Ranking Every Episode of Bottom

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British comedy is unlike any other countries, it falls somewhere between utterly dry and outrageously slapstick that is defines what our nation loves and hates. We have the sophisticated scenario jokes in Blackadder, the uncomfortably real The Office, the acid trip fever dream Mighty Boosh and one of my personal favourites; Bottom. 

Its a strange one, I cant really explain why exactly I love this show. It is horrible really, two degenerate middle aged men; one an alcholoic substance abusing violent gambler and the other a sexually inept, utterly insane wanna be upper-class weirdo. They arent likeable, they arent even relatable, but I cannot stop watching them get into mad scenarios. I mean, who wouldnt want to watch these two; Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (yes, those are the characters names), attempt to run a corner shop for the afternoon or take a home-made cattle prod out to threaten people on halloween. 

So I thought a fun exercise might be to once again watch this show from start to finish; three seasons and a movie before I give them all a ranking to finally decide exactly what is THE best episode of the iconic and outrageously distasteful Bottom.

The Rankings

'S Out: The episode with the camping and flasher. (Series 2) - 10/10

'S Up: The running of the corner shop and rain dance episode. (Series 1) - 9.5/10

Burglary: The epsiode with the burglar in the flat. (Series 2) - 9.2/10

Gas: The stealing a neighbours gas and gasman epsiode. (Series 1) - 9/10

Culture: The game of chess and custard underpants episode. (Series 2) - 8.9/10

Guest House Paradiso: The Movie - 8.8/10

Holy: The christmas dinner episode with Hedgehog and Spudgun. (Series 2) - 8.5/10

Break: The episode with the failed holiday to Doncaster. (Series 3) - 8.4/10

Terror: The halloween episode with the cattle prod. (Series 3) - 8.3/10

Hole: The episode trapped upon the ferris wheel. (Series 3) - 8.2/10

Dough: The counterfeit money and pub quiz episode. (Series 3) - 8/10

Accident: Richys birthday party and broken legs episode. (Series 1) - 7.6/10

Apocalypse: The fortune teller predicting Richards death episode. (Series 1) - 7.4/10

Contest: The beauty pageant gambling episode. (Series 1) - 7/10

Finger: The stolen hotel stay and drag episode. (Series 3) - 6.9/10

Digger: The dating agency/countess with Richy epsiode. (Series 2) - 6.5/10

Smells: The sexual enhacing pheromone spray episode. (Series 1) - 6/10

Carnival: The stolen tapes and london riots episode. (Series 3) - 5.7/10

Parade: The stolen fake leg and dodgy bet episode. (Series 2) - 5.5/10


So there you have it. I rewatched and gave every episode of the iconic Bottom a rating. Unsurprising is that most of series three falls lower in the list, but my favourite and, in my opinion, the greatest episode of Bottom every made was 'S Out.

It had everything I loved about this show; outlandish slapstick violence, one-liners that had me knelt over with laughter ("Wombles!") and a simple plot point for these two terrible humans to swirl around within. It was a great episode, I would use it to introduce anyone to this show and let them discover the terrible camping trip that Richy and Eddie embarked upon within the confines of a shitty london park.

Parade came in last, my lowest ranked episode. I dont know why this one didnt click with me, but something about the prostetic leg and dodgy betting adventure with tight mouthed Larry just never found my funny bone. It ranked below the widely disliked finale, Carnival, but only as I got a couple of laughs out of the sad ending of the entire show. 

Go watch this show, it is an under appreciated British classic that, given the moral standards of today, would never get remade. It is a time capsule of simple, gross and sometimes ridiculous comedy acted out by two of the best to ever do it. 

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