I'm Alan Partridge

Along with series 6 of Only Fools and Horses, I'm Alan Partridge series 1 is the greatest set of episodes of any comedy I have seen. The sheer quality of the acting and writing makes you weep at those who think My Family is good TV.

The first I saw of I'm Alan Partridge was the final episode of the original run. I can still remember being in tears of laughter from start to finish; seeing 'Castrol GTX' revealed on Alan's jacket at Tony Hayer's funeral nearly killed me. Then I saw the first run of repeats and was completely hooked.

The genius of Alan Partridge lies in how many different layers of his persona are evident - his fixation with transsexuals, his obsession with war and death, his desperation to be liked, his hatred of criminality and his xenophobia to name a few. Then there's the little things - the way he has to explain his jokes, his bad breath, the daydreaming, his bad skin and receding hairline, his love of driving. The genius of many of Alan's traits lies in the fact that they were established gradually ever since his first appearance on The Day Today. We discover on Knowing Me, Knowing You that he has bad breath, he has his first run-in with a transsexual and he refuses to pull onto the hard shoulder for sex.

Steve Coogan's performance as Alan is simply sublime. For example, when he is presenting the boat video and tries to ingratiate himself with 'the lads' by ogling a passing woman. Notice the look on his face just after he says "oooooooooooohhhh sex" when he starts drinking his pint, the little expressions like that are genius.

Many of the strongest scenes take place in the radio studio - the Joni Mitchell rant; "Mmm, a nice big thick slice of Thin Lizzy"; the war with Dave Clifton; "So give me a call, PLEASE!! Seriously, though, do give me a call." These were certainly the better parts of the second series, which I thought was generally embarrassing and took the character in completely the wrong direction.

I hope I haven't bored anyone, but it's hard not to look so closely at such an incredible series. Here are my favourite quotes: "Never throw water on a fat fire. It'll take your face off." "You know the breakfast buffet, all you can eat but from an 8-inch plate? 12 inches. Keep it in my room." "That is the best Valentine's Day I've had in 8 years." "What did you do 8 years ago?" "Just had a better one. Went to Silverstone, shook Jackie Stewart's hand - superb. My marriage fell apart soon after that." "What was he doing on the bloody roof?!" "He was getting the aerial down..." "Yeah, I was being rhetorical." "He had a second class honours degree in Media Studies from Loughborough University. What a waste." "I'd love to feel an airbag go off in my face. It'd be 'Huh, boosh, boosh'...cushion effect on the face." "Looking at the big girdles section? Amazing to think that some of these women are technically models." "Jet from Gladiators to host a Millennium barn dance at Yeovil Aerodrome. Properly policed, it must not, repeat not turn into an all-night rave."

Ten on ten, Lynn

Like Fawlty Towers in the '70s and Blackadder in the '80s, this is British comedy at its very best - a handful of episodes, all of them tighter line-for-line than Alan's shorts ("the boys are back in the barracks"). Partridge may well be the most ingeniously unsympathetic character ever created - every time you start to feel sorry for him, he manages to do something truly unspeakable. Painfully funny.

I'm a big Partridge fan, and enjoyed Knowing Me, Knowing You, and the 1st I'm Alan Partridge. I have to say this is a more than welcome addition to the series, if not the best. Alan's character is even more childish than ever, and he's also developed a slight arrogance towards people as he has become more self-confident (at least he thinks so). Alan's interaction with the builders is classic and his ever evolving friendship with Michael is superb. I was so glad that Michael got more to do in this one, everything he says is funny, especially when describing what he'd do with the Apache helicopter. Classic. The episode with Alan making friends with Dan (the kitchen man) is absolutely hilarious, and his antics at the Norfolk bravery awards is so crude and funny. "Beep, beep, got room for a brave one ?" hehe. There are so many hilarious parts to this series - its the best English comedy I've seen for a long time, I really cant understand why some people here found it disappointing (perhaps because you wanted to see Alan succeed ??). I recommend to watch it again and pay close attention, this is genius comedy. Series 3 soon please ! Highly recommended.

"You've never had a cup o' beans Mr Partridge" ?

I was fortunate to get a copy of the first season on DVD and just watched it with friends here in the States. And yes, I pretty much agree with everyone else who makes comparisons to Blackadder and Basil Fawlty and Gervais' boss character in The Office. Partridge is simply one of the funniest and pathetic characters ever to appear on TV. American TV would never have a character like this - they always make the sitcom people likable and "we have to want to root for them" and all that other bland stuff. A classic U.S. sitcom in the 80's - Buffalo Bill with Dabney Coleman was so outside the box from what had appeared on broadcast TV that they didn't know what to do with so they axed it. (His character too was a local Morning Show host in Buffalo, NY with an ego the size of Earth and total scum to everyone around him) and of course Larry David tries to pull it off on Curb Your Enthusiasm - and yes, even though the show is funny - David is very limited as an "actor" and Coogan is not. In fact, it is his performance and the fact that he adds dimension to this guy that truly makes it special and heartbreaking and hysterical. I loved it and I thought the rest of the cast was wonderful too.

Steve Coogan is back once again as Alan Partridge. Good ol' Alan isn't doing a talk show anymore. Having fallen in hard times, he's now an early morning radio DJ, living in a hotel after his wife kicked him out and still hoping and dreaming for a second series of his talk show. From Partridge's car being vandalized with naughty language, sacking employees, and presenting a corporate video, to dealing with hotel renovations, meeting an...overzealous fan, attending a funeral, and everything in between, this 6 episode series is a sheer joy to behold and is even better than the already wildly funny "Knowing Me, Knowing You". Suffice it to say this is simply brilliant. Note to BBC America: Bring this out on Region 1 DVD NOW!!!

My Grade: A+