Bottoms Up

Infobox UK Television Episode
Title =Bottoms Up
Series name =Bottom


Caption =
Series no =One
Episode =005
Airdate =October 14, 1991
Writer =Ade Edmondson & Rik Mayall
Producer =Ed Bye
Director =Ed Bye
Guests =
Episode list =
Prev =Apocalypse
Next =Accident

"Bottoms Up" is the fifth episode of the first series of British sitcom "Bottom". It was first broadcast on October 14, 1991.

ynopsis

Richie and Eddie mind their landlord's shop for him, and get stuck on the roof.

Plot

As the episode begins, Richie is trying to enjoy an English Sunday morning, while Eddie is trying to watch pornographic films. After Eddie has forced Richie to sit down to watch the film, the pair observe that the film is not particularly erotic and Richie suggests that the "Furry Honey-pot Adventure" may be a kids film. Eddie's other purchases also turn out to be innocent - "Big Jugs" is a history of Victorian pottery and "Swedish Lesbians in Blackcurrent Jam" turns out to be "Swedish Legends in Blackcurrant Jam Making". At this point, the landlord Mr. Harrison bursts into the flat asking Richie and Eddie if they would mind his shop, so inconvenienced is he with his mother's funeral.

In the shop, Richie insists that he should wear white overcoat and Eddie, as assistant, should wear a brown one. Mr. Harrison doesn't have a brown overcoat so Richie forces him to wear his brown jacket back-to-front. Mr Harrison leaves and Richie engrosses himself in the role of shopkeeper, while Eddie empties all the packets of Hula Hoops that Richard repeatedly crushes with the counter flap. Richie insults various customers: a friend of Eddie's who wants to buy the newspaper Richie is reading; an old woman who hears Richie talking to himself and enquires if he is mad; and a doctor who refers to Richie as "assistant". Richie is in desperation with the state of the nation, when Eddie suggests they go up to the roof and watch cricket. Eddie sets up a bell on the door so they know when people are entering the shop.

On the roof, the pair chat before Eddie hears the bell and goes downstairs to serve a customer. Richie realises that the roof flap cannot be opened from the outside and panics before Eddie opens the flap, hitting Richie in the face. When Eddie goes down to serve another customer Riche sets a trap; Eddie comes back up and tricks him into falling for it. When going back down, Richie sets a trap where the trap door will smash Eddie's head, but the plan backfires and the hatch shuts, trapping them on the roof. People start looting the shop and Eddie climbs down the drainpipe to stop them. Unfortunately, Richie has used the string that holds it to the roof in his trap. Eddie falls to the ground and stops the looting, then comes back to the roof. As soon as Eddie gets back up, the door slams shut and it begins to rain. The episode ends with Richie punching Eddie off the roof.

Notes

*This episode sees the first appearance of Roger Sloman as "Mr. Harrison", the boys' landlord. Sloman had previously made appearances in "The Young Ones" and also made an appearance in the Mr Bean episodes "Mr Bean" and "Mr Bean rides again".
*Michael Redfern, who played the role of John Cooper the shop customer, had starred as a policeman in "The Young Ones", and "Filthy Rich & Catflap".
*This was the first episode that clearly confirmed that episode titles were to be added to the show's name, like "Bottom Smells and "Bottom Accident", this episode being "Bottom's Up".
*When Richie and Eddie are sitting up on the roof, a low flying jet is heard to fly over, leading to a section of dialogue referring to it. The dialogue is removed from the final edit of the episode for timing reasons (with Richie suddenly jumping on to his dreams of becoming a farmer), but is available to read in the first "Bottom" script book. Unlike many other removed scenes and chunks of dialogue, this removed section did not appear on the 'Fluff' bloopers VHS release, and has not been reinserted for the Region 2 DVD releases.

Consistency errors

*In "Contest", Richie claims the flat is owned by his auntie Mabel.

Continuity and production errors

*Shown on the "Bottom Fluff" out-takes video, during the recording of this episode Mayall is seen holding a fish finger in front of Edmondson. However, Edmondson suggests that the fish finger should be turned around so it is in full view. They both sarcastically argue that the fish finger should remain in its original position due to continuity errors (Mayall was seen in the previous shot running with the fish finger in that position). A production assistant is then seen re-adjusting the fish finger to its first position, and Mayall quips "Who was right? It was me, wasn't it?"

Cast