As a hardcore Bottom fan i didn't exactly hate this live show, but i found myself disappointed when it had finished. The really good "i can't breathe" laughs were very far apart - it's simply the least funny show of the five - and the only one that has disappointed me. The storyline is weak (or at least weaker than usual :D) and the punch lines/gags hasn't got the quality of the other live shows. While i think of the other live shows as 10's this is merely a 7 - and i'm being generous. But still a must see for true Bottom fans (and Rik & Ade fans) - but i won't recommend it for viewers who don't already know and like the series and/or the actors/comedians.
7 Reviews
Still funny, even at a weaker "violtage."
Ultradeth29 November 2019
The fourth live show of Bottom hits all the marks of the previous endeavors, from the rude humor to on stage bloopers, prop malfunctions, strong language and the few times when the leads follow the script.
Richard and Eddie are still on a desert island, whether it's the same from Hooligan's Island is unknown, but this series is renowned for many things, continuity is not one of them.
The second act I feel was weaker, even with particularly funny blunders. (Vecks in Practice, anyone?) It is a little diluted in comparison with the older live shows but is not without its highlights.
Richard and Eddie are still on a desert island, whether it's the same from Hooligan's Island is unknown, but this series is renowned for many things, continuity is not one of them.
The second act I feel was weaker, even with particularly funny blunders. (Vecks in Practice, anyone?) It is a little diluted in comparison with the older live shows but is not without its highlights.
A more mature approach to immature (but fun!) slapstick!
aufwiedersehenpet17 March 2002
This was the first of the live Bottoms that I actually went to see live. My review of that show (@ Newcastle City Hall) is very much the same as of the DVD which I am reviewing here.
Now, I would have to say first that this is the weaker of the four shows. It is still, however, very funny indeed.
The first half is more of the same. Ritchie and Eddie are still on Hooligans island, with a parrots funeral and some day glow pant removal activities to fill their time in. There are some very memorable parts of this half, such as their pet pig called Vanessa Feltz.
The second half however was nothing short of surreal. It was all set inside a dome, with only the two of them in there (as Eddie says, like the millenium dome, only fuller!), with only two shutes and a button marked 'do not press' for company. In this section they took themselves away from their characters, taking the mick out of the people who played them on stage (themselves essentially). And they were worrying about getting back to the play for the second half.
The main difference is that this time, the show ended without them being killed. Instead we were to treated to a two piece musical number "Take off your pants" and "F*ck off you w*nkers".
All in all this began as more of the same, but ended as something completely original. Like I say, hillariously funny, and highly recommended, even though it is still not a patch on the first three.
Now, I would have to say first that this is the weaker of the four shows. It is still, however, very funny indeed.
The first half is more of the same. Ritchie and Eddie are still on Hooligans island, with a parrots funeral and some day glow pant removal activities to fill their time in. There are some very memorable parts of this half, such as their pet pig called Vanessa Feltz.
The second half however was nothing short of surreal. It was all set inside a dome, with only the two of them in there (as Eddie says, like the millenium dome, only fuller!), with only two shutes and a button marked 'do not press' for company. In this section they took themselves away from their characters, taking the mick out of the people who played them on stage (themselves essentially). And they were worrying about getting back to the play for the second half.
The main difference is that this time, the show ended without them being killed. Instead we were to treated to a two piece musical number "Take off your pants" and "F*ck off you w*nkers".
All in all this began as more of the same, but ended as something completely original. Like I say, hillariously funny, and highly recommended, even though it is still not a patch on the first three.
''It's like the Millennium Dome, only fuller!''
Rabical-916 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
After a four year break, 'Bottom' returned in triumph for another stage show - the result being 'Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity' ( filmed at The Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham ) - the title obviously spoofing '2001: A Space Odessey'. The first half of the show sees them where they left off last - on the desolate desert island. No mention is made of the explosion that occurred in the last show. It seems almost like nothing has happened.
The show starts with Eddie fleeing from a group of gorillas of whom he owes a large gambling debt to and arriving on the island to discover that Richie has taken up cross-dressing. He has even went so far as to design for himself a pair of skimpy pink underpants ( which are so tight he can't get them off ). Eddie is also alarmed to find that their parrot has escaped from its cage. Richie explains that he has been 'Hawking' with the parrot. Eventually, the parrot appears back on the island, unconscious, having been attacked by a group of aggressive seagulls. Eddie tries to resuscitate the animal with a defibrillator but Richie sets the voltage too high and it results in the animal being blown to bits the length of the island. ''Where did he go?'' asks Richie tearfully. ''Pretty much everywhere!'' responds Eddie, matter of factly.
The first half of the show ends with Richie and Eddie trying to make a hasty retreat to the theatre bar before the audience get there.
In the second half, the two are taken from the island and dumped in a strange space-ship like dome ( hence the '2001' reference in the title ). It is not quite as bad as they think though as hidden behind the dome is a bar, which is later found by Eddie. The show ends with Richie and Eddie singing 'The Pants Song'.
'An Arse Oddity' is not a patch on the first two shows but is miles funnier than 'Hooligan's Island'. The script is more tightly written this time. I only knock one star off my rating because of 'The Pants Song' number at the end. I personally found it rather out of place. The 'dome' setting could easily have worked as TV episode of 'Bottom'. There's a hilarious moment where Richie asks Eddie: ''Who's that dreadful actor that plays me? You must know him, that tosser who fell off the quad-bike!''. This was a reference to Rik Mayall's quad bike accident in 1998 which left him in a coma for days.
On another downside, the bit where Richie thinks he is having a heart attack makes for upsetting viewing now as this was how Mayall died in June last year. Overall, 'An Arse Oddity' was regarded positively enough to spawn another live show two years later - 'Bottom Live 2003: Weapon's Grade Y-Fronts Tour' - which turned out to be Richie and Eddie's final outing.
Funniest bit - trying to figure out a way to escape from the dome, Richie suggests that they try and get out through the holes they came in by. '' I don't think my mother would be too pleased!'', quips Eddie.
The show starts with Eddie fleeing from a group of gorillas of whom he owes a large gambling debt to and arriving on the island to discover that Richie has taken up cross-dressing. He has even went so far as to design for himself a pair of skimpy pink underpants ( which are so tight he can't get them off ). Eddie is also alarmed to find that their parrot has escaped from its cage. Richie explains that he has been 'Hawking' with the parrot. Eventually, the parrot appears back on the island, unconscious, having been attacked by a group of aggressive seagulls. Eddie tries to resuscitate the animal with a defibrillator but Richie sets the voltage too high and it results in the animal being blown to bits the length of the island. ''Where did he go?'' asks Richie tearfully. ''Pretty much everywhere!'' responds Eddie, matter of factly.
The first half of the show ends with Richie and Eddie trying to make a hasty retreat to the theatre bar before the audience get there.
In the second half, the two are taken from the island and dumped in a strange space-ship like dome ( hence the '2001' reference in the title ). It is not quite as bad as they think though as hidden behind the dome is a bar, which is later found by Eddie. The show ends with Richie and Eddie singing 'The Pants Song'.
'An Arse Oddity' is not a patch on the first two shows but is miles funnier than 'Hooligan's Island'. The script is more tightly written this time. I only knock one star off my rating because of 'The Pants Song' number at the end. I personally found it rather out of place. The 'dome' setting could easily have worked as TV episode of 'Bottom'. There's a hilarious moment where Richie asks Eddie: ''Who's that dreadful actor that plays me? You must know him, that tosser who fell off the quad-bike!''. This was a reference to Rik Mayall's quad bike accident in 1998 which left him in a coma for days.
On another downside, the bit where Richie thinks he is having a heart attack makes for upsetting viewing now as this was how Mayall died in June last year. Overall, 'An Arse Oddity' was regarded positively enough to spawn another live show two years later - 'Bottom Live 2003: Weapon's Grade Y-Fronts Tour' - which turned out to be Richie and Eddie's final outing.
Funniest bit - trying to figure out a way to escape from the dome, Richie suggests that they try and get out through the holes they came in by. '' I don't think my mother would be too pleased!'', quips Eddie.
Defiantly the weakest of the lot.
bazmitch2312 March 2013
It's just so boring.
It's Rik and Ade doing nothing in the second act.
It's like they didn't have a script for it.
It's like they're just ad-libbing through out the whole thing.
They may found it funny, but I found myself yawning.
Stick with the first three shows.
At least they were funny.
I think that's why this show sucked.
How do you top your first three funny shows.
The answer is you can't. Move on and do something else.
It's Rik and Ade doing nothing in the second act.
It's like they didn't have a script for it.
It's like they're just ad-libbing through out the whole thing.
They may found it funny, but I found myself yawning.
Stick with the first three shows.
At least they were funny.
I think that's why this show sucked.
How do you top your first three funny shows.
The answer is you can't. Move on and do something else.
"Eddie, What the F**k happened there"?!
Mmyers200330 October 2002
I hope they do another one after this because it really does deserve to go on further and it has the potential to do so. Bottom has never failed to get the laugh and never will do even when you watch it again. i'd rate it 10 out of 10
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
schinaro14 June 2003
Well what can I say except dreadful. Having been a Bottom fan and Young Ones nut I have to say this is awful. If your expecting laughs a minute like the tv show you sadly wont find it here unlike it's first live installment which remains the best.
I'd also like to give some credit to the original tv show director Ed Bye, who was not involved here, that his direction with Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson was perhaps the key to the success of the series as with The Young Ones, Red Dwarf etc.
As for an arse odditty - it's a wonder the audience never got off them and demanded they're money back.
I cringed the whole way through the old jokes feeling sorry for the talented two.
2/10
I'd also like to give some credit to the original tv show director Ed Bye, who was not involved here, that his direction with Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson was perhaps the key to the success of the series as with The Young Ones, Red Dwarf etc.
As for an arse odditty - it's a wonder the audience never got off them and demanded they're money back.
I cringed the whole way through the old jokes feeling sorry for the talented two.
2/10
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
