Behind the scenes on The Now Show
Post categories: Feedback,Ìýaccountability,Ìýcomedy
13:55, Friday, 2 April 2010
I'm a bit fed up this week, well jealous actually.
Of all the dream assignments I can imagine, such as interviewing Hilary Mantel, playing guitar with Mark Knopfler, and being shown round Barry Island by Uncle Bryn or Nessa, going backstage to watch the writers of the Now Show working their alchemy on unlikely items of news is up there with the best of them.
I thought I'd cracked it this week when a listener took offence at one of their satirical takes on climate change.
I volunteered to go and report but they gave the gig to Louise Adamson instead and I got to sit in the Feedback studio with a cup of Ö÷²¥´óÐã coffee writing this script.
Louise, on the other hand, met up with the Now Show's main presenters - Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis - and even got to sit in on one of the writers' meetings at the beginning of the week. Steve and Hugh - together with Now Show producer, Ed Morrish and the rest of the team - were busy trying out ideas for the show. I do hope that the rabbit joke made it to the final cut.
I hope you enjoy this extract from this week's Feedback. Please feel free to comment here on the blog.
Now over to Louise:
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Roger Bolton presents Feedback on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 4
- Feedback is on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 4 on Friday at 1330 and repeated on Sunday at 2000. Listen to the whole of this programme on the Radio 4 web site.
- Find out how to join Feedback's listener panel on the Feedback web page.
- The Now Show is on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 4 on Friday at 1830 and repeated on Saturday at 1200.
Comment number 1.
At 2nd Apr 2010, TV Licence fee payer against Ö÷²¥´óÐã censorship wrote:Wish the "Now Show" would become the "Was Show", the above photo just about sums the average content of the show up, juvenile - as writing on ones knuckles...
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Comment number 2.
At 2nd Apr 2010, nevereat wrote:The Now Show is known for its differing views on climate change and it was funny to hear a cynic's view for once especially as - and this is the key thing for a satirical news show - it was funny. I get so angry when the Ö÷²¥´óÐã panics because of just one narrow minded complaint - if you don't like it - turn it off!
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Comment number 3.
At 4th Apr 2010, newlach wrote:I agree with Ed Morish who said he found the sketch funny. I did not understand John Holmes, however, when he said that the idea was to satirize the bloke in the pub who questions the climate change orthodoxy - I saw the satire in the challenge made to the prevalent view on climate change. Many questions have been raised by "Climategate" and I have just lived through the coldest UK winter in my life (though the log fire in the pub was great!).
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Comment number 4.
At 5th Apr 2010, Jonathan Miller wrote:I found John Holmes' piece very amusing. A comedy show should strive to be funny and satirise all ideologies. The Now Show has been quite good at this, and I particularly enjoy Mitch Benn's songs that poke fun at difficult subjects.
Most weeks Marcus Bridgstocke is given a platform to air his ideologies under the guise of humour. I exercise my right to turn the radio off when he comes on the Now Show and begins to preach. The Producer of the Now Show should not censor what the 'guests' (even semi-permanent ones) do, but he should remember that the Now Show is comedy.
Incidentally I very much like Marcus Bridgstocke's work in other programmes - he just needs to be kept off political rants when on the Now Show.
I have never been tempted to turn John Holmes off, he is consistently funny, and he often takes a contrarian view. He should be commended, not censured for his sketch this week. I do think he was too timid in defending his comedy to Feedback. It was a very funny piece, and he should not have felt the need to affirm his 'faith' in environmentalism.
The most disappointing aspect of this whole piece is that a (was there more than one?) listener considers it unacceptable for the Ö÷²¥´óÐã to poke fun at one of the many idiocies of the climate argument, and his complaint is featured on Feedback. The Ö÷²¥´óÐã needs to get a grip on itself.
Christianity and Islam are not exempt from satire by the Now Show, nor were the Twin Towers, so the IPCC's inaccuracies are certainly fair game.
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Comment number 5.
At 17th Apr 2010, Polemicist wrote:Full credit to John Holmes for having the courage of his convictions to satirise the highly emotive subjects of both global warming and climate change.
The mass media loves nothing more than a really pessimistic story about some kind of apocalyptic vision for the human species that now totally dominate on this wonderful planet of ours.
Usually it's about a new kind of global disease or virus that will inevitably cause a pandemic throughout the whole of the developed world. If it's not that then it's the proliferation of nuclear weapons or increased global pollution that will annihilate us all.
In my opinion the biggest threat to human survival is over population, but you never ever hear the incredibly opinionated Marcus Brigstocke rant on about that on his weekly diatribe slot on the Now Show.
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Comment number 6.
At 18th Mar 2011, Joe_Breganza wrote:Did my ears deceive me? The highly diverse team on The Now Show making fun of Midsomer Murders for being all white. Maybe they're being ironic.
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