The Britcompilation: Day 15- Mr. Bean

And now for an all time favourite, and Rowan Atkinson's best work. What the hell can I even say about Mr. Bean, because it's practically perfect. It's maybe the simplest idea for a show (totally inept man gets into a variety of situations), but it gets by because of how fantastic Rowan Atkinson is as Bean. He's incapable of doing anything right, and that makes the simplest situation become so incredibly complicated. From there, it's comedy magic. And also one of the most successful sitcoms, spawning an animated series (which I've never seen), two movies (one of which is pretty poor, the other surprisingly really good), and a handful of specials.

That's damn impressive for such a simple show. Although to be honest, it's not much of a surprise, and I think there's two reasons why. First, Bean himself is such a lovable character. Not a complex one, admittedly, but Atkinson has such a knack for comedy that I think people just love watching him. He's transcended the series' potentially overly simplistic concept with sheer charm. But the second reason, and why it's one of my favourites, is because Bean has no limits. Britcoms are usually centred on a premise, and so the various stories operate within the parameters of the setting. Don't get me wrong, there have been fantastic rulebreaking series that work within their premise, and have been funnier for it (The Young Ones, Till Death Do Us Part, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em). But because Mr. Bean's concept is pretty much just a character, there aren't really any hard and fast limits to what they can and can't do. Just putting him into a situation yields great results. He's not restricted to a single location, and so the series remained varied.

That doesn't automatically make Mr. Bean the funniest show ever, but it is one of the things I love about it, and it makes it one of my favourite comedies to watch. It's hilarious, and it holds up to repeat viewings. So many of the scenes and setpieces have passed on into legend. And some of them are genuinely some of my favourite comic scenes (the sweet in the church, the turkey on the head, meeting the queen). Mr. Bean is the embodiment of simple, pure, endearing fun for me. It's easygoing, joyful comedy, and it doesn't date because of that. It could go anywhere and do anything, and damn if it isn't a work of genius because of that.