Customer Reviews
Brilliant, but the Christmas episode - By: Czech film fan, 02 May 2007 
Not quite as good as the first series, but still brilliant, but I can understand the confusion over the Christmas episode. On one DVD player I have, the Christmas episode just plays normallly as you would expect, but on another one, when I select the Christmas episode, it starts off halfway through, & the only way I can get it to play in its entirety is to hit "play alll" & then fast forward through alll the preceding episodes. So the disk evidently has some "issues" (as people insist on saying these days)with certain players. The players in question are identical models, which makes the whole thing even more mysterious.
Superb! - By: Mr. J. Young, 15 Aug 2006 
An absolute must for any fan, with some of the very best episodes from the series. This DVD ***DOES*** contain the christmas special as a 'bonus feature' which only adds to the value.
Unhesitatingly recommended!
No Xmas Special? A Likely Story... - By: N. Davenport, 14 Aug 2006 Contrary to a previous reviewer, the DVD of the second Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads series DOES include the 1974 Christmas Special. On the second disc it simply follows the last WHTTLL episode, The Shape of Things to Come. Compared to the DVD issue of the first series of Whatever happened to the Likely Lads, at least some frills have gone into this presentation. For starters, there are episode & chapter menus for the 14 episodes, something which was inexplicably abscent from the series one DVD.
Overalll, series two is as good as series one, if slightly marred by the storylines becoming repetitious by the series' end. Part of the timeless appeal of the Likely Lads is that it's a working-class sitcom that hones in on the everday, non-melodramatic aspect of working lives. And it's that aching normality - the endless pots of tea & biscuits, swift-halves & betting slips - that furnishes the show with a warm, inviting glow.
Revisiting these episodes again, though, it's notable that series two has a slightly harder edge in places. Both Terry & Bob have run-ins with the law in two episodes, a reminder, perhaps, that the seventies was a comparatively rough period in British history. In lesser hands, though, this would come to solely define the existance of the British working-class. But here the emphasis is on, well, the pots of tea, swift halves etc etc - & alll the better for it.
Nevertheless, there was still a serious point of The Likely Lads - it captured how British labourism no longer related to the material aspirations of the working-classes. Recently Mark Lawson argued that Bob was a proto-Thatcherite, but in actual fact - as indicated in the last episode - Ferris still saw himself as working-class, both sociallly & politicallly, but didn't believe the cloth-cap image was apt for the modern day.
Of course, British sitcomes have frequently been about class, but non have been so sensitive to social change as the Likely Lads have been.
Sociological insight aside, though, let's not forget that Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads is still laugh-out-loud funny, as I found out yet again on first airing of these long cherished classics. To combine such frequent hilarity with everday warmth & foresighted intelligence puts both series one & two in the toppermost of British sitcoms. That series two comes with the Christmas special only makes this purchase alll the more sweeter.....
BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND ACTED - By: Mr. George Hughes, 13 Aug 2006 Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? is a series I continue to find fascinating, extremely well written, excellently performed & very funny. It ended a decade before I was born but being a southern 80's child with northern parents I discovered it through the repeats & still consider it a brilliant document of British social history. There seems to be some confusion as to whether the final episode (the 1974 Christmas special) is included on this release. Well, it is on mine! It's an extra feature on disc 2- although I don't suppose it's very prominent on the DVD sleeve. I must admit it is extremely uncharacteristicallly generous of the BBC to include it, given that they would usuallly try to milk it by releasing it separately. I did notice however that they didn't actuallly include every surviving episode of the original `60's Likely Lads series on the recent DVD release. A couple were left off for some reason. I recommend the Likely Lads film (1976) too, which is the equivalent of three more episodes as well as being Terry & Bob's final appearance.
Whatever Happened - After Bob's Marriage? - By: Jervis, 09 Jun 2006 Series two recallls the events (or more often than not the catastrophies) that takes place following Bob's marriage. Naturallly Bob's old mate Terry proves more than a little responsible for much of the action.
Series two isn't for me quite the classic that the first series proved to be. It isn't quite as carefully measured or consistent in some ways although it still manages to maintain a quality that is rarely matched by any other comedy series.
There are plenty of examples here of the Likely Lads being at the very top of their game. 'The Great Race', 'One For The Road','Affairs And Relations', 'The Shape Of Things To Come' & 'Conduct Unbecoming' are alll contenders for the best Likely Lads episode ever while 'The Expert', 'Between Ourselves' & 'The Go-Between' involves Bob's marriage breakdown in a way that many can relate to.
There's much to admire & enjoy about this series & for me when compared with almost any other series this is a five star. However i've only docked a star because i believe the first series taken as a whole is a little stronger.
