Mid Morning Matters Series 2 on the way.

[holyzombiejesus]

That Rad T article is fucking embarrassing.

[pigamus]

God I'm looking forward to this.

[Malcy]

Anyone know what the picture of Coogan as Partridge being thrown in a lake was filmed for? Was floating around just before Xmas and said Xmas soecial but haven't heard anything else.

[Utter Shit]

Apologies for linking to the most offensive clickbait cunt website of all, but there's a clip of the new series on this page. Really good, too, with a hint of the 'I come from a military background' guy from Down The Line.

http://www.theladbible.com/articles/alan-partridge-is-back-and-here-s-a-brand-new-clip-from-his-upcoming-series-mid-morning-matters-020216

[MuteBanana]

I liked that. Groaned at the comments beneath.

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Is that Nigel Lindsay again as the caller? He seems to have become part of the newer ensemble.

[Glebe]

Lovely stuff.

[Mobius]

Ha, brilliant! So excited for more Partridge.

[shiftwork2]

Alan-written piece in The Guardian this morning, with a trailer.  Dave Clifton!

[Blinder Data]

What else? I own two NutriBullets. My hair's still nice and thick. I do have a fat back but I'm able to manage that by not approaching people back-first with my top off.

That article was great. To Steve Coogan's chagrin, Partridge is probably funnier now in print than he is via video/audio thanks to the Gibbons brothers (do they write anything else?).

Looking forward to the show though.

[Glebe]

Dave Clifton!

And real-life person Julian Barratt! Not to mention Oddie:

My focus was – often is – on keeping Oddie calm. He's grown wise to me slipping Rescue Remedy into his Merlot, so I always make sure I have my iPad with me. That way if we do have a flare-up Bill can go sit in the back of the car and look at pictures of birds. I also confiscate his glasses so he can't scan the room for enemies.

[Shaky]

Not usually touchy about this shit, but the Oddie referencing seems a tiny bit off now we know he struggles with severe depression. Although I did really like this:

I also confiscate his glasses so he can't scan the room for enemies.

[popcorn]

That article was great. To Steve Coogan's chagrin, Partridge is probably funnier now in print than he is via video/audio thanks to the Gibbons brothers

Everyone on CaB loves the written Partridge stuff but to me it's always felt a bit flat without the Coogan delivery. It's about as good as it can possibly be, but I need the man himself to bring it to life.

[Hangthebuggers]

Do we think there will be any references to the events from Alpha Papa? Is it canon or not?

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I do have a fat back but I'm able to manage that by not approaching people back-first with my top off.

Laughed.

like liver on a hotplate – or liver on a hot plate

Laughed

The braying of the execs softened to a whinny

Smiled

[biggytitbo]

Yeah the Bill Oddie stuff is well off, not just because of his depression but it's a bit of a tired old joke to labour at such length.

[checkoutgirl]

like liver on a hotplate – or liver on a hot plate

I'm probably thick because I didn't get that.

[Glebe]

Not usually touchy about this shit, but the Oddie referencing seems a tiny bit off now we know he struggles with severe depression. Although I did really like this:

Yeah the Bill Oddie stuff is well off, not just because of his depression but it's a bit of a tired old joke to labour at such length.

I get what you're saying lads, but maybe y'all being a bit touchy on Oddie's behalf, there.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I'm probably thick because I didn't get that.

Alan's love of inane pedantry/minutiae.

[Shaky]

I get what you're saying lads, but maybe y'all being a bit touchy on Oddie's behalf, there.

Aye, maybe... maybe... the Partridge piece just reminded me of a recent article where the Oddster said he basically lost his beloved bird/animal watching gigs due to manic outbursts and frequent spazzing out. Kate Humble refuses to work with him ever again. That's how serious things got. Well, that and the suicide attempts. I'm not even a fan of the guy but he just seemed really cut up about the whole thing, while gently acknowledging that his career is probably over. To be honest, I'd rather they continued to stick the boot into sweaty shitcake Eamonn Holmes.

Typing all that does make me wonder whether the Partridge team and Oddie have concocted the whole thing for a laugh, though...

[Glebe]

Aye, maybe... maybe... the Partridge piece just reminded me of a recent article where the Oddster said he basically lost his beloved bird/animal watching gigs due to manic outbursts and frequent spazzing out. Kate Humble refuses to work with him ever again. That's how serious things got. Well, that and the suicide attempts. I'm not even a fan of the guy but he just seemed really cut up about the whole thing, while gently acknowledging that his career is probably over. To be honest, I'd rather they continued to stick the boot into sweaty shitcake Eamonn Holmes.

Typing all that does make me wonder whether the Partridge team and Oddie have concocted the whole thing for a laugh, though...

I'm pretty sure Oddie is a fan, I remember reading something - maybe an article on Alpha Papa - where he said something along the lines of he was disappointed whenever he wasn't mentioned by Partridge. I know he's been through sheer hell with depression, it's really sad to hear that about Humble, he must have been stressed to buggery by that stage.

[Paul Calf]

I was seriously disappointed by his decision to go with Sky Atlantic after the whole Leveson thing. Mouth stuffed with lovely, chewy gold?

[studpuppet]

The thing is, the voice and the character are so ingrained now, I don't even need to hear him to know how he'd say the first sentence here:

Steve Penk, The Steve Penk Wind-Up Channel
If you think Trevor Bayliss invented wind-up radio, think again. Penk is the master of the practical joke and is as creative and daring as ever. He once phoned me to say my daughter had lost an arm in a powerboating accident and it was "touch and go" if she'd pull through. I couldn't stop crying, even after I realised I'd been "penked". That's Steve!

[neveragain]

I was seriously disappointed by his decision to go with Sky Atlantic after the whole Leveson thing. Mouth stuffed with lovely, chewy gold?

Hmm... Well, it was either that or stick with the BBC, who'd probably go daft and put in silly plotlines like a... hostage situation or something.

[Paul Calf]

Imagine that...

[Ignatius_S]

I was seriously disappointed by his decision to go with Sky Atlantic after the whole Leveson thing. Mouth stuffed with lovely, chewy gold?

Doubtful. Sky tends to be pay a fair bit less than the Beeb and someone here has discussed this from the point of view of the writer. I went to a talk by a producer, who wryly commented that the advertising spend for his series (which included a flash mob) was considerably greater than the production budget for the show itself. Julia Davis pointed out about a drop in money when she did the Chekov Short, whilst Chris O'Dowd had (amusingly) commented that the shooting location comforts are far more frugal than usual.

With MMM, the Beeb wanted changes that the team didn't want:

Hmm... Well, it was either that or stick with the BBC, who'd probably go daft and put in silly plotlines like a... hostage situation or something.

The BBC didn't want the whole series being in the studio and wanted additional scenes of Alan outside – this was an anathema to the entire team, who felt that the Beeb was missing the point. Also, IIRC, the BBC would have put it on a pretty poor slot – going from memory, this was because as the show had been online, it didn't 'deserve' better.

Iannucci has explained the reasons why they went with Sky. Also, Henry Normal has also discussed why Baby Cow (lest we forget, BBC Worldwide is a significant shareholder) produces stuff for Sky. An early example is the excellent series of Chekhov Shorts they made – Normal pitched it hard to the BBC (and pointed out that it would coincide with the 150th anniversary of the great man's both) but it had absolutely no interest in producing that something like that whatsoever.

As per previous discussions, people have said they've found Sky to be a lot easier to get on with. Although I've been told this now has changed for the better, with Arts type of programmes, the BBC tended to have a very 'you need us, we don't need you' approach to production companies and were a nightmare to pitch to.

[Paul Calf]

Doubtful. Sky tends to be pay a fair bit less than the Beeb and someone here has discussed this from the point of view of the writer. I went to a talk by a producer, who wryly commented that the advertising spend for his series (which included a flash mob) was considerably greater than the production budget for the show itself. Julia Davis pointed out about a drop in money when she did the Chekov Short, whilst Chris O'Dowd had (amusingly) commented that the shooting location comforts are far more frugal than usual.

Fair enough, but I wonder whether Sky made an exception in this case. After all, Julia Davies hasn't recently been airing legitimate grievances about the conduct of Sky companies in a very public manner, right? Sky have the money to pay when they really want to. And Coogan clammed up quite suddenly about his privacy being violated.

[Ignatius_S]

Fair enough, but I wonder whether Sky made an exception in this case. After all, Julia Davies hasn't recently been airing legitimate grievances about the conduct of Sky companies in a very public manner, right? Sky have the money to pay when they really want to. And Coogan clammed up quite suddenly about his privacy being violated.

Oh, that's entirely possible (and I certainly wouldn't discount it) but would be (quite) surprised.

In terms of programme spend, Sky is very tight and are only interested in shows that they believe people will watch repeats of and that would likely go to another series. Although you could say the same for other broadcasters to a degree, Sky won't take a wild punt as others might. This ties into MMM – the format worked well online and Sky was quite happy to keep that format because it had worked.

What's consistently reported (and FWIW, with friends in the industry, have heard anecdotal evidence supporting this) is that Sky is keen on building good, enthusiastic working relationships – even if you're saying no to this project, you might want the next. Connected to that is that line-ups its executives are (or at least have been) very stable – so in the future, you know who you're dealing with and what they're like. With the BBC, it's very different – people change roles a lot and there was a collective 

Here's what Armando said about MMM and Sky: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/11/iannucci-alan-partridge-sky-bbc

Usually, I'm rather cynical when I keep hearing people saying 'it's not about the money' but because of all the stuff I've heard, am pretty confident generally that's what been happening. As I say, I wouldn't rule out that that's definitely the case (slight tangent, but am sure that some Sky Arts productions didn't skimp) but because of what Armando has said, feel that there were other big factors.

Re: phone hacking – I think it would get to the point where for a lot of people, it's 'time to move on' but sure it wouldn't be lost on Coogan that some people would be questioning if he continued taking a stance, why is he making stuff for Sky.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Coogan was working on stuff under the Newscorp umbrella post- having his bin raided by NOTW scum so it's not really a change of position. Partridge has been an occasional vehicle for Colbert style satire too so you have bits of counter culture embedded in there.

Personally I wouldn't work with Sky but working with the BBC these days is compromised given who is on the Trust.

[Paul Calf]

Maybe non-interference was Coogan's price, more so than money? Either way, the Murdoch Machine got what it wanted.