The New Statesman - The Complete Series [DVD] [1987]

Rik Mayall is absolutely brilliant as Alan B'Stard, the Conservative MP for the fictional constituency of Haltemprice, who was a selfish, greedy, dishonest, devious, lecherous, sadistic ultra-right-wing Conservative back bencher. Alan B'Stard was the youngest MP at the age of 31, and was a distillation of the greed and callousness that were considered the hallmarks of new money Thatcherites. He was married to the devious Sarah (played by Marsha Fitzalan), a vain, bisexual nymphomaniac who wanted nothing more than for Alan to die so she could become a rich widow. The couple cheated on each other in perpetuity but remained in a marriage of convenience; Sarah because of Alan's money and Alan because Sarah's father controlled the local Tory Party and held Alan's seat in his gift.B'Stard's sidekick in his machinations was the upper-class and old school (but incredibly dim-witted) Tory, Piers Fletcher-Dervish (played by Michael Troughton). Piers was essentially a very kind-hearted and hard-working MP, albeit one who rarely spoke in the house and was completely under Alan's control. Usually Piers was conned into Alan's schemes through trickery or bullying although he would inevitably cock up the simplest of instructions.The sitcom was one of the most critically successful ITV comedy series of its day, and developed a strong following: the audience laughter was so loud and persistent that it apparently caused the show to overrun and the writers had to shorten the scripts to compensate. However, it was also regarded as very cruel and irreverent, treating all its subjects with black humour and violent slapstick. Rik Mayall said of the audience reaction he received "In the first series people were saying 'Gosh, isn't Rik Mayall good-looking?' but by the second they were saying 'Gosh, isn't Rik Mayall a good actor?' and that's all I ever really wanted." The programme was made by the ITV franchise Yorkshire Television between 1987 and 1992, although the BBC made two special episodes; one in 1988, the other in 1994.I bought this DVD set for my dad as a birthday present and he really enjoyed it, and so did I. I had seen The New Statesman before as my dad originally had the first series on video which he bought from the now-defunct retailer Britannia several years ago, it was very entertaining then and it's still entertaining now, the humour hasn't dated at all. Very highly recommended.

Definitely one of the best Britcom-DVD-Boxes!This DVD-Box-Set includes all 4 series (26 episodes) of thehighly successful comedy series starring Rik Mayall as theruthless MP Alan B'Stard.Great characters like his loyal servant Piers (MichaelTroughton), his revengeful wife Sarah (Marsha Fitzalan)or his creative accountant Norman Bormann (R.R. Cooper),whose sex changes during the first series, contribute to the fun.There are also cameos from fellow comedians Stephen Fry& Hugh Laurie and Chris Ryan (The Young Ones, Bottom).The 1990 one-hour-special "Who shot Alan B'Stard?" is,thankfully, also included. Strangely, the special is placedat the end of the 4th disc / series, although it takes placebetween the 2nd & 3rd series.The long deleted video release "The Absolute B'Stard Box Set"placed the special rightly at the start of the 3rd cassette.Missing on the DVD-Box is a 15min. Comic Strip-special"The New Statesman at No.10", but this was no real episode,and Rik Mayall was acting partly out of character.So there is no real drawback, as you have all regular episodestogether in a box, and the price is unbeatable, consideringwhat other DVD-Boxes cost.If you like Rik Mayall and comedy like "Black Adder",this one is definitely for you!!!

ITV's superbly off-the-wall response to the BBC's brilliant "Yes Minister"/"Yes Prime Minister".As here, Rik Mayall's best comedy was always rooted in slapstick and surrealism, albeit most excellently executed with his long-time compadre Ade Edmondson, who doesn't appear in these DVDs.The New Statesman has managed to portray enough depth, insight and the intricate devious machinations of politics and sexual intrigue to make this not only watchable (and almost believable), but with perhaps more widespread appeal than the intellectual genius of the BBC series. And it's very funny too. Great satire.As the four series progress they improve upon their predecessors in terms of the imagination and quality of the storyline and scriptwriting, culminating with B'Stard becoming a Euro MP, thus keeping the concept fresh by expanding dramatic possibilities until the suitably climactic finale.Some previous reviews have complained about the presentation and video transfer being of poor quality, but the version I have is about as good as it can get. It also has the "Who Shot Alan B'Stard?" special in proper chronological order.It's surprising how much of what's portrayed is still relevant today.

I re-watched this in one go after I heard the sad news of Rik Mayall's passing.As it turned out it was just what the doctor ordered to make me feel better!Mayall brings his own unique style of comedy to this show, making the morally reprehensible charcter of Alan B'Stard somebody that the audience can root for and want to succeed despite his abysmal lack of a conscience. All of the 4 series are superbly written and have fantastic supporting cast in Michael Trough as Piers Fletcher-Dervish, Marsha Fitzalan as Sarah B'Stard and Terence Alexander as Sir Greville McDonald to name a few.One small quibble I do have with this boxset and not the series as a whole is that the Special "Who Shot Alan B'Stard" is at the end of the Season 4 DVD not where it should be in relation to the canon of the show.In short, this is truly a fantastic series and a must watch for any comedy fan out there. You will not be disappointed!

Product is a region 2 DVD and will not work on Canadian DVD players! They said it was advertised as region 2 but I have looked back at my order several times and there was next to no info at all, and definitely nothing about region 2. There was even a Canadian review that said it worked great, which makes me believe they placed that review in order to falsely gain Canadian customers, and I read through other reviews, nothing about region 2 and they will not refund me. The companies name even ends with CA, which made me believe they were a Canadian company. Will never order from them again!

Full collection of Rik Mayall at his very best. Comic mayhem and biting satire of Thatcher's Britain.

A great series with gifted comedian. While some knowledge of late twentieth century British politics is helpful the superb writing has stood the test of time. No one does political satire like the British.

Quality is good price,.. its a good series,.. only its not the high humor we know, its more serious, still recommended series, and happy i have it.

Not really required as it was a dvd