A top twenty Greatest Hits was too difficult. I constructed my list by I cheated- it is a top 25, however, I used all three of the Passing of Compo as one extended Episode, that would be a separate disc all on its own. I included some of my favorites in this list, but even more so I tried to select the most historically significant episodes, such as the pilot, the intro and return of Foggy, the swan song, etc. I also tried to create a list of episodes that evenly represents each era of the show.
I am including commentary on why I selected each, but for those who are only curious to which “25” I’ve selected, you can just read them only as I put them in all capital letters.
Here it is in chronological order……
1. OF FUNERALS AND FISH – it is a very appropriate pilot to the show
2. SHORT BACK AND PALAIS GLIDE- to me it is a classic “aimlessly wandering around” episode that takes the gang to a selection of interesting places, each with its own amusing parts- barbershop, Mrs. Partridge’s home, the police station, etc.
3. NEW MOBILE TRIO – Correct me if I am wrong, but this episode is an introduction to Clegg’s driving- which is much worth noting!
4. BALLAD FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS AND CANOE- this is what I call a classic “situation comedy”- much of the humor is based on the crazy predicaments the trio gets themselves into
5. MAN FROM OSWESTRY- Blamire’s departure and Foggy’s entrance is definitely significant in the shaping of the future of the show
6. GREAT BOARDING HOUSE CAPER- it is one of the classic episodes involving the trio taking a trip, with great scenes from the boarding house
7. GOING TO GORDON’S WEDDING- another great situation comedy involving crazy wedding scenes, Summer Wine has some great wedding and funeral episodes
8. IN SERVICE TO HUMANITY – to me this is a class Foggy episode where he gets in trouble trying to me more of a hero than he really is!
9. WELLIES TO WETSUIT- Classic Compo with great store and river scenes
10. HEAVILY REINFORCED BOTTOM- one of the first great ones with Seymour and a good follow up to Wellies to Wetsuit
11. DRIED DATES AND CODFANGLERS- another great “aimlessly wandering around” episode that is also a good example of Seymour’s mishaps- thinking he is so brilliant with his invention of a voice activating door lock, which like all his inventions ad ideas, goes awry
12. SET THE PEOPLE FREE – this is one of the all time great episodes and to me an anthem of what the entire show stands for. Summer wine is decades of married men being domesticated and oppressed and single guys having all kinds of care free adventures- The trio trying to free Howard from his “prison cell” is Clarke’s ultimate reflection of married and single living- of course in my own opinion
13. RETURN OF THE WARRIOR- the return of Foggy is clearly significant
14. COME IN SUNRAY MAJOR- another great episode showing Foggy’s mishaps
15. THERE ARE GYPSIES AT THE BOTTOM OF OUR GARDEN- a lot of people here always praise the Empire that Foggy Nearly Built as a great “Foggy epside”- true, but “Dewhurst Nature Tours” is my favorite Foggy Scheme and favorite ever Howard and Marina plot, th scenes with the gypsies (especially with Aunti Wainwright) are also great
16. THE EMPIRE THAT FOGGY NEARLY BUILT-as mentioned, it is a great “Foggy’s scheme episode
17. DESTINY AND SIX BANANAS- not Foggy’s last episode but a great one to send him out on a farewell in this tribute
18. LAST POST AND PIGEON- a great way to say good-bye and enjoy Compo one last time
19. THE TRIO OF FALLEN WELLES, THROSTLENEST, AND SMALL FUNERAL – OK, so I cheated in order to get more episodes on my list- but as mentioned before, these three are such classics, yes I lumped them all together but they really do deserve to be in their own disc
20. MISSING BUS OF MRS. AVERY- yes to the dismay of many here, I actually put in an episode with Mrs. Avery and a lot of Tom. Generally it’s a rather disliked and short era of the show, but I believe is hilarious and I challenge anyone out there, as long as they like the later years in general, to watch this episode fully with an open mind and you will find it is a classic in its own way!
21. GNOME AND AWAY- great classic Truly and Billy episode which is typical of the wacky escapades of the guys in the post-Compo era
22. LAIR OF THE CAT CREATURE- similar reasons as Gnome and Away, a good one where all the characters were used in great ways
23. FOLLOW THAT BOTTLE- to me it is possibly the best post-Compo episode, a combination of “aimlessly wandering” and situation comedy, kind of reflecting traits to Ballad of Wind Instruments and Canoe with the guys chasing something down a stream of water
24. Entering the Hobbo era- the episode where Howard is wired and eavesdrops on Pearl and Nelly for Hobbo- OK, I believe the quality of the show dropped during the last three years and almost didn’t include any Hobbo episodes, however, I recognize it is still pretty good and should be represented as part of the Summer Wine history, the Howarding eavesdropping scene is a classic
25. HOW NOT TO CRY AT WEDDINGS- People’s disliking for this episode have been posted before but overall I still think it is decent by itself as a regular episode and since it is the swansong, should be included- one last saying good bye to everyone, except unfortunately Nora- also ending on a wedding episode is good
Thanks for reading! It is such a long post I will put the ones I eliminated, the Honorable Mentions, later!