Despite signing up to further indulge my love of Asian/weird/exploitation films, the first thing I rented from nicheflix, the now defunct foreign/other region DVD rental site, was Steve Coogan's Alan Partridge series. I had no idea who Coogan was but from everything I had heard, including an interview where Conan O'Brien stated it was his favorite tv show, the comedy was perfectly suited for my taste. Particularly the second and third season of Alan Partridge quickly ranked with Monty Python, Bottom, and The Office as one of my favorite British comedy shows.

Of course, I then did my best to follow the rest of Coogan's work, including Dr. Terribles House of Horrors and his hit-and-miss film work. When Saxondale was announced as his first character based, episodic follow-up to Partridge, I greedily got my hands on it through the usual internet age means- which still didn't stop me from watching the delayed airing on BBC America, so, take that, file sharing scoffers!

More or less, every episode of Saxondale begins with Tommy in his anger management class which is amusingly set in the children's section of the local library. As one gets to know Tommy, the assumption is he is not there out of self-improvement but some kind of obligation or promise. Tommy's armor is that he is a free thinker, a radical, the dominant voice in the room, so therapy with its structure and emphasis on soft emotional exercises braces against the kind of environment where he is comfortable. Which is not to say Tommy doesn't need to be there and doesn't have anger issues. Oh yes, he does, and the series finds room for many humorous moments where Tommy takes what should be a minor annoyance and weaves it into a red-faced, stuttering, uncomfortable tirade.

The first episode of season one sets up the particulars: Tommy himself, a once around the world drugging, drinking, living it up guy turned pigeon hitman, Tommy's zaftig love and living companion Magz, who runs a poster shop called Shock the System ("Fuck Off" t-shirts, posters with various scantily clad, dominatrix depictions of famous females), Raymond his sluggish-looking assistant and sort of squire, and, of course, Tommy's nemesis at Stealth Pest Control, Vicky a loud bubble head with a knack for indirectly insulting and pushing Tommy's buttons. He offers Raymond his spare room and further tries to enhance his cool by giving Raymond some porn as Raymond acclimates to the new digs. Of course another part of Tommy being cool is telling Raymond to bring any music he wants while they are working, with one caveat, "No dance bollocks. If I want to hear any electronic bleeps and farts I'll put my foot through the [van's] windscreen and listen to the alarm go off."

Throughout the first season we witness Tommy: try to defend Magz shop to the mall council with an impassioned speech that actually compares Rosa Parks to a "I'm not as drunk as you think I am" t-shirt, feel his age when an old rowdy buddy shows up, recieves a hit to his libido when Raymond gets a girlfriend, compare multiple mice caught in a trap to people lining up for a Dido concert, simultaneously wince at yet try to impress his daughters hipster boyfriend, declare that folk music was nothing but "fourteen versus about crop failure sung by a bloke with hair like a Brillo pad," and try to atone for a drunken dinner where he insults Magz friends and she leaves him while, in the meantime, being aggressively tempted by a double entendre spewing vixen (who is like some nastier alternate universe version of Magz).

Obviously, I'm not going into an episode by episode rundown, kind of a waste of time with something as subjective as comedy. Suffice to say, I felt the second season more or less lived up to the first, offered some subtle character improvement, and opened itself up for different encounters. The second series introduces new characters in Magz wannabe ultra-liberal friend Penny and a geeky straight-laced neighbor whose every conversation is a bit of faux-friendly, banal chatter that leads to some kind of roundabout request, like that Tommy move his car or turn down his stereo. In keeping with the succinctness of the best of Brit comedy, two or three series seems to be the perfect limit, and Saxondale is no different than, say, The Office or Fawlty Towers in that the short run satisfies without overstating its welcome and becoming too tired and reaching for ideas (something I really wish US tv producers realized- I'm looking at you Simpsons).

It is interesting how Coogan's two main series characters are both men of middle age. Coogan seems to have tuned into the comic side of men in their salad days trying to maintain some sense of virile youth, being hip, still struggling for achievement and clinging to relevance. Where Partridge is very much an egoistical but entirely clueless buffoon, Saxondale wears the same badge of slight superiority but with a knowledge of his limits, his bufoonery, and that makes him a man of much more pathos. You feel for Alan Partidge because he slaves along, a talentless man who believes he is talented. You feel for Tommy Saxondale because despite his bigheaded cover you know he is smart enough to realize his shortcomings. There is only one real missive to Saxondale. It struck me on my first viewing and solidified with this DVD spin that both Saxondale series lack an arc. This is obviously by design. The shows are all very self-contained, which is fine, but you never really get a sense of Tommy striving for anything or going anywhere which leads to some repetition, like the seasons sharing some similar framework, Tommy running into old pals, Tommy having a shining moment where he rallies against some minor injustice, and each season ending with a story where Magz leaves him and he has to awkwardly win her back.

The DVD: BBC America.

Picture: Both series are presented in Anamorphic Widescreen. A good looking series with a cinema style rather than a studio look (Extras, Spaced, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc). Of course, this means the slightly lacking wig and hair extensions Coogan wears in the first season is a tad more noticeable, but hardly a crime there. Minor compression issues keep it from being perfect. Nothing too detrimental. Overall details are fine, crisp, good color, and sufficiently deep contrast.

Sound: Each series sports a decent 2.0 Stereo track with optional English subtitles. Usually no real need for audio leaps and bounds but with Saxondale's emphasis on well-regarded 70's arena rock you'd better make sure the tunes have some punch.

Note to anyone who recorded any of the original broadcasts: The series is heavy with 70's classic rock and rights issues apparently prevented them from re-licensing some songs for the DVD release. It's a somewhat minor point, but purists may want to hold onto any first-run copies just for the posterity.

Extras: The two series are presented across three discs (two discs for series one, one for series two).

Coogan and producer Ted Dowd provide commentary for three episodes from series one, while Coogan teams with co-writer Neil Maclennan for commentary on one episode from season two. Obviously Coogan isn't comfortable with commentary, otherwise you'd see him do more, but, aside from talking about acting/creating/writing the show and the cast, there are a few nuggets like his discussion of music (hates Madness, likes new wave, appreciates how punk grit dissolved the fantasy and of prog rock), his initial ignorance of many of the rock references Tommy makes, and a few amusing digs at Jeremy Clarkson.

Both seasons had interview featurettes but the US release only imports one of them from the second series disc. Just short of thirty minutes, Coogan and co-creator/writer Maclennan breezily discuss creating the character, the overall writing process, and approach to the series.

Conclusion: You know, its almost unfair to expect a comedic second act that lives up to a successful first. Ask the cast of Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, or, in a more appropriate and current comparison, ask Ricky Gervais. UK's original The Office and Coogan's Alan Partridge series set the bar very high and, I think, both men succeeded with their follow-ups which, while maybe not the gold standard, were bottom line funny. The region one DVD release shortchanges US viewers of some of the UK's extras but it is otherwise a good enough total package that warrants a look. Obviously if Coogan's comedy is unfamiliar territory, give it a rental, but fans may lean towards a casual purchase.