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I'm Alan Partridge

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I'm Alan Partridge
Title screen from series 1 (1997), depicting Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge wearing his trademark green blazer
GenreSitcom
Cringe comedy
Created byPeter Baynham
Steve Coogan
Armando Iannucci
StarringSteve Coogan
Felicity Montagu
Simon Greenall
Phil Cornwell
Barbara Durkin
Sally Phillips
Amelia Bullmore
James Lance
Voices ofAndrew Burt (Radio Norwich announcer)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerPeter Fincham
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time29 minutes
Production companyTalkback
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release3 November 1997 (1997-11-03) –
16 December 2002 (2002-12-16)
Related

I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster. The first series, broadcast in 1997, has Partridge living in a roadside hotel after having been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC. The second, broadcast in 2002,[1] sees Partridge living in a static caravan after recovering from a mental breakdown.[2][3] Iannucci said the writers used the sitcom as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England".[1]

The supporting cast includes Felicity Montagu as his faithful but timid personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie handyman Michael; and Phil Cornwell as Partridge's rival DJ Dave Clifton. Series 2 also featured Amelia Bullmore as Partridge's Ukrainian girlfriend Sonja. The show received critical acclaim and was a success amongst audiences, being nominated for three BAFTAs (winning two), two British Comedy Awards (winning both), and a Royal Television Society award. In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, I'm Alan Partridge was named the 38th-best British television series of all time.

Premise

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Alan Partridge was created by Steve Coogan and the producer Armando Iannucci for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour, a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting, as the show's sports presenter.[4] In 1992, Partridge hosted a spin-off Radio 4 spoof chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge.[5] On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today in 1994,[4] followed by Knowing Me, Knowing You later that year.[6] The series ends with Partridge accidentally shooting a guest.[5]

I'm Alan Partridge follows Partridge after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC. In the first series, he lives in a roadside hotel, presents a graveyard slot on local Norwich radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows.[4] In the second series (2002),[4] Partridge lives in a static caravan with his new Ukrainian girlfriend (Amelia Bullmore) after recovering from a mental breakdown.[7][8] By then he has moved to the late night "Norfolk Nights" slot and also hosts "Skirmish", a military-based general knowledge quiz show on digital cable channel UK Conquest, which Partridge says has "the largest audience share for a digital channel at that time of day in the Norfolk area".[9] The writers found the second series difficult to make, feeling it had been too long since the first and that expectations for sitcoms had changed.[10] Iannucci said the writers used I'm Alan Partridge as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England".[4]

Episodes

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Series 1 (1997)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"A Room with an Alan"Dominic Brigstocke[12]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[12]3 November 1997 (1997-11-03)

Alan Partridge is currently living at the Linton Travel Tavern after his ex-wife kicked him out, and is stuck hosting the graveyard slot on Radio Norwich after a poorly received first series of his BBC talk show. The staff at the hotel remain cordial to Alan despite his intolerable personality, including handyman Michael, whom he asks to remove some lewd graffiti sprayed on the side of his car by vandals, reading "Cock Piss Partridge", which Michael changes to "Cook Pass Babtridge" with the help of some purple spraypaint.- Alan has difficulty understanding Michael due to his strong Geordie accent. Believing he is set for a second series at the BBC, Alan goes house hunting, accompanied by his bewilderingly loyal personal assistant Lynn.

During an embarrassing lunch at the BBC Television Centre with Tony Hayers (David Schneider), the chief programme commissioner of the BBC, Hayers informs Alan that he will not get a second series, dismissing a number of Alan's increasingly desperate alternate pitches for new shows, including 'Inner City Sumo' and 'Monkey Tennis'. Alan assaults Hayers with a wheel of blue cheese. With no second series, and therefore no funds to purchase his house, Alan returns to his hotel room, giving himself a black eye via a poor attempt at an athletic leap from his bed to the minibar.[11]
2"Alan Attraction"Dominic Brigstocke[14]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[14]10 November 1997 (1997-11-10)

Without a second series of his programme, Alan is nearing bankruptcy and has to put his production company into liquidation and fire the entire crew. Alan panics on arrival at Peartree Productions, and tells them that he has been successful in securing a second series.

While the staff prepare a party, and Jill, his flirtatious, chain-smoking, 50-year-old, divorced receptionist (Julia Deakin) goes out to buy some snacks, Alan tries to extricate himself by firing staff members for various ridiculous "offences". Whilst he locks himself in his boardroom, all the staff leave voluntarily, except for Jill, who returns and goes on a date with Alan to a nearby owl sanctuary.

In the evening, the two attend a Valentine's Day dinner at the Travel Tavern and return to Alan's room to have sex. Jill's attempt at eroticism (involving smearing chocolate mousse all over Alan and his bed) angers him, causing him to end the liaison and later announce on-air that he has sacked her.[13]
3"Watership Alan"Dominic Brigstocke[16]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[16]17 November 1997 (1997-11-17)

After making various unsympathetic and ill-advised comments about farming on his radio show, Alan has become an object of hatred for local farmers. Alan's viewing of pornography on his travel tavern bedroom television is subtly ridiculed by the staff at the hotel, with him attempting to exonerate himself due to 'confusion'.

After being hired to shoot an advertisement for a small boating holiday company, Alan attempts to contact his ex-wife Carol in order to meet the company's requirement that he have a partner in the video with him- he is unsuccessful. On the day of the video shoot, he attempts to blend in with the hard-drinking crew, whilst making a fool of himself in front of the actress they had to hire to replace his ex-wife.

In-between shooting days, Alan interviews the leader of the local Farmers' Union (Chris Morris), but instead of apologising for his comments, his series of increasingly ludicrous claims involving their day to day activities enrages local farmers even further.

During the second day of the shoot, he is crushed by a dead cow thrown from a bridge by disgruntled local farmers. Alan returns from hospital with a neck brace and broken fingers, asking the hotel staff to "make pornography come on my television again" after previously requesting they disable the channel.[15]
4"Basic Alan"Dominic Brigstocke[18]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[18]24 November 1997 (1997-11-24)
There are major refurbishments taking place at the Linton Travel Tavern, leaving Alan as the only guest. He becomes desperately bored and does various things to pass the time, including dismantling his trouser press, walking along a busy dual carriageway to a petrol station to buy several bottles of windscreen washer fluid, driving round the ring road three times, buying some tungsten-tipped screws he never intends to use and dressing up as a zombie as a practical joke. His boredom culminates with an attempt to steal a traffic cone with Michael and Lynn, before they are stopped by the police.[17]
5"To Kill a Mocking Alan"Dominic Brigstocke[20]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[20]1 December 1997 (1997-12-01)

Alan hosts "An Afternoon with Alan Partridge" at the hotel which is attended by his self-confessed "biggest fan", Jed Maxwell (Ian Sharrock). He is also visited by Irish network executives (Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews) who are considering giving him a show on Irish television. They are unimpressed by Alan, particularly regarding his ignorant take on Ireland, the Troubles, and his misunderstanding of the U2 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", though they get along very well with Lynn.

Through a series of mishaps, the three of them end up at Jed's house, whom Alan pretends to cohabit with due to having no home of his own. After Alan and the executives discover that Jed's fandom is of a highly obsessive nature, with one of his rooms acting as shrine to the presenter, the two executives make their excuses and leave, leaving Alan and Jed alone. Alan becomes increasingly worried about his own safety and, following an altercation with Jed, he makes a hasty escape, fleeing across nearby fields.[19]
6"Towering Alan"Dominic Brigstocke[22]Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan & Armando Iannucci[22]8 December 1997 (1997-12-08)

After an afternoon hosting a small village fayre and judging the vegetable competition, Alan is delighted to discover that Tony Hayers has died and that his successor is Chris Feather, a supporter of Alan's works. Attending Hayers' funeral as he knows Chris will be there, he attempts to secure his sought-after second series. However, Feather later suffers a fatal heart attack just before Alan's new contract is signed.

Later, Alan and Lynn host a farewell party in his hotel room, where manager Susan finally lashes out at Alan, in retaliation for his behaviour throughout his protracted occupancy. The guests all leave as a result. The series ends as Alan and Lynn tidy up to the theme from The Adventures of Black Beauty, with Alan feeling pleased with himself.[21]

Series 2 (2002)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions) [23]
7"The Talented Mr Alan"Armando Iannucci[25]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[25]11 November 2002 (2002-11-11)3.71

Five years on from his time at the Linton Travel Tavern, Alan is living in a static home next to his under-construction house, with his new girlfriend Sonja. He has written a book, 'Bouncing Back', after having spent two years unemployed and 'clinically fed up'.

While visiting Michael at his new petrol station job, Alan has a chance meeting with his old teacher Frank Raphael. Alan convinces Raphael to let him give a talk to the sixth formers at the school where Raphael is now headmaster. Whilst at the school, Alan bumps into an old schoolmate, Phil Wiley, who is now a teacher. Alan still holds a grudge against Wiley for drawing a penis on the back of his school blazer, which Raphael caned Alan for. In his talk, Alan makes a fool of himself by screening his car safety PSA 'Crash, Bang, Wallop: What a Video!' for the schoolchildren, and exposing Wiley for impregnating the school science lab assistant during his time as a pupil.

Later, Wiley comes into the petrol station. Alan, thinking he has come to fight, threatens him with a hot apple pie whilst Lynn draws a chalk penis on his back. The two make peace, but an arriving customer informs Wiley of the drawing, forcing Alan to lock the petrol station doors, trapping himself, Lynn and Michael inside.[24]
8"The Colour of Alan"Armando Iannucci[25]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[25]18 November 2002 (2002-11-18)3.75

Alan is asked to present a sales conference for "Dante's of Reading," a company that supplies coal-effect fires and fireplaces. The company sends Piet Morant to discuss the conference details with Alan. After his frequent pranks with the security staff at Choristers Country Club result in the police being called, Alan is forced to bring Piet to his partially built house for the meeting, with Lynn and Michael improvising a meeting room from makeshift furniture and lighting.

Despite a difficult meeting, Alan is awarded the job. He is denied entry to the conference due to his lack of ID and after attempting to climb the fence, he impales his foot on a metal spike. He refuses to seek medical treatment and attempts to present the sales conference with a seriously injured foot, leading to him vomiting all over the floor.[26]
9"BraveAlan"Armando Iannucci[28]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[28]25 November 2002 (2002-11-25)3.29

Alan makes a new friend at the BP garage, Dan (Stephen Mangan). They share an appreciation for the same beer, use the same deodorant, and drive the same car. Dan owns 'Kitchen Planet', a superstore in the local area, and arranges for Alan to both purchase a reduced price kitchen and present the Norfolk Bravery Awards, sponsored by Colman's Mustard. Alan's attempts to impress Karen Colman are unsuccessful, but she strikes up an instant rapport with Sonja, later inviting her back to her house for a 'girl's only night.' Lynn goes to spend the evening with Gordon, her new friend from the church, leaving Alan alone.

Unaware of what to do with the rest of his day, Alan spends some time at an arcade before enjoying a 'cup of beans' on Michael's doorstep. Later, at Dan's house, Alan is promised a demo reel of his prospective kitchen, instead being shown a recording of Dan and his wife Kerry having sex in the superstore. They proposition Alan to join, based on their erotic enjoyment of his 'Deep Bath' segment on Radio Norwich. He leaves, and after hastily performing one final 'Deep Bath' on the air, he cancels the segment, much to the disappointment of Dan and Kerry.[27]
10"Never Say Alan Again"Armando Iannucci[30]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[30]2 December 2002 (2002-12-02)3.39

Alan plans to watch all the James Bond films in sequential order for the weekend with Michael, who has made a new friend, Tex (Peter Serafinowicz). Tex is obsessed with American culture, and Alan's jealousy of the two causes him to fall out with Michael.

It is the first anniversary of Lynn's mother's death, and Alan takes her to visit the grave site. Upon their arrival back to the caravan, Lynn's friend Gordon appears, and threatens Alan over his mistreatment of Lynn. In a panic, Alan gives Lynn a pay rise. Lynn accidentally destroys almost all of Alan's James Bond collection just before the marathon begins, with the only surviving tape being in Michael's possession. After making up with him, Alan discovers that an episode of "America's Strongest Man" has been taped over The Spy Who Loved Me. In anger, he restlessly performs the opening sequence to The Spy Who Loved Me. Everybody present elects to watch America's Strongest Man instead, and Alan is left to roleplay James Bond alone.[29]
11"I Know What Alan Did Last Summer"Armando Iannucci[32]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[32]9 December 2002 (2002-12-09)3.32

The Inland Revenue are due to call and carry out an investigation into Alan's business affairs, causing him to worry about the gift receipt for a dressing gown Bill Oddie gave him that he falsely and illegally declared as a tax expense. Sonja has developed an apparent obsession with London, repeatedly gifting Alan with London based memorabilia and requesting he take her there on a trip. Alan lies to Sonja about his supposed friendship with Bono, from the band U2. When the Inland Revenue arrive, Alan panics and behaves incredibly suspiciously, before delegating to Lynn once she arrives with a record of his business receipts.

After an argument with Sonja about London, Alan attempts to make up with her by taking her to a National Trust stately home under the guise of it being Bono's house. Lynn arrives with a friend if hers from the baptist church in disguise as 'Bono', but Sonja does not fall for the deception, leading Alan to begrudgingly promise her a trip to London, which he yet again delegates to Lynn.[31]
12"Alan Wide Shut"Armando Iannucci[34]Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan & Peter Baynham[34]16 December 2002 (2002-12-16)3.09

The building work on Alan's house is finally complete and Sonja wants to move in. Alan, however, has other ideas, insensitively suggesting she live in the caravan next door, only coming round to please Alan sexually. He is interviewed on the radio show Prayer Wave, where his insensitive comments towards another guest (Julia Davis) concerning her previous drug problems cause her to walk out. Attending Lynn's baptism at her church, he makes a dreadfully uncomfortable speech, simulates blowing his head off with a shotgun and assaults a guest who questions his anecdote-writing abilities.

Alan attends the destruction of the remaining 14,000 unsold copies of Alan's book, Bouncing Back, which are due to be pulped. Alan walks away, taking a few copies of the book with him in a plastic bag as a memento, as "The Windmills of Your Mind" plays.[33]

Reception

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I'm Alan Partridge won the 1998 BAFTA awards for Comedy Performance and Comedy Programme or Series.[35] Digital Spy wrote: "the character of Partridge hit his comic peak" in I'm Alan Partridge.[36] Entertainment Weekly described the show as "bleakly hilarious".[37] The Telegraph named I'm Alan Partridge as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time.[38] In a poll of British comedians conducted by the TV channel Gold, it was named as the second-best British sitcom of all time.[39] In a 2017 poll of over 100 comedians, a scene from I'm Alan Partridge in which Partridge goes to the home of an obsessive fan was voted best comedy scene.[40]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations for I'm Alan Partridge
Year Award Category Recipient Result
1998 British Academy Television Awards Best Comedy (Programme or Series) Armando Iannucci, Dominic Brigstocke, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan Won
Best Comedy Performance Steve Coogan Won
British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Actor Steve Coogan Won
Best TV Sitcom I'm Alan Partridge Won
Royal Television Society Awards Best Situation Comedy or Comedy Drama Talkback Productions Nominated
2003 British Academy Television Awards Best Comedy Performance Steve Coogan Nominated
British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy I'm Alan Partridge Nominated
Best TV Comedy Actor Steve Coogan Won
Best TV Comedy Actress Felicity Montagu Nominated
Royal Television Society Awards Best Comedy Performance Steve Coogan Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b Husband, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Alan Partridge: the 'A-ha!' moments". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  2. ^ Keeling, Robert (7 August 2013). "Alan Partridge's top TV moments". Den of Geek. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ Heritage, Stuart (4 April 2014). "Alan Partridge: a guide for Americans, newcomers and American newcomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Husband, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Alan Partridge: the 'A-ha!' moments". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b "BBC - Alan Partridge - Anglian Lives". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  6. ^ Thompson, Ben (4 September 1994). "Comedy / Knowing him, knowing us, ah-haah: Alan Partridge, smarmy master of the crass interview, is bringing his chat show to television. Ben Thompson meets the gauche celeb's comic creator, Steve Coogan". The Independent. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  7. ^ Keeling, Robert (7 August 2013). "Alan Partridge's top TV moments". Den of Geek. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  8. ^ Heritage, Stuart (4 April 2014). "Alan Partridge: a guide for Americans, newcomers and American newcomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Brave Alan" episode
  10. ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (9 October 2020). "Aha! – The Oral History of Alan Partridge". Vice. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  11. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.1". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  12. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  13. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  14. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  15. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.3". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  16. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  17. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.4". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  18. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  19. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.5". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  20. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  21. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 1.6". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  22. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018)". BARB. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  24. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.1". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  25. ^ a b c d "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  26. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  27. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.3". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  28. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  29. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.4". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  30. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  31. ^ =Ep2.5>"I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.5". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  32. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  33. ^ "I'm Alan Partridge - Episode 2.6". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  34. ^ a b "BBC Two - I'm Alan Partridge". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  35. ^ "BAFTA Awards Search | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  36. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (13 October 2012). "'I'm Alan Partridge': Tube Talk Gold". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  37. ^ Endelman, Michael (27 October 2006). "I'm Alan Partridge: Season 1 | EW.com". EW.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  38. ^ "The 10 best TV sitcoms of all time". 10 November 2015.
  39. ^ "Fawlty Towers named favourite British sitcom | Gold".
  40. ^ "Fawlty Towers named best British sitcom". BBC News. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
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