Rik Mayall and Ade Edmonson initially joined forces as 20th Century Coyote at the Comedy Store in its early days, back in 1980. After establishing themselves as a comedy team, they were incorporated into "The Young Ones," a show partially written by Mayall, along with Lise Mayer and Ben Elton. Rik played the frustrating sociology student, Rik, while Ade portrayed the eccentric medical patient, Vyvyan. This led to a partial spin-off called “Filthy Rich and Catflap,” also penned by Elton. The characters’ personalities were starting to solidify, with Richie as an unsuccessful actor, Richie Rich, and Ade as his caretaker, Eddie Catflap. Subsequently, the pair took charge of the writing for "Bottom," where their characters evolved into unemployed men in their late thirties, Richie and Eddie (Hitler), living in a rundown London flat. Neither possessed any social skills; Rik was still without a girlfriend, and Eddie seemed to be an almost alcoholic. There were hints he had some kind of social life, but his only real friends appeared to be the equally clumsy Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog – later revealed to have a family, which came as a surprise. The show ran for three seasons of six episodes each, featuring plenty of verbal sparring between the two, along with their signature violence and Eddie’s constant put-downs of Richie, frequently concerning his romantic life or lack thereof. The duo felt comfortable with violent humor and depictions of sexual inadequacy, but the decision to use a “two hander” format was bold, though it also exposed some weaknesses. They were close to achieving something great, but I believe a more experienced comedy writer could have refined the dialogue. At times, the show was brilliant – Eddie mocks Richie about his visit to "Dr O'Grady's personal organ enhancement clinic - you too can have your personal organ enhanced, so that it is comparable in size to that of a fully-grown mountain gorilla!”. Eddie delivers the line with perfect timing. Richie retorts sharply with “Yes, when he said _Comparable in size_. I didn’t realize he meant _An awful lot smaller than_." In those moments, the actors were at their best. However, there were also times when the conversations felt slow – just filling space between the good bits. The combination of writing and acting wasn't always able to hold my attention, so it seemed like a good idea to add some violence—that usually does the trick. Introducing other actors had mixed results. The Helen Lederer character in "Digger" was excellent and well-developed. “The Parade” episode brought in several guest actors for comedic effect. The first episode, "Smells," had its highs and lows, with some awkward performances alongside moments of genuine brilliance. Overall, the first two series are definitely worth watching, even if they aren’t consistently hilarious. Series 3 faltered somewhat. Still, I've just finished watching all of them and found enjoyment in it. Perhaps I am too critical of things I appreciate.

Source on TMDB