The Comic Strip Presents... (1982– )

I only caught the odd episode of this show on it's initial run (and I was a little disappointed by what I saw), but years later a friend showed me the episode, "Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door" featuring Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson as a couple of seedy alcoholic losers. About 8 years on from that first viewing I still rate it as one of the funniest things I've ever seen... TV show or movie. Although it's a fairly close comedic relative of this particular episode, I've never been a fan of Bottom. The characters are sleazy but too far removed from reality to be anything more than cartoonish, but in 'Mr. Jolly' their frightening alcohol consumption and heroically antisocial behaviour make for brilliant entertainment. Granted, they may not appeal to everyone. You could say it's a one-joke show but it works for me.

The story revolves around these two losers mistakenly accepting a job intended for the eponymous Jolly (Peter Cooke), a hit-man charged with 'taking out' Nicholas Parsons. Misunderstanding, they take Parsons (playing himself) out for the night. I don't want to bang on about it endlessly, I'm only writing this in the hope of bringing it to the attention of someone, hopefully spreading the word on it's originality and brilliance, even just a little!

Any fans of Rik Mayall, The Young Ones, Bottom etc. simply must track this priceless gem down (I eventually found an official VHS so it has been released at some point). Like I say I'm not even a particular fan of their previous work so anyone who is must go nuts for this.

Trust me, you have to love it!