This Time with Alan Partridge | |
---|---|
Genre | Parody |
Developed by | Steve Coogan Neil Gibbons Rob Gibbons |
Written by | Steve Coogan Neil Gibbons Rob Gibbons |
Directed by | Neil Gibbons Rob Gibbons |
Starring | Steve Coogan Susannah Fielding Felicity Montagu Tim Key |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Production | |
Producer | Ted Dowd |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 29 minutes |
Production company | Baby Cow Productions |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 25 February 2019 – 4 June 2021 |
This Time with Alan Partridge is a British sitcom first broadcast in 2019 on BBC One. [1] It stars Steve Coogan as the inept broadcaster Alan Partridge in a spoof of day-time magazine programmes such as The One Show and Good Morning Britain . [2] [3] [4]
After a series of productions with Sky, This Time was the first BBC Alan Partridge production since I'm Alan Partridge ended in 2002. Susannah Fielding plays Partridge's co-host Jennie, and Tim Key and Felicity Montagu reprise their roles as Simon Denton and Partridge's assistant Lynn Benfield. The series received generally favourable reviews. A second series was broadcast in 2021.
Alan Partridge, an inept broadcaster played by Steve Coogan, becomes the stand-in presenter of This Time after the regular co-host falls ill. [5] According to The Guardian , the show features "Partridgean tirades on everything from hand hygiene (leading him to lurk outside the BBC toilets doing spot-checks on colleagues) to hacking". [5] It also plays on his past working relationships with colleagues, for example on-location reporter Ruth Duggan (Lolly Adefope) who has become his arch-nemesis. [6]
Alan Partridge was created in 1991 by Coogan and Armando Iannucci. [7] Following early Partridge shows such as Knowing Me, Knowing You and I'm Alan Partridge, produced by the BBC, This Time was the first BBC Partridge project following several Sky productions. [5] It was produced by Coogan's production company Baby Cow Productions, written by Coogan and the Gibbons brothers, directed by the Gibbons brothers, and produced by Ted Dowd. [8]
Coogan felt it was the right time for Partridge to return, and that he might represent the views of Brexit voters. [5] Neil Gibbons said the world of live television presenting had changed since Partridge had been created: "If someone fluffed a line or got someone’s name wrong or said something stupid, it was mortifying. But nowadays, those are the sort of people who are given jobs on TV." [5] He likened Partridge to presenters such as Piers Morgan, who he felt had been hired to present Good Morning Britain because he said offensive things. Coogan and the Gibbonses ignored this because "if you put Alan in a world where his crass buffoonery is part of the selling point, there's nowhere for him to fall". [5]
A second series was produced in 2020, and was broadcast on BBC One from 30 April 2021. [9] [10]
This Time with Alan Partridge has received mostly positive reviews. [11] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian wrote that "the differentiation of This Time With Alan Partridge's layers and escalation of every exchange is precision-engineered: beautiful things and a joy forever." [12] Tim Glanfield of Radio Times felt it was "some of the best Alan Partridge ever made". [13] Sean O'Grady of The Independent gave it five stars, and found it "a consistently strong creative achievement". [14] The segment with Coogan as Martin Brennan (the Irish Alan Partridge lookalike who closes the show with Irish Republican Army songs) was described by Raidió Teilifís Éireann as "TV moment of the year", which would be remembered "in the canon of truly great Partridge moments." [15]
Hugo Rifkind of The Times was less positive, saying "Only very occasionally does it soar into unexpected places. Still, for a character that came along a quarter of a century ago and still isn't old, maybe fresh delights are a bit too much to ask." [16] Writing for Prospect , Lucinda Smyth argued "This Time is... OK. But it is not the best of British television, it's not even the best of Coogan, and it undermines both to say so... I don't mean to say that there haven't been a few gems in This Time. But overall the timing is patchy, the belly-laughs are few, and the script is tiringly Alan-centric." [17]
The television host Piers Morgan, who is spoofed by This Time, said that Coogan was "trying to exact revenge on me because he now hates everything to do with newspapers... I used to love Alan Partridge, he used to be hilarious, brilliant. It is now utterly unwatchable." [3]
Episode 1 [18]
Episode 2 [19]
Episode 3 [20]
Episode 4 [21]
Episode 5 [22]
Episode 6 [23]
Episode 1 [18]
Episode 2 [19]
Episode 3 [20]
Episode 5 [24]
Episode 6
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [lower-alpha 1] [25] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 25 February 2019 | 5.86 | |
Alan Partridge is hired to present BBC One magazine programme This Time after one of the two regular hosts, John Baskell, falls ill. Alan and the co-host Jennie Gresham cover seal pups, hygiene, and cyberterrorism. [26] | ||||||
2 | "Episode 2" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 4 March 2019 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
This Time former co-host John Baskell has died aged 65. In a recorded segment, Alan takes part in a reenactment of the Peasants' Revolt. Later, in remembrance, Alan reads out tweets from viewers reflecting on their favourite memories of John. This quickly turns awkward after allegations of sexual misconduct by John begin to overtake the live feed. | ||||||
3 | "Episode 3" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 11 March 2019 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
Now the new permanent co-host of This Time, Alan presents pieces on vegetarianism and corporal punishment. | ||||||
4 | "Episode 4" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 18 March 2019 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
Alan talks about police dog bravery. He demonstrates CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation using a mannequin. His piece on product placement involves filming Monty Don without his prior knowledge. Alan meets a Daniel Craig lookalike and his own lookalike, an Irish farmer who performs a medley of three songs. The first being When You Were Sweet Sixteen and the second two being Irish republican songs: Come Out, Ye Black and Tans and The Men Behind the Wire. | ||||||
5 | "Episode 5" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 25 March 2019 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
Alan talks about the Me Too movement with a feminist woman, then reviews tweets of mother-in-law jokes (all originally written by Les Dawson) with Simon. Alan suffers an allergic reaction to oysters which makes his lips swell severely, yet goes ahead with his performance with mixed vocal harmony group the Quavers. | ||||||
6 | "Episode 6" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 1 April 2019 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
Jennie confronts Alan about an insulting comment he made about her behind her back, leading her to walk off set and leave Alan to finish the show without her. Simon joins him as co-host: they discuss women's clothes, being arrested by the police, water supply in Africa and dreams. Alan is called in for a meeting with the executive producer, the Director-General of the BBC and Jennie immediately after the show. |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | "Episode 1" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 30 April 2021 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
Alan is relishing his revived television career. However, conscious of being left in the shadow of co-presenter Jennie and alert to potential changes behind the scenes, he grows increasingly anxious about his place in the big time. Jennie and Sam announce their engagement live on air. [27] | ||||||
8 | "Episode 2" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 7 May 2021 | Unknown [lower-alpha 2] | |
A new make-up artist flirts with Alan, and a ventriloquist act returns from Knowing Me, Knowing You . [28] The episode's main focus is the criminal justice system, during which Alan investigates by spending time in a young offenders' institute. | ||||||
9 | "Episode 3" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 14 May 2021 | N/A | |
10 | "Episode 4" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 21 May 2021 | N/A | |
Alan investigates chemsex. He learns that Jennie and Sam have broken up. Izzy Barnes demonstrates drama therapy in the studio. | ||||||
11 | "Episode 5" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 28 May 2021 | N/A | |
Alan pays tribute to female World War 2 fighter pilots and deals with a studio invasion by a group of topless female anti-capitalist protesters. Alan invites the studio make-up artist Tiff to his house in Cornwall for the weekend. | ||||||
12 | "Episode 6" | Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons | 4 June 2021 | N/A | |
Alan loses an opportunity to interview Princess Anne, and falls for Simon's prank, causing him to broadcast embarrassing photos to the nation. He snaps on air, declaring his audience "idiots", and is emboldened by tweets calling for different TV coverage. |
Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, he has appeared in media including radio and television series, books, podcasts and film.
Stephen John Coogan is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating and portraying Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris on On the Hour and The Day Today. Partridge has featured in several television series such as I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002) and the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013). Coogan has earned accolades such as four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of Oxford. Starting on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4, his early work with Chris Morris on the radio series On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today.
The Day Today is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 9 August 1991 and 28 May 1992 and was also written by Morris, Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, David Quantick, and the cast. For The Day Today, Peter Baynham joined the writing team, and Lee and Herring were replaced by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. The principal cast of On the Hour was retained for The Day Today.
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, On the Hour starred Morris as the overzealous and self-important principal anchor. He was accompanied by a regular cast assembled by Iannucci, comprising Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front, Doon Mackichan, Patrick Marber and David Schneider, who portrayed assorted news reporters, presenters and interviewees. On the Hour featured the first appearance of Coogan's character Alan Partridge as the "Sports Desk" reporter.
I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster who has been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC.
Baby Cow Productions Limited is a British comedy television production company based in London and Manchester, founded by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal. Since its establishment it has diversified into radio, animation and film. According to their website, Baby Cow "produces bold, high-quality scripted entertainment across all genres for television, film and radio." The company's name is a reference to Coogan's early characters Paul and Pauline Calf.
Tim Key is an English poet, comedian, actor and screenwriter. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both as a solo act and as part of the comedy group Cowards, and plays Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in film and television. In 2009, he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award and was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality.
Saxondale is a British sitcom television series, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers. The show is set in Stevenage and depicts middle-class suburban life.
Susannah Glanville-Hearson, known professionally as Susannah Fielding, is an English actress. She won the 2014 Ian Charleson Award for her portrayal of Portia in The Merchant of Venice at the Almeida Theatre. She also starred in the CBS sitcom The Great Indoors. From 2019 to 2021, she co-starred with Steve Coogan in This Time with Alan Partridge.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Television comedy series of six episodes, and a Christmas special Knowing Me, Knowing Yule on 29 December 1995. It is named after the song "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA, a rendition of which was used as the show's title music. Steve Coogan plays the incompetent but self-satisfied Norwich-based talk show host Alan Partridge, who often insults his guests and humiliates himself in the process. Alan was a spin-off character from the spoof radio show On the Hour. Knowing Me, Knowing You was written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Patrick Marber, with contributions from the regular supporting cast of Doon Mackichan, Rebecca Front and David Schneider, who played Alan's weekly guests. Steve Brown provided the show's music and arrangements, and also appeared as Glenn Ponder, the man in charge of the house band.
Mid Morning Matters is a British digital radio show parody written by Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons and Armando Iannucci, produced by Baby Cow Productions and funded by the British arm of Australian lager company Foster's, starring Coogan as fictional radio DJ Alan Partridge. The first of twelve 15-minute episodes was uploaded to the Foster's Funny website on 5 November 2010, and then available on YouTube. Six 30-minute episodes titled Alan Partridge Mid Morning Matters: Special Edition, edited from the web series, began airing on Sky Atlantic in July 2012 as part of a deal between producers Baby Cow and BSkyB. A second series consisting of six episodes premiered in February 2016.
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a 2013 British comedy film starring Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge, a fictional presenter he has played on various BBC radio and television shows since 1991. It was directed by Declan Lowney and written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham and Neil and Rob Gibbons. Colm Meaney co-starred as Pat Farrell, a DJ who takes hostages after he is fired from Partridge's radio station; Partridge is enlisted as a negotiator.
Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life is one of two one-off Alan Partridge specials commissioned by Sky Atlantic and produced by Baby Cow Productions. It was broadcast on 25 June 2012 and received a BAFTA for Steve Coogan's performance.
Horrible Histories is a British sketch comedy children's television series, the second live-action iteration of the book series Horrible Histories written by Terry Deary.
Ololade "Lolly" Adefope is an English stand-up comedian and actress, specialising in character comedy. She is known for playing the role of Fran in the Hulu comedy series Shrill, and as Kitty, the ghost of a Georgian noblewoman in the BBC comedy Ghosts, for which she was nominated for a National Comedy Award in 2021.
Jamie Demetriou is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Bus Rodent in Fleabag and for creating, co-writing, and starring in Stath Lets Flats. For the latter, he won Best Male Actor in a Comedy, Best Writer of a Comedy, and Best Scripted Comedy at the 2020 BAFTA Awards.
Them There is a theatrical production collective made up of a group of comedy writers and performers, notable for working on a range of projects together including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts. They are also informally referred to as the Horrible Histories troupe and The Six Idiots.
Chivalry is a 2022 British comedy-drama television series broadcast on Channel 4. It was written by and stars Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani.
Dustin Demri-Burns is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work in Cardinal Burns (2012–2014) and Slow Horses (2022).