How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge)

As with all of Coogan's work as Partridge (with Stratagem Live being a disappointing exception), I thoroughly enjoyed this and appreciated the Beeb dropping it in its entirety on iPlayer, cos I've already binged it twice.

Very very funny. One major reason, for me, why and how Alan continues to remain such an enduring delight of high quality humour is Coogan, for his faults, at least isn't such an egomaniac (*COUGH Ricky Gervais COUGH*) that he can't appreciate his finest work comes from collaboration, and sharing the credit. The Gibbons brothers are right up there among the finest comedy screenwriters in the country, perhaps even the world. I'm grateful they've not sold out and gone to Hollywood.

As I say, though - it's not peak Partridge. There's some going over familiar ground & recycling some actors in different roles from his recent projects is a bit lazy and annoying (although Jamie Demetriou is, as ever, brilliant) and it definitely suffers narratively, the stakes aren't as high as they have been in the very best of AP - but it's still by a comfortable distance the best comedy on British TV for a few years.

More please.

Following the brilliance of MMM and This Time this series falls flat and not on par with previous Partridge offerings, the absence of Sidekick Simon in most episodes really takes something out of the show.

It opens up the format to become all things that came before - slightly sitcom-esque with call backs to Lynn being exploited by Alan and Alan being exploited by a younger love interest and the fly on the wall film crew element less obvious during interactions in his house. The podcast format allows for radio skits in the guise of 'unseen footage' from MMM and mocumentary segments. It's the perfect formula but alas the laughs are few and far between with the show lacking the subtlety and nuance that make other series so re-watchable.

Starting with Alan. He is much more caricatured in this series, his lack of self awareness only really works when he is being petty, insecure and quite malicious but we are presented the new style of Alan introduced post-MMM who seems more eager to please, makes strained expressions, is clumsy and the show jumps at any chance to tell him to pull a funny face or do something outrageous for a quick slow motion shot or visual gag. The best moments are when Alan can't hide his contempt or refrain from a quick come back and these are few and far between. The reunion with Simon which rapidly falls apart, the encounter with the hiker, funeral eulogy and standup gig stood out to me as highlights and felt more like the MMM or This Time era comedy. There just aren't enough of them and they are sandwiched between too many filler segments and slick editing which don't add anything, it almost feels like a sketch show. This wasn't the case before - the fly on the wall moments when the cameras were off were equally as good as when they were rolling and gave an extra contextual layer, dynamic and tension to the 'on air' interview bits.

The cast is probably another reason it felt quite boring. Lynn is very good in the series, especially as Alan's secret weapon in the lawyer's office, but there are no other strong extras or main stay characters for Coogan to really play off. For most of the skits, actors remain unnaturally passive and non-reactive to Alan's faux pas and in previous series their reactions and back and forth exchanges really shone through, but here it seems more about Alan and there isn't much layering of the comedy.

Comparing the series as a whole to MMM it seems like much more effort went into changing up the locations and sets at the expense of perfecting the scripts, adding small details and comedic timing and they didn't get the things right that worked outside the studio setting (Scissored Isle did this very well).

I hope Tim Key is involved in the next Partridge project and they return to the studio format. Even the podcasts are becoming a bit tiresome and losing their edge and How Are You feels like an extension of these with some slick editing.

Disappointing as it's not peak Partridge. Still worth a watch but nowhere near as re-playable as the previous series which show that when the format is more constrained, less can be more.

I've watched everything Alan Partridge related and virtually everything by Coogan. Been waiting for this latest instalment and it hasn't disappointed at all. It condenses everything great about the character into a rich flavoursome Alan Partridge stew. Plenty of standout moments each episode gets better and better. "Say what you like about England but she has very fresh breath. Wales, too. And, er if Scotland could be persuaded to finally bin the ciggies I'm sure her breath would be just as fresh" Great to see Lynn and Sidekick Simon too.

"When people talk about Stonehenge as if it's the only henge I allow myself a little chuckle"

"Yeah I know Ross you've seen them all"

I have to say that when I first watched "I'm Alan Partridge" back in 1997, I was immediately hooked. There was just something almost perfect about it. A Fawlty Towers of its time perhaps.

When the next series came around, despite the change of location, the comedy was still strong, and it was another classic.

Years later I bought the boxsets of both series, and watched them again. Still as funny as the first time around.

Then of course in more recent years, they've been available to watch on various streaming services. And it's hard to find a weak episode.

The cast is a perfect mix of contrasting personalities, where the comedy doesn't over rely on cringey situations.

So whenever Steve Coogan has returned to the character, I've always had high hopes.

Unfortunately they've always been dashed, and none of the newer stuff has come close the the comedy magic of the first two series.

I get it, I'm sure that he didn't want to simply repeat the formula, and opted to take "Alan" in different directions. But none of it ever come close to making me laugh out loud like the first two series.

The only thing that came close for myself was the movie, Alpha Papa.

Whether it was the cringey humour of the radio show YouTube series, or the boring documentary styled one offs, or the more recent One Show style spoof, it all seemed to miss the mark. I was tempted to see the "live show", but having watched it subsequently on the TV, I'm glad I didn't bother.

That said I have to say that this latest series, which whilst it seems to amalgamate all of the previous Alan vehicles, this one was certainly worth a watch.

The episode that was more of a sitcom akin to the first series really stood out, and made me chuckle out loud.

I'm glad that Steve Coogan decided to bring Alan back to the TV, as it was certainly funny in parts.

I am writing this after bingewatching series 1 (in case that, like This Time before it, this show has a second series). Yes, the observation of similar presenters and types of shows depicted here are brilliantly portrayed but the actual humour is limited mainly to smiles and just thd odd laugh out loud moment Sultry Scorpio, Katherine Kelly, is watchable as Alan's cheating girlfriend Felicity Montagu plays the downtrodden loyal assistant Lynn so well (as in previous shows) and Alan himself is cringingly good but there really is nothing new here.

A safe and cosy pair of slippers.