It's certainly one of the few things that I've actually found becomes even funnier with each viewing. Plus they've always been funny in interviews too... I seem to remember one in the NME about ten years ago, which ahd a bit that ran something like:
Interviewer: So how's Ian Faith?
Nigel: He's dead.
David: No, not dead. Just biologically dead.
Nobody can be a fan of 'This Is Spinal Tap' and still believe 'I'm Alan Partridge' to be a work of genius.
I am a fan of spinal tap and I think I'm Alan Partridge is very good indeed (don't know about genius - Spinal Tap probably is genius)
So you are wrong (ish) anonymous
(I think we need a special facility on this forum that prefixes the words "In my opinion" to the start of every post.)
Spinal Tap is a wonderful movie, perfectly acted and put together.
I'm Alan Partridge was OK, not brilliant, but a step down after OTH/TDT (isn't everything). And KMKY was overrated.
So shoot me.
In my opinion.
Spinal Tap is the greatest film ever made,
im(predictable)o. Shame no shops in Streatham stock the TIST DVD or I'd have bought it today.
I'mAP - well, I enjoyed it, but you're right Stuart O about it being a step down from On The Hour and The Day Today. Don't agree about KMKY though - the radio version is quality stuff, start to finish - and as for K"KMKY"...one of the greatest half-hours of radio I've ever heard.
So what am I saying here? Er....it was better on the radio, I suppose. Oh dear.
The problem with the Alan Partridge shows in comparison to On The Hour/The Day Today is that they were always more of a 'solo' project than the glorious collision of visions of the earlier shows. The concentration of one style is greater, and thus maybe harder to appreciate if you prefer it in small doses.
Tellingly, I know plenty of people who liked On The Hour/The Day Today but didn't enjoy Alan Partridge, Fist Of Fun, Armistice or Brass Eye anywhere near as much. I liked them all of course. Especially when they were on the radio.
Spinal Tap/Alan Partridge - sorry, I can't see the connection, but I'm sure you can like both equally. I, for example, can watch an episode of Brass Eye then watch Carry On Up The Kyber and appreciate both equally.
I think that the character Alan Partridge got worse every time he appeared.
On The Hour - Genius.
The Day Today Mininews - Amazing.
The Day Today - Brilliant.
Knowing Me Knowing You - Not Bad.
Knowing Me Knowing Yule - Average.
I'm Alan Partridge - Just about watchable.
Singing a Kate Bush medley on Comic Relief - Dire.
Also, as exiting the DVD sounds (an hour of outakes? Me like!), it's well worth getting out to the cinema to see Spinal Tap. The "Dubbly" on the songs is marvellous (it's been cranked up to 11) and the audience know all the words. It like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, only with better music.
Rock and roll!
[Coogan's Run was awful too, except for the Natural Born Quizzers episode]
My Spinal Tap DVD arrived today. Unfortunately my DVD drive/MPEG card combo (which was bought largely for the purpose of watching Spinal Tap and was supposedly despatched last Tuesday) hasn't shown up yet.
Frustrated is not the word...
No. Grease is.
(sorry)
Have wathced pretty much everything on the bonus ST DVD. It's pretty good, though you can see why they cut some of it, but there's a couple of really classic bits. And I enjoyed the cheese rolling promo for the film (though it's not hard to see why people didn't go and see it the first time if this was the trailer - it's a bit confusing and off the point, which makes it gloriously funny, but possibly not gloriously commercial!)
Why didn't they put all that stuff on the VHS? They're all cunts.
No they're not. Some of the material has made it to VHS. The trailers and Flower Power conference and some other stuff I don't know. Anyway, buy a DVD player if only for this disc. I bought a player specially for the region 1 Brazil box and know I have 60 or so DVDs.
So there.
And the record of the soundtrack album, doesn't have track selection but the CD does. Cunts.
Finally got it today. Fuckin' great DVD from the menu onwards.
Did anyone get, or even see the Criterion version?
>I think that the character Alan Partridge got worse every time he appeared.
[...]
>Singing a Kate Bush medley on Comic Relief - Dire.
Ah, but did you see the half-hour he did on BBC2 prior to the Bush medley, while they were taking a news-break on BBC1? With Bryan Ferry? That was fantastic. Just Partridge on Radio Norwich, no laugh-track.
IAP remains, for me, the best sitcom of the last 5 years. You'll have to make your own minds up whether that's damning with faint praise.
Forgot about that. Yeah, that was OK, better than I'm Alan Partridge. No laugh track, more Dave Cornwall, and no annoying pathos. That's what IAP should have been like. Comedy clips were good too.
Oh, and the VHS of Spinal Tap has a bonus music video that's not on the DVD. I think it's called 'Bitch School'...
Those Comic Relief sketches are online at http://www.john.joyce.net/
They're better than I remember. Some good ad-libs from Steve Coogan (are they ad-libs?) and the camera crew having a laugh!
Thanks 'Squidy' - without that link I would never have found the Alan Partridge Appreciation site.
Great stuff!!
You're welcome.
Thre's another good site at http://www.alan-partridge.co.uk/ . It's got a fab screensaver and a snazzy opening Flash intro.