A Brilliant Conflict

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This witty series of short films helped put 'alternative comedy' on the comedy map in the early '80's. 'The Comic Strip Presents' started life in the Comedy Store club in Soho in 1980 when a young group of comedians banded together to form 'The Comic Strip Club' which consisted of three double acts - Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson ( under the name '20th Century Coyote' ), Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders ( who simply became known as 'French & Saunders' ) and Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer ( who became known as 'The Outer Limits' ). Alexei Sayle acted as compere. Along with Pete Richens, Peter Richardson decided that there was potential to bring the team to television and so 'The Comic Strip Presents' was born. It debuted on Channel 4 in 1982 ( one of the first things to be shown on the newly launched channel, the first being the dreadful Liverpudlian soap 'Brookside' ) a week before 'The Young Ones' debuted on BBC2. The first edition, 'Five Go Mad In Dorset' was a spoof of Enid Blyton's 'The Famous Five' and drew complaints from viewers for the way it satirised the show.The first series of films was patchy at best but when it returned at the end of 1983 with a second season, it had taken a huge leap in quality, bringing us some wonderful editions such as 'Dirty Movie' and 'Susie'. The films, which were a cross between 'Carry On' and 'Monty Python', were often beautifully written and proved highly influential. Keith Allen, Peter Richardson and Robbie Coltrane featured in a one off television spin-off 'The Bullshitters' which was a blatant spoof of 'The Professionals'. Several cinematic releases also came about as a result of the show's success. The first film, 'The Supergrass' ( which had Ade Edmondson as a reluctant police informer ) came in 1985, the second film, made in 1987 was 'Eat The Rich' ( which sees a disgruntled restaurant owner fall on hard times ), 'The Pope Must Die', made in 1991 saw Robbie Coltrane unwittingly becoming the new pontiff and lastly, in 2004 we were given 'Churchill: The Hollywood Years' which saw Hitler trying to marry into the monarchy.Of all the show's stars, Rik Mayall was probably the one to profit the most from the success of the show. Mayall had previously gained television exposure in as eccentric investigator Kevin Turvey in the BBC Scotland sketch show 'A Kick Up The Eighties' but it was with 'The Young Ones' and 'The Comic Strip Presents' that he really found his niche.Unfortunately, 'The Comic Strip Presents' overstayed it welcome but when it was funny it was hilarious and for many helped brighten up many's a dark night throughout the 80's and 90's.Favourite edition? 'Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door' in which Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson play two bumbling assassins who are hired to 'take out' Nicholas Parsons.

9 discs of the entire cast of The Young Ones and French and Saunders before they hit their stride. From the opening night of Channel 4 in 1982, to mid-nineties burnout. "Hit 'n miss" is the best description for this collection, but you will have to sit through every episode to find the few you agree with (keep in mind they are over an hour long each, with some at feature length). Each (with the exception of the Famous Five, Bad News and Bullshitters reprises) is completely different, and range from bold and original, to unfunny, or unbearable.Personal favourites include:Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door - resides somewhere between Rick and Viv, Bottom and the movie Guest House Paradiso. No-brow humor that will only appeal to those born with a penis. And depends on whether you find Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson screaming "Nicholas, Bloody, Parsons! You BASTARD!" funny. Most will.Bad News / More Bad News - Predated Spinal Tap. As this is made by actual Brits, it gets right a lot of what Tap got wrong.The Strike / GLC - Brilliant send-up of pretty much everything, the real highlight of the collection and espoused by all. You will never view a British film in quite the same way after seeing this.Four Men in a Car/Plane - One-offs independent of the series, and the comedians at the height of their maturity. The best each has to offer.Spaghetti Hoops - Not laugh-out-loud funny, but not meant to be. Toward the end they were finally able to make the art house short they were aiming for.Private Enterprise and Gino don't have belly laughs, but they do have an enjoyable forward momentum. Whilst others will make you ask "what the hell were they thinking?" The entire series was timely and topical, which means that all the short films are incredibly dated. And most will no doubt play better in the mind's eye than actually watching them again. Making the first few discs write-offs on repeat viewing. Even at their worst, you have to admire their originality.

Many episodes of 'The Comic Strip Presents' were parodies of specific films or TV shows, or parodies of film/TV genres. The episode transmitted 3 November 1984 was titled 'The Bullsh**ters', and it's an hilarious parody of the ITV action series 'The Professionals' in particular and thick-ear matey action shows in general.The crime-fighting partners in 'The Professionals' were named Bodie and Doyle, so here in 'The Bullsh**ters' we have Keith Allen and Peter Richardson (both of whom also wrote the script) as Bonehead and Foyle, taking orders from their commanding officer, hilariously played by Robbie Coltrane. Bodie and Doyle, of course, had an expensive car with all sorts of gizmos ... but Bonehead and Foyle have to make do with bus passes as they rush from headquarters to their deadly missions.Coltrane has one very funny set-piece routine, in which he shows Bonehead and Foyle the proper way for a TV action hero to get into a car. Elvis Costello is also funny in a brief turn as a deaf man. Alana Pellay and Jimmy Fagg (don't ask) play themselves.

"The comic strip presents" team is made up of numerous hero's of British comedy, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmundson, French + Saunders, Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer to name just a few. Starting in The "Comic strip night club" in the early 80's they turned many a famous head. Getting their break with channel 4 was in my opinion, the best choice the channel has ever made. Ranging from famous five re-makes to posing as heavy metal super-stars, the comic strip team have excelled in over 30 TV films and a number of feature movies. Building a base for Mayall and Edmondson to leap foward, they have gone on to become household names appearing in such favourites as "Bottom" and "The young ones" (also with Nigel Planer.) All in all the comic strip team have achieved comic greatness at the very highest level. A shining example to young and old comedians.