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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3295 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 20, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Have I got news for You (HIGNFY)

Here I will discuss a British TV comedy panel quiz show about current political events, running from 1990 to present day.

Today, I believe it has followed the example of other shows, and became bad.

Team captains

  • Ian Hislop - a short-ass, posh and sometimes self-righteous sort. When he makes a gag about someone, you can imagine being one of his toadies at their posh school, laughing away at the stupid poor person.

  • Paul Merton - a non-posh, sometimes miserable acting, very quick witted.

Chairman

  • Angus Deayton until 2003, when he was caught shagging. He then appeared on the show shortly after - was very funny! Good for him having the balls to appear on the show.

Notable events

Peter Mandelson

  • A politician

  • outed as a gay on the Newsnight show - not sure about the timing of this as regards HIGNFY episodes

  • often accused of financial irregularity.

So the joke is - suspected gay politician - has dodgy deals involving properties.

Ian Hislop: "So this is about Peter Mandelson, who is suspected of being a home.... owner"

Mandelson was a frequent butt of gags from the show. One time during this, it was called out by (of all people), Jackie Mason. "I think this show is disgusting for saying that".

Guest contestant Piers Morgan

I had no idea who this was when he went on the show.

It was soon made clear, you are not supposed to like him.

An exchange with Piers Morgan and Ian Hislop

PM (answering one of the quiz questions): "Is it jam? As I remember Eddie Izzard said that last week and I found it funny"

IH: "Yes but people like him"

This is demonstrating the sad truth that people can be dicks about laughing at gags, depending on who says them.

Superintendent Chalmers from the Simpsons would certainly agree.

Who among us has not made a fine gag at the office to crickets, when if they were someone people liked, would have gone down a storm.

Often Paul Merton would just say some bizarre shit to great reception, that would not go well if uttered by Morgan or some other unpopular type.

Also there was a mean-ness about the show - especially while Angus Deayton was the chairman - the 2 Team Captains being a couple of pricks to him.

Guest chairman Bruce Forsyth

One of my favorite episodes. What a man Bruce Forsyth was.

Guest contestant and chairman Boris Johnson

Appeared in several episodes. Extremely funny guy.

Post ends

Despite some complaints I have, I will always have affection for this show, as watched with parents and family as a child. It is the man in the arena who counts etc.

Merton and Hislop are the core of the show, Hislop fitting into the role of the straight man to Merton's funny man. I don't think the show could continue its success if one or the other were to leave as it's the both the quality of their input and the dynamic between those two which raises the show above the many other panel shows where average comedians with above average agents use the format of a current affairs quiz to ladle out their pre-cooked jokes. I was surprised when I learnt that Merton and Hislop have a pretty low regard for one another off set - not unheard of for established comedy duos but these two only play those roles by chance.

You forgot to mention that Hislop is the editor of Private Eye and one of the most sued people in Britain. He's less about laughing at poor people and more about holding politicians and other public figures' feet to the fire. That gives him a strong footing for skewering the guest politicians who continue to appear on the show despite the show's 30ish year history of using them for satirical cannon fodder. Johnson did better than most on that account.

Merton is a deadpan surrealist comic with an encyclopedic knowledge of Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock films.

I used to watch it every week but slowly lost interest over the Brexit/Trump/Johnson years as the real world became self satirising. Bit of a golden era for impressionists though, Dead Ringers on Radio 4 hasn't been the same since Biden took office.

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