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{{quote| '''Richie:''' Why can't we ever bloody win anything?<br />
'''Eddie:''' Oh, don't be stupid, Richie. People like us aren't meant to "win" things.<br />
'''Richie:''' Well what are we meant to do then?<br />
'''Eddie:''' Look, you get born, you keep your head down, and then you die. If you're lucky.<br />
'''Richie:''' Oh come on. There must be more to it than that.<br />
'''Eddie:''' Well, there's the telly... }}
 
The [[Britcom]], stripped down to its absolute minimum requirements: two [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist|idiots]], sharing living space, passing the [[Idiot Ball]] back and forth so fast that you can't distinguish between the two.
 
Richie Richard -- aRichard—a sex-starved, sadistic, physically repugnant loser with delusions of sophistication -- takessophistication—takes out his frustrations at life upon Eddie Hitler, his boozy, slightly more intelligent, equally sadistic flatmate. Frequently, this involves [[Comedic Sociopathy|over-the-top violence]] that would make ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|Itchy and Scratchy]]'' wince. Eddie, for his part, is quite willing to respond in kind.
 
The [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Filthy Rich and Catflap|Filthy, Rich & Catflap]]'', inspired loosely by ''[[Waiting for Godot]]''. It ran to three series on [[The BBC]] before transferring to [[Theatre]] as a series of two-man shows.
 
Came forty-fifth in ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom (TV)|Britains Best Sitcom]]''.▼
 
▲Came forty-fifth in ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom (TV)|Britains Best Sitcom]]''.
----
{{tropelist}}
=== Provides examples of: ===
* [[The Alleged Steed]]: Sad Ken, a three-legged, blind racehorse.
* [[Amusing Injuries]]: They push this one into areas even [[The Three Stooges]] wouldn't touch. But what do you expect from characters like these?
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** "Fuck him!"
** Made even funnier in the final live show where Eddie encourages the whole audience to shout "have a wank" while Richie powers up the TURDIS (a time-travelling toilet) batteries.
* [[Away in Aa Manger]]: Parodied in 'Holy' when a baby gets left on the doorstep during the Christmas party. {{spoiler|It's the landlord's grandkid, not Baby Jesus.}}
* [[Big No]]: Eddie after finding out Richie's decided ''not'' to commit suicide.
{{quote| '''Richie:''' I think I ought to call this suicide off until I've sired an heir.<br />
'''Eddie:''' ''No! '''NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!''''' (nervous laughter) }}
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: When Eddie sets up their stolen VCR he reads the German installation instructions out loud. The first step he reads is "Stecken dein Kopf in deine Arsch", which roughly translates as "Stick your head up your arse".
* {{spoiler|[[Bolivian Army Ending]]}} {{spoiler|thanks to Richie finding a porn film involving the PM.}}
* [[Bottle Episode]]: Series 3's "Hole", which takes place solely on a ferris wheel car, which they manage to completely destroy.
** Season 1's "Contest" also takes place entirely within the confines of the flat.
* [[Born in Thethe Wrong Century]]: Richie's common lament, which his cultural illiteracy fails to back up. [[Anachronism Stew|He thinks Shakespeare and the French Revolution were in the same century -- the 13th]].
* [[British Brevity]]: The show ran for 18 episodes.
* [[British Footy Teams]]: Eddie is mentioned several times as being a fan of Queens Park Rangers. Dick Head also played for them for a brief period, which ended in disaster after he turned out not to know such basic things as ''which goal to aim for''.
* [[British Pubs]]: The Lamb and Flag, in which Richie and Eddie have made themselves obnoxious more than once, and not always by being drunk.
* [[Calvin Ball]]: Eddie's version is the card game 'One Card Slam' in which Eddie turns over a single card and demands twelve quid from Richie. Since Richie knows nothing about card games (to the extent of not spotting Eddie's ''five'' king poker hand) this works very well for Eddie.
* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: Richie needs only one sip of scotch to either become drunk or begin ''thinking'' that he's drunk (which amounts to the same thing).
** In the fourth live show he doesn't even take a sip, but still believes he is drunk.
** One's tempted to conclude that it's all in his head. On one occasion, when he needed a stiff drink to settle his nerves, Eddie offered him a shot of Tizer (a soft drink, for non-Brits), which did the trick anyway.
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* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: All of the recurring cast to some degree (barring only Dick Head), though Dave Hedgehog seems to be the biggest example.
* [[Comedic Sociopathy]]: Probably the single best example since ''[[The Young Ones]]''.
* [[Completely Missing the Point]]: One episode has Richie and Eddie's landlord rope them into to minding his shop while he goes to a funeral, which naturally [[Drunk Withwith Power|goes straight to Richie's head]]. He starts proudly going on about how England is "a nation of shopkeepers" and how that makes them better than countries like France and Italy, no doubt unaware that the saying was prominently used by Emperor Napoleon I. And he meant it derisively.
** It's fair to say that whenever Richie claims expertise in a subject, applies his mental faculties to anything or infers some kind of noble role he has fulfilled in the past, he'll either get it completely wrong, fail miserably or be lying so feebly that practically nobody could buy his bullshit.
** However in this case Napoleon's phrase has been treated as [[Insult Backfire]] by many British politicians anyway, who praise the tradition of small business in the UK, so Richie wasn't exactly alone in drawing this interpretation.
** This qoute;
{{quote| richie: Take it easy ya bitch, I mean your bitchness, I mean lady... Oh Eddie what do you call em?<br />
eddie: Jugs, what do you call em? }}
* [[Counterfeit Cash]]: This doesn't work too well, since Eddie winds up creating ''triangular'' fake banknotes (he claims they're supposed to be Welsh), and others with pornographically detailed portraits.
** London's most prolific forger shows up at the end of the episode, and his counterfeits are nearly as bad as Eddie's. However, it's not the quality of his counterfeits that makes him the biggest forger in London - more the fact that he crushes the skulls of any competing forger.
*** To be fair, in a brief moment of lucidity (or further insanity) Eddie does mention that the pornographic notes are so barmen will be entranced with them long enough for him to get plastered. In fact it briefly works on Dick, until he comes to his senses and gets on the phone to Skullcrusher.
* [[A Date Withwith Rosie Palms]]: Every episode features about three jokes like this.
* [[Dead Baby Comedy]]
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Eddie, when [[The Alcoholic|sober]].
{{quote| '''Richie:''' A helicopter! Shout for help!<br />
'''Eddie:''' Is this "Help, help, I'm trapped on a ferris wheel!" or, "Help, help, I'm burning to death!"? }}
* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: When they're trapped on a disintegrating ferris wheel, the hand of God comes down to save them. Then Eddie [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|issues a disclaimer on behalf of]] [[The BBC]] before pointing out:
{{quote| '''Eddie:''' ...we don't actually believe in God, do we?<br />
'''Richie:''' ''(disappointed)'' Tch. No.<br />
'''Richie & Eddie:''' ''(to the camera)'' '''''Shit.'''''<br />
[[Puff of Logic|*hand disappears*]] }}
* [[The Ditz]]: both of them.
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]?: Eddie and Richie are often referred to as being a married couple; Richie is Eddie's 'wife', they call each other 'darling' and 'dreamboat' in front of strangers, and they are keeping some liqueur chocolates for their anniversary.
** Also in the first stage show Eddie becomes Richie's legally adopted son and wife (the lawyer ran out of adoption papers) to get at £15,000, which turns out to be a debt from Richie's great uncle Norman.
* [[Double Entendre]]: Richie frequently misunderstands innocent questions like "How's your sausage?" and "May I drink your juice?", and Eddie lampshades it in the last episode.
{{quote| Richie, no time for cheap dooble-entendres! The window of Curry's has just blown!}}
** Eddie has a similar problem. Innocent questions from Richie are repeatedly interpreted as references to ill-fitting underpants or something similar.
{{quote| "Have you got the crackers?"<br />
"No, it's just the way my trousers are rucked up." }}
* [[Double Take|Double Triple Take]]: In the above pic, Eddie's [[Reaction Shot]] is just ten seconds of him flicking his eyes ''up'' at Richie and ''down'' at Richie's new swimming trunks, trying to reconcile what he's seeing with the person it's attached to.
{{quote| '''Eddie''': ...Well, where ''are'' they?<br />
'''Richie''': That's the thing! They're so tight you can't actually see them... Why did you make me buy a ''thong'', Eddie?! }}
* [[Drunk Withwith Power]]: One episode sees Eddie and Richie put in charge of running their landlord's shop when he has to go to a funeral. Naturally, this goes straight to Richie's head, and as soon as he gets the white coat on he's threatening to punch old ladies, shouting abuse at a doctor who's just trying to buy champagne for his daughter's birthday, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|making Eddie wear his suit jacket back-to-front]].
** Another shows the two catching a burglar in their flat who they sit on, tie to chair with sellotape and try to poison. It completly backfires.
{{quote| Richie: Where have these mousetraps come from? Oh god dont move!<br />
Eddie: Theres a note sellotaped to my knee. it says Sue Carpenter<br />
Both: (make an raunchy noise and mousetraps catch their balls) }}
* [[Expy]] (of the characters they played in [[Filthy Rich and& Catflap]])
** ...also pretty similar to the characters they played in ''[[The Comic Strip Presents]]: Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door'', ''[[The Young Ones]]'', and their "Dangerous Brothers" stage act.
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]: Eddie has eaten lard, straight from the pack and washed down with cooking oil, as well as yoghurt that was so old it had sprouted ''grass''.
{{quote| '''Eddie:''' Who left this pot of cress in the fridge?<br />
'''Richie:''' That's not cress, that's that yogurt you started during the Gulf War.<br />
'''Eddie:''' [eats it anyway] ...Doesn't ''taste'' like banana and peach... }}
* [[Fire-Breathing Diner]]: They turn this trope into Fire ''Farting'' Diner thanks to Richie's "sprouts mexicain."
* [[Forgot to Pay Thethe Bill]]: In one episode, the TV rental money got spent elsewhere and Richie and Eddie had to resort to playing chess.
* [[Friends Rent Control]]: Despite having lived on the dole ''since 1979'', they're in no danger of being kicked out for nonpayment. Even a flat as God-awful as theirs wouldn't drop the rent that low.
** Richie's Auntie Mabel is the one who pays the rent (quick, hide the fags).
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* [[Halloween Episode]]: "Terror"
** And fitting in with the unusual scheduling of their Christmas episode, this one was originally broadcast in January.
* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Richie and Eddie. Oh, so much (except that Richie is arguably <s> pansexual</s> suicidally desperate). And they've been at it for decades, too.
* [[Hideous Hangover Cure]]: Made from 7 raw eggs, washing up liquid, Domestos and ant spray, and apparently intended to be ingested through the nose.
* [[Horrible Camping Trip]]: On Wimbledon Common, no less.
* [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine|I Want You To Meet An Old Housemate Of Mine]] -- Christopher—Christopher Ryan, who starred alongside Edmondson and Mayall as the suave Mike in ''[[The Young Ones]]'', turns up every so often as Eddie's decidedly-less-suave mate Dave Hedgehog. If they'd just gotten Nigel Planer to play Spudgun we'd have had a whole cast reunion.
* [[Immune to Drugs]]: Or alcohol, in Eddie's case. Technically, he's only been drunk once -- foronce—for about 17 years and counting.
** Then again, Eddie does imply he [[Cloudcuckoolander|might already be dead]], and thus, unable to get drunk.
* [[Is That What They're Calling It Now?]]: There's a joke like this in practically every episode.
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* [[Noodle Incident]]: [[Running Gag|Constantly.]]
* [[Oh My Gods]]: "What in the name of Satan's ''[[Unusual Euphemism|portion]]''..."
* [[Once an Episode]]: Planned, but not carried out. The original plan was for every episode of the third series to end with Richie and/or Eddie loudly exclaiming "SHIT!!" -- for—for whatever reason this only ended up being done in two out of the six episodes, but the setups for the gag are still there in the remaining episodes (Richie standing next right next to a box of highly explosive carrots as it detonates; Richie and Eddie being confronted by "Skullcrusher" Henderson and unable to pay him; Richie and Eddie being knocked out by the crazy Welsh cricketer whose honeymoon they've stolen).
* [[Only Sane Man]]: In as much as this show can be said to have one, it's Spudgun, oddly enough; he's an idiot, but he's also often the only one who ever points out that some of the insane things that Richie has them do (such as drinking gravy instead of sherry for Christmas and wearing inside-out dressing gowns when [[It Makes Sense in Context|summoning the Devil]]) are, in fact, quite stupid.
* [[Ontological Mystery]]: The second half of one ''Bottom'' live show involves the characters suddenly finding themselves inside a mostly featureless steel dome. Neither of them can quite recall how they got there.
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* [[Puff of Logic]]: They're trapped on a Ferris wheel that's due to be demolished. The Hand of God Himself appears to offer them a lift, but disappears when they realize they're both atheists and must therefore be hallucinating.
* [[Punny Name]]: There's about 3 in the second live show: Micheal McHooligan, Patricia O'Violence and Pat O'Cake.
* [[Repetitive Name]]: Technically a [[Running Gag]]; [[Filthy Rich and& Catflap|this is not the only time Rik Mayall has played a character named Richard Richard]].
* [[Shout-Out]] / [[Take That]]: A lot of guest characters and minor characters share names with various well-known footballers of the day (Lineker, Grobbelaar, etc). The references are not always flattering.
* [[A Simple Plan]]: Example from an early episode: Richie and Eddie have been stealing from the neighbor's gas line; now they have to come up with a way to disconnect it without getting caught...the kitchen explodes in the process.
{{quote| '''Richie:''' What the bloody hell are you doing?<br />
'''Eddie:''' Just thought I'd burn it off.<br />
'''Richie:''' What, your face? }}
** Another when they try to steal a [[Falklands War]] veteran's leg to put the money on a three-legged, blind race horse whose jockey gets shot.
** Averted when Richie get an apparant death curse from a fortune teller, which he believes was a plot by Eddie to steal the other half of his inheritence from auntie Olga.
** In general, Richie and Eddie will inevitably let their fundamental stupidity, lack of foresight and inability to solve problems without violence bollocks up any kind of plan they make, no matter how seemingly straightforward and simple it should be.
* [[Spiritual Successor]] (Successor to ''[[The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Filthy Rich and& Catflap]]'')
** It was inspired by their West End production of [[Waiting for Godot]].
* [[Spot of Tea]]: A [[Running Gag]] with several disgusting variations, such as coagulated three-month-old tea, or elm tea
{{quote| '''Richie:''' The gypsies swear by it<br />
'''Eddie''' I bet they do, I bet they say what the bloody hell is this? }}
** Another when the Gas-man comes to read thier meter which is empty since they've {{spoiler|been stealling from the nieghbours}}
{{quote| '''Richie:''' You must, you must, you must drink our tea! It's the best tea in London! Sit down and drink it! For about twelve minutes!}}
** Also in the first live show, Eddie tries to kill Richie with a concoction of tea and goat poison.
* [[Stock Yuck]]: The traditional British joke about Brussels Sprouts for Christmas.
** Made worse by the fact that the sprouts in question are being served in October. ''The following October''.
{{quote| '''Richie:''' Yes, they were a bit... ''frisky''...}}
** And the hangover cure made of 7 raw eggs, washing up liquid, Domestos, Jeff Micro liquid and ant spray.
** In the third live show Richie offers Eddie some cocktails made of the most disguisting ingredients.
*** 1)Gin,blood and porcupine shit (without the gin)
*** 2)Coconut milk and napalm
*** 3)tree bark, sea water and porcupine urine
* [[Strange Minds Think Alike]]:
{{quote| '''Eddie:''' All right, two down... "Fish", four letters, now begins with "x".<br />
'''Richie:''' X? Xylophone, xylophone fish. ([[Beat]])<br />
'''Both simultaneously:''' Nah, it'd sink, wouldn't it. }}
* [[Talkative Loon]]: Richie
* [[Take That Me]]: They both do this in the fourth live show.
{{quote| '''Richie''': No, ''I'' don't get paid. It's not me, it's that wretch of an actor who plays me. What's his name? You know, that tosser who fell off the quad bike?<br />
'''Eddie''': If only I'd fixed those brakes properly.<br />
'''Richie''': What did you say?<br />
'''Eddie''': I know the one. He's... sort of balding and getting a tummy?<br />
'''Richie''': Yeah, he's getting far too old to play me... Who's that awful actor who plays you?<br />
'''Eddie''': Oh, erm, he's got a girl's name... is it Julie Goodyear? }}
* [[Take You Aside Talk]]
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog.
* [[Those Wacky Nazis]]: Played with. Eddie doesn't seem to see anything unusual in having the surname Hitler.
{{quote| '''Lily''': Hello, gentlemen, sorry to have kept you waiting. Which one of you is Mr. Hitler?<br />
'''Eddie''': Oh, that'll be me.<br />
'''Lily''': Ooh. Any relation?<br />
'''Eddie''': [puzzled] Well... I've got a mother.<br />
'''Lily''': No, no no no, I meant to ''Adolf'' Hitler.<br />
'''Eddie''': Yes! That's her! }}
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Obviously.
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[[Category:Comedy Series]]
[[Category:British Series]]
[[Category:Britains Best Sitcom (TV)]]
[[Category:Britcom]]
[[Category:BottomTV Series]]
[[Category:SeriesBritain's Best Sitcom]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1990s]]
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