en>Canterbury Tail: /* Development */ British TV doesn't have seasons

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Development: British TV doesn't have seasons

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{{short description|British sitcom television series}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Bottom TV Show Screenshot Main Title Card.png
| caption =
| genre = [[Sitcom]]
| runtime = 30 minutes
| location = Studio TC1, [[BBC Television Centre]], London<ref name="rikmayallscrapbook">{{cite web| url=https://rikmayallscrapbook.com/about-me/seeing-rik/bottom-gas/| title=Bottom... GAS - Rik Mayall Scrapbook| date=7 July 2018| access-date=2021-01-26}}</ref>
| camera = [[Multi-camera]]
| creator = {{plainlist|
*[[Ade Edmondson|Adrian Edmondson]]
*[[Rik Mayall]]}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
*[[Ade Edmondson|Adrian Edmondson]]
*[[Rik Mayall]]}}
| opentheme = "BB's Blues" by the Bum Notes
| endtheme = "[[Last Night (Mar-Keys composition)|Last Night]]" by the Bum Notes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| picture_format = [[PAL]]
| audio_format = Stereo
| network = [[BBC Two|BBC2]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1991|09|17|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1995|04|10|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bottom_7770880.shtml |title=BBC - Comedy Guide - Bottom |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204084824/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bottom_7770880.shtml |archive-date=4 December 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| num_series = 3
| num_episodes = 18
}}
'''''Bottom''''' is a British sitcom created by [[Rik Mayall]] and [[Ade Edmondson|Adrian Edmondson]] that ran for three series on [[BBC Two|BBC2]] from 1991 to 1995. It focuses on Richard "Richie" Richard (Mayall) and Edward Elizabeth "Eddie" Hitler (Edmondson), two unemployed, crude, and perverted flatmates living in [[Hammersmith]], London, who aspire to better themselves. ''Bottom'' became known for its chaotic, [[nihilism|nihilistic]] humour and violent [[slapstick]] comedy.<ref name="bsg1">{{cite web| url=http://www.sitcom.co.uk/bottom/| title=British Sitcom Guide - Bottom| access-date=23 December 2008| archive-date=3 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203032704/http://www.sitcom.co.uk/bottom/| url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2004, ''Bottom'' was ranked 45th in a BBC poll for ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom]]''.<ref name="bbc1">{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/top11to100.shtml| title=BBC - Britain's Best Sitcom - Top 11 to 100| access-date=23 December 2008| archive-date=1 February 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201111334/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/top11to100.shtml| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Mayall and Edmondson had worked together since the mid-1970s, and developed ''Bottom'' as an extension of their own relationship and their on-screen characters in ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Filthy Rich & Catflap]]'', their earlier BBC sitcom. In addition to the series the pair completed five stage show tours between 1993 and 2003, and adapted the sitcom into a feature-length film, ''[[Guest House Paradiso]]'', released in 1999. A spin-off series featuring various ''Bottom'' characters titled ''[[Hooligan's Island]]'' was cancelled in 2013. Mayall's death in the following year ended plans for a revival.

==Cast==
{{main|List of Bottom characters}}

'''Main characters'''
*[[Ade Edmondson|Adrian Edmondson]] as Edward "Eddie" Elizabeth Hitler.<ref name=hole>{{cite episode |title=Hole |episode-link=Hole (Bottom episode) |series=Bottom |credits= Edmondon, Adrian; Mayall, Rik |network=BBC |airdate=1995-01-06 |season=3 |number=1}}</ref> Edmondson described Eddie as "a very strange kind of mellow" version of Vyvyan from ''The Young Ones''.<ref name=TDT91>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110051136/|title=Hitting bottom|first=Gillian|last=Reynolds|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|page=16|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref> He is "a man with no morals and a devious tiny-time entrepreneur."<ref name=TP91>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110051636/|title=Rick and Ade go back to bottom|first=P.W.|last=Mackay|newspaper=The Post|page=27|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>
*[[Rik Mayall]] as Richard "Richie" Richard<ref name=carnival>{{cite episode |title=Carnival |episode-link=Carnival (Bottom episode) |series=Bottom |credits= Edmondon, Adrian; Mayall, Rik |network=BBC |airdate=1995-02-10 |season=3 |number=6}}</ref> He is "an old-fashioned moralist, hypocrite and small-minded virgin."<ref name=TP91/>

'''Recurring characters'''
*[[Steven O'Donnell (British actor)|Steven O'Donnell]] as Spudgun (1991–1995)
*[[Christopher Ryan]] as Dave Hedgehog (1991–1995)
*[[Lee Cornes]] as Dick Head (1991–1995)
*[[Roger Sloman]] as Mr Harrison (1991–92)

==Premise==
Eddie and Richie are two pathetic, misogynistic, slobby flatmates living in a filthy, damp flat at 11 Mafeking Parade in [[Hammersmith]], London. Mayall described them as "unemployed survivors".<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/whos-laughing-now/ | title=Who's Laughing Now?| date=2012-03-18}}</ref> They spend their time concocting desperate schemes to convince women to have sex with them, including buying sex spray, forging money, and pretending to be aristocrats. Their plans are never successful, however, and the stress of their miserable lives can cause them to become irritable with each other. Whenever tensions hit a breaking point, Richie and Eddie end up fighting (albeit in a comical, Tom and Jerry-style, with adult themes). Both men are immature. Richie is a [[virgin]]; he is insecure and clueless on how to talk to women. Despite being a penniless slob, he occasionally projects a pompous sort of snobbery in an attempt to impress others and boost his [[self-esteem]]; he is [[sexually frustrated]] and obsessed with losing his virginity. Eddie, the more popular of the two, enjoys drinking regularly, and often secretly steals family heirlooms and cash from Richie, although he occasionally has inventive moments, like building a cash forger, an electric toilet, and a time machine. Eddie's friends{{Snd}} the [[:wikt:gormless|gormless]] Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog{{Snd}} both fear Richie, believing him to be psychotic. Although the four of them sometimes venture out, usually to the local [[pub]], the Lamb and Flag, most of the episodes are set within the confines of the squalid flat.

== Production ==
=== Development ===
Mayall and Edmondson first met as drama students at [[Manchester University]] in 1976, when Edmondson joined the improvisational comedy troupe [[20th Century Coyote]], of which Mayall was a member.<ref name="bbc2">{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/rick_mayall_person_page.shtml| title=BBC - Comedy - People A-Z - Rik Mayall'| access-date=23 December 2008}}</ref><ref name=timeout1991/> The act grew in popularity following successful runs at the [[Edinburgh Fringe]] and the Comic Strip in London, which led to the pair starring in the stage and television double act [[The Dangerous Brothers]] and sitcoms ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Filthy, Rich & Catflap]]''. After the latter ended in 1987, the pair "drifted away" for a period before they reunited after the pair caught the attention of producer and executive [[Paul Jackson (producer)|Paul Jackson]], who had also worked on ''The Young Ones'', and pitched initial ideas they had for a new sitcom. Jackson was interested enough, and Mayall and Edmondson proceeded to write a draft script. Episodes were developed around improvisational writing, and Mayall recalled Edmondson "did the typing and he allowed me to go to the off license to buy all the drinks."<ref name=RT91/>{{sfn|Mayall|2005|pp=159–160}} Upon delivering their scripts, the BBC expressed concern that the show could not sustain itself with two characters alone, to which Mayall and Edmondson used [[Tony Hancock]] and [[Sid James]] as an example, and got their way. Mayall said that the BBC was too focused on the show's content being "morally sound and politically correct", but gave the [[green-light]] on the series.{{sfn|Mayall|2005|p=161}}

The show's original working title was ''Your Bottom'', for the humour of people having to say "I saw 'Your Bottom' on television last night", before it was shortened because Mayall said they "liked the shape of the word."<ref name=RT91>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallscrapbook.com/2021/03/18/the-youngish-ones-radio-times-1991/|title=The Youngish Ones|first=Richard|last=Johnson|date=14 September 1991|work=Radio Times|access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> It started as a joke until they learned that [[Alan Yentob]], then head of BBC2, disliked the title which convinced the pair to stick with it. Mayall added that the title was deliberate to make viewers think of "bottom jokes", but that it also reflects on the show's premise of "two guys at the bottom of the heap".<ref name=arena1991>{{Cite journal|journal=Arena|title=Who's Laughing Now?|date=1991|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/whos-laughing-now/}}</ref> Mayall and Edmondson were aware of the failures of other sitcoms, and purposely wrote tight scripts. Edmondson said writing ''Bottom'' was liberating "because it's obvious what the idea is – to be as funny as possible."<ref name=TDT91/> The pair based Eddie and Richie on characters that they had improvised with as part of 20th Century Coyote, and on their own friendship.<ref name=TDT91/> They made a conscious effort to avoid any pop culture or contemporary references when writing, as ''The Young Ones'' had been popular with young people and instead wanted to portray characters who had left student life behind and reached their "thirties and forties".<ref name=TDT91/> Instead, the two were interested in more everyday scenarios "that have always been there", such as a gas meter reading.<ref name=RT91/> "Eddie and Richie have been compared to their characters on ''The Young Ones'', but ten years older.<ref name=TP91/> After the first series had been filmed, Mayall ranked ''Bottom'' as their best work and marked "a new chapter" in his relationship with Edmondson.<ref name=timeout1991>{{cite web|title=Bums the Word|first=Steven|last=Grant|work=Time Out|date=25 September 1991|access-date=5 January 2016|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/bums-the-word/}}</ref>

In June 1990, a [[pilot episode]] was filmed which was later titled "[[Contest (Bottom)|Contest]]" and broadcast as part of the first series. Further problems over content came to light when filming began. Mayall recalled they were allowed three "bloodies" or "bloody hell"'s per episode, and arguments were often had with as many as twenty BBC executives who went on the set.{{sfn|Mayall|2005|p=162}} Some executives criticised the series for being sexist, but Mayall pointed out that they would have had more women on the show if they had not cut around twenty "shagging scenes" that were written, and argued that lesbian scenes were also removed.{{sfn|Mayall|2005|p=161, 163}} After the first series was filmed in June and July 1991, ''Bottom'' was first announced in August, when the BBC reported that it had commissioned over 400 hours of new television programming for the upcoming autumn series. This included new productions from comics known at the Comic Strip in an attempt to attract viewers, with including Mayall and Edmondson for ''Bottom'' and [[Dawn French]] for ''[[Murder Most Horrid]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/809150705/|title=Beeb's strip show stoppers!|newspaper=Daily Record|date=22 August 1991|page=23|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>

''Bottom'' ended after three series in February 1995. Edmondson said that one of the reasons for stopping the show was the struggle to come up with new ideas as "we'd already hit each other with everything in the flat".<ref name=UN00>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/bottom-lines/|title=Bottom Lines|date=July 2000|first=Fleur|last=Michell|publisher=Unknown|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Mayall supported this view, saying they took the show as far as it could on television while continuing the franchise with stage tours and home video releases, preferring to retain full creative control over the characters.<ref name=TES03>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/youve-got-mayall-3/|title=You've Got Mayall|work=The Evening Standard|date=20 November 2003|first=Bruce|last=Dessau|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> In 2000, he said that Richie and Eddie had become "bigger than we are".<ref name=UN00/>

=== Filming ===
Each episode was filmed in front of a live audience. The original scripts can be found in the published script books, and several completely removed scenes were included in the [[VHS]] release ''Fluff'' that consisted mostly of [[bloopers]]. Several (but not all) of these scenes, as well as some smaller sections of dialogue also removed for timing reasons, are included in [[DVD]] releases.

The final episode of the second series, {{"-}}[['s Out]]", was set on [[Wimbledon Common]] involving the antics of a [[exhibitionism|flasher]]. It was not broadcast as part of the original series after [[Rachel Nickell]] was murdered on Wimbledon Common, to which the BBC delayed its broadcast until a rerun of the second series on 10 April 1995.

== Spin-offs ==
=== Stage shows ===
Mayall and Edmondson held five nationwide theatre tours of ''Bottom'' between 1993 and 2003, adapting the original series into a stage show. The first tour, ''Bottom Live'', lasted 43 dates across 10 weeks in 1993.<ref name=gq1993>{{Cite journal|journal=GQ|date=June 1993|title=Direct Mayall|access-date=5 January 2016|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/direct-mayall/}}</ref> The 2001 tour consisted of 76 dates, which included a show at the National Arena in Birmingham to over 4,500 people.<ref name=OS01>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/an-arse-oddity/|title=An Arse Oddity|first=Alex|last=Hemingway|date=8 November 2001|work=Oxford Student|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> The Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour included 40 dates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/rik-mayall-lucky-star/|title=Rik Mayall, Lucky Star|first=Rebecca|last=Gooch|publisher=E-Motion|date=November 2003|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> The stage shows were often cruder than the sitcom with stronger language, and developed over time to include settings outside the flat, including a prison cell and a remote island.<ref name=OS01/> There were several instances of the pair getting carried away with the planned stunts, resulting in one of them getting cuts on their head. Edmondson said: "Rik would tell them 'Don't be scared, it happens all the time.' We'd just carry on, then go off to hospital afterwards to be sewn up."<ref name=TM04/> A show from each tour was filmed and released for home video.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#9f9;"| Title
! style="background:#9f9;"| Year
! style="background:#9f9;"| Recording location
|-
| ''[[Bottom Live]]''
| 1993
| [[Southampton]] [[Mayflower Theatre]]
|-
| ''[[Bottom Live: The Big Number Two Tour]]''
| 1995
| [[Oxford]] [[New Theatre Oxford|New Theatre]]
|-
| ''[[Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island]]''
| 1997
| [[Bristol Hippodrome]]
|-
| ''[[Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity]]''
| 2001
| [[Nottingham Royal Concert Hall]]
|-
| ''[[Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour]]''
| 2003
| [[Southend]] [[Cliffs Pavilion|The Cliffs Pavilion]]
|}

=== ''Guest House Paradiso'' ===
{{main|Guest House Paradiso}}
During the ''Hooligan's Island'' tour in 1997, Mayall and Edmondson sought ways of spending time before the night's performance and began to develop ideas for a script that involved Richie being a hotel manager. After some time the pair realised that they had produced a substantial work that would suit a feature film. The result was ''[[Guest House Paradiso]]'', a spin-off to ''Bottom'' featuring Mayall and Edmondson as Richard Twat (pronounced "Twaite") and Eddie Elizabeth Ndingobamba, respectively, with Edmondson as director. The story involves the pair operating a grotty remote guesthouse next to a nuclear power plant and feeding their guests radioactive fish, causing massive amounts of vomiting. Despite the characters and humour being in the same vein as ''Bottom'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=5291 |title=Empire review of Guest House Paradiso |publisher=Empireonline.com |date= January 2000|access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref> Mayall said ''Guest House Paradiso'' was never meant to be a film version of ''Bottom'' because other sitcoms that had film adaptations "didn't work".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/from-hell-to-paradiso/|title=From Hell to Paradiso|first=John|last=Millar|work=OK! Magazine|date=10 December 1999|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Produced on a £3 million budget, the film premiered in December 1999.

===Cancelled revivals===
In late 2004, surrounding the release of their ''Mindless Violence'' DVD, Edmondson said that 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."<ref name=TM04>{{cite web|work=Daily Mirror|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-125541184/the-young-ones-have-grown-old-so-it-s-time-for-rik|title=The Young Ones Have Grown Old. So It's Time for Rik and I to Split|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729133335/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-125541184/the-young-ones-have-grown-old-so-it-s-time-for-rik|archive-date=29 July 2020|date=1 December 2004|first=Barbara|last=Davies|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> In 2010, Edmondson confirmed that he had quit comedy, stating that his interest in it has declined for many years, and wanted to focus more on his band. He dismissed the idea of reuniting with Mayall, saying it is "very unlikely".<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Daily Express]]|url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/adrian-edmondson-unlikely-to-work-with-bottom-244883 |title= Adrian Edmondson 'unlikely' to work with Bottom partner Rik Mayall again after quitting comedy |author= Alun Palmer |date=27 January 2012 |orig-year=1 September 2010 |id= "[http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/172120/I%92ve-had-last-laugh%2C-says-Adrian/ I've had last laugh says Adrian]" at Express.co.uk}}</ref>

In March 2011, the duo made a surprise reunion when Edmondson took part in ''[[Let's Dance for Comic Relief]]''. A pre-recorded segment ended with Mayall hurling a custard pie in Edmondson's face. Mayall appeared again, this time live on stage, to abruptly end Edmondson's performance by hitting him several times with a frying pan. In the final, Mayall returned once again to drop a ton weight upon Edmondson. In the following month, Edmondson revealed that he and Mayall had conceived an idea for a sitcom. "Rik and I have an idea for a sitcom for when we are very, very old. We want to set it in an old people's home 30 years hence. It will be like 'Bottom', but we will be hitting each other with colostomy bags!"<ref>{{cite web |title= Mayall and Edmondson write retirement home comedy |url= http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/00000508/rik_mayall_adrian_edmondson_oap_retirement_comedy/ |work= British Comedy Guide |access-date= 14 July 2013|date= 2011-04-07 }}</ref> In August 2012, the BBC announced that it had commissioned a series based on the ''Hooligan's Island'' stage show, where Eddie and Richie cause havoc on a deserted tropical island, set to air in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/bbctwo-commissions.html |title=BBC Two announces raft of new commissions |work=BBC News |date=23 August 2012 |access-date=23 August 2012 |archive-date=2 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002081446/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/bbctwo-commissions.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Skipper |first=Ben |url= http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/bottom-to-return-after-18-years.html |title=Bottom to return after 18 years |work=Yahoo News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814135731/http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/bottom-to-return-after-18-years.html |archive-date=14 August 2014 |date=23 August 2012 |access-date= 19 June 2014}}</ref> However, the show was scrapped just two months later. Edmondson said "it wasn't working" and wanted to pursue other projects.<ref name=RT12>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/bbc-bottom-reunion-series-hooligans-island-scrapped/|title=BBC Bottom reunion series Hooligan's Island scrapped|first=Tom|last=Cole|date=15 October 2012|work=Radio Times|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Mayall tried to have Edmondson reconsider, but he "put his foot down and said, 'It's not going to work mate.'", and wanted to wait ten years until they were older.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rikmayallinterviews.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/bottom-tv-show-back-in-a-decade/|title=Bottom TV show 'back in a decade'|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=5 March 2013|access-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Mayall died on 9 June 2014, putting an end to any future ''Bottom'' projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jun/10/rik-mayall-happy-healthy-death-friend-young-ones|title=Rik Mayall happy and healthy moments before death, says friend|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=10 June 2014}}</ref>

==Episodes==
Many of the episodes' names are meant to be a humorous suffix to the word "bottom".

===Series 1 (1991)===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="color:#fff;"
! style="background:#f00;"| Title
! style="background:#f00;"| First broadcast
! style="background:#f00;"| Synopsis
|-
| "[[Smells (Bottom)|Smells]]"
| {{start date|1991|9|17|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie take advantage of a revolutionary new sex-spray and head to the pub.
|-
| "[[Gas (Bottom)|Gas]]"
| {{start date|1991|9|24|df=yes}}
| After accidentally beating up the Gas Man, Richie and Eddie must remove an illegal gas pipe without disturbing their violent neighbour.
|-
| "[[Contest (Bottom)|Contest]]" *
| {{start date|1991|10|1|df=yes}}
| After Eddie spends his [[pound sterling|£]]11.80 savings on a first edition copy of ''[[Parade (British magazine)|Parade]]'', the pair place a bet on the "[[Miss World]]" contest.
|-
| "[[Apocalypse (Bottom)|Apocalypse]]"
| {{start date|1991|10|8|df=yes}}
| After receiving £600 from his auntie's will, Richie ends up receiving a curse from a [[Romani people|Gypsy]] fortune teller.
|-
| {{"-}}[['s Up]]"
| {{start date|1991|10|15|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie are left in charge of their landlord's shop.
|-
| "[[Accident (Bottom)|Accident]]"
| {{start date|1991|10|22|df=yes}}
| Richie breaks his leg, but is determined not to let it spoil his birthday celebration.
|}

===Series 2 (1992)===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="color:#fff;"
! style="background:#5db4df;"| Title
! style="background:#5db4df;"| First broadcast
! style="background:#5db4df;"| Synopsis
|-
| "[[Digger (Bottom)|Digger]]"
| {{start date|1992|10|1|df=yes}}
| Richie secures a date by pretending to be an [[aristocracy|aristocrat]].
|-
| "[[Culture (Bottom)|Culture]]" *
| {{start date|1992|10|8|df=yes}}
| When their TV is 'taken away', Richie and Eddie desperately try to find ways to fend off boredom.
|-
| "[[Burglary (Bottom)|Burglary]]"
| {{start date|1992|10|15|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie catch a [[burglar]].
|-
| "[[Parade (Bottom)|Parade]]" +
| {{start date|1992|10|22|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie get free money from an [[identity parade]].
|-
| "[[Holy (Bottom)|Holy]]"
| {{start date|1992|10|29|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie experience a [[Christmas]] Day [[miracle]].
|-
| {{"-}}[['s Out]]" +
| {{start date|1992|11|5|df=yes}}<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0530628/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv/ | title=Bottom 'S out Trivia| website=[[IMDb]]| access-date=1 September 2020}}</ref>
| Richie and Eddie go [[camping]] out on [[Wimbledon Common]].
|}

===Series 3 (1995)===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="color:#fff;"
! style="background:#aa0083;"| Title
! style="background:#aa0083;"| First broadcast
! style="background:#aa0083;"| Synopsis
|-
| "[[Hole (Bottom)|Hole]]" * +
| {{start date|1995|1|6|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie are trapped at the top of the tallest Ferris wheel in Western Europe which is due to be blown up the very next day.
|-
| "[[Terror (Bottom)|Terror]]"
| {{start date|1995|1|13|df=yes}}
| The pair plan a [[Halloween]] party and go [[trick-or-treating]].
|-
| "[[Break (Bottom)|Break]]"
| {{start date|1995|1|20|df=yes}}
| The duo prepare for their holiday in [[Doncaster]].
|-
| "[[Dough (Bottom)|Dough]]"
| {{start date|1995|1|27|df=yes}}
| Eddie begins [[counterfeit money|forging money]], forcing the duo and their friends to enter a pub quiz to pay off a thug.
|-
| "[[Finger (Bottom)|Finger]]"
| {{start date|1995|2|3|df=yes}}
| Having acquired the honeymoon tickets of newly-weds Mr and Mrs Cannonball Taffy O'Jones, the pair descend upon a luxury hotel masquerading as the honeymooners.
|-
| "[[Carnival (Bottom)|Carnival]]"
| {{start date|1995|2|10|df=yes}}
| Richie and Eddie have the best seats for the annual Hammersmith riots, then try to make videos for the BBC.
|}

'*' = Episodes featuring only the two main characters
<br />'+' = Episodes not set in the flat

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Title !! Result !! Ref
|-
| 1992 || [[British Comedy Awards]] || Best New TV Comedy || ''Bottom'' || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/1992.aspx |title=Past Winners 1992 - The British Comedy Awards - The British Comedy Awards |access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref>
|}

==DVD releases==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:99%; text-align:center;"
|-
!colspan="2" rowspan="2"|DVD Title
!rowspan="2"|Disc #
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|No. of Ep.
!colspan="3"|DVD release
|-
![[DVD region code#1|Region 1]]
![[DVD region code#2|Region 2]]
![[DVD region code#4|Region 4]]
|-
| style="background:#f00;"|
|'''Complete Series 1'''
|1
|1991
|6
|—
|18 August 2003
|6 October 2005
|-
| style="background:#5db4df;"|
|'''Complete Series 2'''
|1
|1992
|6
|—
|30 August 2004
|2 March 2006
|-
| style="background:#aa0083;"|
|'''Complete Series 3'''
|1
|1995
|6
|—
|8 August 2005
|6 July 2006
|-
| style="background:#69359c;"|
|'''Complete Series 1–3'''
|3
|1991–1995
|18
|30 September 2003
|3 October 2005
|5 October 2006
|-
| style="background:#bdda57;"|
|'''The Very Best of...'''
|1
|1991–1995
|5
|—
|5 August 2002
|8 August 2002
|-
|
|'''The Big Bottom Box'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/bottom/shop/82/the_big_box_dvd/|title=The Big Bottom Box|website=British Comedy Guide}}</ref>
|7
|1993–2003
|6
|—
|4 December 2006
|—
|}

In 2004, a DVD featuring a compilation of violent scenes from Mayall and Edmondson throughout their career, including scenes from ''Bottom'', was released as ''Mindless Violence: The Very Best of the Violent Bits''.<ref name=TM04/>

==See also==
*[[List of films based on British sitcoms]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

'''Sources'''
*{{cite book|last=Mayall|first=Rik|title=Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ|year=2005|publisher=Harper Entertainment|isbn=978-0-007-20727-5}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|Bottom}}
*{{BBC Online|comedy/bottom|''Bottom''}} Comedy Guide
*{{BBC programme}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|tv|bottom|Bottom}}
*{{Epguides|Bottom|Bottom}}
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/bottom/ ''Bottom''] at British TV Comedy Guide
*{{curlie|Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Arts_and_Entertainment/Television/Programmes/Comedy/Bottom|''Bottom''}}
*{{Screenonline TV title|499565|Bottom}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050909020858/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/comedy/filmography/031.html Britfilm's review of ''Guest House Paradiso'']
*{{IMDb title|0103376|Bottom}}

{{Bottom (TV series)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottom (Tv Series)}}
[[Category:Bottom (TV series)| ]]
[[Category:1991 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1995 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1990s British black comedy television series]]
[[Category:1990s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:BBC television sitcoms]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Metafictional television series]]
[[Category:Poverty in television]]
[[Category:Slapstick comedy]]
[[Category:Television shows adapted into films]]
[[Category:Television shows adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]
[[Category:Unemployment in fiction]]
[[Category:Virginity in television]]
[[Category:Television series by BBC Studios]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:43, 6 February 2023
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	~~{{short description\|British sitcom television series}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=August 2012}}{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2018}}~~
	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = Bottom TV Show Screenshot Main Title Card.png		\| image = Bottom TV Show Screenshot Main Title Card.png

Bottom (TV series) - Revision history

Kurt at 13:43, 6 February 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Canterbury Tail: /* Development */ British TV doesn't have seasons

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:11, 10 January 2023
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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{wikiquote\|Bottom}}~~
	*{{BBC Online\|comedy/bottom\|''Bottom''}} Comedy Guide		*{{BBC Online\|comedy/bottom\|''Bottom''}} Comedy Guide
	*{{BBC programme}}		*{{BBC programme}}
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	*{{Epguides\|Bottom\|Bottom}}		*{{Epguides\|Bottom\|Bottom}}
	*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/bottom/ ''Bottom''] at British TV Comedy Guide		*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/bottom/ ''Bottom''] at British TV Comedy Guide
	*{{curlie\|Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Arts_and_Entertainment/Television/Programmes/Comedy/Bottom\|''Bottom''}}
	*{{Screenonline TV title\|499565\|Bottom}}		*{{Screenonline TV title\|499565\|Bottom}}
	*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050909020858/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/comedy/filmography/031.html Britfilm's review of ''Guest House Paradiso'']		*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050909020858/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/comedy/filmography/031.html Britfilm's review of ''Guest House Paradiso'']

← Older revision	Revision as of 12:14, 9 January 2023
(No difference)