HIGNFY. End of the road?

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 Oceanrower 08 Apr 2018

Just watched the latest Have I Got News For You with Paxo and thought it was the least amusing one for, well, ever.

All Paxman seemed to contribute was an ever increasing volume and pitch and, whilst I bow to no man in my like of rubbish jokes, the comedy was non existant.

Has it finally reached the end of the road or was it a one off poor show.

Or, maybe, you enjoyed it and I'm in a minority.

3
 Philip 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Like the radio 4 shows its parallels, the chairman's script is written - never stopped Humphrey Littleton being funny. There are set jokes though.

Since Angus Deyton stopped being the permanent host it's been down to the individual guest host's skill. Paxman isn't funny and isn't that easy to mock.

 

 Phil1919 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

I enjoyed it. But everything will come to end sometime.

 MonkeyPuzzle 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

I watched it and just thought what a pompous self-important prick Paxman is. He clearly hated being the butt of any jokes and consistently had to have the last word, even unfunny as it clearly was. Cringeworthy.

 Big Ger 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

O

The longevity of a show doesn't rely on "one off" presenters.

If Herslop or Merton were to leave, that would be a different kettle of fish.

2
In reply to Oceanrower:

I suspect it'll come to a natural end soon enough; when, as has been noted, Hislop or Merton leave.  That, plus the BBC's aim for more equal gender representation and the admission of the two fixtures that the atmosphere of the show is frequently too much of a bearpit to appeal to many women, mean that it'll bow out eventually.

Or there could be a wholesale rebrand, with two new fixtures and a permanent host, ideally female.  That might give it the kick it needs.

T.

6
 Offwidth 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

I thought Paxman was drunk and was humiliated by the panel for his tiresome ad-libs. The show seems healthy to me as one of the biggest satirical political shows ever and I think it improved on average when the (excellentl) fixed host left. The ratings were 4.2 million for the first episode of the new series... not bad for old style live TV.

Post edited at 14:20
 Pedro50 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Offwidth:

"Live" LOL. It's scripted, recorded and edited. 

 Offwidth 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Pedro50:

So what.... Paxman was (as many on the show are) clearly off script (or are you saying he was pretending to be boorish and allowing the humilation as some kind of masochistic self satiristic pact with Auntie) 

 Root1 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Pax tw*t was always a bully, but he is now clearly losing the plot. Worst HIGNFY in a long long time.

 planetmarshall 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

> Just watched the latest Have I Got News For You with Paxo and thought it was the least amusing one for, well, ever.

Even compared to Widdecombe?

 Pedro50 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Offwidth:

"So what"

You said it was live. I was merely pointing out that it is not. It was neither pro nor anti Paxman.

2
 Dell 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Paxman was rubbish the last time he was on it too, it's not his arena. You not enjoying him has no relevance to the quality of the show, as they rotate hosts every week. 

 alx 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

This episode was disappointing, it came across less like a polical satire show more like a fight for the remote in the retirement home. As mentioned above, the show is as strong as ever post-Angus, every now and then one guest or host is out of balance with the rest of the presenters.

Katherine Ryan as host last season was absolutely hilarious.

 mountainbagger 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Pedro50:

> "Live" LOL. It's scripted, recorded and edited. 

I was in the audience once (many years ago when Angus Deayton was host). It's not all scripted, a lot is ad lib. They film a lot more content in front of the live audience (1 hour or so, can't remember) and, apart from a handful of retakes at the end (IIRC) it was very free flowing and very funny, with lots of interaction with the audience which doesn't always make the cut.

Maybe it's not like that anymore but I like to think it is.

Pointless anecdotes: I've sold classical music CDs to both Ian and Paul on separate occasions - they were both extremely friendly and polite. I also saw Ian more recently on a train eating a sandwich. I didn't approach him, but he couldn't have been nicer to the slightly weird obsessive who accosted him when he'd just taken a bite.

 felt 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Limmy would be ideal as presenter.

 Offwidth 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Pedro50:

Got you now. By live TV I meant first time BBC broadcast live stream, not a repeat or playback on some other media. There is a lot of competition for our viewing attention these days and 4 million viewers now is a lot more impressive than 4 million a decade ago.

 Bobling 08 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Not too bothered about HIGNFY, but please, please, please can we kill "Just a Minute?".

11
Clauso 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Paxman was shrill and shite.

I've got to admit that I don't get all the nostalgia for Deayton. He was always fairly shite too... To be fair though, his use of coke and whores ultimately provided the material for his finest appearance on HIGNFY. 

 FactorXXX 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Clauso:

> I've got to admit that I don't get all the nostalgia for Deayton. 

In what way?

 

 FactorXXX 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Clauso:

> I've got to admit that I don't get all the nostalgia for Deayton. 

In what way?

 

 Fredt 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Pursued by a bear:

> ... the admission of the two fixtures that the atmosphere of the show is frequently too much of a bearpit to appeal to many women, mean that it'll bow out eventually.

I thought Steph McGovern was brilliant, stood up to Paxman and knew her stuff.

 

 doz generale 09 Apr 2018
In reply to felt:

> Limmy would be ideal as presenter.

Especially if he did it as Falconhoof or jacqueline mccafferty

 JimR 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Fredt:

I thought it was brilliant, laughed more than I normally do!  Must be my warped sense of humour

 The New NickB 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

I thought Paxman was poor. However, I think the variability of the quality of presenters and guests is part of the fun of the programme. 

In reply to Bobling:

> Not too bothered about HIGNFY, but please, please, please can we kill "Just a Minute?".

Why, is someone forcing you to listen to it?

 Fredt 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Bobling:

> Not too bothered about HIGNFY, but please, please, please can we kill "Just a Minute?".

Repetition.

 planetmarshall 09 Apr 2018
In reply to JimR:

> I thought it was brilliant, laughed more than I normally do!  Must be my warped sense of humour

Yeah, must admit I don't really see what the fuss is about. Wondered if I'd watched a different episode from everyone else.

 MonkeyPuzzle 09 Apr 2018
In reply to planetmarshall:

I actually thought it was really funny as well, just in spite of Paxman rather than because of him.

 Martin Hore 09 Apr 2018
In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

I enjoyed it too. Steph McGovern was excellent. Paxman was not the best or funniest host - not really his scene I think. On balance an average episode of generally still very watchable show. I don't think Hislop and Merton are quite as sharp as they used to be, but it wouldn't be HIGNFY without them.

Martin

 Offwidth 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Fredt:

Come on.... its a repetition and a deviation, and a triple repetition could even be regarded as a hesitation .

All I can say is its fortunate that snide individual opinions don't count much in the face of proven popularity. 

1
In reply to Fredt:

> I thought Steph McGovern was brilliant, stood up to Paxman and knew her stuff.

Agreed. I hope we'll see her on the programme again.

T.

 Bobling 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Fredt:

Haha, have a like!  No, no-one forces me to listen to it which is why my washing-up soapy hand slaps the off button on the speaker every time I hear "The Minute Waltz" begin. 

@Offwidth - is expressing an opinion that differs from your's really snide?

Here endeth the deviation.

Post edited at 22:42
 alx 09 Apr 2018
In reply to Bobling:

> Haha, have a like!  No, no-one forces me to listen to it which is why my washing-up soapy hand slaps the off button on the speaker every time I hear "The Minute Waltz" begin. 

I have the same reaction to the Archers theme tune. Simpering rural drivel!

Clauso 10 Apr 2018
In reply to FactorXXX:

> In what way?

In the way that, as I said, he was always fairly shite too... That way. 

 FactorXXX 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Clauso:

> In the way that, as I said, he was always fairly shite too... That way. 

Maybe you missed it, but 'In what way' was something that Deayton repeatedly said in response to a comment from Hislop or Merton and came something of a catchphrase of his.

 felt 10 Apr 2018
In reply to FactorXXX:

So not much change there then.

Allegedly.

In reply to Bobling:

Actually it's the repetition that stopped me listening...

 Robert Durran 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Offwidth:

> All I can say is its fortunate that snide individual opinions don't count much in the face of proven popularity. 

Just a Minute is the easily the dullest regular programme on R4 (apart, obviousky, from Gardeners' Question Time). Its premise is utterly pointless and leads to nothing of any worth or humour. Yes, I can turn it off, but any gap in informative, intelligent or entertaining R4 programming is, though fortunately rare, like a temporary death to me. Surely time it was allowed to quietly die itself.

Post edited at 08:43
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 Big Ger 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

Watched it on catch up. Got the impression Paxman was trying to be funny by playing an exaggerated version of himself, and didn't quite pull it off.

Rest of the show was ok, nothing catastrophic about it at all.

1
 Big Ger 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Robert Durran:

> Just a Minute is the easily the dullest regular programme on R4 (apart, obviousky, from Gardeners' Question Time).

De gustibus.

 

 ThunderCat 10 Apr 2018
In reply to alx:

> I have the same reaction to the Archers theme tune. Simpering rural drivel!

Yeah, there's always a rush by me and the missus to change stations when we hear the theme tune...

 Offwidth 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Robert Durran:

I'm not exactly an avid fan but when it comes on it always makes me laugh and apparently huge numbers of others agree.. I'd also say its above average for R4 comedy. Humour like most art is pretty personal in terms of enjoyment so I can't argue that others think differently. Yet, however dull you find it, stating your opinion as a fact is dull brained.. somthing I expect to be common on UKC but that I'm surprised of with you.

1
 Robert Durran 10 Apr 2018
In reply to Offwidth:

> I'm not exactly an avid fan but when it comes on it always makes me laugh and apparently huge numbers of others agree.. I'd also say its above average for R4 comedy. Humour like most art is pretty personal in terms of enjoyment so I can't argue that others think differently. Yet, however dull you find it, stating your opinion as a fact is dull brained.

Obviously I have to accept, however baffling I find it, that others find entertainment value in Just A Minute. Sorry if it was not clear that my loathing of it as a programme only reflects my personal opinion rather than some absolute statement of its worth.

In reply to Oceanrower:

Here comes episode 2...

 Darron 13 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

I think the OP’s original premise has just been blown out of the water.

 

OP Oceanrower 13 Apr 2018
In reply to Darron:

I haven't seen it yet but I'll be delighted if I'm proved wrong.

Lusk 13 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

> I haven't seen it yet but I'll be delighted if I'm proved wrong.


Did you see the long version of the JP show?  Reveals all.
Paxman certainly isn't a comedy show host.
It was a bit cringeworthy it has to be said.

 birdie num num 14 Apr 2018
In reply to Oceanrower:

This evening I just focussed on Victoria Coren's cleavage.

 FactorXXX 14 Apr 2018
In reply to birdie num num:

> This evening I just focussed on Victoria Coren's cleavage.

Do you reckon she rummaged around and moved it to piss off the continuity editor?

Lusk 14 Apr 2018
In reply to birdie num num:

> This evening I just focussed on Victoria Coren's cleavage.


It certainly is a fine sight to behold.
Have you read her book about making a porn movie?  Worth doing

 BobtheBagger 14 Apr 2018
In reply to Lusk:

Can you just clarify, which is worth doing, reading her book, or making a porn movie, just so I know where to start. Thanks.


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