Not The Nine O'Clock News

Not The Nine O'Clock News was a ground-breaking comedy television programme shown on the BBC broadcast from 1979 to 1982.

History

Not The Nine O'Clock News was produced by John Lloyd, a mainstay in much of British comedy as well as the BBC light entertainment department. Lloyd pitched the idea of a sketch show to the heads of BBC comedy and light entertainment, and was given a six-show series, on condition that he collaborate with Sean Hardie, who had worked previously in current affairs at the BBC.

Related Topics:
Produced - John Lloyd - BBC - Light entertainment - Sean Hardie - Current affairs

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Their original cast list was Rowan Atkinson, Christopher Godwin, John Gorman, Chris Langham, Willoughby Goddard and Jonathan Hyde, and was scheduled to be broadcast on 2 April 1979. The first episode was supposed to have been one of the first cross-over created episodes in television history. Originally scheduled to air after Fawlty Towers, John Cleese was to have introduced the first episode in a sketch referring to the then-current technicians' strike, explaining (in character as Basil Fawlty) that there was no show to ready that week, so a "tatty revue" would be broadcast instead. Fortunately for some fans, who consider the episode to be rather unfunny, the 1979 general election intervened, and the show was pulled as being too political. (The sketch with Cleese was eventually broadcast later that year, when by a stroke of luck the final episode of Fawlty Towers went out during broadcast run of the first series of Not The Nine O'Clock News, though the original significance of the sketch was lost.)

Related Topics:
Rowan Atkinson - Christopher Godwin - John Gorman - Chris Langham - Willoughby Goddard - Jonathan Hyde - 2 April - 1979 - Fawlty Towers - John Cleese - Basil Fawlty - 1979 general election

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Lloyd and Hardie regrouped, and decided to recast the show, keeping only Langham and Atkinson from the original cast. They wanted to bring in a woman: Victoria Wood turned down the opportunity, but Lloyd met Pamela Stephenson at a party and shortly afterwards she agreed to join the cast. Atkinson, Langham and Stephenson were joined by Mel Smith. The first series was sufficiently popular to merit a second series. Langham was replaced as a main cast member by Griff Rhys Jones, who had already appeared in minor roles, and the second series was an instant major success, and Atkinson, Stephenson, Smith and Rhys Jones quickly became stars. The second series won the Silver Rose at the Montreux Festival .

Related Topics:
Victoria Wood - Pamela Stephenson - Mel Smith - Griff Rhys Jones - Silver Rose - Montreux Festival - 1980

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The show ran for a total of 28 episodes, of 30 minutes each:

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• October 17, 1979 – November 20, 1979: 6 episodes
• March 31, 1980 – May 12, 1980: 7 episodes
• October 27, 1980 – December 15, 1980: 8 episodes
• February 1, 1982 – March 12, 1982: 7 episodes

Main writers included David Renwick, Colin Bostock-Smith, Andy Hamilton, Peter Brewis, Richard Curtis, and Clive Anderson. However, the producers operated an "open door" policy, and accepted scripts for sketches from virtually any source, which allowed it to select the best product from a wide range of writers and enable the show to include items relating to the current news recorded days before the actual broadcast. Howard Goodall, subsequently writer of the Red Dwarf, Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley theme tunes (amongst others) was also involved musically. Bill Wilson directed the first three series, Geoff Posner the fourth.

Related Topics:
David Renwick - Colin Bostock-Smith - Andy Hamilton - Peter Brewis - Richard Curtis - Clive Anderson - Howard Goodall - Red Dwarf - Blackadder - The Vicar of Dibley - Bill Wilson - Geoff Posner

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Not The Nine O'Clock News became a stage show in Oxford and London in 1982, but the main actors decided to end the project while it was a success and left for new projects: Stephenson began a Hollywood film career, Atkinson recorded the first series of Blackadder in 1983, and Smith and Jones became a double act in Alas Smith and Jones. A successful American adaptation, Not Necessarily The News ran for 6 years, from 1983–9 on the Home Box Office cable television channel.

Related Topics:
Stage show - Oxford - London - Hollywood - Blackadder - Alas Smith and Jones - Not Necessarily The News - Home Box Office - Cable television

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