Have I Got News for You

[Dave Sikula]

Anyone else watch it? I have no familiarity with the British version, so I can't compare it.

For the most part, it wasn't very good. While I like Roy Wood Jr. a lot, and run hot and cold on Amber Ruffin and Robin Thede, it was one of the first times I've liked Ian Michael Black.

The two biggest problems I found were 1) the Libertarian panelist. It wasn't his politics (which mostly went unexpressed); it was that he was basically a smart author forced to compete with four professional comedians, and there aren't a lot of civilians who are equipped for that. He was game, but out of his depth. (For example, in the closing "What Will Be News Next Week?" bit, the other three gave humorous answers while his was sober and serious.)

The other, bigger, problem was that it felt like -- despite a live audience -- there was a lot of dead air; it was a 30--minute show crammed into a 60-minute slot.

To be honest, probably the liveliest and most unexpected thing on the show was the two unbleeped "motherfuckers." Guess CNN didn't go with a seven-second delay.

Hopefully, they'll solve some of the problems as they go along, but right now, there's not a lot there.

--Dave Sikula

[David Bruggeman]

There are clips of the British edition available on the YT through Hat Trick Productions, the shows' (both UK and US) production company.  Longer videos are available through other YT sources, but I have no sense if they are 'official' or not.

I have tried to get into the UK version, but much like my experience with 8 Out of 10 Cats (*not* 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown), I find I need to be more familiar with UK news and pop culture than I am to really enjoy the show.

One main difference between the shows is that one of the UK team captains, Ian Hislop, has a mix of experience in writing and presenting for both comedic/satirical and straight-ahead programming.  Recent trends in late night television aside, I can't think of anyone in the US who would have a comparable resume outside of P.J. O'Rourke, and I don't think O'Rourke did television.

One thing to factor in here, I think, is that much like the short-lived US attempt at Would I Lie to You, is that the UK versions of both shows have been at it for years.  Realistically there's no chance the US versions would look good compared to current episodes of their UK counterparts.

David

[Adam Bowie]

As far as I'm aware, the same company, Hat Trick, is making the US version as has long produced the UK version. I suspect a bunch of the British team has been in the US putting this together - at least initially.

The UK version is taped 24 hours ahead of broadcast, and usually tapes for 2-3 hours to make a 27 minute ad-free version for the BBC. A slightly longer edit at 42 mins or so is available (and plays later on Dave&U in a commercial hour). So I'd be amazed if the US show was live. It's one of those panel shows where the scores don't matter and you simply drops rounds/gags that don't work by massively over-recording and then producing something a bit tighter. 

Obviously, key to panel shows on the BBC is that they are commercial free and 30 minutes (or 27 mins in reality) is tight enough to leave you wanting more. I'm mostly not a fan of stretching shows out to a commercial hour like this, and think it shows why these formats of programmes work in the UK and don't in the US - at least to date.

To be clear, the UK show is now formatted with a weekly guest host  (often the same guests working once a series), two regular team captains and then a mix of comedians, politicians (if they're game), newspaper pundits, TV presenters and others. They obviously need to have a grasp of current affairs, and yes, it's tough to get a word in amongst three other comedians. Ian Hislop, on the UK captains, isn't a comedian as such - he edits the satirical magazine, Private Eye. But he's been doing this show long enough that he can quip quickly. But they allow space for the non-comic guests to come in. That said, you get weeks where the non-comic seems to say very little and you guess that the editor has earned their money finding even a few seconds of footage to show that they said anything in the recording session!

I don't think they're showing this on the international version of CNN we get here. But I'll keep an eye out. These  shows always take time to bed in, although I'm sure they've made one or two non-broadcast episodes before going live.

Adam

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[PGage]

I was surprised by how much I liked the first show - so much better than “After Midnight.” It seemed like the point of the show is for the civilian is to be kind of a straight man, and I thought he was fine, though maybe he or Wood should have somehow brought in a little bit of who he was in real life. Wood was funny, but I agree the energy level was a bit off; it’s almost like they watched the first eek of After Midnight and decided whatever they did they wanted to avoid that desperate manic vibe. I know the points don’t matter but they hardly existed at all,  o scoreboard or explanation, so it sounded like a non sequitur when they were mentioned a few times late in the show. 

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[Mark Jeffries]

My problem was more of a nit-picking in that although the great theme song from the UK version is used here, it's used in this weird electronic version (although I assume that if they used the same UK theme, they would've had to replace the reference to the ITV "News at Ten" theme in the beginning).  Also, I prefer the goofy animation of the UK titles over what they used here, which I found a little austere, as if "we're on CNN."

Otherwise, I enjoyed what I saw for the most part.  It's going to take some time and we'll have to find out what kind of guests they're going to get and what politicians will agree to go on . (It does bother me that the UK version seems to have helped Boris Johnson a lot until he was actually prime minister from his many guest host stints, just like "The Apprentice" made you-know-who a thing.) I do hope that for the Missing Words round they will start doing the "guest publications" like the UK version, which are usually journals like the "Poultry Raisers' Gazette."

And I guess I'll look up on Max the Anderson Cooper show on misinformation that followed "HIGNFY" but I didn't record.

Mark Jeffries
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[Adam Bowie]

Re the points. In the UK version, they don't matter as mentioned, and you can only glimpse the scorebox in a handful of very wide shots. The reason is basically because rounds get dropped because they're not funny enough. Then there's an ongoing running gag in the UK that Paul Merton [nearly] always wins, and Ian Hislop loses. But the points only really "exist" as a concept because there are two teams. If there are teams, then there must be a score. QED.

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[PGage]

I kind of got that, but on CNN there really was no mention of points in the set up, and Hist Woods did not even make the cursory “Points!” Exclamation for responses he found funny (maybe he did it once or twice near the end). The Libertarian guy made the most references to it, which implied that there must have been some points set up and explanation near the start of the show that got cut.

If they want to keep the points conceit, but still have flexibility to cut bits that don’t work (and please, keep doing this) then seems it would not be too hard to just have Woods say “Points” whenever he wants, put up a score board on the screen created in post production to roughly track the parts kept in the show, and announce some kind of winner at end.

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[Adam Bowie]

A few episodes in and I think the CNN version of HIGNFY is really finding its feet. Everyone is getting a lot more comfortable in their roles and it all feels a lot more natural. I think Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black are both working well and the guests have been largely decent. 

For what it's worth, we're getting the CNN version on the BBC - airing late evenings on Tuesdays after Newsnight. A couple of weeks ago I noticed the same exploding sewer clip air on both US and UK shows in the same week which is the first obvious case of sharing I've spotted. And interestingly, Roy Wood Jr is flying in to guest host the UK version on 8 November (meaning it'll record on 7 November if they stick to their normal schedule).

Adam

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[Dave Sikula]

I agree it's gotten much better. Ruffin's "excited" act can wear thin, but if the guests are good and sharp (unlike, say, Ana Navarro, who was a trainwreck), the show works. I just wish they'd add a few games.

Regardless, it's miles ahead of the commercials-marathon known as "After Midnight."

--Dave Sikula

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