This Time with Alan Partridge

3.3m tuned in last night

ITV Long Lost Family and BBC Warren both got 3.8 million each though apparently.

I wonder how many were watching by the end of Warren though.

OK. I've had all day to think about the return.

I certainly don't think it was worth the five stars, but neither was it worth the bucket load of c*ap Ian Hulton poured on it (I assume he and Coogan have a deep rooted 'previous'). I thought it was OK but nothing more than that.

I don't have any axe to grind. I was there for Partridge's first 'broadcast' in the opening episode on On The Hour, back when it was Radio 4's Week Ending holiday cover, back in August 1991, and heard and seen everything he's done since - but, there are a couple of flaws, that stop it being really good.

First. Neil and Rob Gibbons. I question exactly why in addition to being co-writers (no problem with that.They took on the writing duties and moved the character on from the very dark place he was in I'm Alan Partridge series 2), they are also co-producers and Directors.

It needs a different director, to put a different spin on the writing. If the same fingers on the keyboards are the same fingers on the mixer desk in the gallery, any new ideas will be surpressed, because that's how the writer imagined it would look when he wrote it.

It's probably why the cuts from the 'Live' show, to the off camera footage is done the way it is, instead of a filmic effect, or from a 'snoop' cam. They wanted to avoid comparisons with The Larry Sanders Show.

Talking of writing. It's odd that after 20 odd years off the BBC, how exactly he came back to the corporation, was explained by the out of the broadcast show pre-publicity, and a couple of lines at the start of the show.
Last night's show should have been episode 2, whilst episode 1 should have concentrated on the discussion and negotiations with Alan. Again, maybe they thought that was too close to I'm Alan Partridge territory.

Having a stand alone Episode 1 may have explained why Sidekick Simon was a contributer, when (at the moment) Alan is only a temporary stand in.

Personally, I'd have him as Alan's chauffeur, driving him and Lynn to the studio. This allows for a cold open to each episode to show all three in a car, with Alan Reading through the running order and the caustic asides leading to an opportunity to build up a few verbal gags later in the show.
Reverse over the credits, Alan leaving the studios in the car debriefing the show with Simon and Lynn.

That would remove the odd sight of Lynn just standing around off camera and walking on set during the VT's.

Second. This Time itself. Its not a spoof. Its more a look-a-like.

Swap the actors for real people and any of those 'items' and 'features' could have been straight out of any lightweight low budget magazine show.
Apart from the completely pointless oversized set, nothing else was really spoof or parody. No cheap sounding brass bombastic music, distracting lower thirds.

The wildlife expert should have been sat on the guest sofa all through the show. That would have allowed Alan to make a right mess of the item tone gearshifts by asking and making dead-end questions and comments to the guest, who had no opinion of how to answer.
A proper spoof would have had guests with silly names, items, and a set to match. That would make the comedy duel layered, instead of hanging everything off Partridge.

It had some good moments, but it's the missed opportunities that frustrate.

I think you're over analysing it.

The rating wasn’t that good, I expected more. I think people get carried away because it’s obviously popular in the media as it’s full of media in-jokes. I think it should probably have been on BBC Two like W1A is.

The rating is such that if it drops a bit it could end up as a flop in BBC One terms, but would be a hit on BBC Two

It'll do better with consolidated ratings when they're released. I didn't watch personally until 11pm on iPlayer.

I was told by colleagues that they also shot a sequence at White City Place (on one of my days off, sadly!).

Is it really? I think its always been more about the characters rather than the media industry.

Maybe not in-jokes then, but you can imagine stuff about him getting a second series and meeting with commissioning editors and the like would be especially popular if you work in that world or have an interest in that world, like we do here.

Finally got around to watching ep 1 - and while I agree some bits were a bit try-hard, there were some brilliant Partridge one-liners. I'll be back for more.

(One minor point - don't you a red lanyard for NBH anymore?)

That has changed, there are still rules they’re just different!