in 1999, Owen's real life son, Tom Owen, joined the
cast, playing Tom Simmonite, Compo's long-lost son. It was intended that he would fill the gap in the trio left by his father, but this did not work out and he was eventually paired with Smiler (Stephen Lewis), working for Auntie Wainwright (Jean Alexander). After a couple of series, the role was filled by Billy Hardcastle (played by Keith Clifford who had made a couple of one-off appearances previously), who tried to emulate - and claimed to be descended from - Robin Hood.

William "Compo" Simmonite

(Bill Owen, 1973-2000) Working class, and dressed in scruffy trousers and wellington boots, Compo rarely (if ever) worked for a living, preferring the lazy life. According to Roy Clarke, the name derived from 'on the compo' meaning living off a compensation payment for an industrial injury. A great physical comedian, Compo was often the butt of jokes arising from the many dirty jobs, stunts and escapades that are a central feature of the series. Another recurring theme was Compo's lust for the ladies, especially his next-door neighbour, Nora Batty.
Compo was killed off in 2000 following the death of Owen a year earlier. Although Compo was already seriously ill, according to Truly and Clegg, it was the sight of Nora Batty in fish-net stockings that finished him off, but he died with a smile on his face (as claimed by Truly, Clegg and Nora Batty).

Norman Clegg

(Peter Sallis: 1973-present) Middle-class Clegg (or Cleggy, as Compo and some of his closer friends, especially Howard, often call him) aims for a quiet respectable retirement from his career as a lino salesman, but is continually involved in the schemes of Foggy and the others. Despite having been married, Clegg fearfully shies away from women - especially the forward Marina. In many senses, Clegg represents the eye of the viewer into the escapades. As such, he is notable for his wry philosophical asides. Perfectly content reading alone in his cosy home, he also finds fascination in some of the smaller things in life - such as beetles, ironing, & warts. He is also so reserved and shy that he famously wears several layers of clothing: vest/long johns, shirt, jumper/sweater, waistcoat/suit vest, jacket/sport coat, and finally a plastic mac, which he just carries when its not windy or raining. He is also the only one of the trio that possesses a driver's certificate/license and therefore occasionally finds himself reluctantly pressured into driving on the very rare occasion that they aren't merely strolling about locally and manage to avail themselves of a vehicle sans driver. This inevitably results in a panic attack for poor Cleggy who fumbles about with the gears and pedals uncontrollably. In early episodes, Clegg was much more forthright and adventurous. Within a few years he became more retiring and cautious, and the group came to be dominated by Foggy and the "third men" that succeeded him.

Cyril Blamire

(Michael Bates: 1973-1975) The first third man, and the most childishly argumentative. Had upper-class aspirations and often disassociated himself from the other two. Because of his sophisticated interests and insistence on table manners, Compo liked to refer to him as a "poof". When Bates left the cast due to illness in 1975, Blamire was written out of the series: it was said that he had left to get married.

Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst

(Brian Wilde: 1976-1985, 1990-1997) The successor to Blamire, Foggy is generally considered the definitive third man. A former soldier, he liked to boast of his exploits in Burma during the Second World War (in fact, he was a sign-writer). Although he considered himself very regimental and heroic, when confronted Foggy was generally meek and incompetent. He considered himself the leader of the trio, and frequently took charge of the lazy Compo and meek Cleggy. When Wilde left the series in 1985 to star in his own sitcom, it was explained that Foggy had moved to Bridlington to take over his family's egg-painting business. Returning in 1990, he claimed he had tired of a life of egg painting. In 1997, when Wilde's illness prevented him from taking part in the series, it was said that Foggy was swept away to Blackpool to be married by the local postmistress. Wilde has said in a documentary about the series that he did consider returning for Compo's funeral, but felt that it would be too much of a spectacle, with too much of the focus being on him, when the episode belonged to Owen.

Seymour Utterthwaite

(Michael Aldridge: 1986-1990) Retired headmaster Seymour felt it was his duty in life to educate the masses, and in particular Compo and Clegg. He liked to invent, but the resulting inventions invariably led to disaster - especially for Compo, always the reluctant guinea pig. Seymour's house, outside of the town, was a country home modified into a laboratory, riddled with new devices and contraptions that seldom if ever worked properly. His sister Edie (Thora Hird) always spoke very highly of him and how he was 'eductated', refusing to take into his account his continual failed inventions. When Aldridge left the series in 1990 to care for his sick wife, Seymour was last seen leaving on a bus to take up a new job as an interim headmaster at a private school - just as previous third man Foggy returned!

Herbert "Truly of the Yard" Truelove

(Frank Thornton: 1997-present) A retired policeman, Truly is more relaxed, fun-loving, and can be more of an equal match at the local pub than his predecessors as "third man". He can also be a bit more devious with the odd practical joke or typical witty scheme, his eyes flickering with an almost devilish glint. Likewise, he can be equally sly in getting them out of a scrape or just helping out a friend. Divorced, he frequently makes disparaging comments about "the former Mrs Truelove" and, because of his previous involvement with the police, calls himself "Truly of the Yard".

The post-Compo era

After the death of Compo (following the 1999 death of actor Bill Owen), the classic "trio" format of Compo, Clegg and one other was no longer sustainable. For several years, the show had become more of an ensemble performance: instead of viewing all events through the eyes of the trio, recurring characters had their own, independent plotlines. Several new characters were introduced, and previous guest stars became regulars. New characters included Compo's son Tom Simmonite (played by Bill Owen's son Tom), who was widely reported in the press as being a direct replacement for the Compo character. In fact, the closest direct replacement for Compo was in the form of Billy Hardcastle (played by Keith Clifford), who is often shown walking with Truly and Clegg, though without the stunts associated with Compo. With the introduction of Alvin Smedley (played by Brian Murphy), the stunts, and an element of physical humour returned to the series. Keith Clifford left the series following the 2006 series thus meaning the character Billy Hardcastle was written out of the series: no explanation has so far been made for his absence (as has been with the case with many other characters that no longer appear). With Billy's departure, the main line-up has gone back down to a trio (it was often a foursome with both him and Alvin present), and back in the traditional vein of the meek deep thinker (Clegg), the figure of authority (Truly), and the child-like other (Alvin).
In 2006 the show achieved average ratings of 5 million viewers per episode.
Since 2000 Stuntman Riky Ash has worked on the series as the major stunt double to Norman Wisdom, Tom Owen, Brian Murphy, Robert Fyfe and Tony Capstick. Riky is also the show's Stunt Co-ordinator looking after the safety of all the actors and, with Director Alan Bell, planning the many intricate stunts the show demands.

Other recurring characters and plots

See Recurring characters in Last of the Summer Wine.
Important regular sub-plots in ''Last Of The Summer Wine'' revolve around Howard's love affair with Marina (which his wife, Pearl, knows about, and tolerates up to a point, mainly because it gives her something to use against him); discussions of the women's informal group: Nora, Ivy, Pearl, Edie and Glenda (with the customary unspoken battle between Nora and Ivy as to who gets the eclair and the synchronized tea-drinking); Compo's pursuit of Nora (figuring more prominently after Wally Batty is no longer on the scene, having died, although it was an element of the series to some extent even before that); penny-pinching Aunty Wainwright's machinations to sell her merchandise; Eli's gaffes; Barry's pursuit of new hobbies in an attempt to make his life less humdrum, and Tom's constant efforts to stay one step ahead of the repo-man. Another much used plot device, is an invention or idea created by one of or all of the main trio (or sometimes, by Wesley), and their disastrous attempts to put it into practice. This was particularly common during inventor Seymour's years with the series, and also common with Foggy.

Praise and criticism

The series was praised for portraying older people in a positive and active light, and not just a stereotypical representation of the retired. It was also praised for its clever and, at times, philosophical writing, and for being a family-friendly show in terms of viewing. ^[1]
In more recent years, the series has been criticized for being tired and very formulaic. Many have complained that the cast has grown too large, to the detriment of the dialogue and plotlines.
''Last of the Summer Wine'' was mentioned in the BBC television comedy Extras during the first series when Maggie reluctantly attends a party thrown for a former friend and co-worker, whom Maggie refers to as "a wee bit mental". She jokingly compares to the elderly partygoers as looking like "the cast of Last of the Summer Wine".
A new 10-part series is currently being aired on BBC 1 as of 18:20 15th July 2007 and the next 10-part series is currently being filmed in and around Holmfirth and the Holme Valley: this will appear on TV screens in 2008.

DVD Releases

Series 1 to 6 have been released so far, by both BBC DVD & playback DVD: each DVD set has been released in pairs, i.e. series 1 and 2 together, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. All the other remaining series have yet to be released in a few years to come.

References

1. The Insider: Last of the Summer Wine (html version of newsletter) [1]

External links

★ ''Last of the Summer Wine'' at the BBC Guide to Comedy

★ ''Last of the Summer Wine'' at phill.co.uk

★

★ ''Last of the Summer Wine Appreciation Society''

★ of the Summer Wine Tourism''

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