Bottom

'Bottom' is one of those programmes whereby you know what it will be like before you watch it. If you like crude, dirty, juvenile slapstick then watch and enjoy. If you don't, then don't.

Edmundson and Mayall have been long famous for this type of comedy, so to watch it then complain about, it is rather like buying the Beano then moaning about it being childish.

Both are clever men and capable of doing more cerebral stuff than this. They just don't want to.

Long may this continue.

This is one of the funniest shows ever made in my opinion, you may disagree but to me it is a masterpiece. It's low brow and stupid but it's a prime example of how to do sex and toilet humour correctly. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson are one of my favourite double acts and this is an example of them mastering there trade. The characters of Richie and Eddie are brilliant as two flatmates in a s***y flat looking for birds and alcohol (and beating the c**p out of each other). This formula has been done before in sitcom such as Steptoe and Son, Porridge and Red Dwarf but this is by far the best (although Red Dwarf comes very close). These are characters we enjoy watching and detesting but let's face it, on the inside we all have a little Richie or a Eddie but we won't let them out for moral, ethical and legal reasons. This comedy show is about as deep as a puddle in terms of it's themes and targets for satire unlike other brilliant comedies such as The Young Ones, The New Statesman and South Park, but it's not intended to be deep, it's suppose to be something to watch (preferably after a long drinking binge and some curries) and get a good laugh out of. Every episode had me laughing out loud and they all have great writing and rewatch value (I can watch it 100s of times and never get board of it), even plots that seem dull on paper like being stuck up a ferris wheel or trying to kill time without the telly, in execution they are as funny as hell (I will still keep quoting it until the day I die). Overall a brilliant comedy that's not for everyone but if you have a demented sense of humour like me than, yeah give it a go.

This truly is one of the best comedies I have ever seen most of it had me in tears especially the live shows. It is amazing how they made two guys living in a run down flat so amusing showing the wacky ideas and very over the top fighting brought a tear to my eye many a time!!

This crude comedy series is centred on Richie Richard and Edward Hitler; a couple of unemployed losers living in Hammersmith. Over the course of eighteen episodes they get into a number of situations where things inevitably turn out for the worse or their feeble plans fail miserably. Their frequent arguments inevitably end up with violence.

If you object to puerile humour you won't like this but if crudity and slapstick violence amuse you then you should find this hilarious... more than once I laughed till I cried I found it so funny. Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson are great as Rich and Eddie; in many episodes the only characters to feature. The violence is so over the top, in the manner of a 'Tom and Jerry' cartoon, that it is no longer disturbing. Characters recover from serious injuries, including having legs removed with a chainsaw, by the next episode. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of lowbrow humour.

Richard Richard and Edward Hitler while away the hours with drinking, fighting, letching and the odd money-making scheme.

Bottom is the most British of comedies with its toilet humour, sexual innuendo and the pleasure it takes from seeing its main stars hurt themselves in numerous painful ways. Richie and Eddie are like a filthy and violent Laurel and Hardy as they insult and frequently batter each senseless.

Richie, played by the late comic genius Rik Mayall is a both child and adolescent trapped within a thirty-something man's body. He's almost (Harold) Steptoe-like in his desire to be a bit more refined than he appears, but deep down he is as much of an animal as his mate Eddie. One of Richie's greatest ambitions in life is to finally lose his virginity, but when you get to know the character you see why he is in the position he is in. Mayall's performances as this character contains mesmerising levels of energy, skill and comic timing.

Adrian Edmondson's Eddie is perfect foil for Richie's madness. He is usually either drunk or drinking and takes an enormous amount of pleasure seeing Richie either hurt or humiliated. Much of the harm that comes to Richie is directly from Eddie via a fisticuffs, household weapons or simply Eddie's blunt manner getting them into trouble.

These are a pair of early 1990s, post-Thatcher, recession era British dole scroungers with no interests except drinking, watching TV, attempting to have sex and filling their lives with delinquency to pass the time.

Some episodes introduce supporting characters like Spudgun, Dave Hedgehog, Dick Head, Mr Harrison and Lady Natasha. All these serve the show well to give more variety to the proceedings.

My favourite episodes are 'Gas' (Series1), Holy (Series 2) and Hole (Series 3). Series 2 is the most consistent in my opinion as it has no weak episodes. Series 3 is mostly strong with a couple of slightly weaker ones. Series 1 for me loses its way a bit in the middle, but picks up again towards the end.

A word of warning - the show contains lots of crude and misogynistic behaviour from the main characters. Take heart though, the audience is meant to be laughing at them and not with them. Ridiculing their outrageous behaviour is the point of it all.