Bottom/Gas

Smells
Season 1, Episode 2
Airdate	September 24, 1991
Production Number	102
Written by	Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson
Directed by	Ed Bye
← 1x01 Smells	1x03 → Contest
Bottom — Season One

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Gas is the second episode of the first season of Bottom.

Starring:

Guest Starring: Mark Lambert (Gasman), Brian Glover (Mr. Rottweiler), Gabi Valente (Rottweiler's Girlfriend)

Plot Overview

The show begins on Richie and Eddie playing cards with household chores as the stakes, surrounded by gas fired heaters and with the cooker running just to generate heat, when there's a knock at the door. On the other side is a man from the gas board to read the meter, causing Richie to alert Eddie by shouting ("IT'S THE GAS MAN. HELLO, MR GAS MAN. GAS MAN! GAS MAN! GAS MAN!!") prompting a frantic switch-off of everything using the gas. He is led in to read the meter, which reads 0 - and when questioning it is told that they don't use gas, "because we don't know what it is".

The gasman reveals he's checking because someone on the street is complaining that their gas bills are too high, and that he'll check next door if he has the time. Richie and Eddie obviously the culprits, they stall him by threatening him with a cricket bat until he agrees to stay for a cup of tea - which is served with cold water from the hot tap "to save wear and tear on the cold tap" as they obviously can't use the kettle or gas fired boiler. After Richie fails to stall him further (with a story about a forest inhabited by a pair of trousers named Dave) the gasman insists on leaving, but on the way out is punched to the floor then repeatedly whacked with a frying pan; numerous attempts to revive him and hide the body fail until he wakes up and, shift over, is off home.

A plan is hatched to remove the evidence of them stealing gas from next door but rather than the kitchen, a miscalculation has them smash a hole in the wall leading to the intimidating Mr. Rottweiler's bedroom where he and his girlfriend are sleeping. Undeterred, Eddie is sent down to remove the gas pipe and leave through the front door while Richie patches up the wall; though both are distracted as Eddie helps himself to the contents of the fridge and Richie eyes up Rottweiler's girlfriend. Unable to patch the wall up from the outside, Richie is called downstairs by Eddie as gas is now shooting out of the pipe previously connected to their flat - he's greeted by an explosion.

Panicked, they try to leave through the front door but open it to the gasman, so run back upstairs and escape through the original hole as their only option as Rottweiler runs down, sees the huge flame in the middle of the kitchen and finds the gasman who asks where the "two loonies from next door" are. Back in their flat congratulating eachother on a job well done, Richie and Eddie are interrupted by Rottweiler smashing through the loose bricks and grabbing them.

Trivia

Memorable Moments

• Eddie calling Richie on cheating at poker for having three pairs, then proceeding to win with "Five kings." in the same round
• "One Card Slam" where Eddie draws a card, places it on the table, and announces he's won £12.

Quotes

Eddie: Stand up.

Richie: No.

Eddie: Come on.

Richie: I...can't, I've got a hernia.

Eddie: No you haven't.

Richie: I have it's all this excitement's just given me a hernia!

Eddie: Look stand up or I will give you a hernia!

Richie: Eddie! You killed him!

Eddie: ...I never touched him.

Richie: Yeah but the frying pan did and you were touching that at the time!

Eddie: Bollocks, you killed him, he was dead before he hit the ground!

Richie: Well why'd you keep hitting him with the frying pan then?

Eddie: Er...for fun!

Richie: Hello, Hamal! How's the kebab business? Yep... yep... look I don't want a conversation about it it's just an English pleasantry!

Richie: Eddie! Eddie! What the bloody hell d'you think you're doing?

Eddie: I thought I'd burn it off...

Richie: What, your face?

Eddie: No, the excess gas!

Richie: Oh really, and how long do you think it'll take to burn off the entire north sea gas reserves?