Created and Starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson this series has got to be one of the funniest shows ever created.

With 18 episodes, in 3 series, made between 1991 to 1995.

**THE CHARACTERS**

Rik Mayall is Richie Richard…or 'Richie'
Adrian Edmondson is Edward Elizabeth Hitler… or 'Eddie'

Other characters include..

Eddies friends…
Spud gun (played by Steve O'Donnell)
Dave Hedgehog (played by Christopher Ryan)

Dick Head (played by Lee Cornes) is the Landlord of their local pub, the Lamb and Flag.

**BRIEF**

Eddie and Richie live in a rented house in Hammersmith, London and seem to be good friends who simply hate each other, they are constantly arguing and fighting.
Richie comes across as the 1960's feminine in the flat, cooking, cleaning, ironing and general moaning at everything Eddie does.
Eddie is defiantly the slob of a caveman who spends his life drinking and arguing with Richie.
Both spend most of there time thinking about sex and are often out in the local pub trying to find women who are desperate enough to want to sleep with them.

**THE SHOWS**

*SERIES 1.….[1991]

1} Smells…Richie and Eddie have there usual failures in the 'bird pulling' contests and arrive back at their flat alone…again. Then at a visit to the local sex shop they discover a 'sex spray' and think that it could be the answer to all their dreams, so they spray on the stuff and head off to test it out at the Lamb and Flag. Things start to go wrong when Richie chats up the girlfriend of a rather large man and fighting soon breaks out.

2} Gas… Eddie panics and beats up the gas man when he comes round to read the meter as he has been siphoning the gas from his neighbour, a violent psychopath called Mr Rottweiler.
When the pair try and gain access to Mr Rottweilers house, so they can disconnect the pipes, they end up getting on the wrong side of the gigantic psychopath.

3} Contest… Eddie tells Richie that he has placed a his last few pounds on the Chinese contestant in the Miss World competition, only for Richie to discover that she is a very repulsive old lady.
When the pair settle down to watch the show things just go from bad to worse.

4} Apocalypse… Richie comes into some money from his Aunt and decides to take Eddie on a spending spurge at the local funfair, as usual the pair end up arguing with the locals and have to flee, ending up in a fortune tellers hut. When Richie has his fortune told he discovers that he is going to die. As he tries to hide away until the predicted time has passed he has a visit from a rather wobbly 'Death'…..

5} 'S up… When Eddie rents a few what he thinks are pornographic videos he is disgusted to find that they one is actually a kids film, an other is of Jam making legends in Sweden and the other is a documentary about jugs and pottery.
Then the two are left in charge of the landlords shop and Richie dons the white coat and decides that he could succeed as shop keeper, but he only succeeds in insulting all the customers.
As the shop is quiet the pair try out a bit of sunbathing on the roof only to get stuck up there as the customers turn up in the shop below.

6} Accident… Richie almost misses his own birthday party when he break his leg whilst putting up decorations. He arrives back from the hospital in a wheel chair and a plastered leg, just in time to spoil the party. A game of hide and seek finds Richie stuck in a cupboard for hours whilst Eddie and his friends get drunk in front of the TV.

*SERIES 2.…. [1992/93]

1} Digger… When Richie and Eddie decide to try out a dating agency Richie finds a perfect match, but he has to pose as a rich eccentric to entice the lovely vicountess of Moldavia, {Lady Natasha- Letitia- Jane-Wellesley- Extrong- Skiponsong- Smythe- Smythe- Smythe- Oblomov- Dob}. Then, hiring Eddie as his butler, he invites Lady Natasha….. (played by Helen Lederer) to his flat and is on the verge of losing his virginity, until he gets a little too over exited and the night comes to a sudden halt.

2} Culture.. When the tv is repossessed by the man at 'Rumbelows' Richie and Eddie must find other way to entertain themselves. When 'pin the tail on the donkey' turns to 'stick the sellotape to the fridge' the pair know they are in trouble. A simple game of chess then turns to a 7 hour lesson and a nightmare for Eddie.

3} Burglary… The pair are petrified when they hear a burglar in their living room so they hide upstairs, until Richie accidentally tumbles down the staircase and lands on the burglar. Richie is over the moon when he discovers the bootie in the unconscious burglar swag bag and the pair decide to keep the lot for themselves.

4} Parade… To make some easy money Richie and Eddie volunteer for a police identity parade and then decide to place the lot on a horse, named 'Sad-Ken', after getting an inside tip from the local bookie, tight mouthed Larry.
But to get more money for the dead-cert they confront a rather drunk ex soldier from the Falklands war…???

5} Holy… It's Christmas day and Richie, Eddie, Spudgun and Hedgehog are wishing the day away as they settle down to watch the Queens speech only for the doorbell to interrupt the magical moment. When Richie answers the door he finds what he thinks is a Christmas miracle on the doorstep.

6} 'S out…The pals have to spend a night camping on Wimbledon common after losing a bet, but with no food or drink they soon run into trouble, especially when they bump into a flasher and then Eddie convinces himself that he has seen a womble??

*SERIES 3.…..[1995]

1} Hole… The pair find themselves trapped at the top of a ferris wheel which is due to be demolished at dawn.
With the pair being stuck in a small capsule they soon start to get on each others nerves and the arguments begin.
Somehow Eddie still manages to find a drink or three as Richie panics.

2} Terror… It's Halloween and trick or treating is on the agenda for the deadly duo, until they are mugged by some rather small people.
Undeterred, and armed with a cattle prod, they continue trick or treating to raise money fro some alcohol.
Then when Richie creates a special brew, containing what he calls sprout from hell, the party takes a fiery turn.

3} Break… The warring friends bag a bargain holiday from the local holiday rep on their way back from the Lamb and Flag. But the build up for their holiday doesn't go according to plan as the battling duo try to lose some weight in order to fit into some rather revealing swimwear.

4} Dough… Richie wonders why Eddie has locked himself away in his room and attempts to gain entry He soon discovers that Eddie is counterfeiting money, badly, with a fifteen pound note and the images on the notes resembling pornography rather than famous people Richie is not impressed.
Then when Eddie, Richie, Spudgun and Hedgehog enter the Lamb and Flags quiz, using some of Eddies funny-money as the £200 entrance fee, they soon encounter the wrath of the local counterfeiter Skullcrusher Henderson

5} Finger… The pair steal Cannonball Taffy O'Jones's car and happen upon his Honeymoon tickets in the glove box, so Richie and Eddie pretend to be the newlyweds Mr and Mrs O'Jones so they can have a free stay at a posh hotel, but all doesn't quite go to plan with Eddie dressed in a frock…??

6} Carnival…It's the Hammersmith Carnival time and the pair have front row seats from their window. Then when the carnival/riot is over the duo take to the streets for the annual looting competition, coming back to the house with more than they bargained for.

**IN CONCLUSION**

When Edmondson and Mayall teamed up to make this show they already had a good comical reputation after both appearing in the Young ones.
The slapstick comedy and over the top fighting make the show side-splittingly hilarious with no holes barred.
The chemistry between these two great comical geniuses is like something never seen before as they seem to thrive off each other, their slapstick timing is simply excellent and will keep you laughing from the start right through to the end.

If you like seeing a man being smashed over the head with a rubber frying pan (with dodgy sound effects) or enjoy listening to rather risqué comments and innuendos then you will laugh at this sort of slapstick comedy.

If, however, you do not like watching two scruffy layabouts knock the living daylights out of each other, in a comical way that is, then Bottom is not for you at all.

My personal favourite is 'S out (as in Bottom's out), where the pair spend a night on Wimbledon Common…..I cried all the way through it..