Original title
On the Buses
Released
2/28/1969
Origin country
GB
Genre
Comedy
Production companies
LWT
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
7
Number of episodes
74
On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.
Stan gets a little annoyed when his Mum and Sister keep buying expensive items on hire purchase, but the money he earns for overtime working as a bus driver means that he can afford it
Bus driver Stan Butler agrees to marry Suzy, much to the anguish of Mum, her son-in-law, Arthur, and daughter Olive. How, they wonder, will they ever manage without Stan's money coming in?
Sacked by the bus company Stan and Jack get jobs as drivers ferrying punters to and from a holiday camp and arrange for the rest of the family to come and stay
The bus crews go on strike because of disagreements with the management. It causes no end of trouble at work and at home. Stan is hailed hero of the day.
When Stan sees his new clippie Iris all his nervousness goes, and they end up on a date together. He tells mum he is working an extra shift so he can take Iris out. What will Arthur and Mum think when he takes her home after the pub?
To help with the family income, Olive gets a job as a clippie. She gets put on Stan's bus, against his wishes. The trouble is Olive does not travel well!
Sitting on the bus engine all day has given Stan an over acidic stomach, known at the depot as 'bus drivers stomach'. When Blakey announces medical checks for the staff, Stan has to try and get himself fit to pass the medical, even if it means giving up greasy fried food!
Stan is in need of some extra cash, so he applies for a position as an Inspector, but soon starts to worry about what the other lads will think of him.
After complaints are made about it, the bus crews decide to take over the running of the canteen and make Olive the new cook.
Stan and Jack are challenged to a darts match by two clippies, Iris and Jenny. Stan feels he's a bit out of practice and so spends all his spare time practicing his darts playing. When he drops one of his darts in Olive's stew, he has to use a new set which he is not used to. His darts playing has the added problem of Iris' flirting during the match!
Mum and Olive are in bed with the flu and it is not long before Arthur joins then. Stan is rushed off his feet looking after them and doing his shifts at the depot. To recover, the family go to stay with Aunt Maud. Stan and Jack plan a party in their absence, if Stan can stay fit!
Arthur's motorcycle and side car are in desperate need of repairs. Stan says that he can get the spare parts from the bus depot, if he can sneak them out past anyone in particular who might be watching.
After a number of assaults on bus staff, the management introduce judo lessons. Enter Blakey as the judo instructor!
Aunt Maud comes to stay and upsets the family home life. The little dog of Aunt Maud's has now grown into a huge animal and also upsets Stan's peaceful home
Stan is burning the candle at both ends, what with his new girlfriend keeping him out late at night and then having to do the early shift at the depot.
Stan and Jack are going on holiday but first there is the small matter of getting a suntan before they go. What better place to sunbathe than at the Cemetery Gates terminus but, having their uniforms stolen whilst sunning themselves is going to prove difficult to explain away back at the depot.
Blakey decides that all the Bus Crews, including Stan and Jack, must pass a first aid course .
A noisy cistern in the Butler household is just the start of the troubles. Buying a new loo isn't the problem, it's how to get it home from the shop!
Sally is the Inspector's niece and is put on Stan's bus as the new clippie. How will Stan cope with her Uncle Blakey watching?
Stan plans on brewing his own beer to save money. Trouble is, once he's tested it, he also goes back to work, where Blakey spots him and notices he's drunk. So when Blakey pulls Stan in for a breath test, it's up to Jack to find a way for him to pass the test without being caught.
Arthur and Olive's bedroom needs decorating, so the Butlers decide to paint the room the same colour as the Luxton Town and District Buses to save money.
A social night at the depot by the overseas busmen's club invites everyone to their evening. With an exotic dancer on the bill Stan and Jack are sure to enjoy themselves.
Mum gets a new boyfriend and starts to go out a lot, leaving the family to fend for themselves.
Blakey comes up with the idea of installing a two way radio system on the buses to keep tabs on where they are at all times, so Stan and Jack have to come up with a plan to get rid of it.
Stan and Jack's bus is caught in thick fog which causes problems for them, especially as Blakey and the Butler family are also on board.
Stan and Jack have been chosen as guinea pigs for the Company's tasteful new grey uniform. They are set against the idea until they realise it's just the job for pulling the ladies!
Stan has been seeing Blakey's niece, Sally. When Stan announces that he wants to marry her, Blakey insists that he and Sally meet Stan's family. So when Stan invites them round for dinner, all the family act posh, until Sally starts criticizing everything that Stan does and says.
Money is so tight in the Butler household, that they decide to sell various things to raise some cash, including Arthur's motorbike and side car.
Edna the clippie has been thrown out of her home by her landlady. Feeling sorry for her, Stan persudes his family to take her in as a lodger. But his intentions are not entirely honourable as he hopes that it means that they might get closer. However he does not bargain on Edna bringing Coco her great dane!
Stan tries to get the rest of the family out of the house so that he can spend some time alone with Suzy the clippie.
Blakey has taken a shine to the canteen girl, Molly. So much so that he has asked her to marry him and live out in the country! However, Stan and Jack know that she has a reputation and will go with anyone after a few drinks. The problem is they have to make Blakey see sense before he leaves the depot.
When an article is printed in the paper saying that bus drivers are at risk from health problems, Mum decides to put Stan on a diet.
At the busman's social, Arthur is spending he time and money on one of the clippies, Wendy, much to Olive's chagrin. When Olive throws Arthur out, the family thinks he is staying with Wendy, but actually he spends the night in his motorbike sidecar!
Stan and Jack end up having to do a shift on Christmas day again.
After too many sleepless nights due to Arthur and Olive's squeaky bed, Stan tries his hand at mending it but unfortunately only suceeds in making it worse! Jack's aunt has a bed to sell but the problem is transporting it to the Butler's house. Fortunately, Stan and Jack is in charge of the 'learner' bus, training new staff, so they use the bus to transport the bed. However, the bus develops mechanical problems and they have to go back to the depot and move the bed onto another bus without Blakey seeing them!
It's the day of the annual kids outing, a job that none of the bus crews want to do.
It's Arthur and Olive's tenth wedding anniversary and Aunt Maud has bought them a puppy as a present.
The Butlers furniture needs new covers. But as money is short, Stan suggests using spare bus seat fabric from the Depot. When Blakey makes an unexpected visit, the Butlers try to hide their new cushions!
After several buses are nearly involved in accidents while leaving the depot, Blakey decides to introduce a new set of road and depot safety rules.
The Butlers rent out their spare room to the new Traffic Manager. But Olive gets more than she bargained for when she takes him up his breakfast!
Stan has an accident while decorating the bathroom. However because the injury was caused at home, he will not be paid sick pay. Jack has an idea, if they can mock up an accident at the depot, the management will have to pay up. A trap is set up on the depot stairs, but Blakey gets there first!
When Stella, the shapely new waitress in the cantenn, makes a pass at Stan, he's both pleased and surprised.
The management at the depot has decided to open a staff nursery to enable the clippies to return to work. Stan and Arthur both agree that it would be a good idea if Olive took a job as a part time nurse's assistant. However an accident involving Olive's glasses leaves Stan and Jack holding the baby!
Fed up with being unable to take his girlfriends home, Stan decides to rent a room at Blakey's. However Blakey makes it clear that he will not tolerate Stan's girlfriends either! Not to be put off, Stan devises a way to bring his girlfriend, Doreen, home.
Stan has been asked to be best man for Bill's wedding to Blakey's niece. However after a boozy stag night, the Butler's have the problem of getting Bill to the altar despite him being the worst for wear!
To prevent being found out after an accident, Stan offers to look after Blakey's pet goldfish and pedigree dog so that Blakey can take his mother for a weekend in Brighton and the bus can be fixed.
There's a flu epidemic at the depot and as Stan and Jack are getting extra overtime, they are determined to stay healthy.
It's time for the annual Busman's Ball. Stan and Jack persuade the management to book a stripper instead of the usual magician for the caberet, while Olive is busy altering her posh frock for the night.
Suzy the canteen girl is charging the busmen reduced rates for larger portions while still charging full price for Blakey. When Blakey discovers that Suzy is also giving Stan food from the canteen to take home, Blakey sacks her and installs Gladys, a former prison wardress, who he hopes won't be corrupted by Stan and Jack.
The depot's snobby new nurse is looking for lodgings in town and the Butlers are too willing to oblige. However Arthur, impressed by her posh voice, good manners and taste in interlectual films is taking more than a shine to her.
Due to the amount of lost property going missing, Blakey insists on a form being filled out for piece of lost property. Stan and Jack decide to play a few tricks on Blakey and get their own back.
When Stan accidentally damages his uniform, he puts in a request for a new one. When he shows the new uniform to his family, it comes into contact with Arthur's newly painted chair. Stan and Jack then have to get the uniform cleaned before anyone notices the paint.
Stan strains his back while trying to impress Doreen the clippie. Forced to wear a corset he finds it difficult to do his job. And can he still go on a date with Doreen?
When the staff have their Christmas Club payout from Blakey, Stan and the family decide to buy a colour television. But they have a problem disposing of their old black and white tv.
A vacancy for a new inspector crops up at the depot. Blakey recommends Jack for the post. Stan is horrified at the thought until Jack tells him that he can mark him down for overtime and put Christine the clippie on his bus if he was an inspector. However it is not long before Jack is on Blakey's side, informing him of Stan's tricks and dodges!
After taking a shine to a clippie who likes men with 'a full head of hair', Arthur decides to splash out on a wig. The problem is that the family is skint and cannot afford such things. Arthur then has the dilemma of keeping the wig a secret from the family.
At the Boxing Day Social there is growing tension between Arthur's mother and the Butlers, while Jack gets very chummy with Arthur's sister.
After a carelessly discarded cigarette end causes a fire at the depot, it is decided that all the staff must undergo fire fighting training.
Olive tries to make Arthur jealous by pretending to seduce another man.
After a bit of unlucky gambling, Stan borrows some money off Basher, but when Basher wants it back Stan hasn't got it so Jack suggests that they borrow a bus to take the old folks out on a trip, as paying customers.
It's been a pretty bad week for Stan, Arthur and Olive are constantly arguing and keeping him awake which also makes him late for work and so tired that he falls asleep and crashes the bus.
When the management sacks Elsie the canteen lady, Stan stages a one man hunger strike.
Stan and Jack mistakenly think that Blakey might be dying, after he has a medical at the depot.
When the raffle ticket that Stan buys for Mum wins second prize of a holiday for two in Spain, the family are extra nice to her, in an effort to be the one picked to go on holiday with her.
It's six months since Arthur walked out on her so Olive,armed with a list of grievances prepared by Mum and Stan,goes to court and is granted her divorce.With Mum going to stay with Aunt Maud Olive is very much the gooseberry as she accompanies Stan and his girl-friend Sandra to the pictures - to see a sexy film about a recently divorced woman - where Olive sits next to a groper. Stan gets Blakey to see Olive home whilst he goes to Sandra's for some rumpy-pumpy but Olive turns up to interrupt him as she has forgotten her house key.
With money tight as ever in the Butler home Stan asks Blakey to employ Olive on the buses and eventually he relents. Olive's last excursion into being a conductress was a disaster but now she is completely in charge,super-efficient to the point of annoying, particularly as she has learnt the rule book off by heart and takes Stan to task for his rule-bending.It can't last..
Mum and Olive run up debts of fifty pounds when they buy things to sell on from a catalogue firm only for Olive to break them. When Blakey refuses to give him his bonus Stan warms to Jack's idea of using a stolen ticket machine to charge for fares that will not be recorded so they can pocket the profits. After Blakey has come to the house and almost sat on the machine Stan decides to confess about the machine but Blakey gives him his bonus.However he has found out about the ticket machine and makes Stan donate the money to the bus crews' charity organization.
A poster of a faceless driver appears at the depot. It is a plan to boost falling passenger figures and advertises a competition with a prize of a hundred pounds to be ... The perfect driver.Jack secretly enters Stan though the other finalists are hunky sportsmen and Stan's family take him to the chemist to buy him a rejuvenating face pack to give him a chance. Will he beat off the well-toned opposition to get his face - and - name on the poster? Of course he will.
The bus crews are encouraged to form their own staff football team,to take on the Basildon Bashers. Jack and Stan are not enthusiastic but there is a five pound bonus on offer. The depot only has one star player,young Bob,and Stan injures him in training,so he asks Blakey if he can field a substitute - Olive. Blakey feels that women and football do not mix - until he sees the Basildon Bashers. They are an all-female team and they contrive by fair means and foul to give Stan's team a good pasting.
t's a hundred years since the Luxton Bus Company came into being and fifty years since they got their first motor bus. To celebrate the good old days Blakey organizes an exhibition and,after showing Mum and Olive around some of the museum pieces, Stan falls asleep at the wheel of a bus from the turn of the century,imagining his present-day family and colleagues in previous incarnations. Olive is a militant suffragette,Mum a washerwoman and Blakey is still Blakey,except his nickname is the Kaiser.
Stan decides he can make more money if he heads North and gets work in a car factory but,rather than hand in his resignation, he gets Blakey to sack him so that he can get a week's wages. He celebrates his last night at home and is unable to eat the fry-up his Mum has cooked him so he sticks it in his uniform pocket,a fact that Blakey discovers when he comes around to collect the uniform. However,as he has been evicted from his own lodgings,he takes Stan's room and becomes the Butlers' new lodger
Jack and the inspector attempt to fix a water heater.
Blakey invites his mum over to the Butler home now that he is living there. Mrs. Butler is none to happy.
The Stars make good reading for Mum and Olive. It says romance is in the air. Who will be the unlucky victims?
There's a new clippie at the depot, the militant Jessie. Outraged that the female clippies have to pay to use the public conveniences, while the male staff don't, she lobbies the management for an allowance to cover the cost.
When Mrs. Butler goes for a job at the depot's canteen, she is interviewed by an old boyfriend, Mr. Simpson who is one of the managers. After she gets the job, Jack and Olive try to use Mum's influence with Mr. Simpson to try and get one over on Blakey.
Blakey and Jack have entered into the depot flower and vegtable competition. The rivalry is fierce as they both try to create the best garden.
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