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 fourth series are all thirteen episodes which I will now give brief details about:
Nowhere To Go - Stan and Jack have just finished working the late shift and all the pubs and parks are shut, forcing them to take their girls to the back seats of the bus. They must get past Blakey first though! Originally aired 27th November 1970.
The Canteen Girl - Stan and Jack are left surprised when they find out that Blakey has managed to pull the new canteen girl. The boys are happy when Blakey announces his plans to marry her and move to the countryside, only to find the new inspector a major pain. Originally aired 4th December 1970.
Dangerous Living - When Jack reads about the high mortality rate of overweight bus drivers, Stan becomes increasingly worried, but doesn't take slimming seriously until clippie Pat persuades him to. Originally aired 11th December 1970.
The Other Woman - Stan and his mother must reconciliate Olive and Arthur's marriage after Olive throws him out the house when she catches Arthur ogling at some of the female workers at the bus depot. Originally aired 18th December 1970.
Christmas Duty - In this Christmas Day special, Stan and Jack find that they have been lumbered with the unenviable task of keeping watch at the bus depot with the inspector. Originally aired 25th December 1970.
The 'L' Bus - As with all major bus companies, the one that Stan and Jack work for has there own learners bus. Much to their horror though, it is their turn to take charge of it. Originally aired 1st January 1971.
The Kids' Outing - Much to his disgust, Stan finds out that this year it's his turn to drive the bus for the local annual children's outing. Originally aired 10th January 1971.
The Anniversary - There's a big party in the coming as Olive and Arthur celebrate their tenth anniversary of marriage. Not even a joyous day like this can go smoothly for the Butlers though. Originally aired 17th January 1971.
Cover Up - Stan must smuggle some of the bus seat fabric from the depot in an attempt to revamp his mothers furniture, all the while whilst working plenty of overtime. Originally aired 24th January 1971.
Safety First - Blakey introduces some new saftey regulations but Jack and Stan manage to use them to an effect that causes even more health risks. Originally aired 31st January 1971.
The Lodger - As decimalisation is bought into effect in the country, Stan, Jack and Blakey struggle to come to terms with the new system. Also, due to inflation rises, Stan gets a lodger. Originally aired 7th February 1971.
The Injury - Jack provides Stan with lots of advice after he injures his foot fitting a new shower in the bathroom and then figures out that if he can hurt his foot at work he can get a wage AND compensation! Originally aired 14th February 1971.
Not Tonight - The bus depot's new canteen waitress Stella, makes a pass at Stan. Stan is obviously happy, but does Stella really like him, or just his pay packet? Originally aired 21st February 1971.
Unfortunately, just like the third series, this series isn't as good as the first 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.
Please note that due to industrial action, episodes 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are in black and white. These episodes have never been available in colour.
The DVD:
Video:
Network have provided us with the OAR of 4:3 and the picture quality has very mixed fortunes. The colour episodes appear a bit washed out, though there are of slightly better quality than series 3. The black and white episodes suffer from minor scratches as well as a small, yet noticeable amount of grain. 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.
