favourite era or series

G

gill

Guest
Hi everyone. Does anyone have a favourite era or series of LOTSW? I really enjoy the Seymour years, it had some great episodes with lots of physical humour and of course as other members have said one of the best Christmas specials in Crums.
 
I enjoyed the first Foggy years, right through the Seymour years back to Foggy years and right up until A Side Car Named Desire. The rest where good with some great episodes but I can count on two fingers the episodes I didn't like through my favourite years.
 
Pearl said:
I enjoyed the first Foggy years, right through the Seymour years back to Foggy years and right up until A Side Car Named Desire. The rest where good with some great episodes but I can count on two fingers the episodes I didn't like through my favourite years.
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A Compo salute eh??:me:
 
I think like most lotsw fans the Foggy years were my favourite. But I agree there were some very good Seymour episodes. I thought Seymour grew on you as time went by.
 
Like the majority Foggy years the best and totally agree about Seymour ,when he first came on the scene I was not sure but he showed how good an actor he was plus he fitted in well .The powered wheel barrow was a good start and the look he gave Compo when dreaming up the next scheme was priceless and Cleggy s comment he,ss looking at you again! is brilliant.Foggy was the master though and his ideas always made me laugh I think the water taxi was one of his best what were yours favourite schemes lets hear.
 
I'm sure I've posted a similar preference list in the past, but here it is again, possibly rearranged slightly.

Seymour
Blamire
Truly
Foggy

As for episodes, it would be hard to choose favorites, but Of Funerals and Fish holds a very special place in my affections, even though it's the pilot rather than an episode in the series proper. As for scenes, the barber shop scene in Short Back and Palais Glide rewards me with more belly laughs than any of the others do. Especially the dialog starting with Clegg's remark about the Vikings coming up the rivers and "raping our forefathers." Then there's Clegg's hypothesizing the Mostyn Lightfoot syndrome as the root of what's wrong in the world.

As for the Seymour years, there isn't a single episode that doesn't have me at least chuckling all the way through. I've read that Michael Aldridge was ebullient and jolly, and he infused his part with those traits, leavened with the snobbish, lecturing schoolmaster that Roy Clarke wrote for him.
 
Seymours go anywhere drill the car ejector seat getting compo to try his sailboard that wesley made to impress nora and trying to teach edie to drive are some of my favourit
es.
 
I would say the first Foggy period is my favorite ere, largely because Series Five and Six are both so great in terms of episodes that I would consider classic. My individual top two or three episodes are not from that period, but almost all the rest of my Top Ten is.

As for Seymour, I enjoyed that period but it was so uneven in the early episodes. That was simply due to Clarke still trying to figure out the character but the way things unfolded from a production standpoint didn't help. People forget but even Foggy had some odd early quirks that had to be worked through and the same was true with Seymour. The problem is that Clarke had to do that in the context of a double season. To me the crazy inventor angle is a little too crazy and it wasn't until later that Seymour was allowed to be a little more human and even show a bit of a mischievous nature. ". . . Yorkshire Tastes Terrible" is one of my favorite all time episodes, but in that one Seymour takes a back seat to Clegg. By the time we get to Seymours second and third series it's at a very consistent high level, but those first episodes represent half of the Seymour period.
 
I always seemed to be drawn towards the Seymour years, very often you can see how much Seymour is enjoying being there with his smiles as the others are chatting, I think he was a great addition to the trio even if it was for a short time
 
I was originally very high on the second Foggy era, but over time it's been the Blamire years that I find myself going back to repeatedly when I want to relax and have a soft chuckle or two.
 
My favourite years are probably Foggy`s second era simply because these are the ones that I watched when I was a child. They will always hold a special place in my heart simply because of that but, watching them with adult eyes, I can now see that the show was maybe just beginning to decline in some ways during this period.
 
Just watched bicycle trekking Foggy at his best dropping the others right in it ,and before that Howard thrown out of home and Foggy getting him home,the look on Cleggs face when Marina pulls him into the bushes lucky man.
 
I don't know about favourite era but the inconsistency of UK Gold's scheduling at the moment is all too apparent , they were showing two episodes from series 17 followed by one from 27 then Friday its more from 17 but none from 27 , then next week it goes to some of 18 then misses 19 out totally and skips to 20 . I can only think it is something to do with the rights there is nothing in 19 that I can see that would prevent broadcast . The channels we see it on are Gold, Yesterday and Drama all owned in part by BBC Worldwide so technically , if the BEEB still own the rights they could show any episode . I just wish they would show them chronologically rather than cherry pick episodes/series.:mad:
 
captain clutterbuck said:
I don't know about favourite era but the inconsistency of UK Gold's scheduling at the moment is all too apparent , they were showing two episodes from series 17 followed by one from 27 then Friday its more from 17 but none from 27 , then next week it goes to some of 18 then misses 19 out totally and skips to 20 . I can only think it is something to do with the rights there is nothing in 19 that I can see that would prevent broadcast . The channels we see it on are Gold, Yesterday and Drama all owned in part by BBC Worldwide so technically , if the BEEB still own the rights they could show any episode . I just wish they would show them chronologically rather than cherry pick episodes/series.:mad:
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I think the way these channels work is that they pay to get the rights to specific series of a show for a certain amount of time. So even though they were originally shown on the BBC, that doesn`t mean that they can show any episode (though that doesn`t mean that they shouldn`t be more organized in the ones that they do show).
 
I started watching the show with the Truly years and have always been so attached to so many of the extras, such as Billy, Smiler, Enwhistlel, etc. Then there are so many great moments with Blamire and it is really hard not to count Foggy's first run as the absolute best (reflecting on Sarkus' comments about that era). The Blamire and early Foggy years are in many ways, a different show than the Truly years (especially the post-Compo era).

However......looking over the broad spectrum of Summer Wine eras, I have to go with the time when Bell returned as Director in Series 8-12. The main reason why isn't Seymour (although he was wonderful). But the main reason is this era combine the old Summer Wine (lots of concentration with the trio and extended scenes where the dialogue was the main comic focus) with the new Summer Wine (with the addition of all the new characters coming in). I can't name which extras came in at certain times, but when I watch the rotation of Summer Wine episodes, it is always so cheerful to see the introduction of the likes of Smiler, Wesley, Barry, etc. I think Series 8-12 perfectly bridges the gap between the classic Summer Wine with the new.
 
Probably not popular view but
Luther Hobdyke the best then Truly/Billy Hardcastle and Foggy . Any with Howard in made them even better
 
This afternoon it was the introduction of the supreme barmpot Billy Hardcastle I really like him he had a very special way of being an idiot and could make the simple task a right of cock up .When the ladies went along to a recruitment day and we saw Smiler ,Howard Marina all try for the post but the best bit was when Compo swung from a tree by his foot and surprised the lovely Nora.Billly always added an extra buzz to the show unlike Hobo who was a ridiculous character it was interesting when Billy started to wear fatigues later on maybe his wife and he sister got to him and made him change his garb mark you from his description of them I would not argue.
 
For me, the show was at it's best from the pilot up to around Series 13.

But to single out a more definite era from those years, I'd say during Series 6 they had it spot on.

They had Foggy, Alan JW Bell and Sid and Wally were still around too. All of these factors help to make a perfect show.

I would say Series 6 (and Getting Sam Home) is the ONLY period where the show had those four factors above.
 
Still think that the Foggy years were the best the trio really jelled with each other but I liked when the story line was the chat between them as it was in first Foggy time the dialogue was very detailed and was just like three blokes having a day out.
 
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