[Televisionary]

Knowing me, knowing you. A-ha. It's very easy to think that Steve Coogan is Alan Partridge, the character he created and played on several comedy series including Knowing Me, Knowing You and I'm Alan Partridge . But if Coogan isn't Alan Partridge, neither is the boozy, bawdy Tommy Saxondale, the character he now portrays (and co-created with Neil MacLennan) in the new BBC comedy series, Saxondale , set to make its U.S. debut next month . Unlike the pretentious and preening Alan Partridge, Tommy Saxondale is a man of the people. Well, he's a man of a nation of one, anyway. A former rock group roadie, Tommy has become a pest control specialist living with Welsh girlfriend Magz ( Nighty Night 's Ruth Jones) who runs Smash the System, a t-shirt shop selling anarchist clothing, including a dubious line of t's featuring unexpected people (i.e., the Mona Lisa) smoking pot. Magz manages to ground the easily enraged Tommy a bit and keep him from veering off into a tira...

Digital cabler BBC America has announced five series which it plans to launch this fall, including one from that irascible Mr. Alan Partridge, comedian Steve Coogan ( Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story ). First up is comedy Saxondale , which stars Steve Coogan ( I'm Alan Partridge ) as Tommy Saxondale, a former roadie with anger management issues who runs a pest control business dealing with rodents and people. Ruth Jones ( Nighty Night ) co-stars as Saxondale's Welsh anarchist girlfriend Magz who owns a t-shirt business called "Smash the System" selling politically radical clothing. The series' seven-episode run premieres October 13th at 11 pm ET (8 pm PT). Rumor has it that NBC, which has a deal with Coogan's production company (Baby Cow) is developing an American version of Saxondale . Let's hope that it's along the lines of The Office and not, say, Coupling . Hell's Kitchen 's Gordon Ramsay returns to BBC America with Gordon Ramsay...