The Show:
On The Buses is one of the most famous British sitcoms to grace television, as well as one of the most successful, running for seven series (between 1969-1973) and spawning three feature length films. Made obvious from the title, On The Buses is about a group of bus company workers whose main objectives are to get through the day doing the bare minimum amount of work and ogle at as many women as possible. It stars some of Britain's best talent from the time, including Reg Varney (The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business) as the main character Stan Butler, Bob Grant (Til Death Do Us Part, The Jugg Brothers) as 'clippie' Jack Harper and their arch nemesis inspector, Cyril 'Blakey' Blake (played by Stephen Lewis - Last Of The Summer Wine, Oh Doctor Beeching!). Stan must contend with Blakey on a day to day basis as well as put up with living with his mum (Doris Hare - Nuns On The Run, Coronation Street), sister Olive (Anna Karen - Revolver, Roland Rat: The Series) and his brother in law Arthur Rudge (Michael Robbins - The Pink Panther Strikes Again, No Sex Please We're British). Included in the third series are all thirteen episodes in colour (the show was in black and white for the first two series) which I will now give brief details about:
First Aid - Stan and Jack enlist the help of Stan's mother and brother-in-law to scrape through a first aid test which has been put together by the bus inspector, Blakey. It remains to be seen however, how they will cope with a real life emergency whilst on their route. Originally aired 2nd January 1970.
The Cistern - Stan decides to fix the boiler in the house, but somehow manages to break his spanner and cracks the toilet pan. All this work to stop the amount of noise the boiler makes at night must be worth it, mustn't it? Originally aired 9th January 1970.
The Inspector's Neice - The inspector's neice gets a job working at the bus depot as a trainee clippie (conductor), but she doesn't want the rest of the workforce to know that she got her uncle to give her the job. Originally aired 16th January 1970.
Brew It Yourself - Jack persuades Stan to brew his own beer at home, much to his own families disinterest, until Olive and Arthur refind their love for each other, mother gets tipsy and Stan gets absolutely hammered. Originally aired 23rd January 1970.
Busmen's Perks - When Arthur and Olive decide that they must finally redecorate their bedroom, Stan offers to provide the paint. One problem, the paint is exactly the same colour as the buses! Originally aired 30th January 1970.
The Snake - Stan and Jack are in for a fright when the Indian busmen hold a social gathering in the bus depot's canteen where the main attraction is a snake charmer and his eight foot boa constrictor. Originally aired 6th February 1970.
Mum's Last Fling - Olive, Stan and Arthur start to imagine the worst when mother stays out till the early hours after beginning to use kiss-proof lipstick. Has something happened or has she just found her younger days again? Originally aired 13th February 1970.
Radio Control - The inspector installs a new two way radio in Stan and Jack's bus, as he becomes increasingly suspicious that they are skiving when their route takes longer than longer. Can they manage to get themselves out of this one? Originally aired 20th February 1970.
Foggy Night - Stan and Jack are forced to pull the bus other when the local area is covered with fog and they can no longer see the road. The big problem though is that the inspector, mother, Olive and Arthur are also on the bus. Originally aired 27th February 1970.
The New Uniform - Stan and Jack must try out the new uniforms to try a new image. They are chosen due to them being the scruffiest workers, but the new uniforms have a major impact on the opposite sex. Originally aired 6th March 1970.
Going Steady - Stan has been going steady with an atrractive co-worker, but this new found romance isn't going to be easy. Especially when the girl in question is Sally, the inspector's neice. Originally aired 13th March 1970.
The Squeeze - Stan decides to sell some of his assets to the inspector as a way of bringing a larger income home to the family. Desperate measures mean fun and laughter ensues. Originally aired 20th March 1970.
On The Make - Stan's intentions might not be as horrible as they may seem when he offer's fellow worker Edna a place to stay when her landlady evicts her. He didn't expect her to bring her great dane with her aswell though. Originally aired 27th March 1970.
Unfortunately, this series isn't as good as the previous two, with some of the jokes being re-used and the story;lines moving slowly, even though each episode only lasts 25 minutes. Recommended for fans of the first two series and die hard fans of British comedy only. Distinctly average.
The DVD:
Video:
Network have provided us with the OAR of 4:3. This is the first series of On The Buses to be shown in colour and unfortunately, this DVD presentation isn't as vivid as it should be and comes across rather washed out and light. However, there isn't much damage to the print in the way of grain and no major scratches which is a plus. No subtitles have been provided.
Audio:
The original English track in Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono is provided here, and it's pretty good. The dialogue is clear and the music levels consistent. A 2.0 Stereo track would've been more sufficient, but a 5.1 track would be unnessesary and rather pointless, as there aren't that many instances for it to be used.
Extras:
None.
