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Overview

Filthy Rich & Catflap title card

Series title card.

The following description is taken from the back of the DVD release of Filthy, Rich & Catflap, a British sitcom starring Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer.

"Conceived by Rik Mayall and Ben Elton as a natural successor to The Young Ones, Filthy, Rich & Catflap is a difficult series to describe. The words sublime and ridiculous do spring to mind, but the word that probably sums it up best is: funny. Filthy, Rich & Catflap is a tale of Richie Rich, a talentless and unheard of television personality along with Ralph Filthy, his useless, sponging agent and Eddie Catflap, his alcoholic minder, who are both involved in helping (hindering) Richie's quest for TV fame and glory.

Unfortunately, Filthy never gets him any work, and his minder Eddie is more than willing to help administer extreme physical violence should any be visited upon his boss. So, probably not the most stable basis from which to launch a career in television. Filthy, Rich & Catflap's legacy lasted for years however, in the form of the brilliantly funny, if just a little more violent, Bottom."

Filthy, Rich & Catflap bridges the gap between The Young Ones and Bottom. Only one series of six episodes was filmed in 1986, and broadcast in 1987. Ben Elton is credited with writing all six episodes, with Rik Mayall providing additional material. The characters played by Rik and Ade are similar to their Bottom counterparts, but unique enough to stand apart from the Richie and Eddie we have become accustomed to. Following the success of Bottom, Filthy, Rich & Catflap fell somewhat into obscurity, experiencing a resurgence in popularity in 2004 with the release of the show on DVD.

Cast & Characters

Rik Mayall as Richie Rich

Adrian Edmondson as Eddie Catflap

Nigel Planer as Ralph Filthy

Episodes

Episodes of Filthy, Rich & Catflap were not given individual names, and are only listed numerically. 

Episode Brief Synopsis
1 Richie accidentally kills the milkman, and on the same day a 17 year old girl files a paternity suit against him.
2 Richie makes a guest appearance on a TV game show and ends up getting blackmailed by The Nolans.
3 Richie decides to throw a dinner party to celebrate his first decade in showbusiness.
4 Richie loses his brilliant idea for a new game show host to slobby producer Jumbo Whiffy.
5 Filthy gets Richie a job reading celebrity gossip on TV-am.
6 Richie and Eddie are on trial for exposing themselves on television.

Trivia

  1. Contemporary analysis of the show describes it as the bridge between The Young Ones and Bottom.
  2. In the documentary 'How The Young Ones Changed Comedy', Nigel Planer explains that he understands why Rik and Ade went on to do Bottom without him, as they had reached the point where their characters had been truly realised and were at their comical best.
  3. The show foreshadows many elements that came to be associated with Bottom, such as the violent fist-fights between Rik and Ade and the absurd and unpredictable plots.
  4. The DVD release of the show is heavily edited and several episodes are missing scenes. The missing scenes are mostly those where song lyrics are sung or quoted, and were presumably cut due to copyright. A notable omission from the DVD is a four and a half minute scene from Episode 6 where Richie and Eddie lark around the flat singing and quoting lines from the movie Oliver Twist. Another scene trimmed down for the DVD (also from Episode 6) is where Eddie and Midge Ure quote/sing (badly) lines from Ultravox and Sting songs. Some of the missing scenes are reinstated on UK Gold reruns and are available as individual clips on YouTube.
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