Case Study 5 - I'm Alan Partridge - BBC Sitcom

Case Study 5 - I'm Alan Partridge

I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC Two between 1997-2002, it starred Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge a failed television host and radio host who is trying to get back into the world of television. The television series used a single camera set-up, this was done to immerse the audience in the strange world of Alan Partridge and his awkward situations. I'm Alan Partridge preceded Ricky Gervais' 'The Office' and was innovative in its use of the single camera method to add to the humour of the characters. The sitcom is shot in a way that feels like a documentary however unlike 'The Office' it isn't a 'documentary', instead the creators have used the single-camera method to make the audiences feel as if they are in the same room as Alan.

The single-camera appears to be hand-held and is quite shaky giving the show an unprofessional feeling that is almost reminiscent of the character Alan Partridge. The camera is positioned in a way that it could be a POV shot of someone watching Alan, therefore the show is high in verisimilitude. The camera creates a claustrophobic feeling that the audience are stuck with Alan and cannot escape the visceral cringe-worthy situations that Alan puts himself in. Throughout the series Dutch angles are used as they create an unnatural view of things and a quirkiness that goes well with Alan's personality.

The lighting throughout the series is natural and like the camera it is manufactured in a way to give the show a realistic appearance. I'm Alan Partridge looks like many of the early reality television shows however as the the format of the show is a sitcom Alan does not interact with the camera.

Cut-aways are used to create a lot of the humour, these cut-aways often linger on the faces of the people Alan is talking to, the expressions and reactions from the other characters is emphasised by the lingering shots which only add to the awkwardness of the situations. Much of Alan's dialogue has the character saying something that he believes to be funny which in reality is not funny but Alan's failed attempt at humour is what makes him so funny to the audience. The character Lynn who is Alan's loyal but long-suffering personal assistant who he regularly demeans to make up for his own undesirable personality, Lynn's character is effective at creating humour as Alan always knocks her confidence by telling her some home truths, despite Alan's behaviour she is devoted to Alan's wishes. Many of the characters Alan meets who he tries to befriend are put-off by Alan's rudeness that he is oblivious of, the audience gain gratifications from seeing Alan fail as the more Alan attempts to up his profile the more foolish he becomes. One noteworthy scene in which Alan makes a fool of himself is in series 1 where Alan shoves some cheese into the BBC television commissioners face for not giving him another series saying "smell my cheese".

The soundtrack throughout 'I'm Alan Partridge' is mainly diegetic with most the soundtrack being from the radio station that Alan works for, the songs that are played throughout the series are mainly from the 1980s and feel outdated, this fits in with the character Alan as he is supposed to be a middle aged has-been who is trying to keep his career going without making any modern changes to please his audience or to bring a younger audience.