Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1992

Hot on the heels of Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1991 comes Vintage 1992!

From the press release:

"Clegg, Compo and Foggy are back for another season of hilarious jokes, tricks, and mix ups!
Compo outfits himself in biker's leathers after he overhears that Nora likes a man in riding gear. Unfortunately, she meant horse riding... Wesley has plans to convert a lawnmower into a window cleaning machine, but, as always for this trio, the invention doesn't work as smoothly as expected. Clegg attempts to prove Foggy a liar with what he calls the classic "Ordeal By Trousers," which entails dropping a beetle down the front of his pants to see if Foggy flinches. If he does, he's lying. Hoping to get rich quick, Compo becomes a one-man band. Later, when Foggy buys a camcorder and practices filming in the hills, he catches more than just nature on his film...Foggy also invents a new form of transport with a giant wheel and Compo finds himself volunteered as its first test driver. In the Christmas Special, the trio hires an inflatable castle for the seasonal parade, but not without a few hilarious mishaps along the way."

Episodes this time out are:

1. By The Magnificent Thighs of Ernie Burniston - Howard asks Clegg to deliver a birthday card to Marina, and Foggy decides that it's time Compo got fit.
2. Errol Flynn Used to Have a Pair Like That - Compo finds out that Nora likes a man in horse-riding gear.
3. The Phantom of the Graveyard - An old school teacher of the trio has died, so the lads are off to his funeral.
4. The Self-Propelled Salad Strainer - Wesley has plans for a ride-on lawnmower. He's going to adapt it for the purpose of cleaning windows.
5. Ordeal by Trousers - Ivy and Nora are looking for volunteers for the church concert, and, suspicious about the truthfulness of Foggy's war stories, Compo and Clegg use an old school challenge to root out liars on him.
6. Happy Birthday, Howard - Marina asks Clegg to deliver a birthday present to Howard. It'd be an easier job, if the present weren't a giant cuddly panda.
7. Who's Got Rhythm? - Compo is short of money, but after a flash of inspiration (and a visit to Auntie Wainwrights), he becomes a one-man band.
8. Camera Shy - Foggy buys a camcorder from Auntie Wainwright, and practices filming in the hills. He wants to watch it back, but doesn't have a video player. Luckily Pearl steps in and offers the use of her TV and video, but will it be lucky for Howard? Has Foggy captured more than just the countryside on tape?
9. Wheelies - Foggy invents a new form of transport...a giant wheel. Compo finds himself volunteered to test drive it.
10. 1992 Christmas: Special Stop That Castle! - The trio visit Auntie Wainwright, to rent a bouncy castle for the Christmas parade.

Yes, the Christmas special is again included. Finally this seems to be the norm rather than separate releases. Considering they tend to be in continuity it only makes sense.

Don't be surprised if you are lukewarm to LOTSW on first viewing. This gentle sitcom grows on you over time. The first time I saw LOTSW I was underwhelmed... it was slow and seemed almost without a plot. But after watching a few more episodes I was hooked! It's somewhat like "The Little Rascals" with retired people and without the "hey gang, let's put on a show" episodes.

Now that a regular, faster, release schedule has been put in place my only complaint is that, like almost all titles from BBC/Warner, the releases are only "reasonably" priced during occasional sales.

*UPDATE*
This is now apparently a BBC America Shop Exclusive title. The same is apparently true of "Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1993". What a major let down! Hopefully these will be available at Amazon in the near future which should help somewhat with the sticker shock pricing from BBC America.

› Go to Amazon.com to see the review  5.0 out of 5 stars