'''Bottom''' was a
British sitcom (aka
britcom) of the early
1990s (and later a series of stage shows) written by
Rik Mayall and
Adrian Edmondson. They were also the main stars, respectively playing Richard Richard (Richie) and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie), who share a flat in
Hammersmith, West
London. The programme ran for three seasons, and is noted for its derivation of comic effect from intentionally crude and highly violent slapstick.
The series theme tune is performed by
The Bum Notes -- a jazz ensemble featuring Edmondson. The memorable end-credits, featuring silhouettes of Edmondson and Mayall fighting and dancing, is a cover of "
Last Night" originally by
The Mar-Keys.
Origins and production notes
The idea for ''Bottom'' was spawned when, in
1991, Mayall and Edmondson co-starred in the West End production of
Samuel Beckett's ''
Waiting for Godot'' at the Queen's Theatre. Mayall and Edmondson have said ''Bottom'' was often aimed to be more than just a series of toilet gags but a cruder cousin to plays like ''Waiting for Godot'', about the pointlessness of life.
However, the origins of the characters are rooted much deeper. Mayall and Edmondson had been working together since the late 1970s when they teamed up as "
20th Century Coyote". Over the course of their career, they developed the characters of Richie and Eddie, based loosely on their own relationship. The names themselves come from Mayall's and Edmondson's own nicknames for each other - many of Mayall's characters are referred to by some variation of the name "Richard" and "Eddie" is taken from "Eddie Monsoon", Edmondson's nickname since University which is a play on his surname (compare with
Edina Monsoon in
Absolutely Fabulous, played by Edmondson's wife
Jennifer Saunders).
The duo would use characters similar to Eddie and Richie in ''
The Young Ones'' (Rick and Vyvyan, 1982 & 1984); ''
The Dangerous Brothers'' (Sir Richard Dangerous and Sir Adrian Dangerous, 1985); ''
Filthy Rich and Catflap'' (Richie Rich and Eddie Catflap, 1987); ''
Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door'' (names not mentioned, 1988); and finally in their adaptation of ''Waiting for Godot'' (1991). The series also continued an occasional trend (started with Vivyan in ''The Young Ones'') of Edmonson's character having a female name - in this case Edward Elizabeth Hitler.
Mayall and Edmonson originally planned to call the series ''Your Bottom'', intending viewers to say such things as "I saw Your Bottom on television last night". Eventually they settled for just ''Bottom'', which both suited the toilet humour of the series, and the fact that Richie and Eddie were 'at the bottom of life's heap'. It also provided the ability to produce episodes titled "
's Up" and "
's Out".
There are indications that the third broadcast episode, '
Contest', is actually the
pilot, the first episode to be filmed. Hints of this include Eddie actually having short hair instead of being bald, and subtle differences to the set. The episode also has strong parallels with ''Waiting for Godot'' about the pointlessness of life (a common theme in the series).
The series was scripted and filmed at thirty five minutes, with it being edited down to thirty minutes in post production. The original length scripts can be found in the several script books released, and several completely removed scenes were included in the 'Fluff' VHS release that comprised mostly of
bloopers &
out-takes. Several (but not all) of these scenes, as well as some smaller sections of dialogue also removed for timing reasons, have been re-inserted for DVD releases (although, maybe surprisingly, the packaging does not promote this fact).
The final episode of the second season, '
'S Out, was not shown as part of the original broadcasts nor initial repeat run. The episode was set on
Wimbledon Common, and also involved Richie and Eddie encountering a
flasher; after the episode was filmed but before it had aired,
Rachel Nickell was sexually assaulted and murdered in front of her young son on the Common on 1992 July 15; out of sensitivety, and with a mass hunt for the killer ensuing, the BBC decided not to broadcast the episode. It first appeared on the VHS release of series two, before finally being shown for the first time as part of a re-run of season two on April 10th 1995, following the first run of the third series.
Following season two, the series went out of production, with Edmonson and Mayall concentrating on other solo projects, as well as starting the very popular ''Bottom'' stage shows; but the series had been so well received that in late 1994, a third season was written and filmed, and broadcast at the start of 1995.
Despite Richie and Eddie seemingly being killed at the end of season three (something which also happened in several other episodes, only for them to reappear unharmed in the following episode), a fourth season was written, but turned down by the BBC. See 'More Bottom?' section for further details.
Richard "Richie" Richard & Edward Elizabeth "Eddie" Hitler
Richie is a perpetually optimistic dimwit, while Eddie is a cheerfully
violent dipsomaniac. Their arguments often lead to exaggerated, destructive fight scenes. Some have likened this to a live action
cartoon. However, the boisterousness is somewhat more graphic: examples include heads slammed in and under refrigerators; hands stapled to tables; legs being chainsawed off; genitalia slammed in doors or set on fire; fingers cut off; televisions smashed over heads; darts, forks, or fingers ending up in eyes; faces shoved in camp fires; legs broken or teeth knocked out. Some of the visual effects used for these events are very realistic, whereas others are deliberately fake. All are accompanied by a variety of over-the-top sound effects. Surprisingly, the
BBFC has given the ''Bottom: The Complete Series''
DVD a classification of '15', with a violence rating of "None".
Richie is known to be a
virgin (Eddie stole Richie's only ever "girlfriend", Ethel Cardue, and sometimes torments Richie with how he had sex with her), with a microscopic
penis (which he sometimes mistakes for his only
pube). However in the episode 'Digger' he almost has sex with a wealthy foreign countess, Lady Natasha Letitia Sarah Jane Wellesley Obstromsky Ponsonsky Smythe Smythe Smythe Smythe Oblomov Boblomov Dob, after he and Eddie join a dating agency. Towards the end of the episode, as Richie moves in to have sex with Lady Natasha he has an apparent heart attack, and is rushed to hospital. Whilst waiting for the ambulance, Eddie has sex with Lady Natasha, as he did Ethel (although in the episode 'Terror' in season three, Eddie looks distinctly nervous when Richie informs him that the Devil drinks virgin's blood).
Richard also tends to believe that any
woman who does not fancy him must be a
lesbian. He is also unsure of the decade, claiming in the same episode (
Carnival), that it is both the 80s and then 70s later on- with a bemused Eddie looking to the camera at both times. Richie usually wears a white shirt (tucked into his
Y-fronts) and slim black tie (with tie clip), blue jeans (with a belt that clearly misses most of the loops) and has a light brown raincoat. He also occasionally wears brown trousers, held up with braces, and a red tie. His character is aspirational, pretentious, and occasionally a snob.
Eddie is an alcoholic (he claims that this is because he "drinks a lot"). He wears
glasses akin to those of
Eric Morecambe, a brown suit and a white shirt with a black spotted tie (Which he tucks inside his trousers). Despite having a shaven head, he sports
sideburns. He also has a brown
trilby hat and a tweed coat. He has two real friends, called Spudgun (
Steve O'Donnell) and Dave Hedgehog (
Christopher Ryan) who has a wife called Susan and a daughter named Doreen who appered in the episode " Terror" . Richie does not have any friends and sometimes appropriates Spudgun and Dave if in need of company, even though he despises them (particularly Spudgun) and considers them beneath him.
Richie and Eddie bear perhaps closer inspection than any of Mayall and Edmondson's other characters. Despite sharing a deep mutual hatred, the two are eternally entwined due to their basic flaws. Eddie's alcoholism and violent nature mean that he has not been able to hold down a steady
job since his very short-lived career as a "
bunny girl", back in
1978, and it is unlikely that any
landlord would grant him tenancy, even if he could afford the
rent. He is therefore forced to rely upon Richie's
charity. Richie, on the other hand, is such a pompous, self-obsessed, perverted, wittering git that, without Eddie, it is unlikely that he would make another friend. The two have an unspoken acceptance of their interdependence and their relationship tends to fluctuate between acting like a married couple (filling in the
crossword together, Richie putting an unconscious Eddie to bed every night), a mother and son (Richie often keeping Eddie 'in check' and scolding him, and often putting to an end to his fun, often out of sheer spite even though Richie would like to indulge himself) and frustrated (often violent) desperation: so much so that both have attempted
suicide — Eddie drinking
bleach (drunkenly) and Richie drinking poisoned milk and trying to
gas himself in the oven (an attempt at "guilting" Eddie into buying him a drink). In fact, both men have died in numerous episodes, only to resurface unharmed the following episode. This partnership has similarities to those of ''
Steptoe and Son'', and
Hancock and
Sid in ''
Hancock's Half Hour''.
Richie is in heavy
denial and has
delusions of grandeur. He once tried to convince a
Falklands ex-serviceman that he had fought ten years there, seizing the fictitious "Straud Hill" and liberated the
Stanley branch of
Tesco). Eddie, in comparison is grounded and seems to have quite good general knowledge, which he keeps to himself. He can play chess (and spends seven hours trying, unsuccessfully, to teach Richie), he knows a fair amount about
Napoleon and
Wellington (who Richie claims invented the
Chelsea Boot) and appears well versed in the works of
Vivaldi, (whom Richie believes to be a
football player). Eddie is also a great one for plans - though most involve trying to get a free pint from Dick Head, the
landlord at the Lamb and Flag. One such scheme, in the episode "Dough", involved Eddie printing
counterfeit money, which he plasters with
pornographic doodles of the
Royal Family and other such celebrities (on the
£5 the
Queen "gets her jugs out", on the £10 note there is an
orgy involving Meryl Streep, the
Duke of Edinburgh and
Bobby Charlton, and on the £27 note there is a picture of
Sylvester Stallone "
fisting" Mr MacHenry (from ''
The Magic Roundabout'')).
Richie and Eddie's relatives are often mentioned: Richie's grandad was at the
Battle of the Somme, while Eddie's uncle used to work in a prison, sewing mailbags and doing anything they told him to do. Richie's auntie is very rich and dies in one episode with her nephew inheriting a large sum of money. Richie's dad, Oswald Richard, was an acquaintance of
Adolf Hitler and betrayed
Britain in
World War II. According to Richie, his dad moved in mysterious circles, because he had one leg shorter than the other. Richie's sister lives near Hammersmith and apparently looks just like her brother, albeit "with smaller jugs". Eddie's mother was a wrestler named "Adolf Hitler".
The stage shows
Rik Mayall on the set of ''Bottom Live 2''. 'Eddie, get down here this instant and help me unload my vegetables!'
Five live theatre shows have been spun off over the years, and have been extremely popular. The two performers often (apparently)
corpse and forget their lines and have to
ad lib. (Most notably in the 1993 live show in which the duo try and get through about three scripted lines in seven minutes). However, some audience members have reported that there are regular points in repeat performances where the duo supposedly forget their lines, indicating that some of these instances may in fact be planned (this is possibly in response to the above mentioned seven minutes, which proved very popular with the audience). They also often make fun of the town/city in which they are playing by making the locals out to be stupid; Eddie often makes references to local pubs. These productions are far cruder than the television incarnation, and feature new elements such as Richie's latent
homosexuality and desire to have sex with Eddie (it can be presumed that, by this stage, Richie has become so desperate to have sex that he is willing to do it with anyone or anything). Invariably, a member of the audience will shout out the phrase "Have a
wank!" which was then used as a mass audience heckle in the ''Weapons Grade Y-Fronts'' show.
''Guest House Paradiso''
Australian DVD Cover for "Guest House Paradiso"
Following the 1997 "Hooligan's Island" tour, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson wrote a spin-off movie together, which Edmondson directed, entitled ''
Guest House Paradiso'', released in 1999. It uses characters based on the Richie and Eddie characters used by the pair for much of their careers, the differing situation (in which Richie and Eddie run Britains worst guesthouse next to a nuclear power station) suggests that the characters have fled to the south coast complete with different surnames ("Richard Twat/Thwaite" and "Eddie Elizabeth Ndingobamba") after returning from Hooligan's Island and discovering that they are still hunted for regicide, after killing the queen in The Big Number 2 Tour.
More ''Bottom''?
Though the pair are currently working apart, a fourth season was written, but the BBC declined the script, despite announcing that ''Bottom'' would return in a voice-over during the end-credits of the original broadcast of the final episode. (Mayall has commented, in typical style, that it was "rejected by some lesbian bitch"). Edmondson has, however, stated in interviews that he would like to make another season of ''Bottom'' with Mayall, but "in about fifteen years' time, when they are old men." Rik Mayall maintains that they will work together again in the future, they just need "a good idea."
However, in December 2004, almost exactly one year after the ''Weapons Grade Y-Fronts'' tour had ended, Adrian Edmondson told the British
Daily Mirror newspaper that the pair felt it was "[...] definitely time to stop. We're both getting too old. We both realised that the show wasn't as engaging as it used to be. We were starting to look a bit ridiculous. [...] We're both nearly fifty and we're starting to feel slightly undignified talking about wanking and knobs constantly."
[1] This statement may indicate the end of the long-running stage shows, but leaves possibility for a return to the small screen at some point.
Episodes list
Season 1 (1991)
| 'Title' | 'First broadcast' | 'Synopsis' |
| ''Smells'' | 1991-09-17 | Richie and Eddie take advantage of a revolutionary new sex-spray and head to the Pub. |
| ''Gas'' | 1991-09-24 | After accidentally killing the Gas Man, Richie and Eddie must remove an illegal gas connection without disturbing their violent neighbour. |
| ''Contest'' | 1991-09-30 | The pair place a bet on the "Miss World" contest. |
| ''Apocalypse'' | 1991-10-07 | Richie receives bad news from a Gypsy fortune teller. |
| '''s Up'' | 1991-10-14 | Richie and Eddie are left in charge of their landlord's shop. |
| ''Accident'' | 1991-10-28 | Richie breaks his leg, but is determined not to let it spoil his birthday celebrations. |
Season 2 (1992)
Season 3 (1995)
| 'Title' | 'First broadcast' | 'Synopsis' |
| ''Hole'' | 1995-01-06 | Richie and Eddie are trapped at the top the tallest Ferris wheel in western Europe which is due to be blown up the very next day. |
| ''Terror'' | 1995-01-13 | The pair plan a Halloween party and go trick or treating. |
| ''Break'' | 1995-01-20 | The duo prepare for their holidays |
| ''Dough'' | 1995-01-27 | Eddie begins forging money, and as a result the duo and their friends must enter a pub quiz, to pay off a thug. |
| ''Finger'' | 1995-02-03 | The pair go on a romantic weekend away disguised as Mr and Mrs Cannonball Taffy O'Jones |
| ''Carnival'' | 1995-02-10 | Richie and Eddie try to make videos for the BBC |
Live Shows
A performance of each live show was recorded and released on
VHS and later
DVD.
See also
★
List of British sitcoms turned into films
External links
★
BBC comedy guide for ''Bottom''
★
British Sitcom Guide
★
Phill.co.uk Comedy Guide
★
Open Directory Project entry for ''Bottom''
★
British Film Institute Screen Online
★
Britfilm's review of ''Guest House Paradiso''
★
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