Filthy Rich & Catflap

In the winter of 87' I first got acquainted with this wonderful group of comedians. I later watched the Young Ones and Bottom, but Filthy, Rich and Catflap remains my favorite by far.It is much more clever and funny, better written. This is my favorite comedy of all time. Difficult to believe it is so underestimated.The reason may be the harsh criticism on various BBC and show business stars. Moreover, they also criticized the BBC establishment. That was too much for some of those dinosaurs during that Thatcher era. I don't know if more episodes were necessary, since the six produced are masterpieces. I also understand that Rick Mayall was not pleased with the final result, and wanted more say in the show; to that I can only say- Rick you were marvelous, but the show was great too.

FR&C was an excellent follow-on from "The Young Ones" but I feel that too many people were too stuck in the past to appreciate it. Then, blow me down, a few years later along comes "Bottom" and everybody loves it?! FR&C was far superior to Bottom, better scripts, better plots and not 'dumbed down' like Bottom is. There was at least some plausible rationale why these disgusting characters were involved in each other lives. There were also a couple of brilliant celebrity slots by Midge Ure and the Nolans - the latter being so out of character for those clean living Irish girls.

I also loved the 'asides' to camera which I feel were an excellent way of inviting the audience into the plot. I could easily exceed the word limit singing the praises of this series, but I shall end with a quote from the first episode (which still makes me laugh out loud);

Ralph Filthy: "Richie - it doesn't matter how many milkmen you kill, it still won't become fashionable you know..."

Well worth while watching if you get the chance.

Although probably overshadowed by Blackadder, Filthy, Rich & Catflap acquired a highly quoteable cult status when I was at school coming as it did straight after The Young Ones and forerunning Bottom (also alongside the also long forgotten Happy Families, created by the same team).

It's easy to see what this show influenced- and what influences it left. For me, looking at it now, the surreal antics of Filthy, Ritchie & Eddie are still hilarious as ever (although you now have to have a serious knowledge of 1980s pop culture) but the satire of broken down, Z List celebrity culture - minus the phones, social media, chat rags and reality TV - is right on the money.

I doubt no show before or since could pull a stunt like the boys preparing to drunkly drop their trousers in front of Anne Diamond live on TV AM....Come On! Let's Show The World!!

This Is A truly great comedy that provides laughs for the viewer from start to finish. The characters Rich and Eddie Catflap are the forerunners for the characters Ritchie and Eddie in Bottom. I feel it was a shame that this great work did not enjoy more success and a second series, although on the other hand if it did enjoy more success then Bottom might not ever being made as the similarities between the two comedies are not hard to find. Although there is only the one series and is not the most recognizable comedy it is still a cracking comedy and worth a watch. If you have trouble finding it visit the playback universal website or try somewhere like HMV it won't be cheap but worth the money.

I really enjoyed this series. This was obviously a transitional work for Ade and Rik. They are far enough from The Young Ones, although they are clearly playing with the deconstruction of the sitcom format, similarly to TYO. Rich and Eddie are slightly unpolished versions of Richard Richard and Edward Hitler (the same can be said for their characters from Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door from 1988. - a very Bottomesque episode of The Comic Strip Presents). This show surely paved the way for Bottom an at times is similar to Bottom Live shows.

The plots are interesting and there is a lot of fourth wall breaking, reminding the viewers that this is a sitcom (albeit deconstructed, but nevertheless funny). David Cross tried to play with the sitcom format in a similar manner with his Todd Margaret, but he failed miserably. This proves a point that it's really difficult to make this type of comedy work, but Rik and Ade are masters of this craft.

I agree with other reviewers who noticed that this show is still relevant today, with all the nobodies who appear on reality shows and "celebrities" with no talent who are flooding the media with their pay-per-view weddings and "leaked" porn videos. If only they were as hilarious as Rich! My favorite episode is definitely the fourth. I've seen it a few times and it makes me laugh just as hard on repeated viewings as it did the first time, especially the scene in the bar with Jumbo Whiffy. It's a shame that this show is nearly forgotten today.