I'm Alan Partridge
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox television I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster. The first series, broadcast in 1997, has Partridge living in a roadside hotel after having been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC. The second, broadcast in 2002,[1] sees Partridge living in a static caravan after recovering from a 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]
The supporting cast includes 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.
Premise
Alan Partridge was created by Steve Coogan and the producer Armando Iannucci for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour, a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting, as the show's sports presenter.[4] In 1992, Partridge hosted a spin-off Radio 4 spoof chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge.[5] On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today in 1994,[4] followed by Knowing Me, Knowing You later that year.[6] The series ends with Partridge accidentally shooting a guest.[5]
I'm Alan Partridge follows Partridge after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC. In the first series, he lives in a roadside hotel, presents a graveyard slot on local Norwich radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows.[4] In the second series (2002),[4] Partridge lives in a static caravan with his new Ukrainian girlfriend (Amelia Bullmore) after recovering from a mental breakdown.[2][7] By then he has moved to the late night "Norfolk Nights" slot and also hosts "Skirmish", a military-based general knowledge quiz show on digital cable channel UK Conquest, which Partridge says has "the largest audience share for a digital channel at that time of day in the Norfolk area".[8] The writers found the second series difficult to make, feeling it had been too long since the first and that expectations for sitcoms had changed.[9] Iannucci said the writers used I'm Alan Partridge as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England".[4]
Episodes
Series 1 (1997)
Series 2 (2002)
Reception
I'm Alan Partridge won the 1998 BAFTA awards for Comedy Performance and Comedy Programme or Series.[10] Digital Spy wrote: "the character of Partridge hit his comic peak" in I'm Alan Partridge.[11] Entertainment Weekly described the show as "bleakly hilarious".[12] The Telegraph named I'm Alan Partridge as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time.[13] In a poll of British comedians conducted by the TV channel Gold, it was named as the second-best British sitcom of all time.[14] In a 2017 poll of over 100 comedians, a scene from I'm Alan Partridge in which Partridge goes to the home of an obsessive fan was voted best comedy scene.[15]
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 | Template:Won |
| Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Template:Won | ||
| British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy Actor | Steve Coogan | Template:Won | |
| Best TV Sitcom | I'm Alan Partridge | Template:Won | ||
| Royal Television Society Awards | Best Situation Comedy or Comedy Drama | Talkback Productions | Template:Nom | |
| 2003 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Template:Nom |
| British Comedy Awards | Best TV Comedy | I'm Alan Partridge | Template:Nom | |
| Best TV Comedy Actor | Steve Coogan | Template:Won | ||
| Best TV Comedy Actress | Felicity Montagu | Template:Nom | ||
| Royal Television Society Awards | Best Comedy Performance | Steve Coogan | Template:Nom |
References
External links
- Template:BBC programme
- Template:Trim/ Template:Trim at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:WikidataCheck
- Template:British Comedy Guide
- Unofficial Linton Travel Tavern website
- Filming locations from I'm Alan Partridge
Template:Alan Partridge Template:Armando Iannucci Template:BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) 1981–1999
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- 1997 British television series debuts
- 2002 British television series endings
- 1990s British multi-camera sitcoms
- 2000s British multi-camera sitcoms
- BBC television sitcoms
- British English-language television shows
- Television series about radio
- Television series about television
- Television series by Fremantle (company)
- Television shows set in Cambridgeshire
- Television shows set in Norfolk
- British workplace comedy television series