Radio BBC Radio

[Wallaby]

I was suprised when I realised that BC was Martin Crieff, he is just such an annoying, whiny loser, unlike his usual confident persona. Talking of which, have you heard Neverwhere which also features BC? Brilliant adaption of the Neil Gaiman novel.

There is only one more Cabin Pressure to come - Zurich, which will be on later n the year, probably at Christmas. TBH I'm surprised that anyone on BF has even heard of it.

JimBoy, are you an afficianado of UK Radio Comedy? It's what I spend most of my 'entertainment time' listening to. Rather that than the tv.

 

[jim boy]

JimBoy, are you an afficianado of UK Radio Comedy?

That I am - I listen to as much as I can, some of it is brilliant some of it not so brilliant. Not just comedy either, if it sounds interesting I'll grab it and give it a go so have ended up with a fairly largish collection. I tend to listen mainly to more recent stuff so whilst I have a great fondness of shows like Round The Horne and Hancock, I haven't listened to them for quite a while. Having said that I am looking forward to later this year when half a dozen lost Hancock shows are being rerecorded for the shows 60th anniversary.

 

[Wallaby]

That I am - I listen to as much as I can, some of it is brilliant some of it not so brilliant. Not just comedy either, if it sounds interesting I'll grab it and give it a go so have ended up with a fairly largish collection. I tend to listen mainly to more recent stuff so whilst I have a great fondness of shows like Round The Horne and Hancock, I haven't listened to them for quite a while. Having said that I am looking forward to later this year when half a dozen lost Hancock shows are being rerecorded for the shows 60th anniversary.

I have a full collection of Round The Horne, I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, and The Goons. I've given up trying to describe what I find funny and what I don't - some things work, some don't. Of the later stuff, I quite like some of the radio sit-coms (like Cabin Pressure).

Some of the modern ones I have:

The Museum of Everything
Old Harry's Game
The Castle
They are all good.

The satirical commentary shows I like - The News Quiz, The Now Show, Mark Steel's stuff, Jeremy Hardy.

Sketch Shows can be hit-and-miss. Depends on the writers. I like the John Finnemore Souvenir Programs, of course.

There's a lot of stuff out there.

 

[jim boy]

I have a full collection of Round The Horne, I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, and The Goons.

I dont really have a lot of the really old stuff, all the goons of course, the navy lark, parsley sidings and I've just started capturing ISIRTA, but I just dont seem to find the time.

The satirical commentary shows I like - The News Quiz, The Now Show, Mark Steel's stuff, Jeremy Hardy.

ISIHAC? The unbelievable truth? I like how they have a bit of a competitive thing going with QI. Also the Mark Steele stuff - are you referring to the the Mark Steele Lectures or the more recent Mark Steele's in Town, both excellent series

Sketch Shows can be hit-and-miss. Depends on the writers. I like the John Finnemore Souvenir Programs, of course.

I rarely go for sketch shows, but there are a few exceptions, such as the Mitchell & Webb sound and John Finnemore - possibly the best comedy writer at the moment.

There's a lot of stuff out there.

you're not wrong - some of the my comedy favs from the last few years include Bleak Expectations, Dave Podmore, Ed Reardon's Week, Elvenquest, 15 stories high, Absolute Power, Penny Dreadfuls presents..., Museum of Curiosity, Milton Jones, Gloomsbury, Inspector Steine, Act your Age, Believe It!, Brian Guilliver's Travels, **** Mags and Bags, Mordrin McDonald -21st century wizard etc.

And then there is all the non-comedy stuff....

 

[Wallaby]

ISIHAC! Yep - didn't mention that - I'm not sure what category it goes in. Absolutely amazing and probably the best comedy show I've ever seen or listened to. And consider it's gone for 40+ years.

I have all the Mark Steel series including In Town. There's a little half-hour podcast out there of Mark Steel talking to Jeremy Hardy - it talks about their life in stand-up, and how difficult it is to do left-wing social comedy without sounding like a prat. It's great - called Two Men On a Bench.

Bleak Expectations was excellent to start with, but became very repetitive after 10 or 12 shows. But - hey, you can't like everything.

If you like QI, try and find The Museum of Curiosity. It's made by the same people who do QI (John Lloyd hosts), and it's a discussion program where they get a couple of scientists and one comedian in to talk about science-y things. It's far more interesting than QI (and isn't full of Stephen Fry gay jokes) and better to listen to. There's a popular science-comedy show out there called the Infinite Monkey Cage, which is up to about series 9 or 10, but it has current Celeb Scientist Brian Cox on it - who is a great scientist, OK on TV, but a terrible comedy performer on the radio. You need two things for good comedy - writing AND performing.

The best thing is about all this, you wind up with a long list of people you want to go and see at the next Comedy Festival. Some are good with stand-up, others not so. Milton Jones was a bit disappointing (I think his type of comedy requires a different structure than stand-up), while Shappi Khorsandi was much better than her radio.

If you are looking for Downloads - theres a guy called Slimoo who has a huge collection of Brit radio torrents, old, new, classic, serious.
[link removed]
There used to be a site called radiocc - that seems to have stopped.

But you can usually find things on people's blogs and so forth.

 

[jim boy]

There's a little half-hour podcast out there of Mark Steel talking to Jeremy Hardy - it talks about their life in stand-up, and how difficult it is to do left-wing social comedy without sounding like a prat. It's great - called Two Men On a Bench.

I'll keep a lookout for that

The best thing is about all this, you wind up with a long list of people you want to go and see at the next Comedy Festival. Some are good with stand-up, others not so. Milton Jones was a bit disappointing (I think his type of comedy requires a different structure than stand-up), while Shappi Khorsandi was much better than her radio.

Sorry to hear that about Milton - I chose not to see him, simply because I've heard all of his radio stuff and I figured that it would probably be comprised of stuff I've already heard - his appearances on Mock The Week tend to repeat his radio work. Same with Stephen K Amos's show "What does the K stand for?" - I'd only just finished listening to the BBC series of the same name. Sara Pascoe was good though as I hadn't heard a lot of her.

There used to be a site called radiocc - that seems to have stopped.

radioarchive.cc? That place ended badly - they got hacked into and all the usernames/passwords were stolen. If you used a username/password combo there that you used in other places, you are advised to changed your password in those other places. Then the guys running it fell out with each other. It was a terribly hard site to navigate through anyway so I rarely visited it at the best of times.

I have a couple of places were I seek new shows, but primarily I get them straight from the Beeb now. For example a couple of things which are on at the moment are "My First Planet (series 2)" and "The Cold Swedish Winter" - a new sitcom by the writer of "Rudy's Rare Records".

 

[Wallaby]

Radioarchivecc it was. I can't remember if I actually had a password or not. I'd better check.

Yep, Milton did repeat a lot of his radio stuff - there were even a couple of spots where he asked the audience a question to get a standard answer and riff off the reply - I answered a couple just to keep the show moving.

I saw Sarah Pascoe too - liked her a lot. There have been a few shows of stand-ups on BBC radio - series called 4 at the Fringe, 4 in a Field, 4 at Glastonbury etc (they run 4 stand-up spots in a half-an-hour show) - they are worth seeking out. One act I would like to catch is Francesca Martinez - her stand-up is hilarious - she's got some form of *******ity disorder. She did Spicks and specks a couple of times. I'm sure there's some of her work on Youtube.

I like a lot of Brit female comedians. Sue Perkins is a QI regular (and hosts the British Bake-off) - but she's done a lot of radio comedy, and is very good.

I also wish we could get a decent weekly news satire show (TV or Radio) here in Aus - we have nothing to compare with Mock The Week, The news Quiz, HIGNFY, The Now show etc. A lot have been tried, but none have reached those standards.

 

[jim boy]

Radioarchivecc it was. One act I would like to catch is Francesca Martinez - her stand-up is hilarious - she's got some form of *******ity disorder. She did Spicks and specks a couple of times.

She is on the News Quiz on a regular basis, plus I think she has been on the Now Show from time to time.

I like a lot of Brit female comedians. Sue Perkins is a QI regular (and hosts the British Bake-off) - but she's done a lot of radio comedy, and is very good.

Yes, Sue Perkins is right up there with Stephen Fry for being a clever wit, have you listened to Dilemma? The BBC now have an edict that every panel show must have at least one female, hence a lot of Sue Perkins, Sandi Toksvig, Susan Calman and all the better for it

I also wish we could get a decent weekly news satire show (TV or Radio) here in Aus - we have nothing to compare with Mock The Week, The news Quiz, HIGNFY, The Now show etc. A lot have been tried, but none have reached those standards.

They've tried. All of those shows are based on The News Quiz, which is still the gold standard. Good News Week was based on HIGNFY. Incidentally Channel 7 made a tv version of The Unbelievable Truth, which I've never seen thankfully as it was bound to be dreadful. I dont know what it is about the Australian versions, but I think they are trying to hard to be funny and worse, they try and tell the audience what they are saying is funny and it just comes over as being strained.

That's the thing about comedy in the UK - they start off in the clubs, they then progress to Edinburgh, from there it is a radio 4 serial/sketch and after that is off to bigger and better things. That was the path that 'Flight of the Conchords' took. You can just imagine if they had stayed here, did the clubs, then did an ABC series, it just would have been not polished enough. They wouldn't have progressed because the moment you achieve anything here, you get pressured to put your creative output into aspic.

 

[Wallaby]

I'll add Dilemma to my list. I do like a lot of the Brit female comedians - Josie Long, Holly Walsh, Susan Calman, Meera Syal, Victoria Wood, and Linda Smith was great. There's plenty of others. Actually, I don't mind many Australian female comedians. I guess I don't conform to the the standard 'Girls aren't funny'. I like them.

Did you see the show Sue Perkins did with Giles Coren about Food and Eating through the Ages? It was called Supersizers. Very good.

That Channel 10 show 'Have you been paying attention' is probably the worst attempt at the 'Weekly Satire' I've seen. It's dire.

 

[jim boy]

It's a bit old, but also add in the 99p challenge - Sue Perkins hosted and a stellar phigh quality panel generally, including a pre-spaced Simon Pegg. Nowadays Sue is a bit keen n the baking a la The Great British Bakeoff, she has also recently had a sitcom where she played a veterinary nurse, but it was weak compared to her other stuff. Victoria Coren-Mitchell (Giles's sister) is another good female comic, although you would probably describe her more as a journalist/ card shark. Miriam Margoyles has been great in Gloomsbury.

I guess people have their favourites, for me anything by Chritopher Douglas is going to be good, I identify only too well with Ed Reardon and Dave Podmore is a great comic cricket character - a kind of mix of Botham and Boon but with less talent and more front. On the other hand I could never get into Count Arthur Strong. I should put together my own top ten.

 

[Wallaby]

It's a bit old, but also add in the 99p challenge - Sue Perkins hosted and a stellar phigh quality panel generally, including a pre-spaced Simon Pegg. Nowadays Sue is a bit keen n the baking a la The Great British Bakeoff, she has also recently had a sitcom where she played a veterinary nurse, but it was weak compared to her other stuff. Victoria Coren-Mitchell (Giles's sister) is another good female comic, although you would probably describe her more as a journalist/ card shark. Miriam Margoyles has been great in Gloomsbury.

I guess people have their favourites, for me anything by Chritopher Douglas is going to be good, I identify only too well with Ed Reardon and Dave Podmore is a great comic cricket character - a kind of mix of Botham and Boon but with less talent and more front. On the other hand I could never get into Count Arthur Strong. I should put together my own top ten.

Yep, I found the 99p challenge and it was great - a bit unlike anything else. Have you heard the first series with William Van Dyke? It was called King Stupid. He was a fascinating comic character, and I keep meaning to find more about him. Very unique style. Sue Perkins is very good in the later series.

I've been reading a bit of Dave Podmore - not bad - do you like Andy Zaltzman's cricket stuff? It's on Cricinfo, and generally very funny.

Agree about Count Arthur Strong. It's a very popular character in the UK - but I never liked him much. But, as said before, there's so much available, just stick to what you like. I'll check out Christopher Douglas - I don't think I've heard anything of him.

Found Dilemma! Listened to the first show last night (and the first show is rarely the best one) - sounded good. Another one to keep me going.......

Oh, hell - a Top 10? OK - I'll have a go too.

We do sound like a sad pair of obsessives! Sometime, I'll have to go to that strange place - what's it called? - Outside? Apparently there's real people out there!!

 

[jim boy]

Outside is overrated. Although having said that just taken the dog on a 90 minute walk which is always a good excuse to catch up on a few shows.

I haven't heard any of Andy Zaltzman's podcasts - I sometimes come across him on the usual shows.

Thinking about top 10's - would have to break up into categories - panel quiz - comedy - doco - drama - pre 2000 would probably cover it.

 

[The Speaker]

Sorry to interrupt the lovely dialogue, but I've enjoyed listening to every episode of The Unbelievable Truth numerous times - normally when I'm playing on my PC. Good fun.

Our comedians don't get the chance to do anything on radio because we simply don't have the radio tradition that the UK has.

 

[jim boy]

Sorry to interrupt the lovely dialogue, but I've enjoyed listening to every episode of The Unbelievable Truth numerous times - normally when I'm playing on my PC. Good fun.

Our comedians don't get the chance to do anything on radio because we simply don't have the radio tradition that the UK has.

No need to apologise,The Unbelievable Truth is a brilliant show. Australia used to have a radio tradition, with acts such as Roy 'Mo' Rene and Dad and Dave, but that all fell by the wayside with the introduction of TV and the indifference of the ABC. But I suspect that 'radio' of this sort might make a comeback of sorts thanks to the Internet.

 

[jim boy]

RIP Bill Kerr - The last of the original cast of Hancock's Half Hour, nice obit at http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/aug/31/bill-kerr

 

[jim boy]

I like the John Finnemore Souvenir Programs, of course.

There is a new series of Souvenir Programs on. I've let a couple of current shows sneak under my radar, which I'm now trying to trace. Museum of curiosity, welcome to our village, Jeremy Hardy and a new sketch show with Sara Pascoe. Also trying to trace some Charles Paris mystery episodes.

 

[Wallaby]

Welcome to Our Village sounds really good - I've been meaning to get it.

I really want to find more Sarah Pascoe - her work is excellent.

One show I've been trying to find more of is The Day The Music Died - it was on about 6-7 years ago with Mitch Benn (who does a lot of musical satire on the Now Show and suchlike) - it basically takes off the Pop/Rock modern music scene. Several series were done, but I can only find one. I do like Mitch Benn's interludes on the various Satirical News shows. ('Some days you sit for hours hoping some celebrity will do something stupid, that preferably rhymes, and some days Keith Richards falls out of a tree').

And now.........My Top 10!

1. The Goons - I adored this as a kid, have all the shows - and just because, all right? It's The Goons! It wins. End of Argument.
2. I'm Sorry, I haven't a Clue
3. Cabin Pressure - yep, it's that good
4. Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
5. Old Harry's Game
6. I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
7. The Museum of Curiosity
8. Mark Steel - all of his work - Revolution, Solution, and the Town series.
9. The Blaggers Guide - all variants, but the Music series are the best
10. The Castle


That leaves out plenty - The Museum of Everything (a Marcus Brigstocke show - all his stuff is good), Recorded for Training Purposes, 99P Challenge - I do tend to like recent material (I'm an up-to-date with-it kind of guy), so anything from decades ago that I keep and re-listen to must be good.

Hang on! Round The Horne! I can't leave that out............... I may re-consider.

 

[jim boy]

Nice top 10, although I'd be tempted to leave the classics out of it. I've been contemplating listening to the navy lark, but 250 episodes is a big commitment. Then their is ITMA, much binding in the marsh, parsley sidings etc. I heard an episode of have a go, with wilfred pickles which was fascinating. I have listened to round the Horne for a few years, but want to listen to more again after listening to another program about the history of polari, which Round the Horne did more to popularise than anything else. Just dont have time for it all, I've got a backlog of a about a two year's worth I'm still working my way through. I'm still only half-way through the world in a hundred objects. Not radio, but you may be interested in this: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...pisodes-of-at-last-the-1948-show-rediscovered

9. The Blaggers Guide - all variants, but the Music series are the best

David Quantick has got a new series out - 52 first impressions, haven't listened to it yet.

OK a top 10 - top comedy/quiz shows from this year only that I have listened to in no strict order

Gloomsbury
ISIHAC
JAM
Its a fair cop
News Quiz\Now Show
The Cold Swedish Winter
Infinite Monkey Cage
Blocked
The Unbelievable Truth
Mark Steele visits

Honourable mention to "Warhorses of Letters" and 'The Brig Society" and I'm sure there are others I've missed. I'd almost certainly include "museum of Curiosity" and Souvenir program, but I haven't yet listened to any episodes from this year. If you want a copy of anything, shoot me a PM.

 

[jim boy]

The missing Hancock episodes have started http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04ly39j. I haven't listened to any yet but the directors cut sounds intriguing. The Guardian radio review rates them highly.

Also sounding interesting is this show http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n20tw about the history of radio comedy since 1975

Lastly the bloody BBC have ceased providing RSS lists for the iplayer, which has had the effect of tripling the time it takes for me to find shows.

 

[jim boy]

And now.........My Top 10!

1. The Goons - I adored this as a kid, have all the shows - and just because, all right? It's The Goons! It wins. End of Argument.
2. I'm Sorry, I haven't a Clue
3. Cabin Pressure - yep, it's that good
4. Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
5. Old Harry's Game
6. I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
7. The Museum of Curiosity
8. Mark Steel - all of his work - Revolution, Solution, and the Town series.
9. The Blaggers Guide - all variants, but the Music series are the best
10. The Castle

Vale Jeremy Hardy - too early to go at 57