The first season of I'm Alan Partridge surely ranks as the pinnacle of Steve Coogan's career. It should also be considered one of the greatest TV comedy series ever made. For such a simple premise- a middle-aged man living in a Travelodge- the show has remarkable depth and ingenuity. Funnily enough, I never particularly liked Partridge as a character prior to this series but Coogan found a whole new way of presenting him and it works spectacularly.
The brevity of the show- a total of 12 thirty-minute episodes- is a huge plus and prevents it from becoming stale and repetitive like so many other TV comedies. The razor-sharp and effortlessly simplistic writing is combined perfectly with incredibly well-conceived characters, including the impeccably cast hotel staff and the various showbiz bigwigs that Partridge interacts with. The third episode where Alan upsets the local Norfolk farmers should be compulsory viewing for anyone studying comic writing.
The second season struggles to maintain the same standards and often feels like it's trying too hard to recreate the same punchlines and soundbites. The inclusion of the usually excellent Amelia Bullmore brings the quality down somewhat, steering it away from cringey realism and more towards goofy slapstick. Giving Alan a girlfriend, particularly a young and relatively attractive one, makes him less pathetic and consequently less loveable. Having said all that, Season 2 still towers above the vast majority of TV comedy made over the last few decades.
I'm Alan Partridge rivals the likes of The Office and Fawlty Towers as some of the finest British comedy ever made. Steve Coogan finds his spiritual home, inhabiting this gloriously pathetic greying man and somehow managing to make him loveable, loathsome, tragic and hilarious all at the same time. Pure gold.
The brevity of the show- a total of 12 thirty-minute episodes- is a huge plus and prevents it from becoming stale and repetitive like so many other TV comedies. The razor-sharp and effortlessly simplistic writing is combined perfectly with incredibly well-conceived characters, including the impeccably cast hotel staff and the various showbiz bigwigs that Partridge interacts with. The third episode where Alan upsets the local Norfolk farmers should be compulsory viewing for anyone studying comic writing.
The second season struggles to maintain the same standards and often feels like it's trying too hard to recreate the same punchlines and soundbites. The inclusion of the usually excellent Amelia Bullmore brings the quality down somewhat, steering it away from cringey realism and more towards goofy slapstick. Giving Alan a girlfriend, particularly a young and relatively attractive one, makes him less pathetic and consequently less loveable. Having said all that, Season 2 still towers above the vast majority of TV comedy made over the last few decades.
I'm Alan Partridge rivals the likes of The Office and Fawlty Towers as some of the finest British comedy ever made. Steve Coogan finds his spiritual home, inhabiting this gloriously pathetic greying man and somehow managing to make him loveable, loathsome, tragic and hilarious all at the same time. Pure gold.