I'm Alan Partridge

I was fortunate to get a copy of the first season on DVD and just watched it with friends here in the States. And yes, I pretty much agree with everyone else who makes comparisons to Blackadder and Basil Fawlty and Gervais' boss character in The Office. Partridge is simply one of the funniest and pathetic characters ever to appear on TV. American TV would never have a character like this - they always make the sitcom people likable and "we have to want to root for them" and all that other bland stuff. A classic U.S. sitcom in the 80's - Buffalo Bill with Dabney Coleman was so outside the box from what had appeared on broadcast TV that they didn't know what to do with so they axed it. (His character too was a local Morning Show host in Buffalo, NY with an ego the size of Earth and total scum to everyone around him) and of course Larry David tries to pull it off on Curb Your Enthusiasm - and yes, even though the show is funny - David is very limited as an "actor" and Coogan is not. In fact, it is his performance and the fact that he adds dimension to this guy that truly makes it special and heartbreaking and hysterical. I loved it and I thought the rest of the cast was wonderful too.