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"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a chat show presented
by the rude and insensitive Alan Partridge. "I'm Alan
Partridge", which followed on from "Knowing Me, Knowing
You", observes Alan as his career goes downhill. He ends
up living in a travel tavern and working the early-morning
then late-night shifts at a local radio station. Despite being
a total loser Alan is still under the impression he is a major
media star.
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In the first series (entitled
"Knowing Me, Knowing You") Alan Partridge is an
insincere and skill-less chat show host. Partridge frequently
demonstrated his insecurities and total lack of knowledge
about his guests' lives during each "broadcast"
(which is presented to viewers as if it were a real programme).
Alan's embarrassing presenting career ends when he accidentally
shoots a guest (thus leading to him being "banned"
from the BBC). Series 2 catches
up with Partridge who is now living in a travel tavern whilst
he tries to rebuild his shattered career by hosting a morning
show on Radio Norwich. Series 3,
set five years after series 2, finds Alan living with a foreign
girlfriend in a caravan still confident that he can, with
the help of his PA Lynn get back on prime time television.
Unlike other sitcom characters, Alan
Partridge is almost real; this is because
Coogan has played him in a number of different shows, in which
he always presented himself as a real person so it appeared
as if this man "Alan" really has been moving between
presenting jobs. The fictitious Alan Partridge started life
out as a sports presenter on Radio4's spoof news programme
"On The Hour", he then appeared on Chris Morris'
satirical BBC2 television news show "The Day Today",
again as a sports presenter. This was followed by the BBC
radio show "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge"
and then a TV version of the same show which is where The
British Sitcom Guide picks up the story. Coogan also presented,
in character as Alan, sections of other television shows such
as "Comic Relief", "The Brit Awards 1998"
and "The Comedy Awards 2000". He also surreally
appeared as Alan Partridge on "Clive Anderson All Talk".
Trivia: Steve Coogan originally based
the Alan Partridge character on Tony Wilson, a journalist for
Granada television and
founder, owner and manager of Factory Records (Joy Division,
New Order, Happy Mondays etc.). In 2002 a movie about the
creation and dissolution of the record label was released
entitled "24-hour party people" in which Steve Coogan starred as the 'real'
Tony Wilson.
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