I'm Alan Partridge

The comic genius that is Steve Coogan has done it again. This series is certainly as good as the previous which had some genuine laugh out loud moments. Excellent! The First episode being the best, followed by the fourth, an absolute classic BRITISH gem of a comedy

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.

It was much anticipated by us Partridge fans, Knowing Me Knowing You on both radio and television had been comedy gold. The Christmas Special saw Alan's Television career collapse. How could 'I'm Alan Partridge' possibly keep up with such high standards?

It did and a whole lot more. The hilarity of Alan's misguided belief that he is still a major player in the industry and the meaningless conversations with the hotel staff combine to make his series essential watching. And the indignity of his prolonged stay in a 'one night stop venue' Travel Tavern adds to the tragic hilarity of the series.

Steve Coogan delivers his finest work to date and is ably assisted by a cast whose strongest delivery is the varied reactions their characters display when in the company of the failed chatshow host.

Perhaps the ultimate magic of Alan Partridge is that to fans his barrowload of catchphrases and inane comments are never forgotten and are always liable to be joyfully relayed in the company of a fellow fan.

And to think there are people out there who still don't get the joke.

as Alan might say,

'who, who, who do you think you are?'

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" ?

Once upon a time the BBC was the world leader in situation comedy . It was also the world leader in telefantasy and hard hitting drama but by the 1990s those days were long gone , then a show like I`M ALAN PARTRIDGE comes along to remind you that when it really tries the BBC can still be a world leader.

For those of you who have never heard of him Alan Partridge is a crass , ignorant , undertalented former talk show host who now finds himself working the graveyard shift of Radio Norwich . The first episode finds Alan trying a sales pitch to BBC controller Tony Hayers someone he manages to cheese off ( Geddit ? ) during lunch . The second episode finds Alan trying to strike up a relationship with a woman while the third sees him cause a revolt amongst the Anglian farming community . All the episodes are very very funny but the best episode is the one with a dual plot line of Alan getting it into his head that two Irish TV producers are in fact members of the IRA as the episode mutates into a stalker storyline . I can`t begin to communicate how funny the episode is , I`ve seen it many times over the years and I still laugh out loud everytime I see it .

There is a danger that Steve Coogan`s character can be described as a one trick pony and I`m glad that he`s not going to do anymore Alan Patridge which is a good idea because Alan Patridge is to the 1990s what Basil Fawlty was to the 70s and Edmund Blackadder was to the 80s