THE BEST OF 'NOT THE NINE O' CLOCK NEWS' VOLUME 1

'Not The Nine O' Clock News' is undoubtedly risque in many ways.
It was an innovative and daring idea initially in it's scheduling. The first series aired at the same time as the nine 'o clock news bulletin and the extremely popular 'The Two Ronnies'. Needless to say, to gain any sort of recognition in the shadow of such strong competition would requite absolute genius on the part of this small sketch show, and thats exactly what 'Not The Nine 'O Clock News' delivers. It was cult viewing when it ran in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly amongst teenagers and those with an appreciation for the bizarre, the controversial and the politically satirical.

The Show Itself:

NTNOCN is based loosely around a spoof of a news programme, mirroring the newsreader sketches in The Two Ronnies or 'Have I Got News For You'. Nonetheless, it is essentially a sketch show, as the team bring their ideas about Thatcherist government, popular culture and the Royal Family onto the box.
It includes the majority of the early sketches that made the show famous, and although I was not around to see the show air originally, I recognised many of them from having featured on various 100 Greatests and comedy tribute shows. The most famous of which included are the 'Gerald the Gorilla' Sketch, which sees an interviewer discussing with a zookeeper and his eloquent and well-spoken gorilla friend Gerald about his capture. He remarks "When I caught Gerald in '68, he was completely wild." "Wild? I was practically livid!"
The sketches are not afraid to break the boundaries of political correctness, picking up and exaggerating the little foibles of 70s Thatcherist Britain. It deals with the niche issues of race and homosexuality in a way that are cleverly funny rather than unwisely offensive. One sketch, called by fans as the 'Gay Christian' sees an uncomfortable vicar encouraging homosexuals to "Come out of the toilet, as the phrase has it." while another sees a racist police officer repeatedly arresting a coloured man on charges including "Loitering with intent to use a pedestrian crossing." The political satire is top class too, especially the 'Realism And Responsibility' sketch, picking up on the ambiguity on the Conservative view on immigration in the 70s. But my favourite sketches are the downright rediculous, which are always delivered with intense wit and brilliant comic eptitude. The 'Songs Of Praise' sketch sees a despondant vicar telling off his parish for only appearing in church to get their "Fizzog on the gogglebox". He complains, "Last week the congregation numbered...three. Myself, the organist, and a tin of spaghetti." And the musical sketches are always sure to go down in history, indeed, it is these sketches that those unfamiliar to the show may have seen floating around. Examples include ­'Super Dooper', an ABBA spoof, 'I Like Bouncing (Boing Boing Boing)' and the risque 'Kinda Lingers', as well as the spot-on parody of The Two Ronnies called 'The Two Ninnies'- A definite hightlight.
Many have argued that these sketches are dated, reflecting a society and a popular culture which is no longer...well...popular. However, watching these as someone who has limited knowledge of the '70s, i found every skecth still absolutely hilarious, as they all seem to have some sort of relevance to today. This is classic comedy- I will be surprised if it ever loses its edge.

Comedy Talent:

Having never seen this originally air, I purchased this DVD only because i was in sheer amazement at the wealth of acting and writing talent featured in the show.
Pamela Stephenson is an exceptional talent and not bad to look at (a shame she is no longer in the business). She is currently married to Billy Connelly, indeed, Billy makes an appearance in pone of the sketches here. As the spoof newsreader she mimicks Angela Rippons delivery perfectly, but was at her best impersonating Moira Stewart or showing off her voice in the end-of-show musical numbers. Mel Smith and Griff-Rys Jones, who will also undoubtedly be familiar faces, are a very successful duo and, of course, Rowan Atkinson displays pure genius. He is my favourite actor in the series, with incredible versatility for creating magical comic characters. Whether he's shouting at his parish from the pew, delivering a spoof ballad with a surprisingly fetching blonde wig or demanding more toilets for his batchroom in magically Bean-esque fashion, he always delivers. In fact, I would go as far as say that he makes this show what it is, with his eccentricity and wonderfully expressive face.
The writing talent is also exceptional, including Cliver Anderson (who later went on to host 'Who's Line Is It Anyway?'), Andy Hamilton and a pre-'Four Weddings' Richard Curtis. With this kind of brainpower behind each episode, no wonder every second is gold.

The DVD:

The only conceivable let down is the DVD itself. This DVD is a DVD release of the 1995 NTNOCN video 'The Gorilla Kinda Lingers', hence the quality is not brilliant for a start. The list of sketches is hardly extensive either, as it does not feature every sketch from the first few episodes, although all the best ones are in here. Nonetheless, if you're really looking to get into the show or go on a trip down memory lane, perhaps investing in the complete first series would be more satisfying (There again, there is a Best Of Volume 2...) But the biggest let down is the sheerly appallingly thought out structure of the DVD. Such a fantastic show deserves a much better release than this. I could easily believe that the whole thing was produced in a rush. Despite the fact that many more sketches could have been included, and perhaps even outtakes or interviews, there are no special features or extra material whatsoever. I would have really enjoyed a few things that weren't included when the series was aired. Even the scene selection is appalling - it just skips through random sections of the DVD, so when settling down to watch it, it is sometimes necessary to just sit and watch the whole damn thing from start to finish to make sure you don't miss anything. Not a problem for me, because I enjoy it too much, but anyone suffering it without being a fan is not going to like the fact that they cannot select specific scenes.

Here is a complete list of the main (several minutes long) sketches, for those who may just remember them by name:

Drinking Darts
Question Time (Nuclear Holocaust)
Headbanger
Realism and Responsibility (Conservative Party Spoof)
Gerald The Gorilla
I Like Bouncing (Boing Boing Boing)
Russian Spy
Game For A Laugh
Journalist Surgeons
Funny Accent (With Billy Connelly)
Gay Christians
Any Friend Of Hitler
Hand Built By Roberts
Because I'm Wet And Lonely Ballad
Origami
Racist Officer
I Believe Song
Satanist Beliefs
Too Many Toilets
Kinda Lingers
Two Ninnies
Record Shopping
Punk Song
Cut Off Their Goolies
Python Worshippers
Songs Of Praise
Super Dooper

This is a top quality show. Never failing to be naughty and clever, blowing political correctness out of the water, the standard and controversy of comedy here may never be seen again. Though only an hour and a half long, you will be watching it again and again. But as a DVD release, it could not be worse thought out. The scene selection options are frustrating, and their are no special features. I would definitely suggest buying the series one DVD set instead.

Techincal and Pricing Information

1. Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Chris Langham
2. Directors: Bob Spiers, Bill Wilson, Geoff Posner
3. Format: PAL
4. Language English
5. Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.)
6. Number of discs: 1
7. Classification: 12
8. Studio: 2 Entertain Video
9. DVD Release Date: 18 Aug 2003
10. Run Time: 98 minutes

Price: £5.48 Amazon.co.uk