I’m Alan Partridge may be deemed as a “classic” but I couldn’t watch any more than the first episode. 1990s shows are having a resurgence with Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That returning for a third outing and Buffy The Vampire Slayer soon to be landing on ITVX. Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier, Saved By The Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210 have also had reboots in recent years with iconic 1990s sitcom Friends continuously among the most-watched shows on Netflix.

Seen as a British classic is I’m Alan Partridge, which may have run for just two series following its 1997 premiere but went on to have multiple spin-off shows and two films. When it first came out, the comedy also won a plethora of awards including Best TV Sitcom and its star Steve Coogan taking home the award for Best TV Comedy Actor at the British Comedy Awards. And yet, the thought of watching more than one episode of this so-called sitcom was an uncomfortable one to say the least.

When we meet failed television presenter Alan Partridge, he is living out of a hotel after his wife left him for a fitness instructor and is desperately trying to revive his broadcasting career. As he tries to convince BBC bosses to give him another series, Partridge is working as a local radio DJ and voiceover artist, dishing out random facts to his Norwich-based listeners at every opportunity. While having a laugh track on shows like Friends and The Big Bang Theory feels like a natural addition, it is awkwardly crowbarred into every few seconds of I’m Alan Partridge, highlighting how unfunny a lot of the supposed funny moments are.

Alan opens his mouth, immediate laughter follows and I’m left looking around my living room for clarity and the punchline. Perhaps I needed to watch it with someone other than my English Springer Spaniel for an explanation. Smack The Pony star Sally Phillips unexpectedly cropped up as a new receptionist and it was her scene that brought out an actual laugh. Unable to contain her laughter as Alan told her of the obscene message graffitied onto his car, she pursed her lips and walked away in a hurried fashion, leaving the front desk for a second time when she saw he was still there.

Apart from her, however, the rest of the cast falls mostly flat with nothing more to do or say than wait on standby for Alan to show up and insult them. It was the dream sequence in particular that’s been etched into my brain for all the wrong reasons. While waiting for his personal assistant Lynn Benfield (Felicity Montagu) to show up, Alan dozes off and dreams of being in a strip club wearing a jumper on top and tight leather pants.

He steps off the pole-dancing podium with BBC boss Tony Hayers (David Schneider) ready to give him a handful of cash. Alan creepily wags his finger and tells him: ‘Uh-ah, I want a second series”, before he’s awoken by Lynn knocking at the door. With his awkward demeanour, cringy jokes and lack of self-awareness, it is apparent that Alan Partridge could have inspired the creation of Ricky Gervais’ David Brent in The Office which came out four years later.

It was then in 2005 that the American version of The Office starring Steve Carrell as boss Michael Scott started airing with similarities between the three. There is no doubt, however, that Alan Partridge is a poor man’s Michael Scott, the “before” to Carrell’s “after” take on a cringy yet lovable character. Coogan’s portfolio has since expanded with films and shows like Philomena, The Trip with Rob Brydon, Brian and Maggie and The Penguin Lessons, all of which I have watched and enjoyed.

He will be reviving the Alan Partridge franchise with the upcoming BBC series And Did Those Feet…With Alan Partridge currently in production and after that painful 29-minute watch, it’s safe to say I’ll be rewatching The Office for the fifth time instead. I’m Alan Partridge is available to watch on ITVX Premium. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox.