Alan Partridge
Partridge was created by Coogan and Armando Iannucci for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour, a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting.Vanity Fair called him a British national treasure and The Guardian described him as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades".Alan Partridge was created for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour, a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting, as the show's hapless sports presenter.[1] Developing On the Hour, the producer, Armando Iannucci, asked Steve Coogan to voice a generic sports reporter, with elements of Elton Welsby, Jim Rosenthal and John Motson.He lives in a roadside hotel outside Norwich, presents a graveyard slot on local radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows.[16] Coogan returned to Partridge after pursuing other projects, such as his work with the director Michael Winterbottom on films such as 24 Hour Party People (2002)."[1] In his 2015 autobiography, Coogan wrote that he felt Mid Morning Matters was "the purest, most mature and funniest incarnation of Partridge", which he credited to the Gibbons brothers.In the book, Partridge recounts his childhood and career, attempts to settle scores with people he feels have wronged him, and dispenses wisdom such as his assertion that Wikipedia has made university education "all but pointless".[36] Neil Gibbons said the world of live television had changed since Partridge's creation: "If someone fluffed a line or got someone's name wrong or said something stupid, it was mortifying.[43] The Guardian critic Brian Logan gave the show four out of five, praising its "rich comedy of physical awkwardness" and writing that Partridge was now "at the centre of his own thriving multi-platform metaverse".[44] The Independent critic Louis Chilton gave it two out of five, finding its jokes obvious and dated and that Partridge did not work in a live format.[45] In August 2022, Partridge joined the rock band Coldplay to perform the 1985 Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" at Wembley Stadium, London.[10] Marber said Partridge's fundamental characteristic is desperation,[35] and described him as part of a British tradition of "sad little man" characters such as Captain Mainwaring, Basil Fawlty and David Brent.[2] Coogan said Partridge was originally a "one-note, sketchy character"[52] and "freak show", but slowly became refined as a dysfunctional alter ego.'"[19] Coogan credited Neil and Rob Gibbons for giving Partridge a more rounded personality in later incarnations, and said: "The 21st-century Alan is a nicer man."[54] For Alpha Papa, Coogan wanted Partridge to be heroic and for the audience to sympathise with him while laughing at him: "You know he's done the wrong thing, but at least he's got some humanity.[55] Coogan felt the humour came from Partridge's misjudgement, rather than in a celebration of bigotry: "I don't want to add to the sum total of human misery.Iannucci said the writers chose it as it is "geographically just that little bit annoyingly too far from London, and has this weird kind of isolated feel that seemed right for Alan".[60] In earlier incarnations, Partridge's wardrobe included a blazer, badge and tie, driving gloves and "too-short" shorts, styles he describes as "sports casual" and "imperial leisure".[61] According to Iannucci, by the time of Alpha Papa, Partridge had "evolved to the Top Gear presenter circa 2005 stage", with sports jackets and a foppish fringe.[1] Vanity Fair described Alan Partridge as a national treasure and a cherished part of British comedy, alongside characters such as Basil Fawlty and Mr.[62] According to Variety, in Britain "Alan Partridge is a full-on phenomenon, a multiplatform fictional celebrity whose catchphrases, mangled metaphors and social ineptitude are the stuff of legend and good ratings".[64] Brian Logan wrote in the Guardian that though Partridge was created as a satire of the "asinine fluency of broadcaster-speak" of the time, his development as a character study gave him a timeless quality.[65] Another Guardian journalist, John Crace, wrote: "By rights, Alan Partridge should have been dead as a character years ago, the last drops of humour long since wrung out ... but Steve Coogan keeps finding ways to make him feel fresh.[20] According to Gordon, Partridge allows progressive audiences to laugh at politically incorrect humour as "every loathsome comment is sold to us not as a gag, but as a gaffe".[73] In 2022, the Guardian journalist Michael Hogan selected Partridge as Coogan's greatest TV role, writing that he had "painstakingly fleshed him out from a catchphrase-spouting caricature to a layered creation of subtle pathos [and] one of our most enduring and beloved comic characters".
Alan Partridge (disambiguation)On the HourSteve CooganArmando IannucciparodyBBC Radio 4current affairschat showKnowing Me, Knowing You with Alan PartridgeThe Day TodayKnowing Me, Knowing YouI'm Alan PartridgePeter BaynhamNorwichBAFTAsMid Morning Matters with Alan PartridgeRob and Neil GibbonsThis Time with Alan PartridgeThe One ShowAudiblepathosVanity Fairnational treasureThe Guardiancringe comediesThe InbetweenersNighty NightPeep ShowChannel 4100 Greatest TV Characterssports presenterElton WelsbyJim RosenthalJohn Motsoncollege radioNewsbeatPatrick MarberRichard HerringStewart LeeEdinburgh FringeBBC Twositcomgraveyard slotMiddle EnglandtelethonComic ReliefKate Bushstatic caravanmental breakdownalbatrossmockumentaryRoyal Albert HallTeenage Cancer Trustlife coachMichael Winterbottom24 Hour Party PeopleYouTubeTim KeySky AtlanticNeil and Rob GibbonsBaby Cow ProductionsHarperCollinsaudiobookWikipediaThe Jonathan Ross ShowBBC Radio 5 LiveNorfolkDeclan LowneyStudioCanalBBC FilmsBFI Film Fundcrisis negotiatorTFI Fridayclass divideBen Rufus GreentravelogueWho Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)Barry MannGrandstandThe Big IssueBrexitMalcolm TuckerThe Thick of Itmagistratesculture warsidentity politicsIndependentColdplayRunning Up That HillWembley StadiumThe TimesAnd Did Those Feet… With Alan PartridgeTelegraphCaptain MainwaringBasil FawltyDavid BrentMalvolioFrank SpencerFelicity Montaguright-wingDaily Mailleft-wingLittle EnglanderprogressiveDale Wintonpolitical correctnessEast of EnglandForbesJames Bond filmsblazerdriving glovesTop Gearsports jacketsfoppishpostmodernismhipstersMr. BeanVarietyAdam McKayBen StillerWill FerrellJack BlackIndieWireRon BurgundyJohn CraceAlexis Petridis