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Rule, Britannia!
More comedy from the BBC
BY CHRIS NELSON
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David Brent started a revolution. Ever since 2001, when Ricky Gervais made waves as the pudgy, petulant boss in The Office, America’s interest in British comedy has been reinvigorated. Maybe it’s a matter of freshness. The Office and Extras are uncomfortable and contemporary, the British answers to Curb Your Enthusiasm, whereas before we’d been getting Are You Being Served? reruns. Or perhaps it’s just that basic cable has now put BBC America a click away — we’re light years from the old rabbit-ear days of Fawlty Towers on PBS. Or it could be simpler still: Britcoms are now making the leap to Region 1 DVD faster than ever, sometimes mere months after the series finishes airing. Nothing breeds obsession like accessibility. Of course, there’s no better way to ensure viewers’ future allegiance than showing them what they’ve missed in the past. At least, that seems to be the logic behind releasing the DVD of 1994’s Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge more than a decade after its run ended . . . until you look at the back of the case, where it claims, "Before there was David Brent, there was Alan Partridge." The two characters’ similarity is only superficial, however. Knowing Me, Knowing You is presented as a live talk show where every conceivable problem arises — from guests tripping down the awkwardly spaced stage steps to streakers interrupting the broadcast — and the perpetually lame Partridge (comedian Steven Coogan) tries to keep his cool. There are no surprises, since each episode ends with the inevitable (and inevitably unsatisfying) Alan explosion. Unlike the multi-faceted and sympathetic Brent, Coogan’s Partridge is a one-dimensional gag, self-absorbed and petty. You might just decide you don’t want to watch him anymore. But that excruciating excursion in the wayback machine is more than compensated for by the appearance of Little Britain: The Complete First Series on DVD. One of the most hyped shows in BBC history, Little Britain lives up to every drop of ink it’s garnered since debuting in 2003. (The second season is currently airing on BBC America.) Ostensibly a documentary that chronicles the lives of "ordinary British folk," Little Britain takes great pleasure in playing with British stereotypes and stereotypes in general. Creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams (who take most of the roles) are equal-opportunity offenders as they hop the Isles. In England, monosyllabic Andy is forever being carted around in a wheelchair by his beleaguered friend Lou. Lou doesn’t realize that Andy’s only problem is laziness — he’s completely able-bodied and often reminds us of that while Lou’s back is turned. Meanwhile, the narrator (brilliantly voiced by Doctor Who’s Tom Baker) suggests, "If you’re thinking of going on holiday and the Arctic is fully booked, why not try Scotland?" Any hopes of an exciting trip to the Highlands are dashed, however, when we’re introduced to hotel proprietor Angus McKoonehy, whose desire to create a "Scottish mystique" leads him to harangue his guests with endless "riddles" ("I am hard yet soft. I am coloured yet clear. I am fruity and sweet. I am jelly . . . What am I?") and off-key flute playing. He’s the sort of absurd character you could actually run into abroad, and when you got back home, your friends wouldn’t believe he existed.
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