|
Bottom Series One
I remember that my first contact with this bizarre,
nihilistic British sitcom was when I borrowed the ‘Best of’ video from a
library. It included the Christmas episode ‘Holy’ which, even in vague
recollection, still has me cracking up.
It is not included on this disc, but all six episodes
from the first series are. The show is about two super-horny guys who’ve
only ever slept with women once and are on an eternal quest to ‘get some
birds’. I see the characters, Edward ‘Eddie’ Elizabeth Hitler (Adrian
Edmondson) and Richard ‘Richie’ Richard (Rik Mayall) as crude precursors
to the morbidity visible in League of Gentlemen and even Little Britain.
In one of the episodes, the duo take the English-breakfast (eggs,
sausages, baked-beans) to its grotesque extreme, then carry it into the
toilet.
The crudeness of the period (1991) has been curbed
back according to internet message boards. The example is from episode
1.4 ‘Apocalypse’ where Eddie has his wallet stolen at a Romany
fairground. He calls the people there ‘gyppos’ but depending on the
version of the DVD you have, it has now become ‘yobbos’. I personally
would rather the distributors left the original material alone. But I
guess it depends on what you see the role of DVDs as: a copy of an
original release or as original releases in themselves.
There are English and Danish subtitles, plus an
extras section which has about 15 minutes of outtakes and goofs. It’s
quite hilarious. This is very much one of the ‘cult’ shows that will not
appeal to everyone. Some people will dismiss it as too low-brow and
they’re welcome to do so. I personally love the repetitive, almost
obsessive innuendoes and the manic personas: the first episode has Eddie
grasping a dildo in a sex shop whilst loudly proclaiming ‘We are men of
science!’ Some of the sound effects and stunts seem forced and clumsy,
but this is surely part of the show’s shtick.
If you’ve seen it before, you’ll want to buy this. If
you like British slapstick, you’ll get it. If you’re already bored, you
should stay well away!
Felix Staica |
