Last of the Summer Wine (series 29)

Last updated

Last of the Summer Wine
Series 29
No. of episodes11
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release22 June (2008-06-22) –
31 August 2008 (2008-08-31)
Additional information
Filming dates
  • Series 29: 2007
Series chronology
← Previous
28
Next →
30
List of episodes

The Last of the Summer Wine's twenty-ninth series aired on BBC One from 22 June to 31 August 2008. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Contents

Outline

The trio in this series consisted of:

ActorRole
Peter Sallis Clegg
Frank Thornton Truly
Brian Murphy Alvin

Last appearances

List of episodes

TitleAirdateDescriptionNotes
Enter The Finger22 JuneBarry's fitness-mad neighbour annoyingly outshines him in all things physical. When it comes to karate, however, Barry has friends who can help him even the balance.
  • Guest Appearance of Brian Conley.
  • This episode was dedicated to Brian Wilde who died earlier that year.
  • Audience of 3.39m – 50th most watched programme of the week.
Will the Genuine Racer Please Stand Up?29 JuneHoward decides to disguise himself from Pearl but discovers it is not as easy as he thought.
  • Audience unknown.
A Short Introduction To Cooper's Rules6 JulyJust as PCs Cooper and Walsh master the art of fighting crime from the rear, Barry spoils it all by taking a retired vicar out for the day.
  • Guest Appearance of Nicholas Smith
  • A very rare instance of an episode being shown on BBC Two due to late change in listings because of the late finish of the men's final of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. (The only other instance of the show being on BBC Two was late one night in 1996, when the first episode was shown as part of the 'Pilot Paradise' strand.)
  • This episode is unique in that it revolves almost entirely around PCs Cooper and Walsh, who are usually secondary characters. Clegg and Truly are barely seen in this episode.
  • In this episode, PC's Cooper and Walsh are finally given names after years of being referred to as "1st Policeman" and "2nd Policeman."
  • 1.75 million viewers watched this episode.
Is Jeremy Quite Safe?13 JulyA retired jewel thief regales Marina and Miss Davenport with fanciful stories of his past exploits in the South of France. When Auntie Wainwright finds an old safe without a key, who better to open it?
  • Guest Appearance of John Challis.
  • Audience unknown. Episode shown at 5.05pm. This was probably the earliest start time for a first run episode of Last of the Summer Wine in the series' entire run. The following repeat of Doctor Who failed to reach the top 70 programmes that week.
All That Glitters Is Not Elvis20 JulyWhen Alvin and Entwistle see Lance trying to convince his wife that Elvis is still alive, they feel a duty to help the King make an appearance.
Eva's Back in Town27 JulyEva, an old acquaintance of Alvin's makes an appearance, and proves to be just the woman to make Howard's life more complicated.
In Which Romance Isn't Dead – Just Incompetent3 AugustBarry has a lonely neighbour on his hands and takes it upon himself to find him a girlfriend. But who, and how? Meanwhile, Howard is desperate for Pearl to find him attractive again.
The Mischievous Tinkle in Howard's Eyes10 AugustHoward discovers there are better ways than the mobile phone to contact 'certain acquaintances', and quite openly, too – morris dancing bells. Elsewhere, Alvin and Entwistle have fun on rollerskates.
  • Audience unknown.
Of Passion And Pizza17 AugustMervyn is deeply in love with 'Her' at the pizza take-away, but lacking the courage to tell her himself, he unfortunately makes the terrible mistake of letting Entwistle and Alvin try to bring them together.
  • Guest Appearance of Philip Fox.
  • This episode has an unusual self-referential moment in which Tom off-handedly mentions that Smiler has disappeared.
  • Audience unknown.
It's Never Ten Years24 AugustClegg and Truly reminisce fondly about their old friend Compo, who suffered at the hands of Nora Batty – and them, thus teaching Alvin a thing or two.
  • The only episode to be a 'clip show', featuring clips of Bill Owen.
  • Although the title ‘It’s Never Ten Years’ refers to ten years since Compo’s death, it’s actually not ten years since either the character or the actor died - Compo’s death occurred in the episode ‘Elegy for Fallen Wellies’ broadcast on 23 April 2000 (8 years earlier) and Bill Owen died on 12 July 1999 (9 years earlier).
  • Tarzan of the Towpath and Last Post & Pigeon clips are featured
  • Audience unknown.
Get Out of That, Then31 AugustLenny, heavily chained, is determined that he has a showbusiness future as an escapologist. Sidekick Cliff is not as enthusiastic.
  • Guest Appearances of Barbara Young, Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball, (the third time for Cannon and Ball).
  • Barbara Young makes a guest appearance as Florrie in this episode, before returning in series 30 as the regular character of Stella.
  • This episode marks the final appearance of Nora Batty due to the death of Kathy Staff. Kathy was unable to appear in Series 30 due to ill health, and died four months after this episode's broadcast.
  • This also marks the final episode to feature Clegg and Truly as part of the main trio due to insurance costs. They become secondary characters in Series 30 and Series 31.
  • From this episode until the end of the series, the programme is credited as BBC Productions.
  • Audience of 4.8m – 27th most watched programme of the week. A later time slot seems to have helped the ratings for this episode to return to previous levels.

DVD release

The box set for series 29 was released by Universal Playback in May 2016, mislabelled as a box set for series 29 & 30.

The Complete Series 29 & 30
Set Details [1]
  • 21 episodes
  • 4-disc set
  • Language: English
Release Date
Region 2
16 May 2016

Related Research Articles

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> British TV sitcom (1973–2010)

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show from late 1981 to 2010. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One, Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes 'rebooted' after long hiatuses, Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running TV comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running TV sitcom in the world.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 1) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine's first series originally aired on BBC1 between 4 January 1973 and 17 December 1973. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by James Gilbert.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 3) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine'sthird series originally aired on BBC1 between 27 October 1976 and 24 December 1976. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced by Sydney Lotterby Five episodes were directed by Sydney Lotterby but two: the two-parter, "The Great Boarding House Bathroom Caper" and "Cheering Up Gordon", were directed by Ray Butt.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 4) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine'sfourth series originally aired on BBC1 between 9 November 1977 and 4 January 1978. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 5) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine'sfifth series originally aired on BBC1 between 18 September and 30 October 1979. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 7) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine'sseventh series originally aired on BBC1 between 25 December 1982 and 27 December 1983. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Sydney Lotterby, except for "Getting Sam Home", which is produced and directed by Alan J.W. Bell.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 8) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine'seighth series originally aired on BBC1 between 30 December 1984 and 17 March 1985. All episodes from this series were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 9) Season of television series

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

The tenth series of Last of the Summer Wine aired on BBC1 in 1988. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

The eleventh series of Last of the Summer Wine aired on BBC1 in 1989. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twelfth series aired on BBC1. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's thirteenth series aired on BBC1 in 1991. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's sixteenth series aired on BBC1. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twentieth series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twenty-second series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twenty-third series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twenty-fourth series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's twenty-eighth series aired on BBC One. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and produced and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> (series 30) Season of television series

Last of the Summer Wine's 30th series originally aired 19 April 2009. All eleven episodes in series 30 were 30 minutes in length. A New Years Special aired on 31 December 2008. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

Last of the Summer Wine's 31st and final series was aired in 2010, beginning on 25 July. All six episodes in series 31 were 30 minutes in length. All of the episodes were written by Roy Clarke and directed by Alan J. W. Bell.

References

  1. ↑ "Last of the Summer Wine Series 29 & 30 [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
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