Films[]
Big Jugs[]
Big Jugs: A History of Pottery in the 19th Century, as the cover of the VHS tape indicates, although this is overlooked by Eddie, who thought he was renting a porno from the video shop ("'s Up. ")
The Furry Honeypot Adventure[]
Another of Eddie's misguided video rentals. What he thought was a skin flick was in fact a warming animated tale of family and friendship, culminating in a birthday celebration between anthropomorphised bears. ("'s Up. ")
Swedish Lesbians In Blackcurrant Jam[]
The third and final of Eddie's video rentals. Eddie misread the title of this one, which actually reads "Swedish Legends in Blackcurrant Jam Making." ("'s Up. ")
Goldfinger[]
Goldfinger is the third James Bond film, and stars Sean Connery in the title role. In "Holy," the film becomes the topic of Richie's unsuccessful game of charades. Mr Harrison later admits to abandoning his grandson on Richie and Eddie's doorstep so he can watch it in peace.
[]
The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 Anglo-American war film directed by J. Lee Thompson and is based on the book of the same name. The film is second on the list to guess during Richie's game of charades on Christmas Day ("Holy.")
Deep Throat[]
Deep Throat is a 1972 pornographic film starring Linda Lovelace. Historically it is noted for being the first porn film to have a plot and relatively high production standards. It was banned for many years. In "'s Out," Richie and Eddie discuss the film, and how great it was, whilst camping on Wimbledon Common.
Books & Magazines[]
The Joy of Sex[]
A popular illustrated encyclopedia of sexual techniques published in 1972 by British author Alex Comfort. The book spent eleven weeks at the top of the New York times best seller list and more than seventy weeks in the top five (1972-1974.) The Joy of Sex is amongst Richie's collection of books, kept on a bookshelf in the dining room.
More Joy of Sex[]
The 1973 sequel to The Joy of Sex written by British author Alex Comfort. It is amongst Richie's collection of books situated on a bookshelf in the dining room. In "Digger," Richie attempts to refresh on some sexual techniques before getting it on with Lady Natasha, but in his naivety ends up mistaking a diagram of a vagina for a bearded man.
Cooking In The Nude[]
A fictional reference book on the topic of nude cooking, as the title suggests. The author is unknown. The book is amongst Richie's collection situated on a bookshelf in the dining room ("Digger.")
War & Peace[]
A novel written by Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 1869. The book is considered epic in scale and one of the most important pieces of world literature. Richie keeps a copy of the novel on his bedside cabinet, and remarks to himself that he has been reading it "for a good few years." Despite this, he reveals in his monologue that he is only up to sentence three of the first chapter, and requires the use of a dictionary in order to progress ("Apocalypse.") By the time of the episode "Dough," he has reached the end, and surmises that it was, after all the time and effort spent, a "load of old bollocks."
Hot! Hot! Hot![]
A specialist magazine on the topic of welding, and a favourite of Eddie's. The magazine is amongst a pile of pornographic ones which Eddie offers to Richie as wanking material in Bottom Live 5. Overlooking the genuine articles, Richie selects it as his rag of choice, remarking "cor, look at the goggles on that!"
The Hammersmith Bugle[]
The local rag, and a favourite of Richie and Eddie's. Issues of the newspaper are seen frequently throughout the series and live shows. In "Smells," Richie uses it to look up the lonely hearts ads in hope of getting sex, and later sees an article in the same issue for a brand of pheromone sex-spray. In "Culture," both out of boredom sit together and attempt to complete one of the Bugle's crosswords. In "Terror," the duo take advantage of the paper's Spot the Ball competition, missing the point of the game completely when they spend all of their time looking for the player's testicles instead of the football. In Bottom Live, the pair are delighted to find out that they have won the Hammersmith Bugle Lottery, but since they are the only ones to buy, and to ever have bought the paper, they were the only ones to purchase a lottery ticket.
Karachi Medical Gazette[]
A fictional medical journal, originating from Karachi in Pakistan. Excerpts from the journal are included in an issue of the Hammersmith Bugle, which fully endorses the effectiveness of a pheromone-based sex spray ("Smells.") The joke relates to Karachi's reputation for having a largely private and unregulated health service, with many doctors operating without proper qualifications or accountability. As at 2022, private healthcare equated to 80% of Pakistan's total national healthcare provision.
TV Shows[]
The Clothes Show[]
A popular fashion series which debuted on BBC1 in 1986 and ran for 14 years until the year 2000. In 2006 it was resurrected in a new format and broadcast on the channel Really. In "Smells," Richie tries to convince two uninterested lesbians to come back to his flat so they can watch a beach wear special of the program in the nude. His offer is not taken up.
This Morning With Richard & Judy[]
A British daytime television show broadcast on ITV from 1988 to the present. It was presented from its inception up until 2001 by married television stars Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan. In Bottom Live, Eddie switches on the telly in hope of finding out what the correct day is, and is faced with the sound of two jibbering lunatics. After a few moment's hesitation he realises what he is watching and destroys the TV with several rounds from a service revolver.
Emmerdale[]
Emmerdale title card.
Emmerdale is a long-running British soap first broadcast in 1972. It is a favourite television staple of Richie and Eddie, and their lesser-brained friends Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog. Emmerdale is mentioned several times throughout the series, most significantly in "Accident," when an inebriated Spudgun points out that the shortening of the show's title from Emmerdale Farm to simply Emmerdale allowed the producers to pack a lot more story into each episode.
The Miss World Competition[]
Miss World is a long-running international beauty pageant started in the UK in 1951 by Eric Morley. Pageants have been held annually since that year and winners traditionally tour the world promoting the organisation's various causes. In "Contest," Eddie settles on spending his day sat in front of the telly watching live coverage of the latest Miss World Competition. His interest in the pageant disgusts Richie, who makes every effort to annoy and distract him from watching it in favour of a topical Michael Buerk show. Following a fight over which channel to watch, Richie ends up chucking Eddie out, leaving Richie alone in the flat. Richie then lets his curiosity get the better of him and decides to pleasure himself at the sight of the beautiful ladies on screen, only to be caught out by Eddie as he strolls back into the drawing room to apologise for his earlier infractions. Richie does his best to explain himself, but succumbs to his own shame and accepts defeat, allowing Eddie to watch Miss World by himself. Throughout the debacle, Eddie is said to have placed a bet on the winner of Miss World, rallying Richie's sense of competition. This is later revealed to be a ruse however, with Eddie then admitting he spent what he said he placed on the pageant on a slap-up grill at the local greasy spoon...
Neighbours[]
A long-running Australian soap opera first broadcast on March 18th 1985, with a very popular audience in the UK. The soap was cancelled in 2022.