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I went to see a recording of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue last night with the Captain, MLW and her German cousins (more on them anon perhaps, they are very nice and one of them is the family geneologist)
For those not familiar with the show it a long running Radio 4 comedy panel show. It is very very silly and quite rude. I really like I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. It is perhaps one of my favourite things. I regret not quite getting to see the last recording in Edinburgh before Humphrey Lyttleton died very much. So delighted to be there. Jack Dee in the chair, Milton Jones and Fred MacAuley on one team, Pippa Evans and Rory Bremner on the other. Quite an Edinburgh - Scottish focused panel. Nice to play a neighbour concert. Pippa Evans is a hell of singer and I think a very good technical improvisor. Jack Dee knows the show very well. I enjoy Milton Jones' surrealism and I find Fred MacAuley just quite heart warming. So a good panel for me.
It's a recording of two radio shows. The whole thing took about 3 hours to produce two 30 minute shows. There's a bit of faffing around in that time. There's an interval. John Naismith does an introduction and a bit of a warm up, some bits of the intro and links are re-recorded for sound quality or delivery but it's clear that some material that is recorded is cut out. I think at least one whole game we saw performed will be cut from one of the shows. One of the pairs of panellists didn't seem to understand the rules and it was a bit of a farce The panel and chair seemed pretty clear that it hadn't worked and would be cut. Even in the games that go well I think whole responses will be cut out - some for quality and time and some for content. I also think bits of space will be cut out, little gaps and pauses and so on to make the final programme denser.
The recording is a) much more political / partisan than the final show, b) more obviously ruder, c) mannered and crafted
There were lots of jokes at the expense of the SNP and the broader independence movement. Not exactly political satire. For example, a bit in the intro about Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament notes two real prizes it has won for architecture and one "prize" for the First Ministers' entrance in the Revolving Door Awards. Which is funny but not exactly political or exactly on point given that the SNP have been in government 3 years longer than the Tories and have one fewer premiers. I think most of that gets cut.
Part of the charm of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is that lots of the innuendo is doubly covert, with the Chair pretending that it's not innuendo but the result of the audience's dirty mind. The live recording has more direct blue humour and swearing - which I think also gets cut.
There's a bit of content that is tried out, works okay for a live show (i.e. it got a laugh) but not good enough for the radio.
So there will be lots of bits of content that will get cut out.
I enjoyed the show very much. It's a different experience being at the live recording from listening to the radio but also a different experience being at a live recording than being a live show. Most obvious example - at the end of a live show you applaud and then leave still awash with the enjoyment of the show. At a live recording, there's 10 minutes at the end when a couple of bits are re-recorded. You can't join in with the singing even if it would be the right thing to do.
MLW enjoyed it. I think her German cousins had a pleasant night out. The Captain is baffled by the whole concept of the show. He doesn't really do surreal word play. I think this is greatly to his credit as a human being but does mark a big difference between him and me.
An interesting and very enjoyable experience.
For those not familiar with the show it a long running Radio 4 comedy panel show. It is very very silly and quite rude. I really like I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. It is perhaps one of my favourite things. I regret not quite getting to see the last recording in Edinburgh before Humphrey Lyttleton died very much. So delighted to be there. Jack Dee in the chair, Milton Jones and Fred MacAuley on one team, Pippa Evans and Rory Bremner on the other. Quite an Edinburgh - Scottish focused panel. Nice to play a neighbour concert. Pippa Evans is a hell of singer and I think a very good technical improvisor. Jack Dee knows the show very well. I enjoy Milton Jones' surrealism and I find Fred MacAuley just quite heart warming. So a good panel for me.
It's a recording of two radio shows. The whole thing took about 3 hours to produce two 30 minute shows. There's a bit of faffing around in that time. There's an interval. John Naismith does an introduction and a bit of a warm up, some bits of the intro and links are re-recorded for sound quality or delivery but it's clear that some material that is recorded is cut out. I think at least one whole game we saw performed will be cut from one of the shows. One of the pairs of panellists didn't seem to understand the rules and it was a bit of a farce The panel and chair seemed pretty clear that it hadn't worked and would be cut. Even in the games that go well I think whole responses will be cut out - some for quality and time and some for content. I also think bits of space will be cut out, little gaps and pauses and so on to make the final programme denser.
The recording is a) much more political / partisan than the final show, b) more obviously ruder, c) mannered and crafted
There were lots of jokes at the expense of the SNP and the broader independence movement. Not exactly political satire. For example, a bit in the intro about Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament notes two real prizes it has won for architecture and one "prize" for the First Ministers' entrance in the Revolving Door Awards. Which is funny but not exactly political or exactly on point given that the SNP have been in government 3 years longer than the Tories and have one fewer premiers. I think most of that gets cut.
Part of the charm of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is that lots of the innuendo is doubly covert, with the Chair pretending that it's not innuendo but the result of the audience's dirty mind. The live recording has more direct blue humour and swearing - which I think also gets cut.
There's a bit of content that is tried out, works okay for a live show (i.e. it got a laugh) but not good enough for the radio.
So there will be lots of bits of content that will get cut out.
I enjoyed the show very much. It's a different experience being at the live recording from listening to the radio but also a different experience being at a live recording than being a live show. Most obvious example - at the end of a live show you applaud and then leave still awash with the enjoyment of the show. At a live recording, there's 10 minutes at the end when a couple of bits are re-recorded. You can't join in with the singing even if it would be the right thing to do.
MLW enjoyed it. I think her German cousins had a pleasant night out. The Captain is baffled by the whole concept of the show. He doesn't really do surreal word play. I think this is greatly to his credit as a human being but does mark a big difference between him and me.
An interesting and very enjoyable experience.
