Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Regardless of how long this show has gone on for it is so consistently hilarious that it's one of the few things on T.V. that I actually look forward to watching. Mark Lamarr is king of mocking people and I love the games they play like "Guess the intro" and others which in all fairness are just prompts for some popular and more amusingly 80's music stars(the show which Pete Burns was on with his hideous - surely joke plastic lips that even Melanie Griffiths would wince at was hilarious!!) to make fools of themselves in an entirely good natured setting. I wasn't entirely convinced that when Sean Hughes left (who was very very funny) that the show would be able to continue but Bill Bailey gave it a new lease of life and the chemistry between him and Lamarr is often responsible for the funniest parts of the show. I hope it goes on for another few years because for as long as it does I will be watching.

Following the success of Have I got News For You, this put the panel format to a music quiz. The focus not so much being on winning or even giving the right answer but making as many jokes during the quiz as possible. The show is hosted by Mark Lamarr with two teams captained by Sean Hughes and Phil Jupitus. The rounds include connections (finding the links between two artists), intros (2 members of the team try to do an intro and the third member must guess the song), the line-up (teams must pick a `famous' musician out of a line of 5 people) and last lines (teams complete song lyrics).

The show is consistently very funny - the teams obviously have some time to prepare and are given some notice of what's coming - but it does depend on the 4 guests. Sometimes a comedian will guest and will try too hard, or a musician will not deal with the quick wits around him. But for most of the time Lamarr, Hughes and Jupitus are sharp enough to carry the whole thing themselves. The humour is quite mad - cruel and sharp - so it may not be to everyone's taste.

Overall it may not be the most original format for a show but with a good team and good guests this manages to be consistently funny. Who wins doesn't matter one bit and you do feel that everyone just wants to have a laugh. A very enjoyable 30 minutes week in, week out.

Never Mind the Buzzocks is a really good, funny and enjoyable game show.

Hosted by the cleverly spoken Mark Lamarr (who is also captin of "Team A" in the game show "Shooting Stars") who in my opinion is a brilliant game show host. Phil Jupitus and Sean Hughes are captains of the two teams, both of them are also very funny.

Games rounds in the show include "song impersonations" where two of the three contestents in a team have to act out a couple of popular songs without using the lyrics, they can only impersonate the instruments used in the song. This round can be hilarious.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is one of my favirote game shows but I still think "Shooting Stars" hosted by the really funny Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer still edges it for me.

8/10.

It's one of BBC 2's longest running serieses and no doubt as it's

funny and still is to this day.

Everyone's perfect for it. You can't imagine anyone else presenting

it than Mark Lamarr, Phill Jupitus is hilarous and Bill Bailey is

superb, outshining the former team captain before him, Sean

Hughes.

The rounds certainly create great games to play at home. Guess

the intro, opening lyrics.

One disapointment is when Mark Lamarr goes too far. Like giving

certain famous people death threats and making some quite

mean jokes.

Other than that, a verry funny show. May it continue.

The only show to literally make me fall on the floor with laughter. I see all these complaints about an OTT laughter track, but I would swear that really is the audience reaction - it's certainly what I'm doing at home. From the early days of Mark Lamarr, Sean Hughes and Phil Jupitus, right through to the current line-up, it has remained one of the sharpest and funniest shows ever.

Of course, Buzzcocks has had its share of problems. It lost its edge a little towards the end of Lamarr's reign; having done the show for 10 years he was getting bored and working on autopilot. Happily, after he left, the show got revitalised with the arrival of Simon Amstell, and bounced back with a very different but equally strong style of hosting.

It's now common knowledge that Buzzcocks is pre-rehearsed, and that Sean Hughes left for frustration with this 'fake' aspect. To me this barely detracts at all. Far better to have a few pre-prepared answers than everybody floundering around in silence. Who wants the intro round ruined by performers muttering "I don't know that one"? Yes, they practice first - let it go. Furthermore, though I love Sean (and his accent), his replacement Bill Bailey is an even better team captain.

Do they take things too far sometimes? It's certainly remarkable how much they get away with - countless celebrity death threats, the punishment of naive guests (amazing that only one has walked off), and of course the infamous Courtney Love joke among many other controversial moments, would be cut from most other programmes. Gentle types will wince at times, but those of us with a cruel streak truly revel in it. The trio say all the things we want to but either don't think of or don't dare to voice.

Best of all, the show is for music lovers and music dunces to enjoy alike. Whether you know exactly what they're talking about, or whether you're completely at sea, Buzzcocks is always hilarious.