As with all the bottom episodes, it's a
classic.
By the way, I can't see you all, but I bet you're all wearing smashing blouses!
5 Reviews
Genius from the late great Rik Mayall
richy_payne15 February 2019
Was Initially The Pilot Episode
slightlymad2225 December 2014
A poorer episode of "Bottom" this time around.
Plot In A Paragraph: Eddie comes home after having a very bad day at work and gets into an argument with Richie when Richie learns Eddie has spent £11.80 on a second hand copy of a Parade magazine which they had to last them for 2 months. But Richie finds Eddie has spent the rest of the money and place a bet on the Miss World competition and has placed a bet on Miss China.
Turns out this was the first show of "Bottom" to be filmed at the BBC and was filmed in 1989, 2 years prior to the first series broadcast and it was originally filmed and intended to be the pilot, which establishes the characters of Richie and Eddie. However (#1.1) was the first show broadcast and instead(#1.3) became the 3rd show transmitted.
That makes sense as this is not as good as the previous two episodes and those two will have been used to hook the audience in. A poor pilot could have resulted in nobody watching the second episode.
Plot In A Paragraph: Eddie comes home after having a very bad day at work and gets into an argument with Richie when Richie learns Eddie has spent £11.80 on a second hand copy of a Parade magazine which they had to last them for 2 months. But Richie finds Eddie has spent the rest of the money and place a bet on the Miss World competition and has placed a bet on Miss China.
Turns out this was the first show of "Bottom" to be filmed at the BBC and was filmed in 1989, 2 years prior to the first series broadcast and it was originally filmed and intended to be the pilot, which establishes the characters of Richie and Eddie. However (#1.1) was the first show broadcast and instead(#1.3) became the 3rd show transmitted.
That makes sense as this is not as good as the previous two episodes and those two will have been used to hook the audience in. A poor pilot could have resulted in nobody watching the second episode.
Richie and Eddie abuse each other for 30 minutes
snoozejonc30 September 2020
Richie and Eddie argue over money and what to watch on television.
The plot is particularly minimal in this episode as it's really just a series of arguments, insults and excuses for the central two characters to abuse each other. However, they do it in typically hilarious fashion as always.
This one feels different to the others, as another reviewer points out as it was intended as the pilot episode. Production values feel lower and we see very little of the violent slapstick routines of later episodes.
If you are Rik and Ade fans though, you will enjoy it as much as any episode for their performances. Rik Mayall in particular is so funny with mere body language and facial expression he's awe inspiring to watch. My favourite part is when he loses it and repeatedly tells Eddie to "Sod off". Just look at his manic, insane energy during these few lines. So funny!
The plot is particularly minimal in this episode as it's really just a series of arguments, insults and excuses for the central two characters to abuse each other. However, they do it in typically hilarious fashion as always.
This one feels different to the others, as another reviewer points out as it was intended as the pilot episode. Production values feel lower and we see very little of the violent slapstick routines of later episodes.
If you are Rik and Ade fans though, you will enjoy it as much as any episode for their performances. Rik Mayall in particular is so funny with mere body language and facial expression he's awe inspiring to watch. My favourite part is when he loses it and repeatedly tells Eddie to "Sod off". Just look at his manic, insane energy during these few lines. So funny!
Bottom of the barrel entertainment.
BA_Harrison8 February 2020
Richie (Rik Mayall) pretends to commit suicide to try and guilt Eddie into buying him a pint, but his flatmate has had a bad day at the dole office and couldn't care less. The pair then argue about money and what to watch on TV (Miss World or boring documentary), resulting in Eddie being kicked out.
Contest was originally intended to be the pilot episode of Bottom, but was eventually aired mid-series, probably so as not to deter viewers from investing in the show. It really is that weak. The funniest moment comes as a bored Richie tries to amuse himself, first with the telephone, and then nervously playing an electronic keyboard. If that doesn't sound that funny, it's because it really isn't -- it's just the best part of a particularly laugh-free episode (one that resorts to jokes about masturbation in sheer desperation).
Contest was originally intended to be the pilot episode of Bottom, but was eventually aired mid-series, probably so as not to deter viewers from investing in the show. It really is that weak. The funniest moment comes as a bored Richie tries to amuse himself, first with the telephone, and then nervously playing an electronic keyboard. If that doesn't sound that funny, it's because it really isn't -- it's just the best part of a particularly laugh-free episode (one that resorts to jokes about masturbation in sheer desperation).
Would have made for an underwhelming pilot episode
The-Last-Prydonian10 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Eddie comes home, after a bad day at the dole office, with only 30p to his name, to Richie's annoyance as he hasn't been paying his share of the rent. Richie then discovers that Eddie has in fact used the last tenner he had to place a bet on Miss World on the TV, which they both set down to watch with the hopes of Eddie's gamble paying off.
One of the more minimalist episodes of the series, it is the first to truly showcase the impetus behind Bottom, which was inspired by Samuel Beckett's tragi-comedic play, Waiting for Godot, in which both Rik and Ade had previously starred in a London West End Production of. The title tragi-comedy perfectly befits the nature of Bottom's bleak premise. Two losers, who can't stand the sight of one another, but due to circumstances, are thrust and forced to live together, as they eak out their pathetic, futile existences.
To this end, Contest would be the perfect means of representing the futility of both Richie and Eddie's empty, shallow lives, but doesn't totally come up trumps, when compared to the previous, far more superior episodes, Smells and Gas, which had preceded it. The early bickering between the two, as Richie demands that Eddie shares his half of the rent, and tries to convince him that the "Jazz Mag", that he has bought is an investment, does lead to some genuinely fun, comedic moments. However, it feels, as if its over-arching premise just isn't enough to quite over-all sustain itself as consistently as it should.
Richie, in his eternal unemployment, and boredom, while Eddie continues to watch Miss World, tries to relieve his monotony while his flatmate remains totally oblivious to it, reflecting how meaningless and empty his life really is. Although doesn't tickle the funny bones quite as it should. In the final half, where the TV eventually conks out, because of Richie attempting to fix it, when the picture quality was wavering, and much to Eddie's annoyance, trying to temporarily fix the problem, coming at the expense of Richie's, does offer a chuckle, but it already has begun to all run a bit out of steam, which ends on a half-ended climax rather than a hilarious scream. That's not to say Contest is awful, but it is decidedly uneven, and doesn't live up to the expectations made by what had come before, and would be to come with superior outings.
In the end, I can see why Contest, which was actually originally intended to be the pilot was placed, slap dab in the middle of the first series, as it ultimately would have acted, as an underwhelming way to open the show, and had it had not done so with the earth-shatteringly hysterical, Smells, who knows what the series future might have been.
One of the more minimalist episodes of the series, it is the first to truly showcase the impetus behind Bottom, which was inspired by Samuel Beckett's tragi-comedic play, Waiting for Godot, in which both Rik and Ade had previously starred in a London West End Production of. The title tragi-comedy perfectly befits the nature of Bottom's bleak premise. Two losers, who can't stand the sight of one another, but due to circumstances, are thrust and forced to live together, as they eak out their pathetic, futile existences.
To this end, Contest would be the perfect means of representing the futility of both Richie and Eddie's empty, shallow lives, but doesn't totally come up trumps, when compared to the previous, far more superior episodes, Smells and Gas, which had preceded it. The early bickering between the two, as Richie demands that Eddie shares his half of the rent, and tries to convince him that the "Jazz Mag", that he has bought is an investment, does lead to some genuinely fun, comedic moments. However, it feels, as if its over-arching premise just isn't enough to quite over-all sustain itself as consistently as it should.
Richie, in his eternal unemployment, and boredom, while Eddie continues to watch Miss World, tries to relieve his monotony while his flatmate remains totally oblivious to it, reflecting how meaningless and empty his life really is. Although doesn't tickle the funny bones quite as it should. In the final half, where the TV eventually conks out, because of Richie attempting to fix it, when the picture quality was wavering, and much to Eddie's annoyance, trying to temporarily fix the problem, coming at the expense of Richie's, does offer a chuckle, but it already has begun to all run a bit out of steam, which ends on a half-ended climax rather than a hilarious scream. That's not to say Contest is awful, but it is decidedly uneven, and doesn't live up to the expectations made by what had come before, and would be to come with superior outings.
In the end, I can see why Contest, which was actually originally intended to be the pilot was placed, slap dab in the middle of the first series, as it ultimately would have acted, as an underwhelming way to open the show, and had it had not done so with the earth-shatteringly hysterical, Smells, who knows what the series future might have been.
See also
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