British comedy “masterpiece” that’s not Only Fools and Horses or Fawlt | UK | News

Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson’s Bottom exploded on British television in the early nineties. The anarchic sitcom was violent, crude, disgusting, and so uproariously funny that it became an instant hit with viewers at home (but less so with some snobby critics).

It was full of double entendres and fight scenes that left you howling with laughter or cringing; Either way, your eyes watered.

When the antics of Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler first aired on BBC Two in 1991, alternative comedy legends Mayall and Edmondson were already sitcom heroes; They revolutionized TV comedy by starring in the cultural phenomenon The Young Ones, which Mayall wrote with Ben Elton and Lise Mayer.

While this program personified the silliness and vitality of youth, it saw the TV personas of Bottom, Rik and Ade evolve into stagnant adulthood trapped in a comically arrested development.

Written and staged by Mayall and Edmondson, Bottom was the perfect blend of crude puns and deeply pathetic plots, combined with distinctive lashings of cartoon violence, which they perfected on stage with the aptly named ‘Dangerous Brothers’ live double act, in which Rik routinely beats up Ade, even setting him on fire, in front of a dazzling crowd with his unique style of in-person comedy that seems impossible to contain, thrilling audiences with the sense that anything could happen.

Originally titled ‘Your Butt’, with the foolish intention of having viewers discussing the program the next morning say “I saw your bottom on TV last night”, a compromise with BBC Two Controller Alan Yentob resulted in it becoming simply ‘The Bottom’; it signaled not only the fart jokes and toilet humor with which it has become synonymous, but also clever wordplay that reflected the plight of its characters in the gutter of life.

Richie Richard and Eddie Hitler were two poor losers living on the margins of society, enduring miserable existences for very little pay, both seeking solace wherever they could find it; birds, drinks and each other’s whores.

So why, nearly 35 years later, make a show about perverted, decidedly non-computer-using, gluttonous misfits who savagely attack each other with frying pans, conclude that women who don’t want to sleep with them are lesbians, and try to spy on their neighbors having sex, enjoying such longevity that fans old and new still want more?

Contrary to all expectations, our Talking Bottom podcast, which we launched in 2018, has proven popular with our fans. So much so that the companion book we wrote – Talking Bottom: A Guide to The Cult Sitcom – is now in its second printing after selling out this summer.

This is not because of us no one, but because the love for the masterpieces of Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson deserves enduring popularity – just like Steptoe and Son, Fawlty Towers or Only Fools and Horses – this is a quintessential British sitcom.

Described by Rik Mayall, who sadly died in June 2014 aged just 56, as “an all-out assault on existence itself”, Bottom depicted life in a damp Hammersmith, where human organs could be bought on the black market, roadkill appeared on kebab menus and the community united for an annual rebellion.

In sitcom land, Richie and Eddie are the ultimate ‘odd couple’ with a love-hate-hate-hate relationship. They share the will to survive despite the meaninglessness of their existence. Bottom’s ‘message’? To laugh. That’s all people have left. And television.

Without context, Richie and Eddie’s escapade may well inspire disgust; They prove themselves time and again to be the worst of the worst with their despicable antics. They beat an unsuspecting gasman to within an inch of his life, plan to poison a thief who broke into their home so they can steal his loot, and try to blackmail the then Prime Minister with a sex tape they unwittingly plundered from a BBC camera during the annual Hammersmith ‘carnival’ riot.

The stories are ugly and relatable at the same time; because they are based on the harsh reality of horror, crime and scandal, an undercurrent of the false veneer of polite society. The audience was rooting for the hapless couple who wasted their lives drinking, chasing women who never looked at them twice, or wasting time playing silly games like “putting some Sellotape in the fridge” or seeing who could put the most pudding in their underwear.

Fighting boredom is Richie and Eddie’s greatest pastime; to distract themselves from the realities of their miserable, lonely lives. Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot was also a major influence on Rik and Ade’s writing; As young men studying Drama at Manchester University in 1975, the pair discovered they loved the play as the funniest play ever written.

Bottom combined stark, nihilistic scenarios with the best and most extreme physical comedy live action TV has ever seen. Channeling Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner, Rik and Ade put on their own show as Richie and Eddie crashed through ceilings, brutally beat each other with umbrellas, and even cut off body parts. They redefined the boundaries of studio sitcoms by starting flames, falling off a Ferris wheel, blowing up their neighbor’s kitchen, and frequently getting electrocuted.

Of course, the likes of the legendary Laurel and Hardy were a huge influence on Rik and Ade, but to date no other British double act, or least of all sitcoms, has pushed the joke to quite the same level as Mayall and Edmondson.

But while eager viewers eagerly awaited the next episode, critics were less than impressed. The Observer sniffed, “It’s the sort of thing that gives underhand toilet humor a bad name.” Even compliments were mixed with snide curses, with The Mail on Sunday calling it “Mindless nonsense”. “The jokes were disgusting and childish… Bottom has nothing socially redeeming about him. And I laughed like a gutter for half an hour,” joked the Sunday Express.

The reason for Bottom’s continued popularity is precisely its uniqueness. The three series spawned five sold-out nationwide live tours and even a movie called Guest House Paradiso, all of which kept the Bottom in the hearts and minds of the country.

Memorable cartoon-style violence and sharp writing mean the show is still finding new loyal fans today; young viewers discover Richie, the sad, lonely virgin desperate to finally make ends meet, and Eddie, the violent alcoholic eager to score drugstore sales; “Old Spice; 25 pence a bottle!”

In these modern times, where understanding, sensitivity and comedy are shared in ‘safe spaces’, the sordid couple’s sordid universe provides a welcome and ugly contrast to the white-toothed actors portraying glossy milieus currently populating streaming sites like The Big Bang Theory or Ted Lasso. Bottom’s influences are the grim, poverty-stricken reality of Steptoe and Son and Hancock’s Half Hour.

British sitcoms love clueless underdogs who yearn for more: Basil Fawlty, Derek Trotter, Alan Partridge and David Brent are just a few. When Richie and Eddie come into our lives in the first episode, Smells, we understand their desperation, truly believing in the possibility that sex could be around the corner – all they needed was a leg up to get a leg up in the form of pheromone sex spray. Their desperation is both ridiculous and endearing. Thanks to Rik and Ade’s masterful performances, we were completely won over by this reprehensible duo, despite our better judgment.

Rik Mayall, as Richie, exuded manic energy as he broke down doors, ran down stairs and even compiled his own lonely hearts commercial (“Foxy Stoat is looking for PIG!”). Ade Edmondson was fearless as Eddie, who fell off rooftops, crashed into greenhouses and, inevitably, was set on fire.

Their performances were grotesque, completely devoid of personal ego, as they played the roles as sadly, disgustingly and perversely as possible. Richie and Eddie’s constant motivation was not only to meet their basic needs, but to gorge themselves on them. But in classic sitcom fashion, these efforts were always thwarted.

Bottom aired just 18 episodes across three series, the last of which aired in 1995.

But you don’t have to search hard for the TV show to find reruns and timeless clips online. It has entered comic culture and stands out as an outstanding example of British comedy; The closest thing in the world to live action cartoons. On the one hand, this is a classic sitcom about two codependent people trapped together who can’t stand each other.

On the other hand, this is the pinnacle of 20th-century physical comedy; Rik and Ade not only take the baton from Laurel and Hardy, but they also take it from their hands, set it on fire, and lift it into the air as they challenge the Three Stooges to a fight. It pulls back a damp curtain to give us a stark look at humanity in its darkest moments, then invites us to fill our pants with pudding, join the rebellion, and laugh in its face.

• Talking Bottom: A Guide to the Cult Sitcom (Wilton Square, £12.99) by Paul Tanter, Angela Pearson and Mat Brooks is out now. For more information, visit: wiltonsquarebooks.com