Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon etc...

[John Self]

The greatest comic character of the last ten years - discuss.

The best thing about Steve Coogan's character is that he has had such a varied comic life on both radio and TV that we keep seeing new sides to him - or did until the regrettable last series of I'm Alan Partridge. First he was the John Motson-ish sports presenter on Radio 4's On The Hour, and BBC2's televisual-treat version The Day Today, before getting his own radio chat-show Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge ("or 'The Alan Partridge Show' as I know some people prefer to call it") which also transferred to telly.

However his greatest moment came when we got the behind-the-scenes look at his life in I'm Alan Partridge, which at first I thought was a terrible mistake before humbly realising that it was the best sitcom in years and years.

Originally Posted by MySelf on Amazon

The Remains of the Alan
Sentient beings everywhere will need no introduction to the moribund world of the anchor (rhyming slang) of Norwich FM's graveyard slot, "Up With the Partridge," or the reasons why he's tragicomic on a level never seen before on TV: "I don't want salvation ... I just want to be able to say - 'I'm Alan Partridge - join me tonight when my guests will be, I dunno, Chris Rea...'"

So you already know that "I'm Alan Partridge" is far superior to established classics like "Fawlty Towers" and "Blackadder," in that it shares with those programmes an absolutely fastidious attention to detail and density of jokes, but mixes in far more pathos and depth than they ever did. The only comparison has been, of course, David Brent in "The Office," which came later and also favours curling toes over laughing bellies, whereas Partridge blends the two to perfection.

The series was released on DVD before, but then withdrawn over the unauthorised inclusion of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi." That was a blessing in disguise, as the BBC has now taken the opportunity to give "I'm Alan Partridge" the deluxe DVD treatment, a la "The Office" or "League of Gentlemen:" two discs, amusing menus, authentically hideous cover - the lot. Best of the extras are the deleted scenes (already seen on the VHS and first DVD), all of which seem to have been cut for time reasons alone and not quality: a particular moment of genius is Alan's other programme idea pitched at Tony Hayers over that legendary uneaten lunch, a perfect insight into the man's impoverished, flailing imagination: "A costume chat show with me as Samuel Pepys ... you could have John Thaw as Robespierre ... and Stephen Hawkings [sic] behind a curtain whispering clues through his voicebox..."

Also recommended is the commentary by writers Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Peter Baynham, who have the humanity and humility to laugh at the jokes but not too much, and give plenty of glimpses into the creative process, not to mention the slightly alanly-retentive side of the trio which feeds so much authenticity into their just-about-larger-than-life grotesque creation. Less worthwhile is the commentary by Coogan in character as Alan Partridge, along with Lynn, which resembles a rather eventless and drawn out version of the improvised car scene (another DVD bonus) and compares poorly with the same technique used in the DVD of "This is Spinal Tap," where David St. Hubbins so memorably advised us that he had split up with Janine because "the millennium changed and so did she..."

Oh and don't forget the finest comic scene ever recorded in complete darkness - Alan's valance-("the skirt thing round the end of the bed")-darkening bedtime experience with lovely Jill, 50. So beg borrow or steal this DVD. Actually not the last one - I will not condone lawbreaking. Although I will do 80 on the motorway if I have to get somewhere quickly.

However they only went and made another one. It's widely agreed, I think, that the second series is inferior to the first I'm Alan Partridge, which was as flawless as unabashed sitcoms get. There are still some very good moments even in the bad episodes ("Michael, what the hell's going on?" when Alan realises he's being four-timed by his only friend; the horribly implausible yet authentic Dante Fireplaces presentation, where Alan's retching is so stomach-churning it almost brings the viewer out in sympathy; or the exchange with the builders which begins with "I've changed my mind about the skirting board again" and ends with Alan trying, and failing, not to do the Lambeth Walk), and some whole episodes which are almost up to the standard of the first series, such as the opener where Alan fails to negotiate the deal for his next Crash! Bang! Wallop! What a Video! production and gives a talk to his old school ("You'll need one of these. It's a cellular phone"), and the best episode of the series, known in DVD-viewing circles as "the third one" where Alan meets his soulmate Dan (who gives us the most bizarrely memorable moment in the series when he fails to respond to Alan barking his name fourteen times across a carpark), does a David Brent with a wheelchair user, and discovers a whole new use for Poggenpohl work surfaces.

But the series is flawed by a flailing to reach the heights of the first with forced closed-set scenarios (the ho-hum static caravan comparing poorly to the chicly upholstered hell of the Linton Travel Tavern) and corny character inclusions (Michael working in a garage just to give him a role even though he's not a very funny character; and of course the bottomlessly hilari-less comedy foreign girlfriend Sonia: what were they thinking?), while other more potentially Partridgean settings like Choristers country club are underused. There are far too many unintentional cringes in the show too, worst of all being the climax to the James Bond episode where videotapes are ruined with a bit of feeble Sunny Delight slapstick and Alan ends up going backward and forward on all fours between two other men's crotches. In the commentary to two of the episodes, Steve Coogan remarks that the acting is "bigger" than he remembered, by which he charitably means unsubtle and - for the more nuanced sort of monster like Partridge - unfunny.

The question then is whether they should have bothered: is a little decent stuff worth it, or should they have cut their losses when they knew (and they must have known) it wasn't really working, and left us with one perfect series? I suppose if it keeps Steve Coogan too busy to make any more films, then work away, lads.

[Wavid]

I thought Sonia provided at least one genuinely amusing moment - when she drew the 'alien judge', though of course it was Partridge's reaction that brought the laughs.

[amner]

It's the Bravalan episode that makes the whole series worthwhile, really.

Alan's new mate, Dan - a soulmate, in fact, because they both read the the Daily Mail ('possibly the greatest newspaper in the world'), love Directors Bitter, use Lynx deodorant and drive Lexi (as everyone knows, it's the plural for Lexus) - Dan owns Planet Kitchen ('10,000 square feet of sheer kitchen') and is able to introduce Alan to 'the elite of Norfolk', a group comprising Mike Yapley and Karen Colman, no less.

Wonderful stuff, but it blows the other episodes out of the water. All but the 'lonely' episode in series one (where Alan sits bored in his motel room) are re-watchable classics, to be viewed again and again and again, but that's a trick they only manage the once in series two.

[gil]

I've always found Alan Partridge too embarrassing to watch / listen to. And, frankly, the Alan Partridge idea is a one-trick pony. Like Only Fools and Horses, one series, I would have thought, should have exhausted the possibilities.

[amner]

In a way, gil, I think I probably agree with you. Certainly, you couldn't really have done too many TV (as opposed to radio) Knowing Me Knowing You episodes (even the Xmas spesh was only 'OK') and I think we've agreed that they probably should have drawn a line under I'm Alan Partridge after series one (the Bravalan episode notwithstanding), but KMKY(wAP) and IAP are such different beasts.

One series of a lot of things would have been a very good idea, though. Or, if we're talking Monarch of the Glen, no series.

[amner]

From the What's On section at the University of Oxford website:

Tuesday 24 January News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media
British TV Comedy: Dead or Alive?
Armando Iannucci: Ever Decreasing Viewing Figures: the decline of mainstream comedy
St Anne's College, 5.30pm

Could be good...Digger?

[John Self]

Sounds like a forced theory - the decline in viewing figures affects all types of programmes, not just comedy, and is down to multi-channel viewing. There's still plenty of mainstream comedy out there, even if it's crap, but wasn't it always? The odd high-rating classic like One Foot in the Grave is an aberration, slipping lots of subtlety and intelligence in unnoticed. I remember being astonished at discovering that As Time Goes By had somehow notched up about nine series. Just because Armando Iannucci isn't watching it, doesn't mean it's not there and doing quite nicely.

Speaking of Iannucci, am I the only one who's been disappointed by The Thick of It? I don't have digital so couldn't see it on BBC 4 last year, and have been pretty underwhelmed by the terrestrial run. I watched the first one and thought it was quite amusing, but not half as amusing as the reviews and summaries of it I had read when it was on digital last year. I missed the next couple, which probably indicates how highly I value it, then sat down to last night's and gave up after 10 minutes. It seems to me to take the successful elements of recent comedy like The Office too far: first, the verite filming, where such jokes as there are slip out in the background or in the middle of the camera swinging away or under someone's breath so I keep feeling I'm missing things; and second, the bleakness outweighs the comedy by far too high a ratio. It's just unpleasant for the most part, particularly Peter Capaldi's Alastair Campbell character who I find just unwatchable.

[Daveybot]

For some reason I found Alan Partridge hilarious on radio and chillingly scary on TV - perhaps the visual element just pushed the horror one step too far. A particular favourite was when he interviewed 'France's second best racing driver, Michel Lambert!'

As far as The Think Of It goes, I think I agree with Mr Self. The elements which would make it funny have been done before and better elsewhere, and it ends up being just uncomfortable. (Though Chris Langham is still a God of dead pan comedy, surely?) For the sake of nostalgia, can't we just rererererun the - mostly - still relevent, brilliantly scripted Yes, Minister?

Actually, just to tie the two together more than a mere Iannucci might, it could be fair to suggest that Chris Langham was not dissimilar to our Mr Partridge as the brilliant Roy Mallard in People Like Us. Not actually unpleasant, of course, but deeply flawed as a presenter and often pretty stupid. A little rummaging has uncovered the fact that Alan beat Roy to the airwaves by four years, though. It was way back in 1991 that we saw Mr Partridge presenting the sports news on the brilliant Radio 4 show On The Hour ("It's twenty minutes past: It's time for On The Hour.") Roy Mallard, on the other hand, didn't appear until 1995. Well how about that.

...A bit of a random tangent I suppose, but I think I've shown that, at the very least, we need to retitle this thread The greatest comic character of the last fifteen years - discuss.

[amner]

I think, DB, you've hit the nail on the head there. Roy Mallard is such a fabulous creation that it made me want (and by virtue of a handful of subtly manipulative trailers, expect) The Thick Of It to be wonderful but...well, it only ends up being better than OK. People Like Us also had some of the best cameos I can ever remember.

But, what am I thinking, where does Marion & Geoff fit into all this? And for that matter, Human Remains? I think renaming the thread is almost compulsory!

[chillicheese]

The greatest comic character of the last fifteen years...
is surely William Hague - you just couldn't write that stuff.