Adrian Edmondson (left) and Rik Mayall (right) as Eddie and Richie in Bottom

Bottom was a British sitcom of the early 1990s (and later a series of stage shows and a film) written by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, who were the show's main stars, playing Richard Richard (Richie) and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie) respectively; they share a flat in Hammersmith, West London. Image File history File links Bottom001. ... Image File history File links Bottom001. ... Adrian Edmondson (sometimes credited as Ade Edmondson, born 24 January 1957 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England) is a British actor, comedian, director, and writer who gained fame as Vyvyan in The Young Ones in the early 1980s. ... Rik Mayall Rik Mayall (born in Harlow, Essex, England, March 7th, 1958) is a British comedian and actor. ... A British sitcom is a situation comedy (sitcom) produced in the United Kingdom. ... The 1990s refers to the years 1990 to 1999; the last decade of the 20th Century, but in an economical sense The Nineties is often considered to span from the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 to the September 11 attacks in 2001. ... Rik Mayall Rik Mayall (born in Harlow, Essex, England, March 7th, 1958) is a British comedian and actor. ... Adrian Edmondson (sometimes credited as Ade Edmondson, born 24 January 1957 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England) is a British actor, comedian, director, and writer who gained fame as Vyvyan in The Young Ones in the early 1980s. ... The Lyric theatre is just one of the arts and entertainment venues that have made Hammersmith a worthy rival to the West End. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ...

Synopsis

Richie is a perpetually optimistic dimwit; Eddie is a cheerfully violent dipsomaniac. Their arguments often lead to exaggeratedly violent fight scenes. Some have likened this to a live action cartoon, however, the violence contained in the series is somewhat more graphic – heads slammed in and under refrigerators, hands stapled to tables, legs being chainsawed off, penises set on fire, fingers cut off, televisions smashed over heads, darts thrown in eyes, faces shoved in camp fires, legs broken or teeth knocked out. Some visual effects used for these events are very realistic, whereas others are deliberately ludicrous. All are accompanied by a variety of exaggerated sound effects. In spite of this, the BBFC has given the Bottom - the Complete Series DVD set a classification of 15, with a Violence rating of "None". A dipsomaniac is a person with an uncontrollable craving for alcohol, especially alcoholic liquors. ... Visual effects (vfx) is the term given to a sub-category of special effects in which images or film frames are created or manipulated for film and video. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation responsible for film classification (see Motion picture rating systems and History of British Film Certificates) within the United Kingdom. ... DVD-R writing/reading side, based on Photo DVD.jpg. ...

Richie is known to be a virgin, and has a microscopic penis. He usually wears a white shirt and slim black tie (with tie clip), blue jeans (with Y-fronts clearly visible) and he has a light brown raincoat. 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 tie. Despite having a shaven head, he leaves his sideboards unshaved. He also has a brown trilby hat and a tweed overcoat. He has two real friends, called Spudgun (Steven O'Donnell) and Dave Hedgehog (Christopher Ryan). Richie does not have any friends and sometimes appropriates Spud and Dave from Eddie if in need of company. In its most general sense, virginity is characterized by a state of unimpacted purity, usually stemming from a lack of experience (for example, newcomers to game Bingo could be referred to as virgins). ... The penis (plural penises or penes) is in addition to the scrotum one of the external male sexual organs. ... A pair of mens briefs Undergarments, also called underwear, undercrackers, lingerie (undergarments for women), or sometimes intimate clothing, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. ... Eric Morecambe OBE was the stage name of Eric John Bartholomew (May 14, 1926 – May 28, 1984), part of the double act of Morecambe and Wise with Ernie Wise. ... General Ambrose Burnside, whom sideburns were presumably named after Sideburns (also known as sideboards) are facial hair in front of the ears. ... For the SAS author, see Chris Ryan. ...

The characters Richie and Eddie bear perhaps closer inspection than any of Rik and Ade's other characters. Despite sharing a deep mutual hatred, the two are eternally entwined due to their basic character flaws. Eddie's alcoholism and violent nature means that he has not been able to hold down a steady job since his very short lived career as a "bunny girl", back in the 1970s, and it is unlikely that any landlord would grant him tenancy, even if he could afford the rent, therefore he is forced to rely upon Richie's charity. Richie, on the other hand, is such a self-obsessed, perverted, subconsciously gay, wittering git that without Eddie, it is unlikely that he would make another friend. The two have an unspoken acceptance of their co-dependency 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) and frustrated (often violent) desperation, so much so that both have attempted suicide – Eddie drinking bleach (albeit drunkenly) and Richie trying to gas himself in the oven (albeit merely an attempt at getting Eddie to buy him a drink). This co-dependent relationship has similarities to that between Steptoe and Son in the comedy of the same name, and of Hancock and Sid in Hancock's Half Hour. Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... A landlord, or landlady, is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ... In economic theory, economic rent is an analytic term employed to distinguish the difference between the income earned by an input or factor of production, and the cost of the factor of production. ... Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity is a term that refers to giving. ... Subconscious may refer to: that which is subliminal to consciousness the underlying consciousness see subconsciousness. ... The crossword is the most common variety of word puzzle in the world. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed or attempted the act. ... Commercial chlorine bleach In chemistry, to bleach something generally means to whiten it or oxidize it. ... Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Steptoe and Son was a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherds Bush, London. ... Biography published in 1978 (1983 paperback reprint shown) Anthony John Hancock, best known as Tony Hancock (May 12, 1924 – June 24, 1968) was a major figure in British television and radio comedy in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Sid James (8 May 1913 - 26 April 1976) was a film and television actor. ... Hancocks Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. ...

Although Richie is the loud one, who claims to know a great deal, he is actually a complete fool (he once announced "I really am more of an Elizabethan type, you know, 13th century, Shakespeare, the French Revolution"; he later tried to convince a Falklands ex-serviceman that he had fought ten years there and had seized the fictitious "Straud Hill" and liberated the Stanley branch of Tesco). Eddie, on the other hand seems to have quite good general knowledge, which he keeps to himself. He can play chess (and spends six 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 the landlord at the Lamb and Flag, Dick Head). One such plan, in the episode Dough, involved Eddie printing fake money. Instead of making counterfeits which appear real, he plasters them with pornographic doodles of the Royal Family and other such celebrities (on the £5 the Queen "gets her jugs out", on the £50 note there is an orgy involving the Queen, 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). Elizabeth ushers in Peace and Plenty. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... During the French Revolution (1789-1799) democracy and republicanism replaced the absolute monarchy in France, and the French sector of the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ... The Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was a war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, between March and June of 1982. ... From the air Stanley, someties incorrectly referred to as Port Stanley, is the capital and only town in the Falkland Islands, located on the isle of East Falkland. ... This article refers to Tesco PLC - the international retailer headquartered in the UK, see also Tesco (Disambiguation). ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... The Most Noble Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ... For the two explorers who sailed into the Atlantic in 1291, see Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi. ... Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG) The Rec. ... A landlord, or landlady, is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ... A counterfeit is an imitation that is made with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins. ... Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφία pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) (also informally referred to as porn, porno, and more recently, pr0n) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. ... The pound sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda... An orgy is a group activity involving unrestrained indulgence. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda... The Duke of Edinburgh is a British dukedom. ... Sir Robert Bobby Charlton, CBE (born 11 October 1937) Ashington, Northumberland is a former English professional football player, one of the most famous names in the game and a hero of the 1966 World Cup. ... Sylvester Stallone, 1970, 24 years old, in his first movie. ... Le Manège Enchanté (known in English as The Magic Roundabout) was a childrens television programme created in France in 1963 by Serge Danot. ...

Rik Mayall on the set of "Bottom Live".

Most of the time it seems that Richie tries to live like he thinks everyone else does (especially in Holy) keeping to British traditions while Eddie just prefers watching TV. The programmes he watches are particularly amusing, whether they be Miss World to mistakenly renting, what he believed to be pornographic videos turned out to be a children's story (The Furry Honeypot Adventure) to a video about 19th century pottery (Big Jugs). It is unclear how they afford to live and pay rent, however it is believed that Richie's aunt gives him money regularly although Eddie probably spends it on booze. Image File history File links Botsle. ... Image File history File links Botsle. ... Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ...

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 anything they told him to do. Richie's auntie is very rich and dies in one episode with Richie getting a large sum of money out of the will. Richie's dad, Oswald Richard, was an acquaintance of Adolf Hitler (the real one, not Eddie's mother) 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 Richie, albeit "with smaller jugs". See Battle of the Somme (disambiguation) for other battles and meanings Battle of the Somme Conflict First World War Date 1 July 1916 – 18 November 1916 Place Somme, Picardy, France Result Stalemate The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with... Hitler redirects here. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest...

There are certain situations which crop up in most episodes.

• Richie turning almost anything into an innuendo.
• Eddie looking at the audience when Richie is talking complete rubbish.
• Some over-exotic names of local people (e.g. Old Ted Unlucky Suicide McGloomy, Cannonball Taffy O'Jones and Mad Dog Patrick do you want some of this O'Fist).

Richie and Eddie are basically variations on characters the duo had been playing for years; the earlier Filthy, Rich and Catflap had featured a slightly watered-down version. The Dangerous Brothers, their sketch in Saturday Night Live in 1985, also featured violent slapstick. Edmonson's character Eddie Monsoon of The Comic Strip Presents... also had similarities with Eddie. Innuendo can refer to: For Innuendo as a figure of speech please see Double entendre. ... Filthy, Rich and Catflap was a BBC sitcom produced in 1987. ... The Dangerous Brothers was an early stage and TV act by anarchic comedy duo Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, performing respectively as Richard Dangerous and Sir (or occasionally Lady) Adrian Dangerous. They appeared in a number of brief sketches in the 1980s TV programme Saturday Live. ... This article is about the year. ... The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, best known collectively for their television series The Comic Strip Presents. ...

Mayall and Edmonson also both starred in The Young Ones and Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door, playing characters with similarities to their Bottom characters. The Young Ones; Left to right: Jerzi Balowski (Alexei Sayle), Neil (Nigel Planer), Rik (Rick Mayall), Mike (Christopher Ryan) & Viv (Adrian Edmondson) The Young Ones was a British sitcom about four male students sharing a house. ...

Often considered to be the most violent and profane example of the Britcom genre, the programme ran for three series of six episodes each.

Five live theatre shows have been spun off over the years, and have been extremely popular as they often (apparently) forget their lines and have to ad-lib. They also often make fun of the City they are playing in by making the local people out to be stupid.

Deaths

Both Richie and Eddie have died multiple times throughout the series.

• They fall off a ferris wheel in Hole.
• They commit suicide in Bottom Live.
• They are killed by a French bomb in Hooligan's Island.
• A bomb they set for the SWAT team backfires and kills them in Big Number Two.
• A British anti-terrorist squad shoots them in Carnival.

Episode list

(Episode titles are intended to be preceded by the word "Bottom")

Series 1

• Smells – September 17, 1991
• Gas – September 24, 1991
• Contest – September 30, 1991
• Apocalypse – October 7, 1991
• 's Up – October 14, 1991
• Accident – October 28, 1991

September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Series 2

• Digger – October 1, 1992
• Burglary – October 8, 1992
• Culture – October 15, 1992
• Parade – October 22, 1992
• Holy – October 29, 1992
• 's Out – April 10, 1995 – This episode was pulled from the original run of series 2 as its scenario was similar to a murder on Wimbledon Common [1] at the time. It was shown later as a special after series 3.

October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The windmill on Wimbledon Common in February 2005 Wimbledon and Putney Commons consist of a large open space south west of London comprising 1140 acres (4. ...

Series 3

• Hole – January 6, 1995
• Terror – January 13, 1995
• Break – January 20, 1995
• Dough – January 27, 1995
• Finger – February 3, 1995
• Carnival – February 10, 1995

January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Live shows

• Bottom Live – 1993
• Bottom Live: The Big Number Two Tour – 1995
• Bottom Live 3 Hooligans Island – 1997
• Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity – 2001
• Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour – 2003

1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Guest House Paradiso

Following the "Hooligan's Island" tour, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson wrote a spin-off movie together, which Adrian directed, entitled Guest House Paradiso. It takes place in an alternate reality in which Richie and Eddie run a filthy hotel next to a nuclear power plant. It was finally released in 1999 to poor reviews and is generally considered mediocre by fans of the series, due to its use of juvenile "bodily function" jokes. Guest House Paradiso is a 1999 comedy slapstick movie, starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, and directed by Edmonson. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Bottom (television)

• 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