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Overall | Bottom-Series 1 (1991) | Bottom-Series 2 (1992) | Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

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Bottom-The Complete Series (1991)

Bottom-The Complete Series (1991)

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Released 5-Oct-2006

Cover Art

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Overall Package

English comedians Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson may never be knighted but they are considered national heroes by their fans for pioneering alternative comedy in the early 1980s alongside Ben Elton, Rowan Atkinson, Dawn French, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders, Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and Alexei Sayle. This new wave of comedy focused on observational humour, political satire, breaking social taboos, intellectual humour, extreme slapstick and surreal whimsy. Shows such as The Young Ones, Not The Nine O'Clock News, The Comic Strip Presents... and French & Saunders incorporated this new form of comedy.

Bottom, which originally aired between 1991-1995 and spawned several stage shows, had its origins in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which Edmondson and Mayall co-starred in at the Queen's Theatre. Bottom, like Waiting for Godot, was centred on the pointlessness of life and would incorporate what Mayall and Edmondson are best known for – crude, violent humour. Bottom seems like all the characters Mayall and Edmonson are known for have come full circle: In Mayall’s Richard Richard (Richie), Rick Pratt of The Young Ones can be seen as Richie is hung up on his upper-class conservative background and he is an insincere, tantrum-throwing attention seeker. Richie is so self-absorbed he is pretentious and occasionally a snob. In Edmondson’s Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie), The Young Ones Vyvyan B******’s violence and inhuman strength can be found in Eddie’s creative alcoholic. Furthermore, the comedians' other characters such as The Dangerous Brothers (Sir Richard Dangerous and Sir Adrian Dangerous), Filthy Rich and Catflap (Richie Rich and Eddie Catflap) and Mr Jolly Lives Next Door (Richie and Eddie) can all be referenced in Bottom. While Bottom is certainly not for the faint of heart it is momentous comedy. Over a decade old, the portrayal of the degenerate characters with good and not so good intentions has not aged. This box set is recommended for fans of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson.

There are currently three box sets of Bottom available:

R1 is missing nothing in comparison with the R2/R4

R2/R4 are missing the following extras in comparison with the R1 :

All releases are complete and uncut. It is disappointing that the R4 is missing two interesting extras from the R1 box set which demonstrate the first phase of the characters of Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler. Depending on whether the purchaser wants the complete series of R1 or individual releases of R2 and R4 or discounted box sets of R2 and R4 there are a number of options to suit the purchaser’s budget. A best-of DVD is also available in R2 and R4 which features five uncut episodes and a photo gallery.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Vanessa Appassamy (Biography)
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Other Reviews NONE
Overall | Bottom-Series 1 (1991) | Bottom-Series 2 (1992) | Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Bottom-Series 1 (1991)

Bottom-Series 1 (1991)

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Released 6-Oct-2005

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Outtakes-Bottom Fluff
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1991
Running Time ?
RSDL / Flipper RSDL Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Jon Plowman
Bob Spiers
Ed Bye
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Adrian Edmondson
Rik Mayall
Case ?
RPI $29.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
Danish
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

Kristen:

    In 1982 a new British comedy, The Young Ones, burst onto the scene, successfully bringing a whole new level of crass comedy to television. Nine years later, Bottom was introduced to audiences, also via the ABC in Australia. Unfortunately, the humour is gone but the crassness remains. With Adrian Edmondson (Edward ‘Eddie’ Elizabeth Hitler) and Rik Mayall (Richard ‘Richie’ Richard) starring in Bottom as well as the earlier Young Ones, comparisons are bound to be made, with The Young Ones coming out the clear winner. The two actors basically reprise their Young Ones characters, with Mayall as the slimy virginal loser, and Edmonson as the violent, carefree nut-job. What there is by way of plot for the series involves these two characters eking out their dodgy lives in a squalid London apartment, and the trials and tribulations they go through.

     Where The Young Ones was new and fresh Bottom is old and stale, much like Richie and Eddie’s apartment. Edmonson and Mayall struggle to carry the show by themselves (whereas The Young Ones had four regular cast members with frequent guest stars) and by the end of the first episode I was wondering what else they could do for the remaining five. The answer was - not a lot. The same set (I’m sure it’s the same set where The Young Ones was filmed), and the same jokes, by the same actors.

     But if words like tits, botty, rectum and knacker bags make you giggle then this could be the show for you.

Ryan:

     This is one of those TV shows you remember being a lot funnier than it actually was. I remember staying up late to catch it on the ABC, but on viewing this DVD I can’t see why I would have bothered. There isn’t a lot of diversity amongst episodes or plot, with most of them being set entirely in Richie and Eddie’s dingy apartment (occasionally they venture out to the pub), and the plot revolving around their pursuit of sex, alcohol, beating on one another, or similar.

    I have to admit the violence in the show really startled me – I remember it being quite violent, but the scene in Episode 2 (Gas) where they absolutely bludgeon a hapless gas man to death with a frying pan (and then sink the boots in too) just goes beyond the point of slapstick black comedy and becomes a bit sickening. Or maybe I’m just getting squeamish in my old age.

    As KC points out, the jokes that don’t revolve around people hitting one another are of the typical British ‘naughty’ variety. It's amazing that Mayall and Edmonson got not only three seasons of a TV show, but also a Bottom stage show and movie (Guest House Paradiso) from this material. But with episode titles like Smells and Gas (tee hee, how naughty) you can’t say you know what you are in for – there are people who still love this stuff, know all the lines and will no doubt buy this DVD. To be fair, there are a few laughs here and there but this is really one for the fans.

The episodes are as follows:

  • Smells (28:27)

In their never-ending, yet completely futile, quest for some hot lovin’, Richie and Eddie try out some pheromone perfume that is supposed to drive women crazy. Needless to say, it doesn’t work no matter how many litres of the stuff Richie sprays all over himself (I’m sure you can guess some of the jokes already).

  • Gas (28:31)

Possibly the most notorious episode of the series, mainly for the savage beating that is applied to the gas man who foolishly tries to read Richie and Eddie’s meter (they have been diverting gas from next door).

Eddie and Richie have a massive row revolving around whether they should or shouldn’t watch the Miss World contest on their TV. And you thought Seinfeld was the show about nothing… 

Richie and Eddie are in desperate need of money (again), and plan to ring Richie’s rich Aunt. Upon finding her dead, Richie is ecstatic to find he has inherited 600 pounds and so it's off to the local fair or circus. It's here that Richie is told his fortune by a fortune teller and discovers he will die before the moon rises three times … 

Richie is up Sunday morning, looking forward to getting the most out of his day. Eddie is camped in front of the television and settling in to watch three dirty movies. The day takes a dramatic turn for the better when Mr Harrison asks the boys to mind his shop for the afternoon … 

It's Richie’s birthday, and while putting up some birthday decorations he suffers a bad fall and breaks his leg. Eddie does his best to rustle up a birthday crowd and arranges for Spudgun and Hedgehog (Christopher Ryan, who plays Mike in The Young Ones) to drop over.

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Transfer Quality

Video

   In general, the disc looks like what it is - standard early 1990s low–budget television: 1.33:1, a high level of grain, pale colour tones and with some seriously dark scenes in the dull studio-based settings. But BBC shows tend to have a fairly reasonable DVD transfer and this disc offers the best that can be expected from the source material.

   The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.29:1, with the original aspect ratio being 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

   Detail was acceptably sharp across the series, but episode 3 (Contest) was noticeably more grainy than others. This episode appears as though it may have been filmed first, with the hair styles and appearance of the characters slightly different to the rest of the series. Possibly it was filmed as a pilot on cheaper equipment, as the difference in quality seems more related to the source material rather than the DVD transfer.

 

   Colour is not especially vibrant, but it needs to be taken into account that the studio settings, be it Eddie and Richie’s grimy apartment or the dimly lit local pub, do not lend themselves to particularly bright, lively colours.

   Artefacts are not a source of distraction across the series. There is some minor aliasing such as at 4:49 in Episode 1 Smells, but this is never a big enough problem to be noticeable if you aren’t looking for it.

   The movie features both English and Danish subtitles, although for some reason the Danish titles are not selectable via the subtitle menu.

   

   Bottom is a single layer disc only.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

   The general sound level is very quiet and we found we had to turn the amp up to a much higher level than you normally would with a standard Dolby Digital 2.0 disc. Probably this is more a result of a sub-par audio transfer than with the original source. The soundtrack is primarily dialogue driven, and was easy to understand once the volume was set to a sufficient level.   

   The film features just one audio track, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

 

   There were no audio sync problems noticeable.

 

   There is some incidental music throughout Bottom, usually around scene changes, but it never lasts long enough to raise interest. The track which closes each episode, with Richie and Eddie dancing in between beatings, is the most prominent use of music in the show and is quite a catchy little track.

   There is no surround sound.

   There is no LFE channel.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

   Bottom features just one extra, the suitably-classily titled Bottom Fluff (15:09). This consists of some warm-up material from Mayall and Edmonson, bloopers and outtakes from the series, and an extended deleted sequence from the Gas episode. Basically, it's more of the same.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

New Page 1

    A Region 1 edition titled Bottom - Not Another Half-Arsed DVD Set is available which combines all three series of the show, plus some extras not featured on this release. These are listed as:

    From a value for money perspective alone, this Region 1 collection seems to be the best option, given that it includes all three seasons and is available for around US$27.00.

    But for our money, its hard to maintain interest over 6 episodes let alone any more...

Summary

    Fans of The Young Ones, Bottom or Mayall and Edmondson will find value in this disc. Others may want to stick to more recent and sophisticated British comedy, like The Office.

    The video transfer is acceptable considering the source material.

    Sound was clear and passable, with the exception of being quite low in volume.

    The extras are fairly light but how much of this stuff do you really want?

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Kristen Clark & Ryan Woodforde (I love the smell of bio in the morning.)
Friday, November 11, 2005
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-533K, using S-Video output
DisplayPanasonic TX-51P15H rear projection TV (136cm).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to Amplifier.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS494
SpeakersKrix Lyrix front speakers, Krix KDX-C centre speaker, Krix Equinox rear speakers, BIC D-121OR 12' 200 watt powered sub-woofer.

Other Reviews
impulsegamer.com - Felix S
The DVD Bits - Richard G

Overall | Bottom-Series 1 (1991) | Bottom-Series 2 (1992) | Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Bottom-Series 2 (1992)

Bottom-Series 2 (1992)

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Released 2-Mar-2006

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Outtakes-Series Two Fluffs
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 1992
Running Time 178:29 (Case: 207)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Jon Plowman
Bob Spiers
Ed Bye
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Adrian Edmondson
Rik Mayall
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $24.95 Music The Bum Notes


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
English
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, the masters of anarchy and the perverse, return to the violent bliss of Bottom for a second season. All six episodes of this season appear uncut on this DVD release although not in the original broadcast order:

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Transfer Quality

Video

All the episodes are presented in Full Frame 1.33:1 on a dual layered single sided DVD. Overall the picture quality is commendable. While there are minor incidents of grain and one incident of blooming in the source material the transfer features no incidents of Film-To-Video Artefacts. The colour scheme itself is dull with muted browns and yellows but this is an artistic choice. Skin tones remain natural and black levels are average. There is a single English subtitle track which is presented in a clear white Arial font. There are 6 chapter selections for each episode.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The single English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) audio track is adequate for the dialogue driven situation comedy. There are no audio synchronisation problems and the audio remains clear and audible. Other than the dialogue the show features exaggerated sound effects and segments of the main theme during the episodes which is performed by ‘The Bum Notes.”

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Main Menu Audio

A still image with a practical menu featuring a play all feature, episode and chapter selection and a subtitle option.

Outtakes

Entitled “Bumfluff,” this is a montage of outtakes from the show. It runs to a length of 28:41. This is recommended viewing. This feature can be viewed with subtitles.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

There are currently three box sets of Bottom available:

R1 is missing nothing in comparison with the R2/R4

R2/R4 are missing the following extras in comparison with the R1 :

Also in R2 there is a yet to be released The Big Bottom Box (7 DVDS). Unfortunately this DVD set does not include the television series:

All releases are complete and uncut. It is disappointing that the R4 is missing two interesting extras from the R1 box set which demonstrate the first phase of the characters of Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler. Depending on whether the purchaser wants the complete series of R1 or individual releases of R2 and R4 or discounted box sets of R2 and R4 there are a number of options to suit the purchaser’s budget. A best-of DVD is also available in R2 and R4 which features five uncut episodes and a photo gallery.

Summary

An all round excellent release of a guilty pleasure.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Vanessa Appassamy (Biography)
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDDenon DVD-1910, using DVI output
DisplayPanasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationYamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS
Speakers(Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12

Other Reviews
The DVD Bits - Al D

Overall | Bottom-Series 1 (1991) | Bottom-Series 2 (1992) | Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

Bottom-Series 3 (1995)

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Released 6-Jul-2006

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Outtakes-Bottom Fluff
Main Menu Audio
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1995
Running Time 174:30 (Case: 185)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Jon Plowman
Bob Spiers
Ed Bye
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Adrian Edmondson
Rik Mayall
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $19.95 Music The Bum Notes


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
English
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

The depravity continues as Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, the masters of mayhem and the sadistic return to the violent bliss of Bottom for a final season. All six episodes of this season appear uncut on this DVD release although not in the original broadcast order: The episodes originally aired in the UK in January and February 1995.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

All the episodes are presented in Full Frame 1.33:1 on a dual layered single sided DVD. Overall the picture quality is commendable. While there are minor incidents of grain and one incident of blooming in the source material the transfer features no incidents of Film-To-Video Artefacts. The colour scheme itself is dull with muted browns and yellows but this is an artistic choice. Skin tones remain natural and black levels are average. There is a single English subtitle soundtrack which is presented in a clear white Arial font. There are 6 chapter selections for each episode.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The single English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) soundtrack is adequate for the dialogue driven situation comedy. There are no audio synchronisation problems and the audio remains clear and audible. Other than the dialogue the show features exaggerated sound effects and segments of the main theme during the episodes which is performed by 'The Bum Notes'.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Main Menu Audio

A still image with a practical menu featuring a play all feature, episode and chapter selection and subtitle options.

Outtakes

Entitled “Bumfluff” this is a montage of outtakes from the show. It runs to a length of 13:17. This is recommended viewing. This feature can be viewed with subtitles.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

There are currently three box sets of this series available:

R1 is missing nothing in comparison with the R2/R4.

R2/R4 is missing the following extras:

Also in R2 there is a yet to be released The Big Bottom Box (7 DVDs).
Please note this boxset does not include the television series. Rather it is focused on the 'spin-off's' of the television show:

All releases are complete and uncut. It is disappointing that the R4 is missing two interesting extras from the R1 box set which demonstrate the first phase of the characters of Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler. Depending on whether the purchaser wants the complete series of R1 or individual releases of R2 and R4 or discounted box sets of R2 and R4 there are a number of options to suit the purchaser’s budget. A best-of DVD is also available in R2 and R4 which features five uncut episodes and a photo gallery.

Summary

The final series is released in commendable fashion

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Vanessa Appassamy (Biography)
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Review Equipment
DVDDenon DVD-1910, using DVI output
DisplayPanasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationYamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS
Speakers(Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12

Other Reviews NONE