Last of the Summer Wine (series 9)

Last of the Summer Wine's ninth series originally aired on BBC1 between 1 January 1986 and 27 December 1987.[1] All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.[2]

Last of the Summer Wine
Series 9
Last of the Summer Wine Series 9 & 10 DVD
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes15
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release1 January 1986 (1986-01-01) –
27 December 1987 (1987-12-27)
Series chronology

The ninth series was released on DVD in region 2 as a box set on 5 May 2008.

For reasons not disclosed, the DVD box set in the UK splits series 9 into two series, renaming the second half as series 10. As a consequence, every subsequent DVD release is miss-numbered (series 10 is now series 11; series 11 is now series 12, etc).

Outline

The trio in this series consisted of:

Actor Role
Michael Aldridge Seymour
Bill Owen Compo
Peter Sallis Clegg

First appearances

Last appearances

List of episodes

New Year Special (1986)

Title Airdate Description Notes
Uncle of the Bride 1 January This episode introduces Seymour as the show’s new ‘Third Man’. Glenda, Edie and Wesley's daughter, is marrying the hapless but kind-hearted Barry. Seymour, her uncle and Edie's brother, is in charge of the pre-nuptial celebrations.
  • This was a 90-minute special, a film made for television.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Seymour Utterthwaite.
  • This episode also marks the first appearances of Edie, Glenda and Barry, all of whom started to appear regularly shortly after.
  • This is the second episode to have no laughter track.
  • Wesley became a regular character from this episode onward (until 2002).
  • According to dialogue in this episode, Foggy has moved to Bridlington to take-over a family egg-painting business.
  • In 1994, after Michael Aldridge's death, this special was repeated in his memory.
  • This episode had ratings of 18.10 million viewers, making it the 8th most watched programme of 1986.
  • Included on the Series 9 & 10 boxset.

Christmas Special (1986)

Title Airdate Description Notes
Merry Christmas Father Christmas 28 December It's Christmas 1986, and Seymour attempts to instil some magic into the festive season by dressing a reluctant Compo as Father Christmas.
  • The runtime of this episode is just short of 36 minutes.
  • This episode had ratings of 16.30 million viewers
  • Included on the Series 9 & 10 boxset.

Regular series

Title Airdate Description Notes
Why Does Norman Clegg buy Ladies' Elastic Stockings 4 January Howard persuades a reluctant Clegg to take a message to Marina in the store where she works. Clegg buys random items, including ladies' stockings, in order to explain his extended presence in the store while he waits for a chance to pass the message. Seymour invents a drill and uses it in an attempt to find oil, with unhappy results.
  • The runtime of this episode is just short of 34 minutes.
  • The theme tune of Dallas is parodied in the style of the Summer Wine theme when Clegg and Compo use Seymour's bike to drill for oil.
  • This is the first episode since it began in 1973 to open indoors in the studio and on videotape (all previous 62 episodes, plus pilot, open outdoors on location and on film).
  • The episode is edited by about 4 minutes on the region 1 DVD release.
The Heavily Reinforced Bottom 11 January Compo takes up canoeing, with disastrous results.
  • Filming took place near the Standedge Tunnels, (at the Tunnel End Cottages, close by). This episode would be used again in the Series 10 episode ‘The Treasure of the Deep’.
Dried Dates and Codfanglers 18 January Seymour invents a high-security door lock, which fails miserably. Compo has lost a prized possession – a date Nora Batty threw at him!
The Really Masculine Purse 25 January After Compo claims that any man who uses a purse is effeminate, Seymour tries to invent a strictly masculine purse.
Who's Feeling Ejected Then? 1 February Seymour builds an ejector seat, which Compo is persuaded to test.
The Ice-Cream Man Cometh 8 February Seymour misses the good old days, and decides to promote the old tradition of bicycling ice-cream men.
Set the People Free 15 February Howard and Wally have both been confined to quarters, and it's up to the trio to try to break them free.
Go with the Flow 22 February Seymour volunteers the trio to help the Vicar and they are assigned to sell tickets for a production of Beatrix Potter – but all he succeeds in doing is getting himself thrown out of the local pub. Will Compo fare any better?
Jaws 1 March Seymour invents a new waste disposal unit for Edie.
  • This episode marked the first appearance of Eli (Danny O'Dea), who became a regular shortly after.
Edie and the Automobile 8 March Edie is having driving lessons – no-one is safe!
  • This episode sees the start of a recurring joke, that would remain throughout the series, regarding Edie and her terrible driving.
  • Despite her awful driving, later episodes suggest Edie passed her test somehow.
Wind Power 15 March Seymour's invents wind-powered rollerskates.
When You take a Good Bite, Yorkshire Tastes Terrible 22 March Clegg receives word that an old friend in America, Bill Henry Duffield, died six months earlier. The trio relive some happy memories as a tribute.
  • This episode marks the final appearance of Wally Batty. Joe Gladwin died less than a fortnight before it was broadcast.

Christmas Special (1987)

Title Airdate Description Notes
Big Day at Dream Acres 27 December There's a big fete at Dream Acres. But why is a tramp so interested in one of the donkeys?
  • This was a 79-minute special, a film made for television.
  • This special marks the Final appearance of Crusher as Jonathan Linsley left the show having gone onto a crash diet which meant the character of Milburn couldn't continue nor resume due to weight loss.
  • This is the 3rd and final episode to have no laughter track.
  • Guest appearances of Ray McAnally and David Ellison.
  • First appearance of Tony Capstick as a policeman
  • Included on the Series 9 & 10 boxset.
  • The music played by the brass band at the end of this episode would later be used in "Just a Small Funeral".

When recordings were "repackaged" for overseas sale, UK series 9 (12 episodes) was split into "Season 9" and "Season 10" (each of 6 episodes), with all subsequent "seasons" being renumbered accordingly. As a result, (for example) "Series 27" in the UK may be referred to as "Season 28" in the USA. This miss-numbering occurs on the UK DVD releases for reasons unknown.

DVD release

The box set for series nine was released by Universal Playback in May 2008, mislabelled as a box set for series 9 & 10.

The Complete Series 9 & 10
Set Details[3]
  • 15 episodes
  • 3-disc set
  • Language: English
Release Date
Region 2
5 May 2008

Notes
  1. Bright and Ross (2000), pp. 183–186
  2. Bright and Ross (2000), p. 164
  3. "Last of the Summer Wine Series 9 & 10". Amazon. Retrieved 21 August 2016.

References

Bright, Morris; Robert Ross (2000). Last of the Summer Wine: The Finest Vintage. London: BBC Worldwide Ltd. ISBN 0-563-55151-8.

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