Oh, No! Not THEM!

Oh, No! Not THEM!
Directed by	David Mirkin
Starring	Nigel Planer Jackie Earle Haley Robert Bundy Shari Shattuck Kristi Somers
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	David Mirkin
Original release
Release	1989 (1989)

Oh, No! Not THEM! was an untelevised 1989 television pilot for an American television series remake of the British television show The Young Ones , commissioned by the Fox network. ^[1]

It starred Nigel Planer as Neil (reprising his Young Ones role) and Jackie Earle Haley as Rip, a take on the Vyvyan character that had been portrayed by Adrian Edmondson ^[2] Robert Bundy played Todd, a character based on Mike, previously played by Christopher Ryan. The character of Rik, created by Rik Mayall, was not included, though both Rip and Todd share traits of Rik's. It was directed and produced by David Mirkin ^[2] and featured an animated opening credit sequence set to "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles that Planer has compared in his autobiography to the title sequence of The Simpsons which David Mirkin went on to work on. Fox did not pick up the series.

Robert Llewellyn wrote in his book The Man in the Rubber Mask (1994):

The Young Ones was taken over the Atlantic in the mid eighties, and Nigel [Planer] was the only member of the British cast to go. He had experienced a fairly hideous time, worried sick that he was going to have to stay there for six years with a group of people he hated who managed to make The Young Ones into a sort of grubby Benny Hill Show . He was hugely relieved when the pilot was a flop and he was released from his contract.

Aside from the title sequence, no footage, images, or audio from the pilot have resurfaced in any form, and the majority of its elements remain a mystery. In Planer's 2025 memoir Young Once, he recalls that a lot of material from the original was replicated, alongside sequences involving a gunfight between the characters. He also reveals that he has remained good friends with Bundy.

In November 2025, Planer has announced a live stream via Patreon. The live stream revealed that the pilot concerned Neil being mugged by a man dressed up as a grandma. Scared that the mugger will arrive at their house to rob and kill them, the trio arm themselves with guns, only to turn on themselves. Inevitably, Rip declares the downstairs Ripland and, in a nod to The Young Ones episode "Bomb", protects himself with a nuclear bomb, which accidentally detonates. Miraculously, everyone survives and, having learned their lesson, rid the house of weapons...just as the mugger arrives. A very meta episode including numerous cutaways, one of which features a guest appearance from Bob Newhart

References

1. Shepherd, Jack (March 26, 2013). "The 11 Worst American Remakes Of British Shows". BuzzFeed.
2. "Television". Hollypowellstudios.com. Retrieved October 21, 2011.

External links

• Oh, No! Not THEM! at IMDb