The New Statesman

For the British current affairs magazine, see New Statesman.

The New Statesman was an award-winning British sitcom of the 1980s satirising the Conservative government of the time. it was written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran on the request of, and as a starring vehicle for, its principal actor, Rik Mayall.

Contents

1 Characters 2 Audience reaction 3 Episode list 3.1 Series 1 3.2 Series 2 3.3 Specials 3.4 Series 3 3.5 Series 4 3.6 Special 4 See also

Characters

The main character was Alan B'stard, an ultra-right wing and ambitious politician. It was mostly set in B'stard's antechambers in the House of Commons and featured Piers Fletcher-Dervish (played by Michael Troughton) as B'stard's twittish upper-class side-kick.

Audience reaction

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, causing the writers to shorten the scripts to compensate. However, it was also desperately cruel and irreverent, treating all its subjects with black humour and violent slapstick.

Episode list

This is an episode list for the British sitcom The New Statesman.

Series 1

1. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (1987-09-13) - Alan is elected MP for Haltemprice as a result of a dirty tricks campaign, deflecting a police investigation by introducing a bill to allow police to carry arms.
2. Passport to Freedom (1987-09-20) - Sarah (Alan's wife) plans to divorce Alan, while Alan forgets his passport on the way to a conference in Germany.
3. Sex is Wrong (1987-09-27) - Alan gets involved with an anti-porn lobby campaign after hearing they have a good collection of exhibits.
4. Waste Not, Want Not (1987-10-04) - Alan is lumbered with an large amount of nuclear waste.
5. Friends of St. James (1987-10-11) - Alan gets involved with a shady scheme run by an old schoolmate.
6. Three Line Whipping (1987-10-18) - Alan nearly misses a television interview while at a brothel and attacks a taxi driver.
7. Baa Baa Black Sheep (1987-10-25) - Alan makes a deal with an American burger company in an effort to provide jobs when the local party thinks about deselecting him.

Series 2

1. Fatal Extraction (1989-01-15) - Alan puts forward a bill to take the franchise away from the working class, in order to allow the Tories to gain control of a left-wing constituency on which oil has been discovered.
2. Live From Westminster (1989-01-22) - Alan takes the introduction of TV cameras in the House of Commons as an chance to improve his standing.
3. A Wapping Conspiracy (1989-01-29) - The press finds out that Alan has become patron of the Young Ladies' Recreational Assocation in order to get close to a number of nubile girls.
4. The Haltemprice Bunker (1989-02-05) - Alan joins a hunt for a Nazi war criminal, in order to put him on a lecture tour (rather than to take him to trial).
5. California Here I Come (1989-02-12) - Alan goes to Hollywood.
6. May The Best Man Win (1989-02-19) - Piers plans to get married, his fiancee threatening to take Piers out from Alan's manipulative influence.
7. Piers Of The Realm (1989-02-26) - Attending a horse race, Alan makes an all-too-rare visit to his constituency, during which he gets shot.

Specials

Comic Relief (1989-03).

Who Shot Alan B'Stard? (1990-01-14) - Alan, surviving an assassination attempt, promotes a bill to bring back capital punishment.

Series 3

1. Labour Of Love (1991-01-06) - An even more right-wing MP (Victor Crosby) wins a by-election, usurping Alan's place in parliament.
2. The Party's Over (1991-01-13) - Alan manages the Tories election capmpaign.
3. Let Them Sniff Cake (1991-01-20) - Animal rights campaigners issue death threats against Alan, who is also involved in drug dealing.
4. Keeping Mum (1991-01-27) - Alan supports a bill to reduce social security benefits to pensioners, until his own mother turns up.
5. Natural Selection (1991-02-04) - A local businessman challenges Alan's place as local Tory MP.
6. Profit Of Boom (1991-02-11) - Promoting capitalism in Russia, Alan is arrested and inarcerated in a Russian gulag.

Series 4

1. Back From The Mort (1992-11-22) - Alan is released from the gulag and gets elected as an MEP.
2. H*A*S*H (1992-11-29) - Alan attempts to make money from the possible legalisation of cannabis.
3. Speaking In Tongues (1992-12-06) - Alan invents a sheme to make money, using the European Community translators.
4. Heil And Farewell - Alan tries to take over a neo-Nazi group.
5. A Bigger Splash (1992-12-20) - Alan tries to make money from a shipment of aid to Bosnia.
6. The Irresistible Rise of Alan B'Stard (1992-12-26) - Alan tries to get appointed to an important government post, in order to avoid losing his fortune.

Special

A B'Stard Exposed (1994-12-30) - Brian Walden interviews Alan about his return to parliament and plans for the future.

See also

• Yes Ministerfr:The New Statesman