Not the Nine O'Clock News

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".

Sure, this was the funniest show ever. Right up until 'Kids in the Hall,' anyway, which gave NTNON about ten years reign. Do you realise NTNON was the first comedy troupe to make fun of ABBA? Respect is due. If you can picture Mel Smith dressed like Agnetha, you get the idea... And if it comes easily to your mind, I raise an eyebrow at you.

Just a young lad when this show was on-air, I was glued to the tv set like wet toilet paper.

Nowadays NTNON's humour seems fairly commonplace. But NTNON was the first to mock the MGM logo by zooming out on the roaring lion to show him mounting a female. Since this is done routinely in comedy now, the impact is lost. But at the time, it was mind-blowingly irreverent. And since this was the first time I had ever seen sex, it was also educational.

Forget everything de_niro_2001 said about Not the Nine O'Clock News. This is absolutely brilliant comedy that relied heavily on the events of the period it was made in. This makes it sometimes a little bit out of date but if you know anything about the period it was made in, or remember that period, you can still laugh very hard. Too bad they don't offer the complete series for sale on DVD. I would certainly buy it. All members of the cast went on to have great careers. The young Rowan Atkinson is hilarious and Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith are very very funny. Pamela Stephenson, as the only woman of the cast, is great in doing impressions of news readers. She also often plays an interviewer providing the other cast members with the setting to deliver their material. Like in the interview with Mel Smith as the trainer of a talking gorilla (played by Rowan Atkinson). For now you can only buy 2 compilation DVD's. If you love sarcasm and irony, this is a series for you. If you loved Blackadder, this is a series for you. Just give it a chance, to watch it is to love it.

This show was so funny. I especially liked the toilet sketch involving the assistant and the weird bloke trying to design a bathroom for the weird bloke and all he ever puts in it is a toilet. that was the best sketch ever.

De niro 2001, you really need to lighten up, not all the sketches involved plane crashes. Only about 2 or 3 did. the rest of the sketches were just funny things about everyday life. The humour isn't in the plane crash, it's how they edited together two completely different news stories and made them look relevent. People weren't sitting at home saying "Hahahaha look at those people on that plane dying". The thing is, if they did have to acknowledge the fact those people died, they would have done it in a funny sketch anyway. like they did when they had complaints about a (stuffed) hedgehog being run over. for god sake it was stuffed. they didn't ask the local nature reserve for a fresh hedgehog to run over but anyway they then did an apology the following week involving them saying "We probably exibited less pain to hedgehogs per-say than whoever it is who goes around stuffing them". Anyway, sorry about all this writing but this show was just great and i'll love it forever. Overall 10 out of 10.