Jump to content

The Alan Partridge Thread

Comrade

By Comrade,
in Film, TV & Radio

 Share

Recommended Posts

angel

angel

Posted
Posted
On 21/10/2016 at 18:00, Capwn said:

It's weird how Partridge has remained funny for so long. Can't think of any other single comedy character anywhere in the world that has continued to create content and evolve whilst still being so well written for.

 

It's basically a veiled assault on the BBC and media in general though, the sources of inspiration are almost limitless.

 

Partridge himself is almost a link to any joke or story you wish to tell, the bonus being you put him alongside real life figures (as opposed to charicatures like Smashie and Nicey) and you're able to satirise them without them having an ability to retaliate (against who, a ficional character - they'd look humourless and lose anyway). Tell a story about any time period you like over several decades, lampoon the crass 80s DJs, the pompous idiots of the 90s, the rise and fall of Edmonds, it's all desperate to be picked apart, even more so when you can embellish it with fiction.

 

As long as Coogan is alive, Partridge will be too. And there's just something ever so satisfying as portraying a character as a bit of a berk, and then having him endorse others as being his favourites.  It's the perfect way to insult someone else in the media, have your own scripted idiot come out in their support. The Royle Family was perfect at this too, have the family sit around Who Wants to be a Millionaire, cheering. Instantly you send up Tarrant and his whole persona as being tacky and moronic, because you're portraying simple people enjoying it.

 

 

5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
K

K

Posted
Posted

I'd say it's not quite as good as the first book - it feels a bit less realistic and more whimsical - but it's still brilliant. I love the weird little abbreviations and slang Alan uses, like QSPC and calling disk jockeys "d-jocks". The bit about his jam bombs was hilarious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SqueakyG

SqueakyG

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, K said:

I'd say it's not quite as good as the first book - it feels a bit less realistic and more whimsical

 

I'd agree. I'm only a third of the way in, and I would liken it to the difference between I'm Alan Partridge series 1 and series 2: still hilarious and filled with solid gold Partridge, but a fair bit sillier and less authentic.

 

I'm reading it, by the way, not listening to the audiobook (yet). I prefer reading it in Alan's voice in my head. Then later I'll try and get hold of the audiobook version for the "performed" experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NickC

NickC

Posted
Posted

I'm about two thirds of the way in now.  I think I agree that it's slightly less good than I, Partridge.  Perhaps it's because his autobiography was so clever with Alan's history, subverting what we went on with a clever retelling of events by Alan.

 

But it's still very, very good stuff.  And it's so dense as someone previously said - I'm looking forward to going through it again to pick up on more jokes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anne Summers

Anne Summers

Posted
Posted

It is very good. To be honest I think I'm LOLing as much as I did with I, Partridge.

It's particularly fun for me because his journey is taking him right through the area where I grew up, and I can picture him in my mind strolling through all the nowheresville places across Suffolk and Essex that he's walked through, so far - Manningtree, Marks Tey, Braintree, Chelmsford. It's really adding to the hilariously mundane nature of it, for me.

Also love the way he is slowly getting absorbed with online culture - talking about Tripadvisor all the time, Digital Presence, mocking Lynne for not understanding anything about the internet, and I completely pissed myself when he came out with a "cool story bro." It was perfect - just resounds with situations we've probably all found ourselves in over the past decade or so, when we learned that a middle-aged or elderly relative, who's spent their whole lives as a total Luddite, is now addicted to making Youtube videos or spending hours every night on Twitter.   

5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pob

Pob

Posted
Posted

Reading I, Partridge just now has made me wonder, have Carol or either of his kids ever been seen or heard? Closest I can think is Alan talking to Fernando on the phone in IAP but you can't hear his side of the conversation. I think he talks to Carol in a similar fashion on another show too - while pissed in a hotel room perhaps? Are they deliberately never-glimpsed characters?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
K

K

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Pob said:

Reading I, Partridge just now has made me wonder, have Carol or either of his kids ever been seen or heard? Closest I can think is Alan talking to Fernando on the phone in IAP but you can't hear his side of the conversation. I think he talks to Carol in a similar fashion on another show too - while pissed in a hotel room perhaps? Are they deliberately never-glimpsed characters?

 

IIRC, you briefly hear Carol speak in one of the early radio Knowing Me, Knowing You episodes - it's a fake behind the scenes show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept