TV doesn't get more chaotic than this. Alan Partridge, after a disastrous, calamitous, and obviously hilarious (to us) chat show, pulls out all the wrong stops in his attempt at a Noel’s House Party, believing himself to be Bing Crosby. It begins with setting the show in a studio replica of his own Norwich home, and ends with Alan knocking out his boss with a partridge attached to his arm. In between it’s equally hilariously bad; Mick Hucknall singing carols, Alan breaking the BBC’s advertising rules with local sponsors, plus the underline narrative that is Alan begging to keep his TV career alive is equally cringeworthy yet brilliant.
Knowing Me, Knowing Yule With Alan Partridge
Personally I found the original Knowing Me, Knowing You series a bit hit and miss, yet probably holds up better today than it did in the 1990s. But this Christmas special, a segue into Alan’s mid-life crisis fly on the wall sitcom, propelled Coogan’s character and his own acting abilities. Special mention has to go to Kevin Eldon, who is simply brilliant in everything he is in. You don’t need a Christmas soap opera for your festive television to be a car crash. It is always better just to laugh.