Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge

Steve Coogan's Alan Partridge character just wouldn't lie down. After filling the sport slot in Christopher Morris's brilliant TV news show spoof "The Day Today", Coogan and his co-writers devised this devilishly funny and close-to-the-bone mickey-take of the ever-popular celebrity chat programme, with all the accoutrements of real-life prototypes by the likes of real-life stereotypical hosts (we know who they are) complete with guest house-band, fake starry guests and all their other familiar trappings (mix and match guests, the shared couch, the shallow content).

Coogan in particular rips into the title character with relish, a gormless, ignorant, sexist, bigoted, power-crazy narcissist who says what he thinks before he even thinks it. To play his guests, stock supporting actors like Rebecca Front, David Schneider and Patrick Marber change clothes and personalities from show to show, but somehow always end up as the unwilling victims of Partridge's prejudices.

All of the shows in the series are big on laughs, my favourite characters being the dead-on-his-feet ventriloquist act Cheeky Monkey, the cringe-worthy "Knowing Another Alan Partridge" section involving a recently deceased namesake and of course his quite literally go-out-with-a-bang climax.

Once you settle down to watch it, so convincingly played are the characters that you actually do end up thinking it could somehow be for real on an obscure satellite channel, although after the final bombshell which ends each episode, you snap out if it but realise how close to the truth it actually was.

For Coogan the character has never gone away, spawning the brilliant "I'm Alan Partridge" sequel and most recently a movie incarnation "Alan Partridge Alpha Papa", which I've not yet seen but it will be hard-pressed to beat the plentiful laughs on show here.

This is one of my favourite comedies, I so wish they had made more of this series. "I'm Alan Partridge" was good, but the 2nd series of that started going downhill a bit, like he was trying too hard.

But this is ultimate Partridge, the jokes and laughs come thick and fast, he's so bad at doing his job and insults the guests all the time, but your always on his side, especially in the French one, which happens to be one of my favourites. "What if your arm bursts?" I recommend this to any comedy fan, it's just so funny. Hopefully one day he'll get his 2nd series of his chat show.

But don't let me deter you from his two "I'm Alan Partridge" series though, the first series of that is also fantastic!

KMKY gets off to a great start in the opening edition when Alan`s guests include a showjumper , an egotistical DJ and the world famous Roger Moore . No seriously Roger Moore is a guest on the first show . The later episodes drag slightly especially the French edition but KMKY picks up in the final two shows which feature Terry Norton a boxing promoter who has just beat a murder rap ( Alan kindly reconstructs the murder in question ) " Partridge Over Britain " which is a political debate , some revelations about Glen Ponder the band leader , and Joe Beasley and cheeky monkey - Abbadabadoo.

This is a really funny show which is very well remembered even though only six regular episodes and a Xmas special were made . This says an awful lot about the quality of the writing and performances . Perhaps the best compliment paid to the show is the fact that some viewers actually phoned up the BBC to complain about the content and the way Partridge treated his guests !!!!! I kid you not , some people didn`t realise this is a spoof chat show with Steve Coogan playing a comedy character called Alan Partridge !

And on that bombshell - AHA

I have rarely laughed so much. Maybe Derek and Clive and some M.Python but Alan Partridge is consistently hilarious. I find him even more loathsome than George of Seinfeld and that takes some doing. What a loser! But brilliantly written, and the timing is impeccable.Vintage British comedy which is making me snicker as I write this. Some scenes such as his cross country run to get away from his stalker, and his baying in the car park for his so called friend that he has caught sight of, oh the mans incorrigible! Every now and then in ones life you hear a song that you wish you could have written, you see a painting that you wish you could have painted and similarly........... comedy. Brilliant,brilliant, brilliant.

Steve Coogan is Alan Patridge (A-HA) in this parody of talk shows using England's famous perchant for dry humor. Poor Alan doesn't have much luck with any of his guests in the 6 episode series, and his handling of said guest is what makes this series worthwhile and I frequently found myself laughing at the deftly scripted show. I can't believe how great British comedies can truly be and most of the 'comedies' in my native land of, America can be so truly dreadful. The differences truly seem like night and day. If this had an American counterpart it would likely be "the Larry Sanders Show", but whereas that deals with the behind the scenes of a talk show as much, if not more so than in front of the camera, this one just deals with the talk show proper and I believe I like both the aforementioned shows equally.

My Grade: A-

DVD Extras: Disc 1) Commentaries on all the episodes (which are frequently as funny as the shows themselves) ; Promos for BBC America, and "Little Britian"

Disc 2) the 46 minute "Knowing me, Knowing Yule" special (with optional commentary); 16 minutes of the Test shoot with optional commentary; 5 minute, 16 seconds of Alan rambling on; 3 skits (totalling 6 minutes and 15 seconds) of Alan's appearance on BBC's "Comic Relief 1995"; 9 commercials for the TV show; photo gallery; Cast & crew Bios; and Trailer for "Men Behaving Badly" & "Manchild"