The Greatest Comedy Character of the 90s? (Im Alan Partridge !)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Im Alan Partridge !
Date:	26/04/04 (1161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very original style, Hilarous jokes, Believable and relatable

Disadvantages: Not to everyone's tastes, Some of the charm was lost by series 2

Two series, in 1997 and 2002 respectively, observed the ups and downs of life for an unsuccessful, arrogant and fairly dull ex-TV personality called Alan Partridge. Played by Steve Coogan, and written by the partnership of Coogan, Armando Ianucci and Peter Baynham, ?I?m Alan Partridge? has gone down as one of the most successful comedy ventures of recent years, and its influence on the genre has undoubtedly been understated. The series is a testament to failure, delusions of grandeur, and unfortunate situations.


PREMISE


The first series of ?I?m Alan Partridge? follows the depressing and hilarious life of failed (fictional) TV personality Alan Partridge as he lives in a Travelodge by the motorway and tries making every effort to get back on TV. Hosting a long, abusive and uninteresting show in the early hours on Radio Norwich, Alan is divorced and relies on his unappreciated ?PA? assistant Lyn to gain him every opportunity possible to return to the limelight where he feels he belongs.

The huge popularity of this series afforded the writing team future opportunities to utilise the character, and they fittingly chose to wait a number of years before ?catching up? with his life. Filmed and set in 2002, five years later, Alan has been up to quite a lot. Having been back on TV, he is now only present on the pathetically obscure ?UK Conquest? channel (that doesn?t really exist!) presenting a strategy-based gameshow, and he has returned to his graveyard slot on Radio Norwich. He has a lot more money behind him and feels he has ?bounced back,? although his autobiography with that title fails to be as popular as he had hoped. With a young, Ukranian girlfriend, he now lives in a caravan (that he refers to as ?the stat

ic home?) as he waits for his custom-designed house to be finished.


ALAN PARTRIDGE: HISTORY


The Alan Partridge character was created by the team behind the topical radio comedy ?On the Hour,? which transferred to television as the hugely successful ?The Day Today.? Alan was responsible for the sports coverage, which entailed him visiting the Grand National and mistaking a pint-sized jockey for a child, taking a passenger ride in a racing car and fearing for his life, and setting up an over-complicated and ultimately stupid system for 1994?s World Cup groups. Coogan?s character was excellent at showing his ignorance and ineffectiveness, and was ultimately hilariously inept at his job.

Steve Coogan was awarded his own series by the BBC following ?The Day Today,? in the form of a spoof chat show hosted by the Alan Partridge character, and often featuring alumni from his previous work. Although very good at being humorously embarrassing and silly, ?Knowing Me Knowing You, with Alan Partridge? failed to be a huge success, but in light of ?I?m Alan Partridge? this only serves to boost the authenticity of that show; its catch-phrase of ?Aha!? proved to be less than successful, and Alan?s use of it in this series, in an attempt to remind viewers, is comically sad.


STYLE


Both series were filmed in a very realistic way, using genuine locations and mostly-believable characters, and in some ways can be seen as a pre-cursor to the recent hit, ?The Office.? There are noticeable differences however, as this is not intended to be a documentary of any kind; the cameras are not mentioned, and it is treated simply as if we are gaining a very intrusive ins
ight in
to Alan?s life.

Broadly speaking, the show could be classed as ?black comedy,? in that its humour stems from very bleak sources. The character is seen in every possible emotional state, and is often the target of quite deserved abuse, but is not completely unlikeable. After all, following twelve episodes of spending time with the man, it?s impossible not to feel some compassion and sorrow for what he?s going through, and genuine delight when he succeeds, even if it is through very shady means.


NOTABLE EPISODES


Every episode is centred around a clear event or theme, unlike the very serial nature of something like ?The Office,? which makes it easier for the viewer to recall certain events. There are no dodgy episodes in my view, as the character?s development (and lack of) throughout each show is great to behold.

SERIES 1:

WATERSHIP ALAN ? Alan has insulted farmers for little reason on his radio show, accusing them of in-breeding and making references to ?spines in baps? and other such ridiculous nonsense following the BSE crisis. When asked to present a corporate video for a river cruise company he accepts, as always, but the producers (familiar comedy faces Simon Pegg and Peter Baynham) get more than they bargained for when the local farmer?s pursue a vendetta against their abusive tormentor. This also features an incredibly rare appearance by underground comedy deity Chris Morris as an irate farming representative who tries persuading Alan to apologise, before realising how relentless and arrogant he can be. Alan has also had a problem with his TV in the Travelodge ?accidentally? screening fifteen minutes of ?Bangkok Chick-Boys,? which he apparently
had nothing t
o do with.

TO KILL A MOCKING ALAN ? Two executives from Ireland (comedy writing duo Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews ? ?Big Train? and ?Father Ted?) are travelling through the area, and Alan decides to stage a live version of his show to ?impress? them. It soon becomes necessary however for Alan to pretend he has a house, and doesn?t simply live in a room at the Travelodge, and so reluctantly allows his biggest fan to take him and the representatives to ?their? home. The execs soon leave, and Alan is faced with the prospect of spending time with his self-proclaimed ?biggest fan?; a man who has an entire room dedicated to the star, and has a huge tattoo of his face across his chest. He?s clearly ?a mentalist.?

SERIES 2:

THE TALENTED MR. ALAN ? Now living in his caravan, Alan looks for an opportunity to further his career in presenting CCTV videos of crashes. He visits a school with one of the videos, recorded several years earlier when he was incredibly fat, and this rekindles some resentment with the old pupil, now a teacher, who once drew a chalk penis on Alan?s back. This man is prepared to forget, until Alan decides to get his own revenge.

NEVER SAY ALAN AGAIN ? Alan has planned his annual James Bond weekend, which he will spend watching every James Bond film in the caravan with his friend Michael. But the discovery that Michael has other friends, including a truck driver who likes ?American things,? indicates to Alan that their friendship is over, and he seeks a new friend in one of the builders. The arrival of Lyn?s new
lover means Ala
n has to agree to raise her salary from £8000 a year up to £9,500 (but not ten, he gets away with that by singing) and his video collection is unfortunately ruined, meaning Alan has to act out scenes in front of those gathered.


OWNING ALAN


Both series of ?I?m Alan Partridge? are now available on video and DVD, as are his other projects. The DVDs include some very interesting features, such as commentaries by the actors in character and some extended and deleted scenes. I shall be buying these soon!


PERSONAL VIEW


I had not seen any of the ?I?m Alan Partridge? series until the recent series was broadcast on the BBC, but I was very impressed and made an effort to see the rest. Being a fan of other dark comedy shows as the League of Gentlemen, The Day Today and Brass Eye, it was right up my street. The character of Alan Partridge is unique and very compelling, and in many ways the disgust and sympathy felt by the viewer makes him even more endearing. Let?s face it, it?s much more fun to watch someone make a complete mess of their life, digging every hole deeper and never apologising, than it is to watch someone have a good time. Or maybe that?s just me.

A lot of people were disappointed by some of the changes made for the second series, but change was vital in order to keep the show interesting. Now moderately wealthy, and with a home and love interest, Alan is no longer the pathetic character from the first series, but his interactions with other characters are still top quality entertainment. If fans thought that some of his nonsensical sayings from the first series were funny (i.e. ?smell my cheese,? ?you?re a mentalist? and ?Jurassic
Park!? when he was e
cstatic), these episodes are full of them. When he feels he has won a competition by having a girlfriend fifteen years younger than the wife of an old comrade, Alan exclaims ?back of the net!?, and ?cashback.?

In my view, the first series is slightly funnier, due to the location and the fact that Alan is so miserable and deservedly unsuccessful. The second series relies slightly more on plot devices which, although very funny (?I?ve pierced my foot on a spiiiike?), feel a little more contrived. The regular characters are also not quite as musing as the Travelodge staff from the first series, although the very stupid and army-obsessed Geordie, Michael, is still hilarious. There are no current plans that I am aware of to make another series featuring Alan Partridge, but such an event would be unsurprising, and a better treat even than a cup of beans.

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