One of my favorite sitcoms; The New Statesman features Rik Mayall as Alan B\'Stard, the Conservative member of parliament for Haltemprice, Yorkshire. The sitcom is a political satire of government, set during the years of Conservative government from 1979-1997. The first two series Alan features as a backbench MP under Margaret Thatcher, and in the third series John Major. In the fourth series there is a twist, where Alan, now without a seat in parliament gets elected to the European parliament. Alan B\'Stard is a great creation. He is the living embodiment of everything the man on the street thought that Thatcherism stood for, he\'s greedy, powerhungy and a typical Tory \'toff\' refering to middle and working class people as \'ordinaries\'. However its not just B\'Stard with his razor sharp wit and right wing social comentary that makes this a great watch. A cast of other characters including Piers Fletcher-Dervish, an MP who shares his office with Alan, who bullies him into being his dogsbody and exploits him at every opertunity, Norman, Alans lawyer, who is actually played by a woman, but whos character is a man undergoing a sex change and probably most notably theres Sarah B\'Stard, Alans cheating bisexual wife who loaths him almost as much as he does her. The New Statesman is perhaps best described as a combination of Blackadder and Yes Minister. With the political comentary of the later blended expertly with the acid tongued one liners and clever verbal abuse of the former. Definatley worth a watch if your a comedy fan.
Best quote: Beggar: \'Could you spare 50p for a cup of tea?\' Alan B\'Stard: \'Of course i could what a stupid question\' Begar: \'Please gov, i havent eaten in two weeks\' Alan B\'stard \'Well force yourself then\'
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