On the Buses is probably one of the better remembered comedies of the 1970s thanks to its successful run on ITV and three cinema movies spun-off from the television series. The series was created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney who had also created The Rag Trade for the BBC and had first taken On the Buses to BBC bosses who declined to produce the series. With rejection from the BBC the duo turned to commercial rival ITV and the London Weekend Television company, LWT for short, who held the weekend franchise in London. The series ran from 1969 to 1973 and was a huge hit with viewers but critics did not take to the series and that’s a legacy that remains to this day.
Like many comedies of its era many critics look back on the series through the view point of down their nose, with a snobbish attitude that does not find the comedy contain within the series amusing at all. But despite this the series still enjoys popularity thanks to the characters within it, which are still referred to pop culture references, and the DVD releases of the series. Repeats of the show have also ensured its continuing longevity in the minds of audiences.
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The series revolved around the antics of bus driver Stan Butler [Reg Varney] and his conductor Jack [Bob Grant] as they try to date their way through the female clippies of the bus company, avoid as much work as possible and wind up Inspector Blakey [Stephen Lewis] as much as possible. While Jack was presented as a womaniser and Stan as a down-to-earth bloke, Blakey was the stereotypical jobworthy inspector always looking out for a chance to get one over on Stan and Jack. Many of the episodes revolved around Blakey trying to catch Stan and Jack out.
Other characters within the series included Stan’s mother [Cicely Courtneidge and then Doris Hare], his sister Olive [Anna Karen] and Oliver’s husband Arthur [Michael Robbins]. Arthur was often out of work due to a supposed back injury and much was made of his attempts at avoiding spending time with his long suffering wife, Olive. Olive was often the butt of many jokes. To this day referring to a woman as Olive is an unflattering remark and something of an insult to most women. As the series progressed some changes were made to the cast with several cast members leaving.
In 1971 the first movie based on the series was filmed and released at cinemas, purely entitled On The Buses. The film revolved around the introduction of female bus drivers to the company and Jack and Stan’s attempts at getting rid of the latest threat to their job, especially as the women proved to be better drivers and better at their jobs. The film was a hugely commercial success and was the top box-office film at the time, beating the James Bond film of the time Diamonds Are Forever. Given the huge success of the film and the continual success of the television series another film was made and released in 1972.
Mutiny on the Buses saw Stan get a girlfriend who was determined that he should get a job on a brand new line the bus company were operating, to the nearby zoo. All manner of things go wrong and the only customers on the bus end up being escaped zoo animals. In 1973 a third film was made, the final film based on the series.
Holiday on the Buses saw the action switch to a holiday camp and the various antics and disasters that happened here as Stan, Jack and Blackley all take up jobs on the camp site. All three films were produced by Hammer Film Productions who switched to making film spin-offs from popular television shows following the decline of Hammer Horrors. On the Buses was one of many popular comedy series’ of the 1970s that was transformed into a big screen version with George and Mildred, Please Sir and Man About The House being just one of many comedies made into films.
In all there were seventy four episodes of On the Buses made between 1969 and 1973, all of which were half an hour in length. In addition to these two Christmas Specials were also made. The series was mostly recorded at LWT’s studios in Wembley but in 1972 filming relocated to the South Bank studios when LWT opened up their new studios there.
The fourth season of the show was hit by the ITV colour strike which ran from late 1970 to early 1971, consequently seven episodes of the season were made in black and white. Many other ITV shows were similarly affected by the strike with many showings having to switch back to recording in black and white.
After the series ending in 1973 a short-lived spin-off series following, Don’t Drink the Water, ran from 1974 to 1975 and saw Stephen Lewis reprise his role of Blakey. The series saw Blakey retire to Spain with his sister, Dorothy [Pat Coombs]. The series didn’t capture the audience in the same way as the parent show and didn’t command the same ratings On the Buses did during its heyday. The series is now criticised for its perceived sexism and the womanising ways of Jack, which some see as endorsing his life style and treating woman as sexual objects. However, On the Buses was merely a product of its time, like all comedies of that era, and merely reflected the society of its time.
Society in the 1970s was very different to our society and to judge the series based on the values we have today seems unfair given the advances made in regards to equality in the last thirty years which have led to our society today being more respectful of equality of women.
In 1988 a stage version of the series toured in Australia which lead to the idea being put forward of a new series of On the Buses being made. Back on the Buses was suggested in 1990 and most of the original cast were believed to be up for reprising their roles. However, despite publicity for the proposed revival LWT opted not to push ahead with the idea.
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