I loved Last of the Summer Wine in the early 1990's when I was a kid and really enjoyed the mischief Compo, Clegg and Foggy got up to. Story lines also included Compo's constant attempt to attract Nora Batty which was always a laugh, but sadly in 1999, Bill Owen (Compo) passed away. Surprisingly though, the producers just continued making new series. The 'Compo's Funeral' episode was very touching but in my opinion, this should have been the show's final episode, ever since then, the show's quality has declined rapidly. Many of the other major characters have now passed away and often just replaced with other 'similar' characters, making it more like a soap than a much-loved sitcom. Even Clegg (Peter Sallis) is now only in episodes briefly.<br /><br />I feel the producers are now just trying to keeps the show alive for as long as possible, but with few 'original' characters and poorer story lines, new episodes could tarnish the image of the series that was once brilliant.