7.030 minSeason 7 • Episode 13
LatestBlakey and Jack have entered into the depot flower and vegtable competition. The rivalry is fierce as they both try to create the best garden.
On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.
Acting
Reg Varney's cheeky-chappie energy is impossible to hate.
Writing
Wolfe and Chesney's clockwork farce construction.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The show spawned three feature films (1971-1973), a rarity for British sitcoms at the time. The 1971 film actually outgrossed the Bond movie 'Diamonds Are Forever' at UK box offices.
On the Buses became a lightning rod for class tensions in British television—despised by critics as 'embarrassing' working-class stereotyping, yet beloved by the very audience it depicted. It essentially predicted the 'gap' between metropolitan media and provincial viewers that would explode decades later.
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