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Audio Comedy Review


Cover

Just a Minute
Series 56

 

Starring: Nicholas Parsons, Paul Merton, Julian Clary, David Mitchell, Gyles Brandreth, Charles Collingwood, Tony Hawks, Dave Gorman, Josie Lawrence, Liza Tarbuck and Graham Norton
AudioGO
RRP: £13.49
Click here to buy on MP3 for £6.74
ISBN: 978 1 44580 456 9
Available 02 June 2011


Nicholas Parsons chairs this complete series of the devious BBC Radio 4 word game. Featuring in these episodes are panellists Paul Merton, Julian Clary, David Mitchell, Gyles Brandreth, Charles Collingwood, Tony Hawks, Dave Gorman, Josie Lawrence, Liza Tarbuck, Graham Norton, Chris Neill, Justin Moorhouse, Sue Perkins, Jenny Eclair, and Pam Ayres.

This audio collection features all 12 episodes of Series 56 of this long running panel game show in which the contestants must speak for one minute on a given subject "without repetition, hesitation or deviation". It's probably the simplest idea for a show and is consistently funny. As a consequence it's been running since December 1967.

Along with firm favourites Paul Merton, other regulars who make more than one appearance in this collection are Gyles Brandreth (no one plays up to the audience like him - and with wonderful results), Sue Perkins (probably the quickest talking contestant) and Liza Tarbuck (who I've always thought is very underrated as an actress and comedian).

Six hours of timeless comedy for under £14 would be all the excuse you need to add this to your collection. However none of the online stores seem to be stocking it other than AudioGO, the BBC's commercial outlet that recently replaced 2Entertain and BBC Audio. They're currently selling the MP3 files for the ludicrously cheap price of £6.74.

The only negative aspect is that the MP3s don't come with sleeve notes, so we have no idea when these were originally recorded and broadcast. Thankfully Parsons does point out where the episodes are recorded each week and all but two in this collection were recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre. The other two were taped at the University of Derby.

9

Darren Rea