I'm Alan Partridge
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC sitcom starring Steve Coogan and written by Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. It features the eponymous Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept radio DJ and television presenter, after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC after the events of his chat show. The show follows Partridge as he lives alone in a roadside hotel and presents a graveyard slot on local Norwich radio, all the while desperately pitching ideas for new television shows.
| I'm Alan Partridge | |
|---|---|
 Title screen from season 1 (1997), depicting Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge wearing his trademark green blazer | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Peter Baynham Steve Coogan Armando Iannucci |
| Starring | Steve Coogan Felicity Montagu Simon Greenall Phil Cornwell Barbara Durkin Sally Phillips Amelia Bullmore James Lance |
| Voices of | Andrew Burt (Radio Norwich announcer) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter Fincham |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 29 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Picture format | 4:3 Series 1, 16:9 Series 2 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 3 November 1997 – 16 December 2002 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge |
| Followed by | Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge |
| Related shows | The Day Today |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Two series of six episodes each (12 in total) were broadcast five years apart. Series 1 was released in late 1997, while a second season followed in 2002,[1] with Partridge now living in a static caravan after recovering from an off-screen mental breakdown.[2][3] Iannucci said the writers used the sitcom as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England."[1]
Supporting Coogan in the cast are Felicity Montagu as his faithful but timid personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie handyman Michael; and Phil Cornwell as Partridge's rival DJ Dave Clifton. Series 2 also featured Amelia Bullmore as Partridge's Ukrainian girlfriend Sonja.
The show received critical acclaim and was a success amongst audiences, being nominated for three BAFTAs (winning two), two British Comedy Awards (winning both), and a Royal Television Society award. In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, I'm Alan Partridge was named the 38th-best British television series of all time.
Characters
Both series
Alan Partridge (Coogan)
The main character of the series, Alan Partridge, a former host on Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge on BBC television, was dismissed from the BBC partly for punching Chief Commissioning Editor Tony Hayers in the face with a stuffed partridge and partly because his programmes were of a low standard, delivering ever-declining ratings. In series one he is divorced from his wife Carol, lives in the Linton Travel Tavern and is reduced to working the graveyard shift on Radio Norwich whilst desperately trying to get back on television in any capacity.
By series two, following an off-screen mental breakdown, Alan's career is on an upswing—in particular, his Radio Norwich show has been moved to a more prestigious evening slot. Besides this, he hosts a military-based quiz show on digital television (on fictional channel UK Conquest, which has the highest audience share for any programme "at that time of day in the Norfolk area"), he has published his autobiography. He also has a girlfriend, several years his junior, called Sonja, who lives with him in a static caravan next to the dream house he is having built.
In both series Alan is shown to be generally loathsome and narcissistic, with very poor social skills and a largely empty personal life.
Lynn Benfield (Montagu)
Alan's hard-working, long-suffering personal assistant, Lynn appears to run Alan's life to such an extent that he cannot survive without her organisational skills; despite this, he usually treats her with contempt. Besides dealing with Alan's working life, Lynn's other duties have included accompanying Alan to visit a show home, buying medicinal powder for Alan's fungal foot infections, and frequently listening patiently to Alan's complaints.
Lynn is a member of a local Baptist church, which Alan finds strange but is willing to tolerate. Her mother is apparently housebound, requiring Lynn to balance her life between looking after her mother's affairs and those of Alan. When accompanying Alan, Lynn appears inhibited by him, but seems capable of easily blending into social situations when Alan is not present. Despite her intense workload, Lynn's salary is only £8,000 per year.
By the second series, her mother has died, and Lynn finds romance with a fellow churchgoer, a retired policeman. At the celebration following her church baptism, she is shown to have many friends and is held in high regard by other church members.
Michael (Greenall)
An all-purpose worker at the Linton Travel Tavern, Michael speaks with a heavy Geordie accent. Michael and Alan have an unequal friendship, as Michael only ever refers to Alan as 'Mr. Partridge'. Michael frequently tells stories of his time in the British Army, to the delight of Alan, especially if they are of a salacious or violent nature. During a period of military placement in the Philippines, Michael married a Filipino woman, and the two moved back to Michael's native Newcastle upon Tyne. However, his wife left him and now lives with his brother in Sunderland. In the last episode of the first series, Michael appears at Alan's party already drunk on Scrumpy Jack and proceeds to insult the other guests.
He is also a recurring character in the second series of I'm Alan Partridge, in which he has left the Linton Travel Tavern and works in a petrol station.
Dave Clifton (Cornwell)
Dave is a Radio Norwich DJ who in the first series runs The Breakfast Show, the prestigious drive-time programme scheduled right after Alan's "graveyard slot" show. During the handover every morning, Alan always tries to engage in witty banter with Dave, but their chatting fails to disguise the bitter rivalry between them. Dave is an alcoholic and has a driving ban, according to Alan. Much to Alan's surprise and chagrin, Dave is a friend of Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley.
Dave also appears in the second series, in which his fortunes are shown to have declined just as Alan's have improved. Clifton now works the graveyard shift (after Alan's more prestigious evening shift) and appears to have resumed drinking.
Series one only
Susan Foley (Durkin)
Susan is the manager of the Linton Travel Tavern. Alan frequently makes tactless comments to Susan about her appearance (once suggesting to her that she "could have been throwing up all night" but that her smile would not falter). In reaction to these comments, Susan's painted-on smile is sometimes momentarily replaced by a look of shock and bemusement.
Susan displays an increasing dislike of Alan as the series progresses, but contains her irritation until the end of the last episode, in which she finally tells Alan what she thinks of him at his leaving party.
Sophie (Phillips)
Sophie is a recently employed receptionist at the Travel Tavern. She is frequently seen to be suppressing laughter at Alan and often jokes about him behind his back.
Ben (Lance)
Ben is another member of staff at the Travel Tavern and Sophie's boyfriend. Alan is jealous of Ben's romance with Sophie and does his best to sabotage their romantic trysts. In later episodes, Alan attempts to forge a friendship with Ben, despite his earlier irritation at Ben's informal manner.
Series two only
Sonja (Bullmore)
Alan's thick-accented Ukrainian girlfriend Sonja, who is fourteen years Alan's junior and possesses a scatterbrained personality, which leads Alan to describe her as 'mildly cretinous'. Easily amused, she delights in practical jokes, and showers Alan with unwanted gifts such as personalised coffee mugs and cushions emblazoned with their faces. She is devoted to Alan, though he demonstrates little affection for her in return, while bragging to others about their age difference and sexual habits.
Reception
Digital Spy wrote: "the character of Partridge hit his comic peak" in I'm Alan Partridge.[4] Entertainment Weekly described the show as "bleakly hilarious".[5] The Telegraph named I'm Alan Partridge as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time.[6] In a poll of British comedians conducted by the TV channel Gold, it was named as the second-best British sitcom of all time.[7]
Episodes
12 episodes were produced, spread over two series. Series 1 was first broadcast in November and December 1997, while Series 2 was first broadcast in November and December 2002.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Armando Iannucci, Dominic Brigstocke, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan | Won |
| Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Won | ||
| British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy Actor | Steve Coogan | Won | |
| Best TV Sitcom | I'm Alan Partridge | Won | ||
| Royal Television Society Television Awards | Best Situation Comedy or Comedy Drama | Talkback Productions | Nominated | |
| 2003 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Nominated |
| British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy | I'm Alan Partridge | Nominated | |
| Best TV Comedy Actor | Steve Coogan | Won | ||
| Best TV Comedy Actress | Felicity Montagu | Nominated | ||
| Royal Television Society Television Awards | Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Nominated |
References
- Husband, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Alan Partridge: the 'A-ha!' moments". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- Keeling, Robert (7 August 2013). "Alan Partridge's top TV moments". Den of Geek. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- Heritage, Stuart (4 April 2014). "Alan Partridge: a guide for Americans, newcomers and American newcomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- Jeffery, Morgan (13 October 2012). "'I'm Alan Partridge': Tube Talk Gold". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- Endelman, Michael (27 October 2006). "I'm Alan Partridge: Season 1 | EW.com". EW.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10121664/The-10-best-TV-sitcoms-of-all-time.html
- https://gold.uktv.co.uk/article/fawlty-towers-named-favourite-british-sitcom/
