Not the Nine O'Clock News

I have recently been watching the repeats of NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS and I've really enjoyed them. I didn't see them the first time around, but I really enjoy the range of subjects that this comedy show embodies. These include music gags, political humour and a whole lot more! The stars include Rown Atkinson, Mel Smith and Griff Rhyss-Jones and if you are a fan of any of these people I would advise you to check out this show. Very enjoyable with a great cast. 8/10

The reason that NTNON isn't remembered as much as it could be is the sheer topicality of many of the sketches. The company bosses acceding to the increasingly outrageous demands of the Union bosses - "and his daughter to be phased in at a later date" - are still funny, but were probably funnier still at the time. Of course, there are plenty of other sketches that don't require a full knowledge of Britain in the early Thatcher years to appreciate, and if you ever get the chance, it's worth catching them.

And the songs are still brilliant. Altogether now - " I Like Trucking"

This show was practically compulsory viewing for teenagers and students in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It introduced the British public to Griff Rys-Jones, Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson and Rowan Atkinson. Chris Langham was in the first season but seemed to get replaced by G R-J after that.

It consisted of a series of sketches, some purely comedic, others with political overtones. The pizza parlour worker, played by Rowan Atkinson, sneezing on the pizza and declaring "Extra mozzarella" is the former, the close-up of a yobbish Griff R-J talking about him and his mates picking on some black blokes "because we 'ate 'em, right?" and the camera gradually pulling away during the monologue to show he's a uniformed policeman would be the latter.

Some great writing (Clive Anderson, Andy Hamilton, a pre-"Four Weddings and a Funeral" Richard Curtis), go-for-it acting and sketches that hit frequently enough to forgive the ones that didn't. The sketch with the trendy lefty social worker declaring the only way to deal with young men who misbehaved was to "cut their goolies off" is still a classic, as is Gerald the talking gorilla.

What a pity that the comment that is visible on the front page puts down one of the best sketch shows of the 1980s and completely misses the point. It reminds me of the time when someone wrote to 'Points of View' to complain about the racism in 'Goodness Gracious Me' after the 'Indian teenagers visit Britain' and 'Going for an English' sketches. As the writer of the comment was Scottish I wonder if he finds 'Chewin' the Fat' offensive to people with throat cancer! Not the Nine O' Clock News was equally capable of hilarious comedy and biting satire. I remember Rowan Atkinson's monologue as an alien with a faulty translator being the first thing that ever made me laugh uncontrollably, long after the sketch had ended; The series' songs were clever parodies of such pop stars of the time as Sheena Easton, Blondie, Kate Bush and Motorhead; and the 'Gerald the Gorilla' sketch was superb. There was also excellent satire as well, directed at police racism (the 'Constable Savage' sketch), religious outrage over 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' (the 'Life of Christ' sketch) and patronising Hollywood attitudes to issues in other countries (the 'Hollywood Salutes Lech Walesa' sketch). Perhaps our negative reviewer found the 'Coca Cola' sketch offensive to fat people instead of a comment on the fact that a so-called 'cool' drink is actually fattening and unhealthy. It's a pity that this series is only available on 2 'Best of' DVDs (why the hell do the BBC do that?) as it was the launchpad for the careers of Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones, all of whom are still entertaining us (to a greater or lesser degree) today. And furthermore it shows us that Pamela Stephenson was a talented comedienne who need not have given up performing (though to her credit she has achieved a great deal in the years since her 'retirement'). A much-missed gem.

Not the Nine O'Clock News is a brilliant combination of satire, visual and verbal humour, the topical and the downright silly. Although some of the more topical, particularly political, humour doesn't age too well most of it is timeless comedy gold. My personal favourite is the Government statement performed by the marvellously deadpan Rowan Atkinson on the current unemployment figures, a 30-second sketch of 'oh dear, oh dear oh dear oh dear'. For the people who lived through the 80s era of strikes and recession the biting humour will kindle some memories and put a happier face on what was doubtless a trying time. For non-Brits or those of us who were too young to remember, it's just really very funny. "And we would like to point out that we exhibited less cruelty to hedgehogs per se that whoever it is who goes around stuffing them".