YMMV / Alan Partridge

• Jerkass Woobie: In Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and occasionally elsewhere in the series. Of particular note is his appearance in the one-off special 'Welcome to the Places of My Life' where it's heavily implied that he's just managed to dodge a terminal illness. He becomes slightly more introspective and self-pitying. He strayed into this on Knowing Me Knowing You when dealing with guests who were even worse than he is and when things go wrong that simply aren't his fault.
• Memetic Mutation: Many of Alan's choicest quotations have become widely-used memes, especially in Britain and the Commonwealth:
  • "Monkey Tennis" has by this point basically become popular, critical and media shorthand for incredibly poorly-thought out, lazy and cheap television which has somehow been produced despite seemingly being the result of a desperate writer randomly jamming words together and throwing them out while making a pitch.
  • Similarly, "needless to say, I had the last laugh" tends to pop up whenever someone gets the feeling that a memoir or reminiscence is taking on a rather unseemly bragging tone, especially when it's also possible-if-not-likely that this bragging is unwarranted or based on rather implausible grounds.
  • "SMELL MY CHEESE, YOU MOTHER!"
• Spiritual Adaptation: Alan is similar to the Viz character Roger Mellie the Man on the Telly, although far less vulgar and less consciously amoral.
• Unpopular Popular Character: In-universe, Alan is an unlikable failure trapped in a pathetic life with very few friends, a television show which bombed terribly, and an increasingly dismal career in local radio with ever fewer listeners. Outside of his fictional world, he's one of Britain's most loved comedy characters.

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