Picture from The Guardian
Perhaps surprisingly for such a big fan of radio comedy, I was late finding the nonsensical panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue on Radio 4. The first time I heard it I had actually tuned in on a Sunday lunchtime to listen to Just A Minute to find Clue replacing it. Jack Dee was the host and I didn't know any other different. I was vaguely aware that the show had been going a long time and that Jack Dee wasn't the original host, but I have only recently discovered old episodes presented by Humphrey Lyttleton and have started listening with renewed interest.
As a panel show it is strange how this one has survived for forty three years given how it doesn't really lend itself to the casual listener. It took me a few goes to get into the swing of it and at one point attempted to work out the rules to the game 'Mornington Crescent' before I realised that it was perhaps better that I didn't read into it. The comedy of repetition is something I am a big fan of; I still won't allow an ambulance to speed past with its sirens on without turning to whoever I am walking along with, even if I am just walking the dog, and declaring that the driver won't sell many ice-creams at that speed. Call backs and repeated jokes are a wonderful thing when done well, and ISIHAC deals it out with wild abandon.
Having recently completed a marathon listening of later episodes of the show thanks to this collection, I dug further into the past and found that someone has (possibly not 100% legally) uploaded several episodes presented by Lyttleton which I am currently working through. My biggest find though was a complete stage recording. In terms of content it wasn't too different to the show I saw in March with Jack Dee hosting, yet each reference is greeted by the audience with a cheer of recognition; the letter from Mrs Trellis from North Wales, Hamish and Dougal, the innuendo laden reason why Samantha has had to go, and of course the variation on the title Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, all of which will mean nothing to the passer by reading this having never listened to the show.
The live version happened to be one of the very few times an episode of ISIHAC was filmed, and is especially poignant because Humphrey Lyttleton died only nineteen days later at the age of 86. At the end of the show he played 'We'll Meet Again' on the trumpet and it gave me goosebumps.
Listening to one of my favourite games 'One Song to the Tune of Another' gave me the idea to form a band (possibly called Mornington Crescent) and perform a one-off gig playing songs in that style. Maybe we could get a job as support next time they tour.
As a panel show it is strange how this one has survived for forty three years given how it doesn't really lend itself to the casual listener. It took me a few goes to get into the swing of it and at one point attempted to work out the rules to the game 'Mornington Crescent' before I realised that it was perhaps better that I didn't read into it. The comedy of repetition is something I am a big fan of; I still won't allow an ambulance to speed past with its sirens on without turning to whoever I am walking along with, even if I am just walking the dog, and declaring that the driver won't sell many ice-creams at that speed. Call backs and repeated jokes are a wonderful thing when done well, and ISIHAC deals it out with wild abandon.
Having recently completed a marathon listening of later episodes of the show thanks to this collection, I dug further into the past and found that someone has (possibly not 100% legally) uploaded several episodes presented by Lyttleton which I am currently working through. My biggest find though was a complete stage recording. In terms of content it wasn't too different to the show I saw in March with Jack Dee hosting, yet each reference is greeted by the audience with a cheer of recognition; the letter from Mrs Trellis from North Wales, Hamish and Dougal, the innuendo laden reason why Samantha has had to go, and of course the variation on the title Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, all of which will mean nothing to the passer by reading this having never listened to the show.
The live version happened to be one of the very few times an episode of ISIHAC was filmed, and is especially poignant because Humphrey Lyttleton died only nineteen days later at the age of 86. At the end of the show he played 'We'll Meet Again' on the trumpet and it gave me goosebumps.
Listening to one of my favourite games 'One Song to the Tune of Another' gave me the idea to form a band (possibly called Mornington Crescent) and perform a one-off gig playing songs in that style. Maybe we could get a job as support next time they tour.
No podcast this week.
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May housekeeping
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