Alan Partridge Superthread - Sponsored by Dettol

Roar

^

Suspension of disbelief. Try it. Yeah it makes no sense that he’s on prime time. Just go with it. It’s a 30 minute TV comedy show, it’s nothing important. Just try and enjoy it instead of thinking “well there’s no way he could be on that show” and getting annoyed over it.

The gibbons brothers were on the Empire Podcast recently, well worth checking out for anyone who hasn’t heard it. The describe their approach to the character and the work that goes in to honing the jokes. A good listen.

steve_r

I thought the last episode was crap.

I get where people are coming from about the subtle jokes but it's all very forgettable stuff really.

I just don't think the Gibbons brothers are as good writers as Armando/writers from the IAP days.

I enjoy "This time" as I enjoyed MMM but I doubt I'll ever rewatch it at any point.

There's been a few highlights (Martin Brennan, Train lav, sex doll etc) but a huge amount of ****e. The Ruth segments are poor, as are the mediawall bits with Simon.

The bits I loved in IAP was Alan interacting in the real world with people like Lynn, Michael, hotel staff, builders etc. I think he's a far funnier character when he is off mic.

The format for "This time" runs contrary to that, we see Alan in a studio environment, and he's often interacting with people actually less likeable to him, making him the actual likeable character. It doesn't really work for me.


BTW artvanderlay I love Veep and Fleabag - think you are harsh on them!

Grayditch

I really like those bits with Ruth.

Penn

Grayditch wrote: »

I really like those bits with Ruth.

Yeah I was skeptical at first, but they've changed it enough each time to keep it going. Not the best bits, but I think they work well enough. I'm hoping for a fairly big payoff from it considering they keep going back to it.

tsue921i8wljb3

artvanderlay, how would you feel if this whole series all turned out to be a Toblerone induced hallucination on the part of Alan?

Credit Checker Moose

I hate the Ruth bits. I want Alan to pwnd her big time.

artvanderlay

Brylee Handsome Paprika wrote: »

artvanderlay, how would you feel if this whole series all turned out to be a Toblerone induced hallucination on the part of Alan?

Now that I would happily accept It would make more sense than the BBC hiring Alan back out of the blue, AND giving Sidekick Simon a gig on the show as well. Wtf? He should have been behind the scenes like Lynn, feeding Alan lines, possibly through an earpiece, some of which overstep the mark



Did anyone watch the deleted scenes from Alpha Papa? The last one had Alan coming out of a dream-like state, while in the studio with Pat Farrell, and Alan asking Pat "are you still going ahead with the siege?" to which Pat replied "what siege?"...now if Alpha Papa had ended like that, I would say that that was a work of genius

artvanderlay

tsue921i8wljb3

artvanderlay wrote: »

Now that I would happily accept It would make more sense than the BBC hiring Alan back out of the blue, AND giving Sidekick Simon a gig on the show as well. Wtf? He should have been behind the scenes like Lynn, feeding Alan lines, possibly through an earpiece, some of which overstep the mark

I tend to agree with you about the premise of the series. It doesn't really work for me either but I guess they did not want to attempt to recreate I'm Alan Partridge.

artvanderlay

Roar wrote: »

^

Suspension of disbelief. Try it. Yeah it makes no sense that he’s on prime time. Just go with it. It’s a 30 minute TV comedy show, it’s nothing important. Just try and enjoy it instead of thinking “well there’s no way he could be on that show” and getting annoyed over it.

The gibbons brothers were on the Empire Podcast recently, well worth checking out for anyone who hasn’t heard it. The describe their approach to the character and the work that goes in to honing the jokes. A good listen.

Then why give the character a narrative at all, if we are just ignoring his past completely? Let's have him present the Oscars, or go on Celebrity Come Dine With Me...it's makes as much sense! I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 followed on from the events of Knowing Me Knowing You where Alan was fired from the BBC, Series 2 followed on from Alan's subsequent breakdown after losing another chance with the BBC at the end of Series 1. MMM1 showed us Alan even further down the ladder at North Norfolk Digital (Norfolk's best...North Norfolk's best music mix :pac:). Getting back to the BBC was Alan's Everest, and the comedy came from his deluded attempts to claw his way back to the big time, but his efforts were increasingly pathetic and he was getting further away from that goal. Now suddenly there he is, sat at the top of Everest with no explanation as to how he got there. It just pisses all over the history of Alan and the world that Iannucci/Baynham/Coogan constructed before. I think the Gibbons brothers started off brilliantly with Alan (MMM1, I, Partridge), but they have ****ed the character up irreparably ever since. And yeah, maybe I am getting a bit worked up about this, but this was my favourite comedy show of all time, and it really annoys me. I always relied on Alan for laughs, now there is literally not one show on TV that makes me laugh. Golden age of television, my hole. Comedy shows that are too sophisticated to actually bother to make their audiences laugh...what a swizz

Grayditch

The silent delay between Alan moving between Jenny and Simon is so beautifully awkward.

Ash.J.Williams

artvanderlay wrote: »

Then why give the character a narrative at all, if we are just ignoring his past completely? Let's have him present the Oscars, or go on Celebrity Come Dine With Me...it's makes as much sense! I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 followed on from the events of Knowing Me Knowing You where Alan was fired from the BBC, Series 2 followed on from Alan's subsequent breakdown after losing another chance with the BBC at the end of Series 1. MMM1 showed us Alan even further down the ladder at North Norfolk Digital (Norfolk's best...North Norfolk's best music mix :pac:). Getting back to the BBC was Alan's Everest, and the comedy came from his deluded attempts to claw his way back to the big time, but his efforts were increasingly pathetic and he was getting further away from that goal. Now suddenly there he is, sat at the top of Everest with no explanation as to how he got there. It just pisses all over the history of Alan and the world that Iannucci/Baynham/Coogan constructed before. I think the Gibbons brothers started off brilliantly with Alan (MMM1, I, Partridge), but they have ****ed the character up irreparably ever since. And yeah, maybe I am getting a bit worked up about this, but this was my favourite comedy show of all time, and it really annoys me. I always relied on Alan for laughs, now there is literally not one show on TV that makes me laugh. Golden age of television, my hole. Comedy shows that are too sophisticated to actually bother to make their audiences laugh...what a swizz

If you love armando so much you should marry him

artvanderlay

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

If you love armando so much you should marry him

:pac::pac::pac: In fairness, Peter Baynham brought a lot of the more surreal humour to Alan, so I should be lauding him as much as Armando. When the dust settles, this series will be seen for what it really is, Cock Piss Partridge

IamtheWalrus

artvanderlay wrote: »

:pac::pac::pac: In fairness, Peter Baynham brought a lot of the more surreal humour to Alan, so I should be lauding him as much as Armando. When the dust settles, this series will be seen for what it really is, Cock Piss Partridge

Well there's no need for that!

Dante7

artvanderlay wrote: »

Then why give the character a narrative at all, if we are just ignoring his past completely? Let's have him present the Oscars, or go on Celebrity Come Dine With Me...it's makes as much sense! I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 followed on from the events of Knowing Me Knowing You where Alan was fired from the BBC, Series 2 followed on from Alan's subsequent breakdown after losing another chance with the BBC at the end of Series 1. MMM1 showed us Alan even further down the ladder at North Norfolk Digital (Norfolk's best...North Norfolk's best music mix :pac:). Getting back to the BBC was Alan's Everest, and the comedy came from his deluded attempts to claw his way back to the big time, but his efforts were increasingly pathetic and he was getting further away from that goal. Now suddenly there he is, sat at the top of Everest with no explanation as to how he got there. It just pisses all over the history of Alan and the world that Iannucci/Baynham/Coogan constructed before. I think the Gibbons brothers started off brilliantly with Alan (MMM1, I, Partridge), but they have ****ed the character up irreparably ever since. And yeah, maybe I am getting a bit worked up about this, but this was my favourite comedy show of all time, and it really annoys me. I always relied on Alan for laughs, now there is literally not one show on TV that makes me laugh. Golden age of television, my hole. Comedy shows that are too sophisticated to actually bother to make their audiences laugh...what a swizz

Someone who goes to the trouble of writing such an intrinsic critique should surely be capable of appreciating the subtleties of this incarnation of Partridge.

Duckworth_Luas

Dante7 wrote: »

Someone who goes to the trouble of writing such an intrinsic critique should surely be capable of appreciating the subtleties of this incarnation of Partridge.

He should stop critiquing Alan wrong!

artvanderlay

Dante7 wrote: »

Someone who goes to the trouble of writing such an intrinsic critique should surely be capable of appreciating the subtleties of this incarnation of Partridge.

I'm watching the show to laugh. If it doesn't make me do that first, then forget subtleties: it has failed at the basic level for a comedy show. Old Alan made me laugh hysterically, and re-watching because it was funny, meant I could enjoy the subtleties that I may have missed the first time. This current show? I don't want to watch this show again. A comedy show should make me laugh; am I insane in saying this? I don't want to nod approvingly at a subtle joke here and there, I want to cry with laughter. BBC used to do great comedy, but now nobody seems to do it, not even in America. They are all too cool to be funny. That's lame now, apparently.

artvanderlay

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Well there's no need for that!

:D:D

ToBeFrank123

artvanderlay wrote: »

Then why give the character a narrative at all, if we are just ignoring his past completely? Let's have him present the Oscars, or go on Celebrity Come Dine With Me...it's makes as much sense! I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 followed on from the events of Knowing Me Knowing You where Alan was fired from the BBC, Series 2 followed on from Alan's subsequent breakdown after losing another chance with the BBC at the end of Series 1. MMM1 showed us Alan even further down the ladder at North Norfolk Digital (Norfolk's best...North Norfolk's best music mix :pac:). Getting back to the BBC was Alan's Everest, and the comedy came from his deluded attempts to claw his way back to the big time, but his efforts were increasingly pathetic and he was getting further away from that goal. Now suddenly there he is, sat at the top of Everest with no explanation as to how he got there. It just pisses all over the history of Alan and the world that Iannucci/Baynham/Coogan constructed before. I think the Gibbons brothers started off brilliantly with Alan (MMM1, I, Partridge), but they have ****ed the character up irreparably ever since. And yeah, maybe I am getting a bit worked up about this, but this was my favourite comedy show of all time, and it really annoys me. I always relied on Alan for laughs, now there is literally not one show on TV that makes me laugh. Golden age of television, my hole. Comedy shows that are too sophisticated to actually bother to make their audiences laugh...what a swizz

You make some good points. But Alan's raison d'etre is to be on the BBC. Its great seeing him languishing at North Norfolk but it also gets tiring after a while. With a character like Alan, you have to try keep it fresh and new, new stations, new situations, new challenges. Ultimately Alan is a failure at everything and its funny watching him fail. Seeing him (the character) fail again at the BBC is part of the comedy.

artvanderlay

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

You make some good points. But Alan's raison d'etre is to be on the BBC. Its great seeing him languishing at North Norfolk but it also gets tiring after a while. With a character like Alan, you have to try keep it fresh and new, new stations, new situations, new challenges. Ultimately Alan is a failure at everything and its funny watching him fail. Seeing him (the character) fail again at the BBC is part of the comedy.

Yes, but this current scenario is just plain ridiculous. He's getting away with murder, yet he's working for the BBC, a company that is very knee-jerk to anything even slightly controversial. Knowing me Knowing you was produced by Alan's own production company (Pear Tree Productions ), so it made sense that he got away with a lot of **** on that show. The BBC weren't really keeping an eye on him, yet when things did go wrong, he was immediately sacked. With the current show, I get the impression that if Alan did shoot a guest dead again, he would be back on the next week, without any problems. It's that illogical.

Ush1

I don't have so much of a problem with the premise(although I think he is much better away from a studio, KMKY was inferior in many ways to IAP), I do think that a lot of the jokes just aren't that good.

It's like there is sometimes some good jokes that are available and you can see how this premise with be hilarious but then often just falls a bit flat.

artvanderlay

Ush1 wrote: »

I don't have so much of a problem with the premise(although I think he is much better away from a studio, KMKY was inferior in many ways to IAP), I do think that a lot of the jokes just aren't that good.

It's like there is sometimes some good jokes that are available and you can see how this premise with be hilarious but then often just falls a bit flat.

I totally agree: the jokes are just not working. Again, they are too cool to go for proper laughs. That's passé, apparently. Awkward looks, and little asides, are the way to go now. Bury the jokes in the mix, so they can be deciphered by nerds who say "oh look, I've found one!" after watching it umpteen times.

Ush1

artvanderlay wrote: »

I totally agree: the jokes are just not working. Again, they are too cool to go for proper laughs. That's passé, apparently. Awkward looks, and little asides, are the way to go now. Bury the jokes in the mix, so they can be deciphered by nerds who say "oh look, I've found one!" after watching it umpteen times.

I actually do find some of the looks funny but I don't like the actual pacing of the show, it's too fast and trying to cram too many little jokes in a lot of the time. There isn't a huge amount of comedy between the host and him either, she doesn't find him repulsive!

artvanderlay

Ush1 wrote: »

I actually do find some of the looks funny but I don't like the actual pacing of the show, it's too fast and trying to cram too many little jokes in a lot of the time. There isn't a huge amount of comedy between the host and him either, she doesn't find him repulsive!

She brings very little to the show. I thought they might expand on her character, or her relationship with Alan, but she is now just like a fem-bot. We get no indication of how she feels about Alan anymore.

ToBeFrank123

Ush1 wrote: »

I actually do find some of the looks funny but I don't like the actual pacing of the show, it's too fast and trying to cram too many little jokes in a lot of the time. There isn't a huge amount of comedy between the host and him either, she doesn't find him repulsive!

I haven't seen Knowing me, Knowing you in years, but I vaguely remember Alan used the sideways looks on that as if to say are you seeing what I'm seeing? I could be wrong in that.

Alan was the pioneer of "reality tv comedy" for want of a better description, years before everyone else. The Office I think copied Alan a bit, ie a guy who thinks he's great but everyone else sees the reality.

Not 100% sure this current format suits Alan, it seems a bit too constrained. But I'd give it another series if I was the BBC.

MillField

ToBeFrank123 wrote: »

Not 100% sure this current format suits Alan, it seems a bit too constrained. But I'd give it another series if I was the BBC.

ToBeFrank123

MillField wrote: »

Yeh I know. He might have to go begging to them again!

If not he could pitch some new ideas for programs at them

Ush1

Monkey tennis?

IamtheWalrus

MillField wrote: »

He kept his coat on

ToBeFrank123

Some classic Alan.

http://www.alanpartridgequotes.com/im-alan-partridge/series-1/episode-1-a-room-with-an-alan/