On 9th June 2014, a tragic thing happened, the legend that was Rik Mayall dropped dead of a heart attack, aged only 56. It is not very often that the death of a celebrity hits me so hard but Rik's death was quite a blow. Along with Gregor Fisher, he was a childhood idol who to this day I still hold in high regard as both an actor and comedian.
Narrated by Simon Callow, 'Rik Mayall - Lord Of Misrule' was a celebration of the comic's career showing highlights from his most memorable work such as 'The Young Ones', 'The New Statesman', 'Bottom', 'Jonathan Creek', 'Man Down', 'The Comic Strip Presents..' and 'Drop Dead Fred' as well as some seldom seen clips from his earliest stand-up routines, whether they were as one half of 'The Dangerous Brothers' or as his alter ego, the harebrained investigative Brummie reporter Kevin Turvey. Strangely not mentioned were his 1989 children's comedy show 'Grim Tales', his ITV series 'Rik Mayall Presents' and his 2002 sitcom 'Believe Nothing', scripted by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, who had earlier written for him 'The New Statesman'.
Anyway, that small drawback aside, the documentary was excellent. Many of Rik's greatest friends and co-stars appeared to share with us their favourite memories of working with the man. Among the contributors were Lise Meyer, Greg Davies, Alexei Sayle, Rowland Rivron, Lenny Henry, Michael Palin, Pauline Melville, Ben Elton, Paul Jackson and Ruby Wax. Mayall's long-term comedy partner Ade Edmondson declined to be interviewed. A short time prior to broadcasting, Edmondson told The Guardian: "I was sent the synopsis and it was all wacky and wild. You could see it was just going to be a load of talking heads and clips, so I pulled out of that. I just think he deserves something better than that. And I think, if someone important dies, you can't be flippant about it.". Not an unfair reason I have to admit.
Many kind words were spoken here. Greg Davies ( who bears a strong resemblance to Mayall ) recalled with fondness being greeted with a hug from Rik every morning of filming 'Man Down'. Rowland Rivron reckoned Rik's death had shook the nation so much because he never upset anyone. He loved his fans just as much as they loved him.
Within hours after Rik Mayall's death, the streets of London were strewn with messages of sympathy, flowers, pictures and even banners proclaiming ''R.I.P. Rik''. You may think that ridiculous, but it just went to show how much his fans ( myself included ) loved him. Rik's death was also on about every front page. One wonderful front page ( which is mentioned here ) was that of 'The Times' in which Michael Gove said that is was about time British values were introduced into schools and right next the article was a picture of Rik in character from 'The Young Ones'. Another wonderful headline featured on the front page of 'The Sun' read ''R.I.P. Rik. You were a funny B'Stard!'.
As the documentary came to a close, Simon Callow concluded by slowly and thoughtfully reciting the lyrics from the opening theme to 'The Young Ones'. As Callow finished off with - ''there's a song to be sung, because we may not be the young ones very long!'', I found myself close to tears.
With his iconic comic status still reaching new audiences, up in that great studio set in the sky, one Richard Michael Mayall must be looking down, smiling and saying to himself: ''Quite bloody right too!''
Narrated by Simon Callow, 'Rik Mayall - Lord Of Misrule' was a celebration of the comic's career showing highlights from his most memorable work such as 'The Young Ones', 'The New Statesman', 'Bottom', 'Jonathan Creek', 'Man Down', 'The Comic Strip Presents..' and 'Drop Dead Fred' as well as some seldom seen clips from his earliest stand-up routines, whether they were as one half of 'The Dangerous Brothers' or as his alter ego, the harebrained investigative Brummie reporter Kevin Turvey. Strangely not mentioned were his 1989 children's comedy show 'Grim Tales', his ITV series 'Rik Mayall Presents' and his 2002 sitcom 'Believe Nothing', scripted by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, who had earlier written for him 'The New Statesman'.
Anyway, that small drawback aside, the documentary was excellent. Many of Rik's greatest friends and co-stars appeared to share with us their favourite memories of working with the man. Among the contributors were Lise Meyer, Greg Davies, Alexei Sayle, Rowland Rivron, Lenny Henry, Michael Palin, Pauline Melville, Ben Elton, Paul Jackson and Ruby Wax. Mayall's long-term comedy partner Ade Edmondson declined to be interviewed. A short time prior to broadcasting, Edmondson told The Guardian: "I was sent the synopsis and it was all wacky and wild. You could see it was just going to be a load of talking heads and clips, so I pulled out of that. I just think he deserves something better than that. And I think, if someone important dies, you can't be flippant about it.". Not an unfair reason I have to admit.
Many kind words were spoken here. Greg Davies ( who bears a strong resemblance to Mayall ) recalled with fondness being greeted with a hug from Rik every morning of filming 'Man Down'. Rowland Rivron reckoned Rik's death had shook the nation so much because he never upset anyone. He loved his fans just as much as they loved him.
Within hours after Rik Mayall's death, the streets of London were strewn with messages of sympathy, flowers, pictures and even banners proclaiming ''R.I.P. Rik''. You may think that ridiculous, but it just went to show how much his fans ( myself included ) loved him. Rik's death was also on about every front page. One wonderful front page ( which is mentioned here ) was that of 'The Times' in which Michael Gove said that is was about time British values were introduced into schools and right next the article was a picture of Rik in character from 'The Young Ones'. Another wonderful headline featured on the front page of 'The Sun' read ''R.I.P. Rik. You were a funny B'Stard!'.
As the documentary came to a close, Simon Callow concluded by slowly and thoughtfully reciting the lyrics from the opening theme to 'The Young Ones'. As Callow finished off with - ''there's a song to be sung, because we may not be the young ones very long!'', I found myself close to tears.
With his iconic comic status still reaching new audiences, up in that great studio set in the sky, one Richard Michael Mayall must be looking down, smiling and saying to himself: ''Quite bloody right too!''