Bottom (TV series)

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Bottom
Format	comedy (sitcom)
Created by	Adrian Edmondson Rik Mayall
Starring	Adrian Edmondson Rik Mayall
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	17 plus 5 stage shows and 1 film
Production
Running time	30 minutes (approximate)
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC2
Original run	1991 – 1995 (TV series) 1993 - 2003 (live stage shows)

Bottom is a British sitcom of the early 1990s (and later a series of stage shows) written by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. They are also the main stars, respectively playing Richard Richard (Richie) and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie), who share a flat in Hammersmith, West London. The programme ran for three series, and is noted for its intentionally crude and highly violent slapstick.

The series also spawned five live stage tours between 1993 and 2003, each of which was commercially released, and a film adaptation in 1999 entitled Guest House Paradiso.

The series theme tune is performed by The Bum Notes, a jazz ensemble featuring Edmondson. The memorable end credits, featuring silhouettes of Edmondson and Mayall fighting and dancing, feature a cover of "Last Night" originally by The Mar-Keys.

1 Origins and production
2 Characters
- 2.1 Richie and Eddie
- 2.2 Minor characters
3 Episodes list
4 The stage shows
5 Guest House Paradiso
6 Future of Bottom
7 See also
8 External links
- 8.1 References

[edit] Origins and production

The idea for Bottom was spawned when, in 1991, Mayall and Edmondson co-starred in the West End production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Queen's Theatre. Mayall and Edmondson have said Bottom was often intended to be more than just a series of toilet gags but a cruder cousin to plays like Waiting for Godot, about the pointlessness of life.

However, the origins of the characters are rooted much more deeply. Mayall and Edmondson had been working together since the late 1970s, when they teamed up as "20th Century Coyote". Over the course of their career, they developed the characters of Richie and Eddie, based loosely on their own relationship. The names themselves come from Mayall's and Edmondson's own nicknames for each other - many of Mayall's characters are referred to by some variation of the name "Richard" and "Eddie" is taken from "Eddie Monsoon", Edmondson's nickname since University, which is a play on his surname (compare Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, who is called "Eddie" by her friend Patsy, and is played by Edmondson's wife Jennifer Saunders). Edmonson played an unrelated character also called Eddie Monsoon in the second series of The Comic Strip in the episode called Eddie Monsoon: A Life.

Adrian Edmondson (left) and Rik Mayall (right) as Eddie and Richie in Bottom.

The duo would use characters similar to Eddie and Richie in The Young Ones (Rick and Vyvyan, 1982 & 1984); The Dangerous Brothers (Sir Richard Dangerous and Sir Adrian Dangerous, 1985); Filthy Rich and Catflap (Richie Rich and Eddie Catflap, 1987); Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door (names not mentioned, 1988); and finally in their adaptation of Waiting for Godot (1991). The series also continued an occasional trend (started with Vyvyan in The Young Ones) of Edmonson's character having a female name - in this case Edward Elizabeth Hitler.

Mayall and Edmondson originally planned to call the series Your Bottom, intending viewers to say such things as "I saw Your Bottom on television last night".^{[citation needed]} Eventually they settled for just Bottom, which both suited the low comedy of the series, and the fact that Richie and Eddie were 'at the bottom of life's heap'. It also provided the ability to produce episodes titled "'s Up" and "'s Out".

There are indications that the third broadcast episode, 'Contest', is actually the pilot, the first episode to be filmed^{[citation needed]}. Hints of this include Eddie actually having short hair instead of being bald (and having no sideburns), Richie having shorter hair, and subtle differences to the set, like the Hammond organ facing the camera instead of being placed against the back wall. Additionally the shop fascia visible from the living room window says 'Tandoori' whereas in other episodes it reads 'Kebab'. There is also a noticeable difference in the film quality of this episode compared to other episodes in Series One.

The series was scripted and filmed at thirty-five minutes, with it being edited down to thirty minutes in post production. The original length scripts can be found in the several script books released, and several completely removed scenes were included in the 'Fluff' VHS release that consisted mostly of bloopers and out-takes. Several (but not all) of these scenes, as well as some smaller sections of dialogue also removed for timing reasons, have been re-inserted for DVD releases (although the packaging does not promote this fact).

The final episode of the second season, "'S Out", was not shown as part of the original broadcasts nor initial repeat run. The episode was set on Wimbledon Common, and involved Richie and Eddie encountering a flasher; on July 15, 1992, after the episode was filmed but before it had aired, Rachel Nickell was sexually assaulted and murdered in front of her young son on the Common. Out of sensitivity, and with a hunt for the killer in progress, the BBC decided not to broadcast the episode at that time. It first appeared on the VHS release of series two, before finally being shown for the first time as part of a re-run of season two on April 10th 1995, following the first run of the third series.

Following season two, the series went out of production, with Edmonson and Mayall concentrating on other solo projects, as well as starting the very popular Bottom stage shows; but the series had been so well received that in late 1994, a third season was written and filmed, and broadcast at the start of 1995.

Despite Richie and Eddie seemingly being killed at the end of season three (something which also happened in the episode "Hole", only for them to reappear unharmed in the following episode), a fourth season was written, but turned down by the BBC.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Richie and Eddie

Richard "Richie" Richard is a perpetually optimistic dimwit, while Edward "Eddie" Hitler is a cheerfully violent dipsomaniac. Their arguments often lead to exaggerated, destructive fight scenes. Some have likened this to a live action cartoon. However, the boisterousness is somewhat more graphic: examples include heads slammed in and under refrigerators; hands stapled to tables; legs being chainsawed off; genitalia slammed in doors or set on fire; fingers cut off; televisions smashed over heads; darts, forks, or fingers ending up in eyes; faces shoved in camp fires; legs broken or teeth knocked out. Some of the visual effects used for these events are very realistic, whereas others are deliberately fake. All are accompanied by a variety of over-the-top sound effects. Surprisingly, the BBFC has given the Bottom: The Complete Series DVD a classification of 15, with a violence rating of "None".

Richie is known to be a virgin (Eddie stole Richie's only ever "girlfriend", Ethel Cardue, and sometimes torments Richie with how he had sex with her), with a microscopic penis (which he sometimes mistakes for his only pube). However in the episode 'Digger' he almost has sex with an allegedly wealthy foreign countess, Lady Natasha Letitia Sarah Jane Wellesley Obstromsky Ponsonsky Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Oblomov Boblomov Dob, after he and Eddie join a dating agency. Natasha agrees to marry Richie, much to his delight and he is totally oblivious to the fact that she is marrying him because she thinks he is a millionaire and she has lost her entire fortune. Towards the end of the episode, as Richie moves in to have sex with Lady Natasha he has an apparent heart attack, and is rushed to hospital. Whilst waiting for the ambulance, Eddie has sex with Lady Natasha, as he did Ethel (although in the episode 'Terror' in season three, Eddie looks distinctly nervous when Richie informs him that the Devil drinks virgin's blood).

Richard also tends to believe that any woman who does not fancy him must be a lesbian. He is also unsure of the decade, claiming in the same episode (Carnival), that it is both the 80s and then 70s later on- with a bemused Eddie looking to the camera after Richie mentions it's the 80s after all. Richie usually wears a white shirt (tucked into his Y-fronts) and slim black tie (with tie clip), blue jeans (with a belt that clearly misses most of the loops) and has a light brown raincoat. He also occasionally wears brown trousers, held up with braces, and a red tie. His character is aspirational, pretentious, and occasionally a snob.

Eddie is an alcoholic (he claims that this is because he "drinks a lot"). He wears glasses akin to those of Eric Morecambe, a brown suit and a white shirt with a black spotted tie (Which he tucks inside his trousers). Despite having a shaven head, he sports sideburns. He also has a brown trilby hat and a tweed coat. He has two real friends, called Spudgun (Steve O'Donnell) and Dave Hedgehog (Christopher Ryan) who has a wife called Susan and a daughter named Doreen who appeared in the episode " Terror" . Richie does not have any friends and sometimes appropriates Spudgun and Dave if in need of company, even though he despises them (particularly Spudgun) and considers them beneath him.

Richie and Eddie bear perhaps closer inspection than any of Mayall and Edmondson's other characters. Despite sharing a deep mutual hatred, the two are eternally entwined due to their basic flaws. Eddie's alcoholism and violent nature mean that he has not been able to hold down a steady job since his very short-lived career as a "bunny girl", back in 1978, and it is unlikely that any landlord would grant him tenancy, even if he could afford the rent. He is therefore forced to rely upon Richie's charity. Richie, on the other hand, is such a pompous, self-obsessed, perverted, wittering soul that, without Eddie, it is unlikely that he would make another friend. The two have an unspoken acceptance of their interdependence and their relationship tends to fluctuate between acting like a married couple (filling in the crossword together, Richie putting an unconscious Eddie to bed every night), a mother and son (Richie often keeping Eddie 'in check' and scolding him, and often putting an end to his fun, often out of sheer spite even though Richie would like to indulge himself) and frustrated (often violent) desperation: so much so that both have attempted suicide — Eddie drinking bleach (drunkenly) and Richie drinking poisoned milk and trying to gas himself in the oven (an attempt at "guilting" Eddie into buying him a drink). In fact, both men have died in numerous episodes, only to resurface unharmed the following episode. This partnership has similarities to those of Steptoe and Son, and Hancock and Sid in Hancock's Half Hour.

Richie is in heavy denial and has delusions of grandeur. He once tried to convince a Falklands ex-serviceman that he had fought ten years there, seizing the fictitious "Straud Hill" and liberated the Stanley branch of Tesco). Eddie, in comparison is grounded and seems to have quite good general knowledge, which he keeps to himself. He can play chess (and spends seven hours trying, unsuccessfully, to teach Richie), he knows a fair amount about Napoleon and Wellington (who Richie claims invented the Chelsea Boot) and appears well versed in the works of Vivaldi, (whom Richie believes to be a football player). Eddie is also a great one for plans - though most involve trying to get a free pint from Dick Head, the landlord at the Lamb and Flag. One such scheme, in the episode "Dough", involved Eddie printing counterfeit money, which he plasters with pornographic doodles of the Royal Family and other such celebrities (on the £5 the Queen "gets her jugs out", on the £10 note there is an orgy involving Meryl Streep, the Duke of Edinburgh and Bobby Charlton, and on the £27 note there is a picture of Sylvester Stallone "fisting" Mr MacHenry (from The Magic Roundabout)).

Richie and Eddie's relatives are often mentioned: Richie's grandad was at the Battle of the Somme, while Eddie's uncle used to work in a prison, (really a prisoner) peeling potatoes, sewing mailbags and doing 'anything they told him to do'. Richie's auntie is very rich and dies in one episode with her nephew inheriting a large sum of money. Richie's dad, Oswald Richard, was an acquaintance of Adolf Hitler and betrayed Britain in World War II. According to Richie, his dad moved in mysterious circles, because he had one leg shorter than the other. Richie's sister lives near Hammersmith and apparently looks just like her brother, albeit "with smaller jugs". Eddie's mother was a wrestler named "Adolf Hitler" who abandoned him when he was young leaving him her old service revolver and a note saying "Please look after my baby, I can't be bothered".

[edit] Minor characters

Spudgun- (Played by Steve O'Donnell) One of Eddie's slobbish and unemployable friends.
Dave Hedgehog- (Played by Christopher Ryan) One of Eddie's friends. As seen in Terror, he has a daughter by the name of Doreen.
Dick Head- (Played by Lee Cornes) The landlord of the Lamb and Flag, Richie and Eddie's regular pub. Dick is one that usually doesn't get on well with both Richie and Eddie, because of the arguments over the tabs and payments for alcohol. His appearances were in Smells, Parade and Dough.
Mr. Harrison- (Played by Roger Sloman) Richie and Eddie's flat landlord and shopkeeper. His only appearances were in 's Up and Holy.
Veronica Head- (Played by Julia Sawalha) The beautiful young barmaid at the Lamb and Flag, whom Richie tries to woo by boasting of his false adventures at the Falklands. She later turns out to be the niece of Dick Head and has been conspiring against Richie from the start. She only appeared in the episode Parade.
Lady Natasha Letitia Sarah Jane Wellesley Extrong Skiponsong Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Oblomov Boblomov Dob, third vicountess of Moldavia- (Played by Helen Lederer) A foreign countess Richie met through Lily Linneker's Love Bureau. Richie posed as the Duke of Kidderminster to secure a date with her. She agreed to marry him and unwittingly admitted that she'd lost her entire fortune in a civil war and had to marry soon lest she be penniless forever. She appeares in Digger and as a nurse in the episode Apocalypse.

[edit] Episodes list

The following is a list of all the episodes of Bottom. Every episode's name is meant to be a suffix to the word Bottom.

[edit] Series 1 (1991)

Title	First broadcast	Synopsis
Smells	1991-09-17	Richie and Eddie take advantage of a revolutionary new sex-spray and head to the Pub.
Gas	1991-09-24	After accidentally beating up the Gas Man, Richie and Eddie must remove an illegal gas tube without disturbing their violent neighbour.
Contest	1991-09-30	The pair place a bet on the "Miss World" contest.
Apocalypse	1991-10-07	Richie receives bad news from a Gypsy fortune teller.
Bottom's Up	1991-10-14	Richie and Eddie are left in charge of their landlord's shop.
Accident	1991-10-28	Richie breaks his leg, but is determined not to let it spoil his birthday celebrations. [The first amblulance scene was filmed in Aldershot during the development of The Galleries]

[edit] Series 2 (1992)

Title	First broadcast	Synopsis
Digger	1992-10-01	Richie secures a date by pretending to be an aristocrat
Culture	1992-10-08	Richie and Eddie must entertain themselves when the TV is 'taken away'
Burglary	1992-10-15	Richie and Eddie catch a burglar
Parade	1992-10-22	Richie and Eddie get free money from an identity parade
Holy	1992-10-29	Richie and Eddie experience a Christmas day miracle
's Out	1995-04-10	Richard and Eddie are camping out on Wimbledon Common

[edit] Series 3 (1995)

Title	First broadcast	Synopsis
Hole	1995-01-06	Richie and Eddie are trapped at the top of the tallest Ferris wheel in western Europe which is due to be blown up the very next day.
Terror	1995-01-13	The pair plan a Halloween party and go trick or treating.
Break	1995-01-20	The duo prepare for their holidays
Dough	1995-01-27	Eddie begins forging money, and as a result the duo and their friends must enter a pub quiz, to pay off a thug.
Finger	1995-02-03	The pair go on a romantic weekend away disguised as Mr and Mrs Cannonball Taffy O'Jones
Carnival	1995-02-10	Richie and Eddie have the best seats for the annual Hammersmith riots and then try to make videos for the BBC

[edit] The stage shows

Five live theatre shows have been spun off over the years, and have been extremely popular. The two performers often (apparently) corpse and forget their lines and have to ad lib. (Most notably in the 1993 live show in which the duo try and get through about three scripted lines in seven minutes). However, some audience members have reported that there are regular points in repeat performances where the duo supposedly forget their lines, indicating that some of these instances may in fact be planned (this is possibly in response to the above mentioned seven minutes, which proved very popular with the audience). They also often make fun of the town/city in which they are playing by making the locals out to be stupid; Eddie often makes references to local pubs. These productions are far cruder than the television incarnation, and feature new elements such as Richie's latent Bisexuality and occasional desire to have sex with Eddie (it can be presumed that, by this stage, Richie has become so desperate to have sex that he is willing to do it with anyone or anything, in the second stage show he attempted to get The Queen to have sex with him). Invariably, a member of the audience will shout out the phrase "Have a wank!" which was then used as a mass audience heckle in the Weapons Grade Y-Fronts show. The two also use the words 'fuck' and 'cunt' which clearly wasn't permitted on the BBC at the time.

A performance of each live show was recorded and released on VHS and later DVD. These shows have now been shown on the Dave TV channel.

Title	Year	Recording location
Bottom Live	1993	Southampton
Bottom Live: The Big Number Two Tour	1995	Oxford
Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island	1997	Bristol
Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity	2001	Nottingham
Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour	2003	Southend

[edit] Guest House Paradiso

Following the 1997 "Hooligan's Island" tour, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson wrote a spin-off movie together, which Edmondson directed, entitled Guest House Paradiso, released in 1999. Strangely, the DVD release was advertised as the "Bottom movie", although this had been denied on its cinema release. Nevertheless, despite the characters being given new surnames ("Richard Twat" - which he insists is pronounced "Thwaite" - and "Eddie Elizabeth Ndingobamba"), they are effectively the same characters, transposed to the situation of running a grotty remote Guest House next to a nuclear power plant. The style of humour was very much in the same vein as Bottom, with a storyline of the pair feeding guests radioactive fish, causing massive amounts of vomiting.

[edit] Future of Bottom

Though the pair are currently working apart, a fourth season was written, but the BBC declined the script, despite announcing that Bottom would return in a voice-over during the end-credits of the original broadcast of the final episode. (Mayall has commented, in typical style, that it was "rejected by some lesbian bitch"^{[citation needed]}). Edmondson has, however, stated in interviews that he would like to make another season of Bottom with Mayall, but "in about fifteen years' time, when they are old men." Rik Mayall maintains that they will work together again in the future, they just need "a good idea."

However, in December 2004, almost exactly one year after the Weapons Grade Y-Fronts tour had ended, Adrian Edmondson told the British Daily Mirror newspaper that the pair felt it was "[...] definitely time to stop. We're both getting too old. We both realised that the show wasn't as engaging as it used to be. We were starting to look a bit ridiculous. [...] We're both nearly fifty and we're starting to feel slightly undignified talking about wanking and knobs constantly."^[1] This statement may indicate the end of the long-running stage shows, but leaves possibility for a return to the small screen at some point.