Two lecherous, skiving Busmen, Stan Butler, (Reg Varney) and Jack Harper (the late Bob Grant) are always at odds with their bus Inspector, Blakey (Stephen Lewis) who played an excellent role as the hard-pressed butt of the boys' jokes. (He looked like Hitler, but hadn't the same type of application in taming the two!).Although they're the main characters, they have able support from Stan's family at home, mostly causing him problems, one way or the other. As great as the first three are, an excellent character in the support role, it has to be said, is Stan's morose brother-in-law, Arthur, (Michael Robbins) who's always at odds with Stan/his family. So although there are plenty of comic exploits 'on the buses', it shows madcap situations in Stan's home and with the family. (Who ALL live in the same house incidentally!). Olive, (Anna Karen) Stan's dowdy, podgy, dim sister is married to Arthur and the butt of his jokes about her being less than sexy, stupid and gluttonous (Though I take his point - she was seen eating pickled onions in bed!) Although she aptly bit back at times with her famous catchphrase "Don't be such a pig!" There was also Doris Hare as 'Mum' though it should be said that's not a lot more than what she was, pretty non-descript.At times though, the script had very little to do with the buses - one where they're buying a new loo springs to mind, or a snake loose in the house, were thinly tied into anything to do with the buses! Stan and Jack (The latter, the shop steward incidentally, happy to call 'everyone out' and down tools as it were!) are always chasing the mini-skirted 'clippies' (female bus conductors), calling them in typical '70's fashion 'birds'.Also, they used the bus as their private 'run-around', so were constantly late in doing so and treated the passengers' delays as secondary to their own agenda! (Unless of course, it had anything to do with chatting up a 'bird'!) This is another comedy along with likes of the 'Carry-Ons', 'Benny Hill Show', 'Love Thy Neighbour', ''til Death Us Do Part' etc where 'Political correctness' wasn't entertained - so we were! Old-fashioned it may be, but there were plenty of funny lines in it nonetheless, even if at other times it may have struggled. That said, it seemed a little poor when strangely, Reg Varney as Stan left, an odd situation keeping it running with 'Blakey' lodging at the Butlers' house. Also, Arthur moved on at some point and this is when I think, the series showed it was definitely tired by this time.One of my favourite lines was at Christmas, Stan noticed the Inspector's Nephew's present of a toy bus, with an equally plastic toy bus crew. Stan says: "Oh, look, this one must be the Inspector - you can see the seam where they stuck his head on!"Another one berating poor Blakey, where he's being checked out by the company nurse. Nurse: "Perhaps you'll feel better sucking on something." Stan:"Yeah, he will, that's why we call him 'Dracula'!"

A huge cult like following way back then. In the days when there was only three TV channels "on the buses" was a gimmie when up against "Songs with praise" and some 1940's movie on BBC 2. Despite it being over 30 years old the last time I saw it a couple of years back I still found it reasonably amusing , although very dated and obviously politically incorrect. If you love political incorrectness this is the stuff for you! Let's just add it all up.The flirting and groping of mini skirted female staff, (who for what ever reason were labeled as 'clippy's), the endless helpings of cholesterol laden food in the form of chips, eggs, bacon, meat pies and sausages in the canteen. Smoking cigarettes, no female bus drivers, a west Indian employee called 'Chalky' .( I cringe when you think that people were still laughing at the gag "I hope your head get's better" to an Indian employee wearing a turban). Lastly, Butlers tormentor Inspector Blakey who they insulted all the time, whose image was obviously based on Adolf Hitler with his mustache. I tell you it does not get any better than this.It's hard to imagine today a comedy series being made about bus conductors in general let alone two homely looking middle aged men flirting with young women. In addition the average age of the cast in this series was probably 45 you would never get that nowadays! Yet it has to be said that there have been a number of comedy duffers that have long since come and gone that in no way can stand up to this one.Memorable episodes, well, Stans new uniform getting ruined, getting radios for the buses that interfered with the airlines, Stan getting drunk on his home brew and Jack and Stan trying to impress the birds with their snazzy new uniforms claiming they were airline pilots. It's a credit to the writers that it is still watchable today!

This is classic sitcom at it's finest. It follows the adventures of a London bus driver [Reg Varney] and his conductor [Bob Grant] on the No. 13 route to the Cemetery Gates. Inspector "Blakey" brought fame to Stephen Lewis who later became a famous face as Smiler in Last of the Summer Wine, but here he is in his most famous role ["Get that bus out"].Three feature films [On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses, Holiday on the Buses] did the TV series no favours I recently read of Grant's death from suicide [aged 71]. It came as a great shock, as he always appeared to be such a happy person on the programme.

A truly classic piece of totally un-pc British sit-com. Men approaching 50 'pulling the birds' (Especially Jack!) A genius comedy creation in 'Blakey' and summed up with the much missed Michael Robins' pained smile. Check out the TV series before watching any of the films as they do not do the programme justice.