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Have either of those shows been broadcast in the states? I love Alexi Sayle but I have never seen this show.
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Yes,
Alexei Sayle's Stuff has been broadcast in the States, but I think the number of markets it aired in was limited compared to many other British comedies. I saw it in the Twin Cities when the local PBS station, KTCA-2, aired in twice in the early '90s. I seem to recall that it also aired in Chicago on WTTW-11. Not sure where else it may have been seen, but it probably turned up in most of the major markets.
The opening theme music for the second series was particularly memorable as they did a parody of the
Mickey Mouse Club theme: a bunch of children dancing and singing "...who's an ugly bastard and as fat as he can be? A-L-E X-E-I S-A-Y-L-E!..." It all comes to a grinding halt when Alexei skips out to join them in the fun and a little girl takes one look at him and asks "Who is that fat bastard?"
I'd really like to see the show again and wish I would have had the foresight to record them on VHS. Alas, I think that was the last I saw of Alexei until he turned up on
Keen Eddie last summer.
To add to Mark's comments in regard to
Butterflies: this show seemed to be ubiquitous in the '80s as pretty much any PBS station that showed British comedy had it on their schedule at one point or another. I must have seen each episode half a dozen times on KTCA alone. A couple other comedies that KTCA aired in that time frame were
Good Neighbors and
To the Manor Born. They're still airing
Good Neighbors at least once a year and
To the Manor Born even turns up from time to time. But for whatever reason, they haven't shown
Butterflies in more than a decade.
To the Manor Born is being released on DVD this Tuesday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that
Butterflies will eventually turn up as well.
Speaking of
To the Manor Born, I'd love to see another Peter Bowles sitcom on DVD:
The Bounder. Anyone other than me remember that one?
