Topic: New Alan Partridge Podcast & This Time S2 Coming

[Gurke and Hare]

Again, Amazon is an evil company so I would understand not supporting them on that basis. But from a consumer perspective Audible is an unbelievably flexible, generous service that will literally give you the books you want free with no strings attached. I am slightly alarmed by the hoops people are jumping through to circumvent using it.

It's not true that there are no strings attached though. There's a big string attached, that they can use to yank it back if they feel like. You have access to it for as long as Audible exists. I'd happily pay the full price for it if they allowed me to download some DRM-free files that I know I'll always have access to. Given how easily it can be got for free, it's not even as if the DRM is serving any purpose.

[popcorn]

It's not true that there are no strings attached though. There's a big string attached, that they can use to yank it back if they feel like. You have access to it for as long as Audible exists. I'd happily pay the full price for it if they allowed me to download some DRM-free files that I know I'll always have access to. Given how easily it can be got for free, it's not even as if the DRM is serving any purpose.

That's daft. If the Audible service suddenly vanishes (which is highly unlikely) then you can still pirate the audiobooks. Makes no difference.

Given how easily it can be got for free

The easiest way to get From the Oasthouse free is to use Audible. I mean if we're talking sheer convenience, there's no contest.

[I.D. Smith]

Officially (going by the canon laid out in I, Partridge) it's all in the same universe as The Day Today, the mind boggles.

In my mind, The Day Today that exists in the KMKY/IAP/MMM/IP etc Alan Partridge world is a more grounded in reality news show, i.e. no Bomb Dogs or reanimated corpses acting as executioners being reported on. The way the Day Today is described in the book, from what I recall, has Alan at standard, mundane production meeting with Chris Morris, Michael O'Hanrahan etc, and the way the scene is laid out it gives the impression that they aren't the same heightened, exaggerated characters[1] they are from the TV show, which kind of helps my mind accept this as my own answer. So The Day Today that we seen on TV isn't in the same universe[2] as KMKY/IAP etc.

Mental gymnastics, I guess, but it works for me. If in 'I, Partridge' something Day Today level surreal happened or was even referenced, then it would be harder to compartmentalise like that, for me anyway.

1.	I suppose a bit like the way Batman is a standard character template, but then you have the more cartoony Tim Burton Batman, the Nolan reality-based Batman, the fantasy Arkham games Batman, and so on. They are all Batman, but they're not all the same universe. Although, from what I understand they are now, via the Arrowverse stuff, but that's another matter
2.	Urgh, sorry: feel a bit naff using "universe" in relation to Alan Partridge, like it's some serious-discussion Marvel lore or something, but I couldn't think of a better word

[BeardFaceMan]

I just put that part of thing down to Partridge being an unreliable narrator, we see lots of instances in the first book of descriptions of events or situations from TV shows that are very different when coming from Alans point of view. Seeing as TDT, KMKY, IAP etc are all mentioned in the book you'd have to say they're all in the same universe. That's one of the things that makes Partridge so great, they make an effort to tie all this stuff together.

[jamiefairlie]

Did he not make allusion to being drugged that explained to the surreal things that happened on TDT e.g. his wife dying and reanimating?

[St_Eddie]

Regarding the wanker, I quite like the idea that everyone involved with the show dislikes him so much that they'll happily let that sort of thing stay in the edit.

My own headcanon approach to This Time is that it's a Christmas tape type of deal; the crew of the show grew to hate Alan so much, due to his behaviour behind the scenes, that someone in the editing suite put together an alternate version of six of the episodes, comprised of raw footage and blunders in order to show up Alan and then secretly passed it around as a bootleg among lower level staff at the BBC.  We the viewers at home are watching that bootleg, which had leaked at some point online.

I know that the above absolutely wasn't the intent of Coogan and co but it's how I'm able to square the odd inconsistencies and plausibility stretching moments of what would and wouldn't be broadcast within my own mind.

It's not true that there are no strings attached though. There's a big string attached, that they can use to yank it back if they feel like. You have access to it for as long as Audible exists. I'd happily pay the full price for it if they allowed me to download some DRM-free files that I know I'll always have access to. Given how easily it can be got for free, it's not even as if the DRM is serving any purpose.

Indeed.  It's yet another example of paying customers being given a worse end product than the people who pirate said product.  It's ridiculous.  It's why I refuse to support any kind of service which comes with DRM restrictions (e.g. Steam) and go out of my way to support ones which respect their customer (e.g. GOG).  If I pay for something then I shouldn't be getting a worse deal than those who pirate it (monetary transactions aside).

Urgh, sorry: feel a bit naff using "universe" in relation to Alan Partridge, like it's some serious-discussion Marvel lore or something, but I couldn't think of a better word

Meh.  If the lore of men in spandex with super powers hitting each other is worthy of "serious-discussion" than so too is the lore of Alan Partridge.

[dr_christian_troy]

Last night I had a dream that Alan was living in a house share in Norwich City Centre. He was really happy with the view of the Cathedral from the balcony but was a bit overwhelmed as to how large the television was in the lounge and jumped every time a face appeared on the screen. He also didn't realise that his housemates were running a brothel, with a dungeon area being excused as one of the housemate's "medieval collection".

[Magnum Valentino]

Alan... was a bit overwhelmed as to how large the television was in the lounge and jumped every time a face appeared on the screen

Amazing. Your subconscious imagination is deadly boss.