Sad News - Rik Mayall dies

It was a shock and very sad to hear this afternoon of the death of one my favourite comedic actors, Rik Mayall. He was aged only 56, a young age to die. He first caught my attention, most people's attention I'd say, as the character he played in The Young Ones. It was an anarchic sitcom in the life of ordinary working class university students. I liked the way he played slightly mental characters. The character in the series Bottom was very funny and I liked the cameo roles he had in Blackadder and those he played in various The Comic Strip Presents. I thought he played the character Alan Bastard well in The New Stateman but it wasn't a character I particularly liked but that was probably the point. Sad, sad news for someone who brought a lot of pleasure to watching the TV. It's hard to describe the effect of The Young Ones but for me it really was a show that changed my world. It probably played a part in convincing me to go to university.