The Britcompilation: Day 17- Bottom

Oh hey, something I've actually talked about before. Last June Jokefest, I did a whole piece about my five favourite episodes of Bottom, one of my favourite sitcoms. And since then, nothing has changed. I love this one. It's a little like a spiritual successor to The Young Ones, but I actually prefer this one. I think by 1991, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmunson has honed their craft. And made a show that's somehow even more cacophonous and stupid than The Young Ones. Bottom is about two men who live in a flat. That's it. But if you've seen it, you'll know that the story is hardly important. Hell, episodes often end having nothing to do with what they started with. An episode that starts with Ade Edmunson's Eddie coming back from the pub could end with them holding a burglar hostage. Or an episode that starts with a visit from the gas man could end with a perilous trip into the neighbouring apartment.

So the plot doesn't matter. What does is the insane, surreal and even occasionally offensive humour, perfectly personified by two fantastic performances. Rik Mayall is almost perfect as Richie, the depraved pervert yearning for some sort of class, while Ade Edmunson is equally great as Eddie, a crazed drunk who's always seconds from violence. These two bounce off of each other in what has to be one of the most violent and off the wall Britcoms ever. The insane antics of these guys never fail to tickle me, and the slapstick is nearly perfect. The timing is fantastic, the sound effects are great, the dialogue is filled with brilliant weirdness, it's just perfect. Okay so it isn't art, it's not clever, but it is it's own work of genius. It works on its own madcap logic. But few Britcoms are this mental, and pull that madness off so well.

Bottom is a work of madness, but it's one that I think I'll always love. It's sharply written, brilliantly dark, and often genuinely unpredictable. The gas man episode is something truly special, as is almost every other episode. It's one of my all time favourite sitcoms, and one of the best comedies that I've seen too. It truly needs to be seen to be believed. Bottom is a riot. 'Nuff said.