Alan Partridge -- Always good for a laugh

I was in need of a laugh last night -- it was Monday, after all -- so after Jill and Annika went to bed I dusted off my DVD of "Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge."
The excellent 1994 series from BBC Two features Steve Coogan as Partridge, the incompetent but smug host of a unremittingly boring talk show.
Well, it would be boring were it true. As a parody of a bad talk show, "Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge" is utterly hilarious.
There's the time Alan kisses and flirts with the Playboy magazine sex columnist -- until he learns this sexy she was once a he.
There's the time Alan reunites a fellow TV host (played by series co-writer Patrick Marber) with his son, only for us to learn the dad has forgotten his son's birthday.
There's the time a horse jumper (played by the marvelous Rebecca Front) refuses to perform a jump on the show because the horse could break its legs on the hard stage floor -- even though Alan promises to affix sponges to the horse's hooves.
Partridge's insincerity and insecurity increases throughout the six shows of the series, while the laughter increases and the hilarity expands.
It's the perfect antidote for a Monday.