Customer Reviews

Full Bottom: Not Another Half-Arsed DVD Set!

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Listen, I'm not an elitest snob but I won't ignore what I know myself. Tv has gotten pretty lame lately and is showing little sign of getting better. Sitcoms that are touted by everybody as being funny and aren't, dramas that hype the drama and don't deliver. Good shows like Farscape and The Job which get canned while demons on NBC and CBS go untamed. Thats what I like about BOTTOM. It says that you'll laugh and you will, it doesn't shout it out loud either. There are no major plots just silly events which turn into stories on their own. It has a cult following and we can pray for new episodes or at least the live performances to come to disc as well.

BOTTOM comes from the minds primarily behind THE YOUNG ONES (another bastion of great watching) but on a slightly more mature and grown up level. If THE YOUNG ONES was a "family" show with Vyvian as son, Neil as mother, Mike as dad, Rick as daughter, then BOTTOM is a husband and wife style show with two chums (and no they aren't gay but at times Richie seems boderline), Sexually frustrated and annoying Richie (the wife) and stagering jobless drunkard Eddie (husband) share an apartment in England. They don't have much money, they don't have many friends, they almost never get the girl and both are almost ingratiatingly stupid. All they have is each other, and thats why one would cheat the other out of anything even to merely creep ahead in life, even if it means giving up a greater fortune. Don't worry YOUNG ONES fans, all of the slapstick violence and verbal abuse came over intact without the weird surrealism and side storys.

The entire series is here on a three disc set. SMELLS has the boys getting ahold of Pheramone spray and then testing it out on girls at the local bar, too bad they don't know that they're already "taken". GAS, one of the funnier epsiodes has the gas man coming to read the meter in the apt. Little does he know that they are stealing gas from their neighbor. Can they get stop the meter man, without killiing him anyway? CONTEST is my favorite episode and cements the "husband/wife" relationship of the show with Eddie blowing whats left of the money on a vintage porn magazine and then expecting to watch a beauty pagent on TV all the while Richie slaved away making a terrible meal complete with green bacon. APOCALYPSE has Eddie and Richard hitting the fair and finding out from a gypsy that Richie has 3 days to live, sure enough he gets to meet the reaper. In BOTTOM'S UP, Richie and Eddie's landlord pays them to watch over his store while he goes to funeral, they decide to sit on the roof and watch sports instead. ACCIDENT has Richie breaking his leg on his birthday and condsiders killing himself when his nonexistant friends don't show up. The scene where picks his teeth after drinking is priceless (and gross).

DIGGER has the duo hitting a dating sevice. After Richie lies about being rich a countess shows up hoping to merry only for his money. PARADE isn't so much funny as it is the best story in the series. After scoring some cash, the two go to the bar where the local bookie, whos hammered spills the beans about a hot tip. to raise cash for the bet, they steal a war veteran's fake leg and sell it at the pawn shop. CULTURE shows us what the boys get up to when the TV's been repossessed, with nothing else to do, they play chess. Too bad Richie is too hyper and excited to remember he doesn't know how to play chess. BURGLARY has the guys catching a burglar in their house and find his stolen loot. Only one thing stand in the way of them going to Barbados, what to do with the burglar. Well....they could kill him. The Christmas episode HOLY has gifts passed around, fingers cut off and possbily the second coming with Richie in the role of Mary. After all he is a virgin. BOTTOM'S OUT has the two staking out some land for a camping expidition not 50 feet from the bus stop. Along with GAS, one of the funniest episodes.

HOLE has Eddie and Richie debating life and stuff after they are trapped on a ferris wheel. Oh well they can get off in the morning, hopefully before the wheel is demolished... TERROR has Richie and Eddie trying to get money at Halloween with a cattle prod. When the party starts, Richie attempts to contact Satan. (By the way this episode aired years before South Park did, you'll know what I mean when you see it) BREAK concerns Eddie and Richies attempts to get in shape so they can score some girls on an upcoming vacation, they have to survive working out and each other first. DOUGH is definetly the most plot oriented episode with Eddie counterfitting money and end up trying to win a quiz match so that the local counterfitter doensn't crush their skulls. FINGER has the pair stealing honeymoon tickets from a local cricket champ and end up posing as a couple with Eddie making a truly ugly woman. Hattrick for this episode, Eddie gets booted in the crotch 3 times. CARNIVAL is the finale with Richie stealing a TV camera during a riot and attempting a "funniest home video accident". The tape in the camera shows something quite different and then the two attempt blackmail of the prime minister.

One of my new favorite shows and one that should live on longer then others. If you were a fan of THE YOUNG ONES, it definitly deserves a watch.

Finally the entire series is available in the States!
The Amazon review about does it justice...so there's no point rehashing what it says in this space.
If you're a fan of British comedy leaning towards Blackadder, Father Ted, Red Dwarf, The Young Ones (very similar to), you won't be disappointed. It'll be a lot cruder and ruder than the above, but every bit as funny and the missing ingredient in your collection. Edmonson and Mayall are fantastic together and play out their sick and twisted but superbly created characters hillariously. Classic comedy!
They should have screened this already on BBC America but possibly don't have the guts to.

Having moved to the USA 12 months ago I found that i wanted some of the comedy that I had taken for granted back home. I have tried everywhere to get Bottom on DVD and had bought a multi-region player so that next time I was in the UK I could bring some back. It is great news to see this anarchic comedy being put out in a generous 3 disc set. If you like your humour outragious and littered with a fair amount of painful slapstick, then this is definitely for you.

Buy with total confidence if you like the mad humour of Cleese, etc. .....and of course it does have it's fair amount of toilet humour...hence the title!.......Also, look out for the release of a 4 disc set of the king of UK sitcoms....Only fools and horses, one of the funniest UK sitcoms ever. you may take a while to understand the lingo....but you will love it all the same.....or you must be a "24 carrot plonker!"

I stumbled upon this series while I was living in Europe and bought it on VHS. I recently wrote to the BBC and was notified that there were no plans to release Bottom on DVD in Europe. Imagine my surprise to move back to America only to see that Bottom has been released on DVD here! This is an absolute cracker of a series. It is the funniest series of shows that I have ever seen in my life.

If only the BBC will release the "Bottom-Live" shows, the "Fluff Uncensored" videos along with other Rick and Adrian shows like "The Dangerous Brothers" and "Filthy Rich and Catflap" on DVD, I will be a happy man

BOTTOM is probably one of the most underrated comedies ever. Everytime British TV do a 100 greatest comedies, sketches, etc, it never gets a look in. Which is a shame because it is infinitely more funnier tham most of the crud that passes for comedy these days. There is a lot more to this than just slapstick, toilet humour and gratuitous violence (which make it funny anyway). The script is witty, and fresh enough to appeal to others as well.

For example (though not a very good example):

When Richie and Eddie go camping on Wimbledon Common and run out of food (within 5 minutes of getting there) Richie's morbid mind turns to cannabilism:

Rich: "What's that film were they all eat each other?"
Eddie: "Deep Throat."

The humour can be surprisingly subtle in places and the writing is superb, especially when Richie and Eddie are stuck in the flat
with nothing to do. Not much happens but Richie's inevitable wish to annoy the hell out of Eddie is a joy to watch.

Even though the humour can be crude for some, there is an innocence in their otherwise rotten lifes (Richie's virgin teenage-like pangs: "Why won't anyone have it off with me?")

The innocence, and cartoonish violence, reminds me of Laurel and Hardy (both get on each other's nerves, and both seem to physical damage each other, buy design or accident, but, on the other hand, both cannot seem to survive without each other).

Series three is the weakest of the three series. It relies more on shouting and slapstick than great writing (which is balanced perfectly in the first two series). Though, the episode where Rich and Eddies are stuck on top of a ferris wheel is an exception. Even so, series three is still brilliant.

My favourite episodes are: Richie's birthday party where he breaks both his legs and the Christmas special where Richie cuts his finger off and Eddie staples it back on - Merry Christmas!

Isn't it about time this boxed set came out! Amazingly it is being released in the US (that should say something in itself).

Remember The Young Ones, next came Filthy Rich and Catflap (which you probably won't remember), and then came Bottom. Each step (in my opinion) has been an improvement on the previous. If you haven't seen FRC then definitely give it a go (classic scenes such as the axe, the bottle on the head, trivial pursuits should not be missed - it could save your life!). But back to Bottom, the boxed set includes their dangerous brothers segments - "incredibly dangerous I am sure you will agree". The outtakes - e.g., the fish finger and the donkey are also classic moments.

I point out that The Young Ones ran 2 series and Bottom ran 3 series. Bottom also gave rise to some of the best Live performances from the pair (also available on DVD). I would suggest then that you buy Bottom and find out for yourself why so many are screaming praises for Rik and Adrian.

The ultimate evolution of Richie and Eddie is a must see for anyone who likes physical comedy taken to it's ultimate finest. This physicality is refreshingly washed with an immense subtlety of depth that Rik and Adrian bring to their performances. There is a tremendous history between the two by the time they reach Bottom that their acting appears spontaneous despite the brilliant scripting. Rik adds pathos and Adrian adds the uncomplicated brutality of someone who can't stand too much pathos. It is brilliant stuff carefully honed across the series.

Want to find out how they developed the subtlety? Already seen The Young Ones and Filthy Rich and Catflap? Looking for more? The Comic Strip Presents (a box set is available for this too) is the next step for you! There is an absolutely brilliant feature with Peter Cook called Mr Jolly Lives Next Door. This is worth the set alone and is classic Rik and Adrian. Both have books out Adrian's is particularly good.

What about after Bottom? Rik also elaborates on the pathos in a far more developed way in "Believe Nothing" but it would have worked so much better had Adrian's character still been included. Rik Mayall also ran some features via Rik Mayall's playhouse - good acting (not comedy) but good stories and great depth.

Rik and Adrian also had a film venture "Guest House Paradiso" which has much of the pathos/brutality (a brilliant intro sequence with Adrian) but is detracted by the format in my eyes. To me it seems to draw too much from the Faulty Towers (disfunctional hotel) genre. I was fortunate to see it in the cinema's and some old ladies were sitting in front of my friend and I and they left in the first 10 minutes. It was just brilliant. I do like Faulty Towers though.

For other good UK comedy (not Rik and Adrian) try Father Ted, Red Dwarf, Black Books, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Spaced, etc. In no particular order -

R

I hadn't actually managed to see Bottom until, like so many others, I checked out the first episode, which was included as a bonus on The Young Ones DVD set. On this alone, I picked up the Full Bottom set, and was not disappointed. Matter of fact, I'd have to say I prefer this to The Young Ones...no stupid pop bands or bad extraneous filler material creeping into the works here! This is brutish, stupid, violent, schoolboy behavior as executed by two grown men. There's something marvelously childish about it all. There's a certain degree of phoniness to all the blows to the groin. This is probably one of the few instances where sexist behavior is actually genuinely funny. Yes, it's base, but the characterizations of these foul, disgusting human beings as executed by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson are nothing short of hilarious. Fact is, the Richie and Eddie characters don't know any better than to not have jobs, get drunk, try to scheme cash (or, as in one episode, natural gas), and fail miserably with women, and that's exactly what's so smart about it all. When all you other kiddies get over Will Ferrel and the like, get on to the genuine living cartoon that is Bottom and bask in the brilliance that is Rik and Ade!

As most reviewers have already mentioned this is not Intellectual humour, if you want that Monty Python is where to go.
But if your just looking to spend half an hour of mindless "cartoony" humour you've come to the right place.
Among my friends I am in a minority as they prefer "The Young Ones" but "Bottom" has always been my favourite.
Although I do own "The Young Ones box set" as well.
I had to buy this from Amazon, as in England it's only sold per series and as such is a lot more expensive.
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All the episodes have good bits in them but for me standout episodes are:~
Gas:-Oh, that poor gasman! just doing his job.(My favourite.)
Digger:- Richy nearly has a...ahem.."romantic encounter".
'S out:- The Camping one. Pure video madness. Eddie and Rich go camping in the country. (Well twenty yards from the bus stop actually. Second favourite.)
Hole:- Stuck at the top of a ferris wheel. A good character development story, and we learn Rik's character has
... a SISTER! (Shudder)
A THREE DISC SET.
~
Disc 1 series 1 (1991)
1/ Smells
2/ Gas
3/ Contest
4/ Apocalypse
5/ 'S Up
6/ Accident
~
Disc 2 series 2 (1992)
1/ Digger
2/ Culture
3/ Burglary
4/ Parade
5/ Holy (Full version.)
6/ 'S Out
~
Disc 3 series 3 (1995)
1/ Hole
2/ Terror
3/ Break
4/ Dough
5/ Finger
6/ Carnival.

Without a doubt the two best physical comedians currently alive. As good as this series is, if you have access to a multi region player pop over to amazon's uk site and get the live series on DVD. The live performances are worlds beyond the TV series.

The humor of Bottom is base, tasteless, and violent but it's just so damn funny. This stellar DVD set is worth every penny. I'm surprised that it has been released on DVD in the US as it's never screened on TV here but hey, thanks anyway BBC Video.