BUY FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE!
STUDIO: BBC Warner
MSRP: $129.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 1475 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Episode Commentaries
• Bonus Episode
• Test Episode
• Bonus Clips
• Episode Promos
• Photo Gallery
• Text Bios
The Pitch
Alan Partridge’s ego has a show.
The Humans
Steve Coogan, Phil Cornwell, Simon Greenall, and Felicity Montagu
The Nutshell
Steve Coogan is all about timing. It’s a lost art in American comedy. Too often, we’ve got idiots mugging for the camera or they’re trying to poop out the next catchphrase. Coogan spends his time building a character with the start of his Alan Partridge trilogy. Within the first six episodes, you learn all about Partridge’s initial social qualms. He’s got a lack of patience, he has no tact and he’s a terrible person. But, you can’t take your eyes off of him.
The Lowdown
Steve Coogan started to break through to audiences outside of the United Kingdom with Alan Partridge. While most Americans associate talk show satire with the Larry Sanders and Stephen Colberts of the world, the Brits perfected it. Alan Partridge is such an oddball of anger and ego that it walks the line of turning awkward. But, that’s what the British have perfected over the last fifteen years. Laughing at the uncomfortable moments in life.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge begins with the usual jokes about awkward television interviews and production banter. What stands out is how Coogan as Partridge tries to force the character into every situation. He’s got to be as tough as the punk band he’s interviewing. Partridge has to be the daredevil and play with a guest’s gun. But, when something goes wrong…he smashes through the walls of normalcy.
It’s as though Partridge stops being the character being the character of the host. He’s just a fragile man that desperately wants to remain in control of a life that’s barely pinned together. Towards the end of the series, he’s singing an Abba medley with a guest. When the notion appears that she might be upstaging Partridge, our beloved character starts to lose his fucking mind. By the time that he’s screaming Thank You for the Music at the lady, you begin to understand what makes Alan Partridge run.
The Alan Partridge trilogy didn’t really come into its own with the first series. The Partridge character would later peak at the end of the Christmas special and during the first few episodes of his last series. What we see here is the glory before the fall. That last shining moment of a British television star, as his ego weighs him down like an anchor. It’s awkward comedy at its best and it is meaner than anything that Merchant/Gervais has ever done.
The Package
The
DVD
package comes with a ton of featurettes for the Alan Partridge entries. You get a mix of text bios, bonus clips, other episode promos and some cut material. It’s a fair mix and it holds up the same across all three Partridge adventures. I would’ve liked to have had a commentary from Coogan, but I guess he’s busy. Those Night at the Museum movies don’t make themselves. How sad.