Of all the TV shows I was technically too young to be watching at nine, Bottom stood out as the naughtiest. It wasn't until much later that I grew to appreciate the darker nihilism underpinning the Tom & Jerry style domestic violence, but even then, it's not a programme I ever felt the need to ruin through analysis.
But I recently caught myself rewatching loads of them for fun, and that's not on, so time to ruin it. Here are my Top Bottoms.
Key:
Two-hander
Feat. Spudgun & Dave Hedgehog
18. Finger (3x05)
With crap crossdressing gags and crapper hotel material, this is as far removed from the series' origins as it gets and the only exhibit you need to see that Bottom had run its course by this point. Guest House Paradiso was sadly the natural evolution.
17. Parade (2x04)
Crowded with an unlikeable gaggle of Viz rejects and based entirely around Richie and Eddie getting pranked by pricks, this one's always had an unpleasant atmosphere for me, and not in the way I usually enjoy. Robert "Kryten" Llewellyn is a novelty, but the gurned performance almost makes me wish he wasn't.
16. Terror (3x02)
The lesser of Bottom's two seasonal episodes, we've reached critical crudeness, silliness and innuendo overload with Richie shitting his pants three times in the first half and everyone farting fireballs in the second. Still funny, but they're better than this.
15. Digger (2x01)
Sex and violence come to the fore even by Bottom standards in another sleazy season opener. Adding a bird to the mix throws things off, as does Richie and Eddie roleplaying for much of it. Still funny, but not quite as much as the hyperactive audience finds it.
14. Dough (3x04)
The pub-based episodes don't do a lot for me, tending to catch everyone at their worst as they do, but the premise of Eddie forging pornographic money as a distraction is a fun one. I also liked Richie's desperate improv about having to continually wash the same bin bag every day for want of a suitably sized condom, I've missed these dangerous insights into his thought process.
13. Break (3x03)
The annual uneventful flat-based episodes are always a treat, but they're also a good gauge for the general decline of the series. This starts out well with Richie being alternately over-excited and stressed about his impending holiday, but by the time Eddie's legs get sawn off it's just filling out the runtime with whatever comes to mind.
12. 'S Out (2x06)
A refreshing change of scenery, and very nice unconvincing scenery it is, but the survival plot has the air of a late Bottom stage show when they were running out of ideas. The humour's mainly of the slapstick violence variety, but seeing Richie get shot, burned and impaled in various ways never gets old.
11. Holy (2x05)
It's no 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol,' but Bottom's off-season festive special has enough seasonal charm to stand out. After spending most of the episode violently tearing apart the Christmas spirit, some knowingly crap symbolism and a uniquely uplifting ending bring it back.
10. Smells (1x01)
Bottom's debut year was a bit of a shock, coming to it several years after I'd seen the sillier sequel series, and this episode in particular was the most troubling. I've only now realised it's because the people they interact with feel uniquely like real people, by Bottom standards anyway, making Richie and Eddie's sleazy advances more unsettling and making me more worried for their safety, even if they deserve everything they get.
9. Burglary (2x03)
The spiritual successor to 'Gas,' this flat-set two-hander-with-guests is still overflowing with that early-years gloom, tempered by silly set pieces like Eddie's bedtime routine and sellotaping a burglar to the ceiling. This has moved on from being The Richard Richard Show into a true double-act now.
8. Apocalypse (1x04)
The first episode to get a bit wacky, this is a far cry from the low-key ones I like with its multiple settings and overacting guest characters, but it's still mired in the depressing atmosphere that makes the first series so watchable. Richie's relentlessly rude to everyone he comes across, when he's not accidentally killing them, so I can't really feel bad for him. The dictionary gag was wasted on that audience.
7. 'S Up (1x05)
The Beneath a Steel Sky of Bottom, I like how each act takes place across different levels of the building and the guest characters only hang around for as long as they're functionally required. Like 'Contest,' this is another where Eddie's primarily the straight man to Richie's rambling sociopath. A comparatively relaxing week for Ade with a dialogue ratio of about 1:5.
6. Carnival (3x06)
The final episode of Bottom has always had a sense of the endtimes about it, from the apocalyptic carnival, unseen but narrated in vivid detail, to the innocent discovery that seals Richie and Eddie's fates. Fates that would have been easily and wilfully ignored, had there been an inevitably disappointing fourth series, but I'm happy they went out on such a high. It's a jumble, but some of the best Bottom moments are in here.
5. Culture (2x02)
Along with 'Gas,' this is an episode I couldn't remember seeing the first time around, although being one of the most non-descript with the most forgettable title, I may just not have found its intimate character study as memorable as the sillier ones at nine. The grim duet steadily builds to a rousing fight climax, marvellous.
4. Accident (1x06)
Richie reaches his pathetic zenith in what's surely the best birthday episode of any series. All the sad self-delusion should make me more sympathetic to the escalating violence against his person, but he does bring it on himself, and Rik's agonising screams are too delightful. The scene without Richie shows why he's the star.
3. Contest (1x03)
Bottom's tell-tale pilot is a more low-key and gloomy affair than most episodes would prove to be, though series three's 'Hole' would bring back the real-time two-hander in an even more minimalist setting. It's very much a solo lament for Richie, and I see a lot of myself in the sad pervie. Maybe I should have chosen those childhood role models more carefully in hindsight.
2. Hole (3x01)
What a hallmark of the genre this is. Trapped on a confined set for 28 minutes, the most minimalist Bottom two-hander steadily ramps up as it goes along. If it somehow troubles you that the main characters fall to their certain death with five episodes of the series left to go, chalk it up as a dream if you need to. It's surreal enough already, with the hand of God appearing and Eddie's endless pints coming out of nowhere.
1. Gas (1x02)
The only episode I saw at an appropriate age, this one somehow eluded me growing up until I bought the DVD, and what a one to go out on. The famous slapstick violence is present as ever, but this time the duo's reckless scheming has real consequences, at least for long enough to keep the tension unbearable. When Richie decides they'll have to eat the evidence, it's audibly too much for the audience.
Feat. Spudgun & Dave Hedgehog
With crap crossdressing gags and crapper hotel material, this is as far removed from the series' origins as it gets and the only exhibit you need to see that Bottom had run its course by this point. Guest House Paradiso was sadly the natural evolution.
Crowded with an unlikeable gaggle of Viz rejects and based entirely around Richie and Eddie getting pranked by pricks, this one's always had an unpleasant atmosphere for me, and not in the way I usually enjoy. Robert "Kryten" Llewellyn is a novelty, but the gurned performance almost makes me wish he wasn't.
The lesser of Bottom's two seasonal episodes, we've reached critical crudeness, silliness and innuendo overload with Richie shitting his pants three times in the first half and everyone farting fireballs in the second. Still funny, but they're better than this.
Sex and violence come to the fore even by Bottom standards in another sleazy season opener. Adding a bird to the mix throws things off, as does Richie and Eddie roleplaying for much of it. Still funny, but not quite as much as the hyperactive audience finds it.
The pub-based episodes don't do a lot for me, tending to catch everyone at their worst as they do, but the premise of Eddie forging pornographic money as a distraction is a fun one. I also liked Richie's desperate improv about having to continually wash the same bin bag every day for want of a suitably sized condom, I've missed these dangerous insights into his thought process.
The annual uneventful flat-based episodes are always a treat, but they're also a good gauge for the general decline of the series. This starts out well with Richie being alternately over-excited and stressed about his impending holiday, but by the time Eddie's legs get sawn off it's just filling out the runtime with whatever comes to mind.
A refreshing change of scenery, and very nice unconvincing scenery it is, but the survival plot has the air of a late Bottom stage show when they were running out of ideas. The humour's mainly of the slapstick violence variety, but seeing Richie get shot, burned and impaled in various ways never gets old.
It's no 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol,' but Bottom's off-season festive special has enough seasonal charm to stand out. After spending most of the episode violently tearing apart the Christmas spirit, some knowingly crap symbolism and a uniquely uplifting ending bring it back.
Bottom's debut year was a bit of a shock, coming to it several years after I'd seen the sillier sequel series, and this episode in particular was the most troubling. I've only now realised it's because the people they interact with feel uniquely like real people, by Bottom standards anyway, making Richie and Eddie's sleazy advances more unsettling and making me more worried for their safety, even if they deserve everything they get.
The spiritual successor to 'Gas,' this flat-set two-hander-with-guests is still overflowing with that early-years gloom, tempered by silly set pieces like Eddie's bedtime routine and sellotaping a burglar to the ceiling. This has moved on from being The Richard Richard Show into a true double-act now.
The first episode to get a bit wacky, this is a far cry from the low-key ones I like with its multiple settings and overacting guest characters, but it's still mired in the depressing atmosphere that makes the first series so watchable. Richie's relentlessly rude to everyone he comes across, when he's not accidentally killing them, so I can't really feel bad for him. The dictionary gag was wasted on that audience.
The Beneath a Steel Sky of Bottom, I like how each act takes place across different levels of the building and the guest characters only hang around for as long as they're functionally required. Like 'Contest,' this is another where Eddie's primarily the straight man to Richie's rambling sociopath. A comparatively relaxing week for Ade with a dialogue ratio of about 1:5.
The final episode of Bottom has always had a sense of the endtimes about it, from the apocalyptic carnival, unseen but narrated in vivid detail, to the innocent discovery that seals Richie and Eddie's fates. Fates that would have been easily and wilfully ignored, had there been an inevitably disappointing fourth series, but I'm happy they went out on such a high. It's a jumble, but some of the best Bottom moments are in here.
Along with 'Gas,' this is an episode I couldn't remember seeing the first time around, although being one of the most non-descript with the most forgettable title, I may just not have found its intimate character study as memorable as the sillier ones at nine. The grim duet steadily builds to a rousing fight climax, marvellous.
Richie reaches his pathetic zenith in what's surely the best birthday episode of any series. All the sad self-delusion should make me more sympathetic to the escalating violence against his person, but he does bring it on himself, and Rik's agonising screams are too delightful. The scene without Richie shows why he's the star.
Bottom's tell-tale pilot is a more low-key and gloomy affair than most episodes would prove to be, though series three's 'Hole' would bring back the real-time two-hander in an even more minimalist setting. It's very much a solo lament for Richie, and I see a lot of myself in the sad pervie. Maybe I should have chosen those childhood role models more carefully in hindsight.
What a hallmark of the genre this is. Trapped on a confined set for 28 minutes, the most minimalist Bottom two-hander steadily ramps up as it goes along. If it somehow troubles you that the main characters fall to their certain death with five episodes of the series left to go, chalk it up as a dream if you need to. It's surreal enough already, with the hand of God appearing and Eddie's endless pints coming out of nowhere.
The only episode I saw at an appropriate age, this one somehow eluded me growing up until I bought the DVD, and what a one to go out on. The famous slapstick violence is present as ever, but this time the duo's reckless scheming has real consequences, at least for long enough to keep the tension unbearable. When Richie decides they'll have to eat the evidence, it's audibly too much for the audience.
