This Time with Alan Partridge series 2

[beanheadmcginty]

I reckon there's money to be made for the enterprising person who starts selling replicas of those tooth pin badges.

[buttgammon]

I reckon there's money to be made for the enterprising person who starts selling replicas of those tooth pin badges.

Some Alan Partridge merchandise site got shut down by the BBC recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if they have merchandising ambitions.

[Hugl]

Has the story behind the tooth badge been explained anywhere?

[BeardFaceMan]

I think only in print, I think it was mentioned in the promo stuff for the first series of TT.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I think only in print, I think it was mentioned in the promo stuff for the first series of TT.

Yeah, it's mentioned here: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/17/steve-coogan-alan-partridge-back-bbc-love-hate-relationship but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's been referred to in the series.

[olliebean]

I reckon there's money to be made for the enterprising person who starts selling replicas of those tooth pin badges.

This looks pretty close (may even be it): https://www.amazon.co.uk/CoSunny-Dentist-Children-Clothes-Accessories/dp/B07SZGXGJW

[BeardFaceMan]

Yeah, it's mentioned here: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/17/steve-coogan-alan-partridge-back-bbc-love-hate-relationship but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's been referred to in the series.

Yeah I think he's been wearing the badge for every episode but this was indeed the first time it was mentioned out loud.

[poodlefaker]

I also hate things where the famous guest/character is a stand-in shot from the back. But that is purely a personal thing.

I thought for a split second it was Rebecca Front and we were going to see the interview.

[markburgle]

Same. Enjoyed the first 1/3 and really laughed at Alan setting Simon up on the Anne's, and Simon's response. The rest of it was perhaps too dense and I was quite tense watching it. Lots of nice bits though - it just didn't drag me along enough like last week's (for example)

I also hate things where the famous guest/character is a stand-in shot from the back. But that is purely a personal thing.

I thought it was good how they showed her though, I thought we were being set up for another no-show a la Roger Moore, or that they'd find some other way to swerve away from it

[paruses]

I thought it was good how they showed her though, I thought we were being set up for another no-show a la Roger Moore, or that they'd find some other way to swerve away from it

Yes I meant to add I thought they were going to go Roger Moore but having her there was necessary for the narrative.

I thought there was one point where there was a lot of Stan Laurel in Coogan's face - I think it was just as he was on the sofa having found out he wouldn't be doing the interview.

[markpaterson]

I thought it was good how they showed her though, I thought we were being set up for another no-show a la Roger Moore, or that they'd find some other way to swerve away from it

Princess Anne is a towel thief

[popcorn]

I don't really like the tooth badge, I think it's one of those riddlesome Gibbons devices that just adds distraction and doesn't feel right for the character.

[Better Midlands]

I thought there was one point where there was a lot of Stan Laurel in Coogan's face

Yep, I caught that too.

[DJ Bob Hoskins]

Just watched this and loved it.

Now that, Ricky Gervais, is how you write a Robot Grief Dog scene.

The craftsmen who wrote this earned it by building the pathos slowly over time, drip-feeding incidental insights into the relationship between dog and owner across meticulously-written books, podcasts and TV shows. The loss of the one thing that filled the hole in the main character's emotional centre in recent years leads to the payoff when he, still in his grieving state, warms to the robot buddy who terrified him previously. What they didn't do is just have Alan introduce a dog, kill it off immediately, bawl in the vet's for a bit and then get a new one with a fucking sausage for a tail.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Exactly! Beautifully put, Mr DJ.

[St_Eddie]

During the part where Alan punches Simon, I thought back to him knocking out Tony Hayers with a turkey on his fist and remembering how much funnier it was.  Both series of This Time have been something of a damp squib.  It's dramatically interesting but it just hasn't been particularly funny.  The whole show's been a bit off-kilter and frustratingly inconsistent.  I wanted to like it more, I really did.

[kidsick5000]

I liked the comments about how the cleaner wanted paying more to clean his cottage after his weekend away. Added to Alan's reluctance to really talk about the weekend and his disappearance after the night of passion with Tiff (and her having to get the train back) kind of hinted at bleak goings on in the Partridge holiday bedroom that night.

But only £20 more. So it can't be that horrific, can it. Chocolate mousse again?
Or is it something Tiff wanted to try out but disgusted Alan? If it had been his doing, surely he'd have tried to get her sacked or put on a different show to limit the talk?

[Bently Sheds]

But only £20 more. So it can't be that horrific, can it. Chocolate mousse again?

I dunno, Alan probably only pays £5 an hour, the shit.

[BeardFaceMan]

But only £20 more. So it can't be that horrific, can it. Chocolate mousse again?
Or is it something Tiff wanted to try out but disgusted Alan? If it had been his doing, surely he'd have tried to get her sacked or put on a different show to limit the talk?

It was 2 hours extra, so an awful lot of chocolate mousse, the dirty get. He probably got her to put her hands on his shoulders so they could dance around the room.

[paruses]

It doesn't all have to be sex mess. I imagine once they were in Cornwall he realised she was "a bit of a handful". There's probably a lot of cleaning in the kitchen and bathroom and general rubbish in bottle and ready meal form. I think his not wanting to talk about it is just Alan doesn't want to relive the memory as a whole - but I bet the sex stuff was traumatic too.

No judgement on her - if you're reading this, Tiff, get in touch!

[BlodwynPig]

Same, surely the real Anne would have done this for real. Did they even ask her office?

[Captain Z]

When stuff about photos came up I wondered if we were being pushed in the direction of Tiff having 'blacked up' Alan as part of some kind of sex game during the weekend, hence the mess in the cottage.

[sevendaughters]

Thought it was just lovely that Simon flawlessly worked the digiwall and airdrop just when it came to stitching Alan up.

[paruses]

I thought the photos were going to be connected to the weekend with Tiff. I suppose that was Simon's joke but Alan has had this skeleton in his mind closet probably since starting back at the super-woke BBC.

[BeardFaceMan]

I thought they were going to make more of Simon doing his first video piece and doing presenting on the sofa, that idea seemed to come and go.

[Thomas]

I thought they were going to make more of Simon doing his first video piece and doing presenting on the sofa, that idea seemed to come and go.

Whenever we catch up with Alan again - presumably locked out of the BBC for good - I expect that Simon will still be working on This Time, possibly on the sofa.

[Mr Trumpet]

I thought they were going to make more of Simon doing his first video piece and doing presenting on the sofa, that idea seemed to come and go.

They ended the previous series with Simon doing a sofa bit - the fashion show with the models.

[popcorn]

They ended the previous series with Simon doing a sofa bit - the fashion show with the models.

One of my favourite recent Alan bits: Simon feeling the material and saying "yeah decent".

[BeardFaceMan]

They ended the previous series with Simon doing a sofa bit - the fashion show with the models.

That was a bit different though, he was filling in in an emergency with the fashion show, when Jennie walked off. This series he went to the producers behind Alan's back and asked to do a pre-taped piece, along with more sofa work, I was expecting that to escalate a bit more.

[pigamus]

Same, surely the real Anne would have done this for real. Did they even ask her office?

But then we would have been deprived of that brilliant lookalike