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March 28, 2024, 03:29:36 PM

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This Time with Alan Partridge series 2

Started by Wayman C. McCreery, April 14, 2021, 03:31:40 PM

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Glebe

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 20, 2021, 01:31:55 PM
Well fuck my hat.

You can fuck my hat too, thanks for that info Magnum!

Sigh... new page Partridge twat.

An tSaoi

I still don't believe it though. I mean, I believe the anecdote, but I don't think it really counts.

Thomas

It's a nice touch for the live audience, and it facilitates an in-character audio commentary, but it doesn't work for the broader Partridge world (this ostensible reconstructive documentary also wasn't mentioned in I, Partridge, surely the concrete font of canonised Alan). When I watch IAP, I don't think I'm seeing Alan - suddenly a fine actor - willingly recreating embarrassing moments from his life with a cast of actors and a camera crew. Like Alpha Papa, it's a third-person, God's-eye-view into his life.

However, Alpha Papa also had a meta trailer, and he showed up to the premiere. There a loads of Alans running around, breaching one another's universes. Alan: Endgame.

notjosh

Quote from: Wayman C. McCreery on April 20, 2021, 11:00:05 AM
Interview with Alan here: https://www.chortle.co.uk/interviews/2021/04/20/48253/i'm_part_of_the_furniture_-_one_of_the_good_ones_like_an_elegant_sideboard

Though the most interesting thing is the press shot that suggests Natasha Demetriou will be a regular.

Why is Alan's PA, Lynn Benfield, in the press shot for a show in which she does not appear? Hope someone got fired for that gaffe.

Alan deserves to be in the next "People who have aged well" thread. Must be that time-travel gymnasium.

Avril Lavigne

Quote from: notjosh on April 20, 2021, 03:15:13 PM
Why is Alan's PA, Lynn Benfield, in the press shot for a show in which she does not appear? Hope someone got fired for that gaffe.

Well, we don't know that she doesn't appear in the new series.

mr. logic

Quote from: notjosh on April 20, 2021, 03:15:13 PM
Why is Alan's PA, Lynn Benfield, in the press shot for a show in which she does not appear? Hope someone got fired for that gaffe.

This thread is developing into that slightly, isn't it? I mean, come on lads.

chveik

i just hope it'll be funny. i've never been arsed about canons

H-O-W-L

Quote from: Thomas on April 20, 2021, 02:12:24 PM
However, Alpha Papa also had a meta trailer, and he showed up to the premiere. There a loads of Alans running around, breaching one another's universes. Alan: Endgame.

I think elements like this, and Coogan appearing in-character on Comic Relief and even in real-world interview shows and magazines and stuff, is why I've always been cigs about whether or not This Time is "NOT REAL ENOUGH" or whatever. Alan exists between mediums and his shows have always been centered around him -- gaffes and all -- even if it stretches believability. Nobody's brought up how fucking mental it would be for a purportedly real news show to paste Alan's head onto a bouncing football in TDT or the incredible creepiness of Schneider's weatherman -- it was part of the bloody show! It was part of the bloody gag!

It isn't trying to be The Day Two-Day or On The Hourerer or even Knowing Me Knowing Two, it's its own thing. The contrivances beyond the medium of This Time are there to facilitate the plot as it was constructed. It's like throwing a book across the room because the perspective hops from one character to another. "That can't happen!" you scream, as you throw twenty quid of hardback dragon bollocks down the stairs. "People don't go into one another's heads!" -- It's how the story is being told. Any of whom dislike it are in your right to not find it your cup of tea, but to pretend it's some objective flaw of construction rather than just something you don't like is baffling. It's not like there isn't enough Partridge to go around nowadays.

pigamus

Either you don't agree with the arguments on the other side or you plain haven't understood them, but nobody is "pretending" and nothing "baffling" is happening.

Echo Valley 2-6809

Quote from: Thomas on April 20, 2021, 02:12:24 PM
However, Alpha Papa also had a meta trailer, and he showed up to the premiere.

As did missing, presumed dead Michael.



"Michael, what the hell's going on?"


markburgle

Quote from: Thomas on April 19, 2021, 11:14:23 PM
There's a similar moment in Oasthouse, I think, when he complains about people asking why his hair was long when the siege happened at North Norfolk Digital. Made me laugh.

Yeah the hair thing seems like some kind of locus of Coogan's frustration over the nit-picky side of fandom, as he also ran through the same complaints on the commentary track for the movie. They're funny though so I'm always happy to hear them

Magnum Valentino

Quote from: Thomas on April 20, 2021, 02:12:24 PM
However, Alpha Papa also had a meta trailer, and he showed up to the premiere. There a loads of Alans running around, breaching one another's universes. Alan: Endgame.

Yeah, I met 'Alan Partridge' at a book signing for Nomad in London. Dressed as Alan, responded to people who addressed him as Alan as Alan, quite surreal.

I just thanked Steve Coogan ("Steve") for years of laughter as I'm irrepressably sentimental and he's probably the most deeply burrowed comedy thing in my brain and I fucking love him.

ajsmith2

Quote from: Magnum Valentino on April 21, 2021, 10:38:41 AM
Yeah, I met 'Alan Partridge' at a book signing for Nomad in London. Dressed as Alan, responded to people who addressed him as Alan as Alan, quite surreal.


I can imagine it'd be incredibly hard to do a book signing in character. I mean they sound like they could be grueling enough when celebrities just have to act polite and engaged to a succession of fans for hours on end, but to attempt to stay in character for each fan interaction, esp such a storied character with such high expectations attached?

I'm fascinated by how he approached it: was he polite? You'd be kind of disappointed if he was, there would surely have to be some kind of on brand awkwardness or rudeness or anal retentiveness to each interaction to really make it a proper Partridge experience, but how could Coogan be expected to keep that going all day put on the spot to improvise again and again? Did he have a few stock lines to fall back on as he signed the book and handed it over? Be interested to hear anything you remember about how he was.

Thomas

I'm only being tongue-in-cheek when I nitpick as we wait for a new series, but there's a fine long tradition of fans figuring out the 'truth' of a fictional world. Sherlock Holmes had a bunch of Edwardian nerds scurrying around with pipes and magnifying glasses trying to reconcile contradictions between the stories.

Quote from: Avril Lavigne on April 20, 2021, 04:46:14 PM
Well, we don't know that she doesn't appear in the new series.

Yeah, she was an integral on-screen part of the Monty Don sting in series 1. I could easily see her being brought back because the public loved her. #bringbacklynn #DONTY

popcorn

I also met Alan on the book signing. He did an excellent job.

I said "It's good to see you back in the public eye, Alan." He said, "It's where I belong."

I recall him doing a very effective "worried face" when posing for photos with fans. In a way doing it as Alan might have been liberating as he could let what is probably a genuine "this is awkward and strange, and half these people are freaks and bores" feeling come to the surface in the form of various inappropriate Alan interactions.

I think he had a few preloaded statements and things to bring up in conversation with the crowd. I remember him saying "I'm very very pro-car. And very very anti-cyclist."

Tikwid

Quote from: ajsmith2 on April 21, 2021, 10:51:24 AM
I can imagine it'd be incredibly hard to do a book signing in character. I mean they sound like they could be grueling enough when celebrities just have to act polite and engaged to a succession of fans for hours on end, but to attempt to stay in character for each fan interaction, esp such a storied character with such high expectations attached?

I'm fascinated by how he approached it: was he polite? You'd be kind of disappointed if he was, there would surely have to be some kind of on brand awkwardness or rudeness or anal retentiveness to each interaction to really make it a proper Partridge experience, but how could Coogan be expected to keep that going all day put on the spot to improvise again and again? Did he have a few stock lines to fall back on as he signed the book and handed it over? Be interested to hear anything you remember about how he was.
Can't find it on Youtube but there's a clip of someone turning up to a Nomad signing with a Jed Maxwell-type Alan chest drawing - I think he responds tongue-in-cheek with "get this man escorted from the premises" but it must be quite gruelling to have to deal with all those people quoting the same old bits, giving him Toblerones or damaged chocolate oranges or whatever. (Though I do like this tiny moment, a little slice of Partridge for someone who wasn't even at the signing proper - reminds me of a similar micro-interaction with another celebrity Alan)

amateur

Fair play he's going at a right old lick.

An tSaoi

Coogan's resisted the urge to have Partridge acknowledge the existence of the famous actor Steve Coogan, hasn't he? Admirable restraint. I know Borat has mentioned Sacha Baron-Cohen, and I've never liked that kind of thing.

Of course, this being CaB, I'm awaiting someone posting a rare clip of Alan talking about Coogan to prove me wrong.

Utter Shit

Quote from: Tikwid on April 21, 2021, 10:59:32 AM
Can't find it on Youtube but there's a clip of someone turning up to a Nomad signing with a Jed Maxwell-type Alan chest drawing - I think he responds tongue-in-cheek with "get this man escorted from the premises" but it must be quite gruelling to have to deal with all those people quoting the same old bits, giving him Toblerones or damaged chocolate oranges or whatever. (Though I do like this tiny moment, a little slice of Partridge for someone who wasn't even at the signing proper - reminds me of a similar micro-interaction with another celebrity Alan)

I was at the signing where that happened, it was Brighton Waterstones (unless it's happened more than once). It was just a bit embarrassing for everyone involved, as soon as it was over everyone just pretended it hadn't happened.

neveragain

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 21, 2021, 01:38:28 PM
Coogan's resisted the urge to have Partridge acknowledge the existence of the famous actor Steve Coogan, hasn't he? Admirable restraint. I know Borat has mentioned Sacha Baron-Cohen, and I've never liked that kind of thing.

You won't like Barry Humphries then.

Thomas

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 21, 2021, 01:38:28 PM
Coogan's resisted the urge to have Partridge acknowledge the existence of the famous actor Steve Coogan, hasn't he? Admirable restraint. I know Borat has mentioned Sacha Baron-Cohen, and I've never liked that kind of thing.

Of course, this being CaB, I'm awaiting someone posting a rare clip of Alan talking about Coogan to prove me wrong.

The closest is probably this moment in Clive Anderson's interview, when Alan expresses bemusement at the idea of a spoof chatshow.

The Clive Anderson interview is canon until they get round to promoting IAP at the end.

I love his in-character appearances. Much funnier and more enjoyable than having Coogan deliver a straightforward interview. He deftly wafts aside someone in the audience shouting 'Dan!' at the start of his Jonathan Ross appearance. Gary Barlow and Tulisa trying to look stoic when he disses Louis Walsh at 3:40.

BeardFaceMan

Obviously Coogan is a great writer and actor, but he doesn't get his dues for his skills as an improvisor. He's fucking excellent at it, he never looks like floundering when hes doing appearances as Alan, he always has as answer and it always makes sense for the character.

Characters mentioning their creators always makes my shit itch though, it's one trope I can't stand because it very rarely comes off as anything other than smug.

Magnum Valentino

Quote from: ajsmith2 on April 21, 2021, 10:51:24 AM

I'm fascinated by how he approached it: was he polite? You'd be kind of disappointed if he was, there would surely have to be some kind of on brand awkwardness or rudeness or anal retentiveness to each interaction to really make it a proper Partridge experience, but how could Coogan be expected to keep that going all day put on the spot to improvise again and again? Did he have a few stock lines to fall back on as he signed the book and handed it over? Be interested to hear anything you remember about how he was.

If I'm honest, I remember it as a lovely interaction. He's been in showbiz for long enough that he's probably expert at fluffing people but he seemed a tiny wee bit touched at my very open and genuine praise, and yeah, he was polite and I felt like I'd said something to Steve, not Alan. I must ask my wife when she's home what she remembers of the signing. There were louts, aye, a lot of people shouting catchphrases and he did seem to be dealing with things with a cache of answers he'd obviously prepared in reserve. A lot of requests for photos too, and indeed, quite good at doing the worried face as mentioned above.

Coogan is quite adept at improvisation which is why his appearances as Alan work even without his usual crew of writers. It's clear how much of the character (pettiness, pedantry, car love, interest in music and other elements of his political leanings) is Steve Coogan now, as opposed to the original Lee and Herring sketches where his material was really just a delivery system for their gags, same as the Green Desk sketches and the other cutaway bits of On The Hour.

I doubt Coogan would be as good with language as when he's with Armando/Marber, Armando/Baynham or Rob and Neil Gibbons, but he could hold his own as Alan for hours, I reckon.

In this picture, between customers, he really looks like he's expressing some kind of frustration. There's a "for fuck's sake" to that tightly clenched smile, I think.

Also, where in the name of fuck do people host images nowadays to link to in situations like this, because there's a big dorty watermark on this and it's massive.


Glebe

Quote from: Tikwid on April 21, 2021, 10:59:32 AMThough I do like this tiny moment, a little slice of Partridge for someone who wasn't even at the signing proper

Decent impression!

brownjam

Quote from: An tSaoi on April 21, 2021, 01:38:28 PM
Coogan's resisted the urge to have Partridge acknowledge the existence of the famous actor Steve Coogan, hasn't he?

Not sure if this counts, but I always found a bit strange when Partridge would mention Coogan by name every week in the closing 'credits' of the old Radio 4 KMKY series

vainsharpdad

Has Partridge ever played The Mock Turtles?

holyzombiejesus

I wonder which of the two party leaders Alan prefers. I imagine he'd feel spoilt for choice.

Ornlu