Alan Partridge Superthread - Sponsored by Dettol

n!ghtmancometh · 25-02-2019 11:15PM

Thought it was very good. Captured the vacuousness of those one show type programmes, and the little details were great. They have plenty of room to manoeuvre with Alan's co host with her stealing his funny lines etc. Will hopefully lead to a Toblerone influenced breakdown towards the end of the series.

Loved:

The wife/chocolates/antibiotic metaphor
Lynn telling the host that she is allowed to be there
Alan not giving in until the woman he previously spilled shandy on agreed with him
Alan having a woman accompany him to stand outside the men's bathroom, because a man loitering there that can "be fraught with ambiguity"
Alan's cotton candy story
The hacktivist reading out Alan's emails and google search history
Alan's giraffe impression
Alan being caught operating the lift

fryup · 25-02-2019 11:15PM

Mike Guide 69 wrote: »

“.......,very creamy hands.....”

did Alan get aroused watching her wash her hands??

Mr.Nice Guy · 25-02-2019 11:22PM

artvanderlay wrote: »

With regards to the episode, it's ridiculous that they have Alan on a mainstream BBC show in this day and age. It would never happen, so the concept of the show is totally off. I'll watch it because I love Partridge/Coogan, but it is making me sad that something that was once so great hasn't been funny in a long time.

Really?

Mike Guide 69 · 25-02-2019 11:23PM

fryup wrote: »

did Alan get aroused watching her wash her hands??

The pervy mutterings under his breath and was laughing at the line when she said “ I could demonstrate right here in the lab,if you want”.... with Alan replying ....”No,no we mustn’t ....”, I thought that was class

Gavin "shels" · 25-02-2019 11:53PM

Completely forgot this was on tonight - anyone know if it's repeated? Can't see it on the BBC One Guide for the next week & well iPlayer doesn't like to work in Ireland even with Chromes attachments...:pac:

De Bhál · 26-02-2019 12:22AM

A few laughs but really I could've turned it off only I'm fan of his.
I'll give it more time for sure.

KungPao · 26-02-2019 12:35AM

Gavin "shels" wrote: »

Completely forgot this was on tonight - anyone know if it's repeated? Can't see it on the BBC One Guide for the next week & well iPlayer doesn't like to work in Ireland even with Chromes attachments...:pac:

Check the listings for digital television channel U.K. Conquest. Might be on after Skirmish.

jooksavage · 26-02-2019 06:52AM

"...Chinaman Square..."

Welsh Megaman · 26-02-2019 07:55AM

n!ghtmancometh wrote: »

Will hopefully lead to a Toblerone influenced breakdown towards the end of the series.

I’m guessing Jenny will finally snap and have a go at Alan, like Susan did on his final night in the travel tavern.

Max Headroom · 26-02-2019 08:04AM

jooksavage wrote: »

"...Chinaman Square..."

Probably the only genuine laugh i got out of it tbh....:(

selwyn froggitt · 26-02-2019 08:11AM

'You're the third lowest paid at North Norfolk Digital, and you're on two grand less than a guy called Wally Banter'

Welsh Megaman · 26-02-2019 08:53AM

Guess who’s back in the big time!!!!!!!!!!!!

Penn · 26-02-2019 09:01AM

I thought overall it was great, but it did have some dud moments. They went a bit too far with it considering it was the first episode. Thought there'd be more of a build-up as the week progressed. Miming washing his hands in the train was definitely the worst bit, just felt too forced with the rest, as did the idea that just because they brought Alan in as a guest host, that Sidekick Simon would be given a slot on it too.

That said, some great bits too. The Hacktivist bit ended poorly, but him reading Alan's emails was great. Lolly Adefope (forget her name in the programme) disagreeing with everything Alan said was perfect, particularly the end "We'll have more from her tomorrow" "I'm off tomorrow...". His story about Grandad Graham, and the Clunt/Fluck confusion were great too. Plus great seeing Lynn back. His tension with the co-host, and her stealing his jokes could play out really well too.

Will look forward to the rest anyway.

loyatemu · 26-02-2019 09:19AM

I laughed out loud at several points, it was (as someone has already said) quite like a television version of MMM (with a bit of KMKY thrown in). Some segments worked better than others, but Alan was quality throughout.

It might have been better if they'd just stuck with the on-camera stuff; the Sidekick Simon segment wasn't great - it also seems unrealistic that Alan would have been able to bring him onto the show with him for a temporary gig.

Best gag: "Hygiene!"

gargargar · 26-02-2019 09:36AM

Simon Denton wiping his nose on his sleeve

:D:D:D:D:D:D

.red. · 26-02-2019 09:50AM

I thought it was ok.
Some very funny scenes but others were very poor. Hopefully it gets better as it has the potential.

The hand washing was hilarious.

artvanderlay · 26-02-2019 10:03AM

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Really?

Did I miss the bit where Gyles shot and killed a man live on air, or assaulted the head of BBC with a piece of cheese, or are we just totally disregarding Alan's history? :P

artvanderlay · 26-02-2019 10:20AM

Saw this comment on the Guardian website (which gave the show a 5 star review...of course they did; they love Coogan there)

"The writing is too undisciplined, like they wanted to jam every idea they thought of in there, even getting sidekick simon involved when it wasn't needed instead of having a few well written jokes. The main problem is that old partridge was surreal thanks to Ianucci and Baynham, and the directing style matches the tone. The new stuff is too clean and realistic in its presentation, so when something unrealistic happens it just feels awkward and out of place."

That is exactly what is missing; the old surreal Alan. Alan is a surreal character; he doesn't fit in with normal people. That's why he surrounded himself with people like Lynn, Michael, Sidekick Simon, Sonya...people he felt superior too and could bully when needed. Nobody else would tolerate his ****. His wife left him, and his kids don't talk to him. I don't like that Alan has changed from being a nasty, petty piece of work to someone that they are trying to make more likeable. I also don't think Alan would bring Sidekick Simon on his new show; he would want all the attention for himself and would never share the limelight. It's just catering to fans bringing Simon in. It would have been better to have Simon working as a writer for Alan feeding him lines and jokes, some of which overstep the mark

jooksavage · 26-02-2019 11:03AM

Welsh Megaman wrote: »

Guess who’s back in the big time!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess who's big in the back time!!!!!!!

jooksavage · 26-02-2019 11:06AM

artvanderlay wrote: »

Did I miss the bit where Gyles shot and killed a man live on air, or assaulted the head of BBC with a piece of cheese, or are we just totally disregarding Alan's history? :P

Alan's biography explains this quite satisfactorily. He's an innocent man in the eyes of the law and I think it's frankly a bit ruddy much to be bringing it up 20 years after the fact.

Big Vern · 26-02-2019 11:08AM

I thought it was good, some very funny bits, some that didn't work quite so well.
Reading over the last comments have reminded me of some of the funnier bits and i think a re-watch is in order.

Ultimately its great to have new Partridge. But i dont think it will ever better some the earlier stuff and thats what we are comparing the new series to.

loyatemu · 26-02-2019 11:13AM

artvanderlay wrote: »

Saw this comment on the Guardian website (which gave the show a 5 star review...of course they did; they love Coogan there)

"The writing is too undisciplined, like they wanted to jam every idea they thought of in there, even getting sidekick simon involved when it wasn't needed instead of having a few well written jokes. The main problem is that old partridge was surreal thanks to Ianucci and Baynham, and the directing style matches the tone. The new stuff is too clean and realistic in its presentation, so when something unrealistic happens it just feels awkward and out of place."

That is exactly what is missing; the old surreal Alan. Alan is a surreal character; he doesn't fit in with normal people. That's why he surrounded himself with people like Lynn, Michael, Sidekick Simon, Sonya...people he felt superior too and could bully when needed. Nobody else would tolerate his ****. His wife left him, and his kids don't talk to him. I don't like that Alan has changed from being a nasty, petty piece of work to someone that they are trying to make more likeable. I also don't think Alan would bring Sidekick Simon on his new show; he would want all the attention for himself and would never share the limelight. It's just catering to fans bringing Simon in. It would have been better to have Simon working as a writer for Alan feeding him lines and jokes, some of which overstep the mark

the current writers did MMM, Alpha Papa, the Sky specials and both books - they know how to write for the character. I agree about Simon though, it's not realistic the Beeb would have let him on the show when Alan's only there as a stand-in.

artvanderlay · 26-02-2019 11:17AM

loyatemu wrote: »

the current writers did MMM, Alpha Papa, the Sky specials and both books - they know how to write for the character. I agree about Simon though, it's not realistic the Beeb would have let him on the show when Alan's only there as a stand-in.

I agree the Gibbons brothers started brilliantly, writing MMM series one and I, Partridge, but it has been downhill since. Alpha Papa had some laughs, but the specials were nothing special, and MMM 2 was just not funny at all. Iannucci stepped away after MMM1 (he had some limited input with Alpha Papa) and I think they have lost their way since.

The 'creamy hands' bit in last night's episode was the only bit that felt truly like vintage Alan.

artvanderlay · 26-02-2019 11:28AM

Was watching MMM1 last night just to remind myself how good it was. Alan was arguing with a caller who didn't know the word 'idiom' and thought Alan was calling him an idiot. Alan told him he was an idiot for not knowing what an idiom was, and that he was confused, thinking Alan had just substituted a t for an m. Alan then called him a smupid gimm, and a momal mwam, before Simon fed Alan the line "you're a compleme cunm" :pac::pac::pac:

loyatemu · 26-02-2019 11:33AM

artvanderlay wrote: »

I agree the Gibbons brothers started brilliantly, writing MMM series one and I, Partridge, but it has been downhill since. Alpha Papa had some laughs, but the specials were nothing special, and MMM 2 was just not funny at all. Iannucci stepped away after MMM1 (he had some limited input with Alpha Papa) and I think they have lost their way since.

The 'creamy hands' bit in last night's episode was the only bit that felt truly like vintage Alan.

Alpha Papa was brilliant, I think you need to drive to Dundee and eat some Toblerone.

Acosta · 26-02-2019 12:57PM

The Scissored Isle special is one of the best episodes of Partridge that's ever been. I've watched it several times. I nearly soiled myself more than once.

Mid Morning Matters was a great idea and I think both seasons are excellent. I would have loved another one, but I think it's great that they always go a new direction just when you're getting comfortable with his surroundings. Thought the movie was excellent also, but not as good as MMM. It was as good as I hoped it would be considering I was a bit fearful before seeing it.

I will reserve ultimate judgement on the new series until it's finished, but it was a very good start. In terms of laughs, if you get plenty of good laughs and a couple of nearly falling off the couch belly laughs, then it's a good episode. It had that for me. It was as funny as a good episode of MMM.

IamtheWalrus · 26-02-2019 02:34PM

I think the issue with the work of Gibbons’ is that it’s just not Alan (most of the time).

DEFTLEFTHAND · 26-02-2019 04:44PM

The reviews are all over the place, some publications are giving 5 stars while others 1 or 2.

I have to say that personally I was hugely disappointed, this is probably the first ever piece of Partridge related material that I didn't laugh at.

It just didn't feel like Alan at all to me.

I got a really sick feeling about half way in. I was like oh no, it's crap.

el Fenomeno · 26-02-2019 04:47PM

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

The reviews are all over the place, some publications are giving 5 stars while others 1 or 2.

I have to say that personally I was hugely disappointed, this is probably the first ever piece of Partridge related material that I didn't laugh at.

It just didn't feel like Alan at all to me.

I got a really sick feeling about half way in. I was like oh no, it's crap.

There's a lot to be said about the writing being a bit off, but I don't think Coogan's delivery is the same anymore. Alan's mannerisms have all changed.

brian_t · 26-02-2019 05:12PM

I see the overnight ratings have Warren at 3.83m (20.7%)
and
This Time with Alan Partridge at 3.3m (18.2%)

Not looking good.

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2302221/the-ratings-thread-part-72/p490

Alan Partridge Superthread - Sponsored by Dettol

Comments