[PoochJD]

Hi Brian,

I also liked the comedic jousting between Ian Hislop and Ken Livingstone too, especially the part when (I think it was Ian, or it may have been Kathy) saying that HIGNFY used to have a guest on (Boris Johnson) and look at what's happened to him. (Sorry, I'm not explaining the joke very well, but I'm sure you know the part I meant!)

Am surprised that Ms Burke hasn't been on before as a host. She was very good, so I hope they bring her back.


Pooch

[soundstory]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi Brian,

I also liked the comedic jousting between Ian Hislop and Ken Livingstone too, especially the part when (I think it was Ian, or it may have been Kathy) saying that HIGNFY used to have a guest on (Boris Johnson) and look at what's happened to him. (Sorry, I'm not explaining the joke very well, but I'm sure you know the part I meant!)

Am surprised that Ms Burke hasn't been on before as a host. She was very good, so I hope they bring her back.


Pooch

Yes that made me laufg my head off.

Kathy said that this show is a great spring board to become Mayor & that they used to have somebody that had happened to (meaning Boris)

Then she said, that Livingstone would have made a better Mayor but Boris was a better guest! (something along those lines)

[brian s]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi Brian,

I also liked the comedic jousting between Ian Hislop and Ken Livingstone too, especially the part when (I think it was Ian, or it may have been Kathy) saying that HIGNFY used to have a guest on (Boris Johnson) and look at what's happened to him. (Sorry, I'm not explaining the joke very well, but I'm sure you know the part I meant!)

Am surprised that Ms Burke hasn't been on before as a host. She was very good, so I hope they bring her back.


Pooch

Yes that was fuuny. I hope Kathy returns too.

Bri

[brian s]

The Shat was good at times in this but I have to say I was more than a little bit disappointed. It didn't quite work for me.


Bri

[HMHB]

I'm not sure I can force myself to watch this. I watched the opening few seconds where he walked on and I found it embarrassing. He was never a great actor in his prime as far as I'm concerned and as an old fart god only knows!

[Greg]

Originally Posted by JohnG

I'm not sure I can force myself to watch this. I watched the opening few seconds where he walked on and I found it embarrassing. He was never a great actor in his prime as far as I'm concerned and as an old fart god only knows!

It wasn't embarrassing, just not as good as I hoped it would be. The Shat was good and amusingly misnamed places and people (accidental or on purpose, who knows?) and was funny in places. But it seemed he was just reading out a lot of stuff and clearly had no idea about the people or topics in question. So he didn't have a lot of participation with the guests. Kathy last week was far funnier.

[brian s]

Originally Posted by Greg

it seemed he was just reading out a lot of stuff and clearly had no idea about the people or topics in question. So he didn't have a lot of participation with the guests. Kathy last week was far funnier.

Yes it reminded me of a British magazine show on which David Soul was a presenter. One week he acted a scene from Shakespeare play and he was clearly clueless about it. The audience were very polite though and gave him a far bigger round of applause than he deserved. His intial look of surprise soon turned into a self satisfied smile that seemed to say "Damn, I'm good even when I've no idea what I'm saying.".

Bri

[brian s]

Originally Posted by JohnG

I'm not sure I can force myself to watch this. I watched the opening few seconds where he walked on and I found it embarrassing. He was never a great actor in his prime as far as I'm concerned and as an old fart god only knows!

I was hoping that the culture clash between him and the panelists would make for great fun. Andy Hamilton and Charlie Brooker with the Shat. It should've been brilliant. You might as well watch it though. You might get more out of it than I did.

Bri

[PoochJD]

Hi,

I thought it was a great episode. Considering Shatner is 81 or 82 years of age, and Canadian (and as such, isn't likely to know about all of the British news events that were brought up), I think we need to cut him a bit of slack.

Between him, Paul Merton, Ian Hislop, Charlie Brooker and Andy Hamilton, (all of whom were truly excellent together), I found it to be one of the funniest episodes they've shown.

The rolling-together of two words into one, (funt), prostituion in Ilfrecombe (sp?), the Musical Round - how can you not find that funny?! (That's a rhetorical question, BTW! )


Pooch

[brian s]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi,

I thought it was a great episode. Considering Shatner is 81 or 82 years of age, and Canadian (and as such, isn't likely to know about all of the British news events that were brought up), I think we need to cut him a bit of slack.

Pooch

Sorry Pooch it didn't work too well for me. The Shat shat for most of this as far as I'm concerned. It was something that might well have worked but it was a backfire for me. I hope they didn't pay a fortune for him to appear.

Bri

[HMHB]

I finally watched it last night, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be I've never been a Shatner fan and always hated Star Trek when the original series was on when I was a kid, so I've never seen any of the films.

[Todd Tomorrow]

I like the old ham, at least he always had a sense of humor about himself. There is a problem with the American guest hosts as they often don't know what they are reading of the autocue. I still think they should bring back Angus Deayton.

[brian s]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

I still think they should bring back Angus Deayton.

It'd certainly be nice to have him back as a guest host or maybe as a member of one of the teams. I quite like it there being a different host each week. The biggest intial problem was that they appeared to be still writing the scripts for Deayton.

Bri

[Greg]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

I like the old ham, at least he always had a sense of humor about himself. There is a problem with the American guest hosts as they often don't know what they are reading of the autocue.

That was the exact problem. There was nothing wrong with the Shat himself or how he was during the programme. But it's much better when the guest presenter knows about the topics that are reading off the autocue. Otherwise you lose that interaction.

[PoochJD]

Hi,

I've seen worst British (or British-based) guest presenters than William Shatner take the hosting chair. John Torrode and Greg Wallace have done the show twice I think, and both times were only average at hosting. At least Shatner was entertaining, even if the joke was more on him, than on us.


Pooch

[krish]

Torode and Wallace were the worst - it was the first ever guest co-hosting ... they were just a pair of frightful counts

[brian s]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi,

I've seen worst British (or British-based) guest presenters than William Shatner take the hosting chair. John Torrode and Greg Wallace have done the show twice I think, and both times were only average at hosting. At least Shatner was entertaining, even if the joke was more on him, than on us.


Pooch

Getting a Brit in doesn't guarantee a good host but it helps. Isn't Torode an Aussie by the way?

Bri

[Greg]

Originally Posted by krish

Torode and Wallace were the worst - it was the first ever guest co-hosting ... they were just a pair of frightful counts

Surely they were a pair of funts?

[krish]

^^^ Greg, that was Brooker described funt as being an abbreviation of to the Shat in the extended episode

- watch from approx 7m:20s to 8m:00s
@ BBC iPlayer - Have I Got a Bit More News for You: Series 43: Episode 7

[PoochJD]

Hi,

Originally Posted by brian s

Getting a Brit in doesn't guarantee a good host but it helps. Isn't Torode an Aussie by the way?

True, very true.

As for Torrode being an Aussie, yes he is, but that's why I worded my post with the term "British-based" guest host.


Pooch

[brian s]

I really enjoyed Ian Hislop's swipes at Alistair Campbell last night. Great fun.

Bri

[krish]

Ross Noble was brilliant too

They should try mixing up the regular guest hosts and contestants ... have Noble hosting and Armstrong playing for a change

[brian s]

Originally Posted by krish

Ross Noble was brilliant too

They should try mixing up the regular guest hosts and contestants ... have Noble hosting and Armstrong playing for a change

Yes I'm not that keen on Noble's stand up but he usually excels in this kind of show. I'm a bit bored of Armstrong as the host but to have him as a contestant could be a good idea.

Bri

[PoochJD]

Hi,

Have to agree with most of you r.e. Alastair Campbell. Can't stand the guy, but Hislop treated him well, with all of the jokes and asides. And Ross Noble and Nick (sorry can't remember his surname) from "The Apprentice" were also very funny too.

Considering HIGNFY has been running for so long now, it's clearly still got a lot of life left in it, and has the ability to still make all of us split our sides. Shame next week's is the final episode of the current series.


Pooch

[aprout]

Probably worth noting that this weeks Friday episode starts ten minutes earlier than usual at 9.20pm, & goes on for 40 minutes.

The extended edition on Monday is only 5 minutes longer...

[brian s]

Originally Posted by aprout

Probably worth noting that this weeks Friday episode starts ten minutes earlier than usual at 9.20pm, & goes on for 40 minutes.

The extended edition on Monday is only 5 minutes longer...

Have I Got A Tiny Bit More News For You?

Bri

[Philly112]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi,

Have to agree with most of you r.e. Alastair Campbell. Can't stand the guy, but Hislop treated him well, with all of the jokes and asides. And Ross Noble and Nick (sorry can't remember his surname) from "The Apprentice" were also very funny too.

Considering HIGNFY has been running for so long now, it's clearly still got a lot of life left in it, and has the ability to still make all of us split our sides. Shame next week's is the final episode of the current series.


Pooch

Agreed. It's a great show with a great format. Some hit and miss episodes, but that's what makes it so good. It's unpredictable - 'TV Jazz'. But I have watched it since the beginning and will continue to do so.
And as I have watched it over so many years, what comes across is the genuine warmth between Hislop and Merton. I feel that these guys really like each other and I like that.

Phil

Phil

[Greg]

Excellent episode tonight. Two of my favourite clever girls on show tonight, Victoria Coren and Kirsty Young!
Plus a very funny episode.

[krish]

^^^ quite a contrast to dumb and dumber on G Norton later on
- though easy on the eye, I expected it to be bad, but not that ing bad (even though Ross Noble who was great on HIGNFY last week was on with them)

[brian s]

Originally Posted by krish

^^^ quite a contrast to dumb and dumber on G Norton later on
- though easy on the eye, I expected it to be bad, but not that ing bad (even though Ross Noble who was great on HIGNFY last week was on with them)

I haven't watched HIGNFY yet but I did see Norton or at least up to the point when the singing stareted. Dire. Noble didn't really stand much of a chance.

Bri