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COMIC STRIP PRESENTS , 1 January 2008
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Comic Strip - Complete
(9 discs)
on DVD
(1982)
Starring: Rik Mayall, Ade Edmonson, Dawn French
Certificate: 
It hardly needs spelling out that The Comic Strip Presents… kick-started the careers of the bulk of our ‘alternative’ comedians. Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, French and Saunders, Peter Richardson, Keith Allen--all started here.
The series is the very definition of a ‘mixed bag’. Each show was a separate story in its own right, and each one couldn’t be more different from the last--from the sixties pastiche ‘The Bulls###ters’ to the arty ‘Les Dogs’ (starring Kate Bush, no less).
With 39 episodes to choose from, the overall quality of the episodes does vary somewhat. For every excellent ‘South Atlantic Raiders’ and ‘The Supergrass’, there’s a woeful ‘Spaghetti Hoops’. But The Comic Strip Presents… deserves its place in comic history by virtue of being different, by trying to create new and interesting work, and in doing so being truly groundbreaking.
When you take risks, you end up with gems such as the double header of ‘Bad News Tour’ and ‘More Bad News’, which follow a chronically bad rock group on the road. These two episodes alone are worth your attention, the interplay of the four leading players (Edmondson, Planer, Mayall and Richardson) a marvel to watch and with scenes that will make you keel over--Vim Fuego’s take on ‘Imagine/Imogen’ is pure gold.
Other highlights include ‘Five Go Mad In Dorset’, a wonderful take on Enid Blyton’s skewed and irreverant view of teenagers in Britain; ‘Mr Jolly Lives Next Door’, which sees Mayall and Edmondson, in a precursor to their days on ‘Bottom’, getting themselves in a sticky situation with Mr Jolly, played brilliantly by the late Peter Cook; and Strike!’, a Hollywood-esque take on the miners’ strike of 1984.
The Comic Strip Presents… pushed comedic boundaries and was never afraid to do things a little differently and this collection is a fine record of its prolific, always interesting, and often hilarious output.--Mark Oakley
Synopsis
Features the complete thirty-nine episodes from the ground-breaking comedy series. Episodes include: 'The Beat Generation', 'Five Go Mad In Dorset', 'Dirty Movie', 'The Strike', 'Consuela', 'Bad News', 'Funseekers', 'South Atlantic Raiders', 'Les Dogs', 'The Crying Game', 'Wild Turkey' and much more...
From the Director
Widely acknowledged as the founding fathers of alternative comedy, The Comic Strip Presents… launched the careers of some of our best-loved comedians including Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle, Ade Edmondson, Peter Richardson, Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and Nigel Planer.
Approached by the artists, Channel 4 was convinced to take a chance and commission a TV series. Launched the same day as the Channel itself in November 1982, this political and social satire became an instant hit, changing the face of UK comedy forever.
Over 20 years after the first transmission, Channel 4 Video is, for the first time, bringing together all 39 episodes of the ground-breaking comedy in a 9–disc collectors box set. Classics include: Five Go Mad in Dorset – the parody of the Famous Five stories washed down with lashings of ginger beer, Golden Rose of Montreux winning Strike! – an over the top Hollywood pastiche about the 1984 miners strike, and Bad News – a send up of a touring rock band – the original Spinal Tap!
The 9th disc is loaded with an extensive array of extras for fans of this cult series with a running time of over two hours. Included is a brand new exclusive retrospective of the Comic Strip presents….comprising of interviews with Dawn French, Adrian Edmondson, Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle, Nigel Planer, Pete Richens, Lenny Henry, Leslie Philips, Julie T Wallace, Gary Beadle and Phil Cornwell about their Comic Strip experiences. Julien Temple’s 1981 tongue in cheek look at what went on behind the scenes of the original stage show The Comic Strip, and cast interviews from 1998 make up disc 9.
Now, at long last, this uniquely successful comedy great is coming to DVD courtesy of Channel 4 DVD in a must-own collectors box set!
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