"Topical" Comedy on Radio 4

[Nimby]

Mr Gearchange said:

ISIHAC is the very best thing on the radio. Possibly ever.

That depends on whether you're old enough to have grown up with ISIRTA (which led to ISIHAC), Hancock and even The Goon Show.

[MarshPhantom]

Riley Blue said:

Rumblestripe said:

MarshPhantom said:

Didn't even know there was one. When was that?

70s IIRC

Now available as a boxset from Amazon (and no doubt elsewhere)

Hitchhikers Guide all 5 Radio Series

It was repeated a few weeks ago on 4 Extra and was just as good as when I first heard it.

Thanks for that. I was about 10 when the TV show started, so it probably passed me by.

I shall have a listen.

[Halmyre]

Nimby said:

Mr Gearchange said:

ISIHAC is the very best thing on the radio. Possibly ever.

That depends on whether you're old enough to have grown up with ISIRTA (which led to ISIHAC), Hancock and even The Goon Show.

And 'Round the Horne'.

[Mr Gearchange]

Halmyre said:

Nimby said:

Mr Gearchange said:

ISIHAC is the very best thing on the radio. Possibly ever.

That depends on whether you're old enough to have grown up with ISIRTA (which led to ISIHAC), Hancock and even The Goon Show.

And 'Round the Horne'.

Hancock has stood the test of time completely - less so Round the Horne - but still entertaining enough (moreso than a lot of R4 today) - both are frequently aired on R4 Extra.
The Goon Show I really don't get - maybe of its time and I'm only 40 - but i I don't see the appeal.

[Europa1]

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

[jas xjr]

Mr Gearchange said:

Hancock has stood the test of time completely - less so Round the Horne - but still entertaining enough (moreso than a lot of R4 today) - both are frequently aired on R4 Extra.
The Goon Show I really don't get - maybe of its time and I'm only 40 - but i I don't see the appeal.

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

[The Don of Croy]

jas xjr said:

Mr Gearchange said:

Hancock has stood the test of time completely - less so Round the Horne - but still entertaining enough (moreso than a lot of R4 today) - both are frequently aired on R4 Extra.
The Goon Show I really don't get - maybe of its time and I'm only 40 - but i I don't see the appeal.

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

I always thought the appeal was grown men being unutterably silly, in a society where grown men didn't do that sort of thing in the open. Silly voices, jaunty but silly songs, silly character names, everyone happy. Like slapstick but kinder on the limbs.

[Riley Blue]

The Don of Croy said:

jas xjr said:

Mr Gearchange said:

Hancock has stood the test of time completely - less so Round the Horne - but still entertaining enough (moreso than a lot of R4 today) - both are frequently aired on R4 Extra.
The Goon Show I really don't get - maybe of its time and I'm only 40 - but i I don't see the appeal.

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

I always thought the appeal was grown men being unutterably silly, in a society where grown men didn't do that sort of thing in the open. Silly voices, jaunty but silly songs, silly character names, everyone happy. Like slapstick but kinder on the limbs.

As someone who first heard The Goon Show being broadcast in the 50s and 60s, it was far more ahead of its time than anything I've heard since. I'm not surprised it's considered unappealing by some people now but back then, little more than a handful of years after the end of WW2, it was light years away from every day life. For comparison, listen to 'Take it From Here', also currently repeated on 4 Extra.

[MarshPhantom]

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

[checkmate91]

jas xjr said:

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

Broke the mould from Variety and Music Hall IIRC, complete game changer in its day and not dissimilar to "And now for something completely different..." in the 1970s. So-called alternative comedy in the 80s and 90s was a follow-on in my view, not alternative at all. Blackadder however was pure comedy, just like Dad's Army; simply excellent script-writing and wonderful ensemble acting.

Anyway, now back to the studio.

[MarshPhantom]

checkmate91 said:

jas xjr said:

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

Broke the mould from Variety and Music Hall IIRC, complete game changer in its day and not dissimilar to "And now for something completely different..." in the 1970s. So-called alternative comedy in the 80s and 90s was a follow-on in my view, not alternative at all. Blackadder however was pure comedy, just like Dad's Army; simply excellent script-writing and wonderful ensemble acting.

Anyway, now back to the studio.

Not heard a great deal "The Goons" but a fair bit and I do wonder what the fuss is about. Nowhere near as interesting as Milligan's own stuff and just "silly" rather than "alternative". And Prince Charles was a big fan.

[Europa1]

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

[spitfire-ian]

Europa1 said:

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

The two episodes of ISIHAC that were broadcast on the 14th and 21st November were recorded in Colchester on Friday 14th October so absolutely not repeats.

[AdeTuono]

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

Just another example of Mr. Phantom getting everything wrong and going off half-cocked. He has a bit of a reputation for it.

[MarshPhantom]

AdeTuono said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

Just another example of Mr. Phantom getting everything wrong and going off half-cocked. He has a bit of a reputation for it.

Maybe that's my problem, these things are so dull and predictable that they sound like repeats.

[AdeTuono]

MarshPhantom said:

AdeTuono said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

Just another example of Mr. Phantom getting everything wrong and going off half-cocked. He has a bit of a reputation for it.

Maybe that's my problem, these things are so dull and predictable that they sound like repeats.

I've no doubt you're correct. That would explain 95% of your posts on PH.

[Halmyre]

MarshPhantom said:

checkmate91 said:

jas xjr said:

i am in my fifties , i cannot see the appeal of the goon show at all . bearing in mind the calibre of the cast . maybe it is of its time. there are very few things that i do not listen to on radio 4 /extra . but the goon show is simply noise for me

Broke the mould from Variety and Music Hall IIRC, complete game changer in its day and not dissimilar to "And now for something completely different..." in the 1970s. So-called alternative comedy in the 80s and 90s was a follow-on in my view, not alternative at all. Blackadder however was pure comedy, just like Dad's Army; simply excellent script-writing and wonderful ensemble acting.

Anyway, now back to the studio.

Not heard a great deal "The Goons" but a fair bit and I do wonder what the fuss is about. Nowhere near as interesting as Milligan's own stuff and just "silly" rather than "alternative". And Prince Charles was a big fan.

I like The Goon Show, silliness and all. Three idiots, clowning about (remind you of anyone?). I sometimes wonder what audiences from 60 years ago thought of it. Nowadays, listening to it is like a comfort blanket, with the doors and windows firmly shut against the horrors of modern life.

I used to wonder if Peter Sellers, whose career really started to take off, ever looked to get away from it (like Cleese in the third series of Python, for example), but he only ever missed one show in the entire 10-year run; Secombe was absent from a couple, and Milligan missed quite a lot, which can be excused on reasons of ill-health.

[Europa1]

MarshPhantom said:

AdeTuono said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

Just another example of Mr. Phantom getting everything wrong and going off half-cocked. He has a bit of a reputation for it.

Maybe that's my problem, these things are so dull and predictable that they sound like repeats.

Although I have to say, some of your posts, particularly in N,P & E, are comedy gold.

[MarshPhantom]

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

AdeTuono said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

Europa1 said:

MarshPhantom said:

What has happened. You now seem to get endless repeats of Sorry, I haven't a Clue and The Unbelievable Truth, but not other shows.

Sure it didn't used to be like this.

They're not repeats.

Well, the "Sorry" website says the latest series was first broadcast in July. And I've lost count of the number of times I've heard The Unbelievable Truth episodes with Reginald D Hunter, who I believe was only in the first couple of series. Very little info about the r4 show out there, all TV.

I think you may need more practise with using your wireless receiving apparatus and internet terminal. The current series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue is Series 66; series 65 was the one broadcast in July. The current series of The Unbelievable Truth is 17, and Reginald D Hunter wasn't in any of them (as I recall).

Just another example of Mr. Phantom getting everything wrong and going off half-cocked. He has a bit of a reputation for it.

Maybe that's my problem, these things are so dull and predictable that they sound like repeats.

Although I have to say, some of your posts, particularly in N,P & E, are comedy gold.

Someone that doesn't hate me, that makes a change.

[Mark Benson]

The Don of Croy said:

Regrettably they've allowed Marcus Brigstocke back onto the airwaves (last night at 18:30).

How in the name of all that's holy does this man keep getting back on the radio?