"Finally run out of news" - Mock the Week to end this year

[brad465]

Today there was an announcement that the long running panel show Mock the Week will end after 17 years, once the final 8 episodes this autumn have been broadcast:

Mock the Week: BBC Two's comedy panel show to end after 17 years

The satirical comedy panel show's last eight episodes will be broadcast on BBC Two in the autumn.

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Two comedy panel show Mock the Week, hosted by Dara Ó'Briain, is to end after 17 years, the BBC has announced.
The satirical show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, has featured Ó'Briain and team captain Hugh Dennis since 2005.
"That's it folks, the UK has finally run out of news," Ó'Briain said. "It couldn't go on".
The final eight episodes will be broadcast in the autumn.
Ó'Briain added: "The storylines were getting crazier and crazier - global pandemics, divorce from Europe, novelty short-term prime ministers. We just couldn't be more silly than the news was already."
Patterson added the news was "desperately disappointing", and said: "Hopefully we will resurface again soon. Huge thanks to Dara and Hugh and all the wonderful performers over the years. It's been a privilege."
The panel series became a chance for rising comedians to gain exposure, catapulting a number of careers into the mainstream spotlight, including Russell Howard, who joined the programme after winning several awards for his talents, including best compere at the 2006 Chortle Awards. He was also number two in Zoo magazine's top 10 list of Britain's funniest comics 2005.

Ó'Briain called the show "Dara and Hugh's Academy for Baby Comedians".
Michael McIntyre, Sarah Millican, Kevin Bridges, John Bishop and Rhod Gilbert are also comics who featured on the show in the early stages of their careers, and have since become household names.
However in recent years the programme has found it more tricky to find comedians willing to participate.

• Dara Ó Briain on why comedians are reluctant to do Mock The Week

Jo Brand and Rory Bremner are among those who have said they wouldn't want to return to the show.
Bremner stated his reasons for leaving the show in 2013, saying: "I felt that there was a new and highly competitive and quite aggressive tendency there and felt uncomfortable. But I've since found out that very few people have felt comfortable doing Mock the Week."
Brand said in 2009 she "didn't like the prospect of having to bite someone's foot off before they let us say something".
Ó Briain said in 2018 that the show was ""quite intense", but it was "not what it was when it was [early panellists] Frankie [Boyle] and Russell - that really was competitive".

The show was not without its controversies over the years, especially when a certain Frankie Boyle was on it, but it is personally my favourite panel show and was certainly grateful for the series they ran during lockdown 3, among many other episodes.

 

[Russel]

The Frankie Boyle era was my personal favourite, it'll be s shame to see the end of Mock The Week.

 

[Dai Corner]

I preferred it when it was controversial. The bland style we get nowadays means it's no longer on my 'must watch' list.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I preferred it when it was controversial. The bland style we get nowadays means it's no longer on my 'must watch' list.

Agreed. Not that it was even that controversial anyway.

Meanwhile HIGNFY is still on the air...

 

[Busaholic]

Not before time - laboured and unfunny.

 

[Dai Corner]

Meanwhile the satirical magazine Private Eye is apparently selling more than ever. Yes, I am a subscriber.

 

[brad465]

I preferred it when it was controversial. The bland style we get nowadays means it's no longer on my 'must watch' list.

I think that might be more to do with controversial getting one into too much trouble nowadays than the show specifically. MTW did also used to have some DVD releases called "Too hot for TV", which have unseen footage that, as the name implies, couldn't go out on air in initial broadcasts.

 

[nlogax]

The Frankie Boyle era was my personal favourite, it'll be s shame to see the end of Mock The Week.

Which was probably the last time I went to see an episode being taped. It all feels a bit tired now and probably have been retired years ago.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Not before time - laboured and unfunny.

Likewise, far too scripted and very unfunny for me. Then again, I find Dara Ó Briain to be utterly dull.

 

[Towers]

Likewise, far too scripted and very unfunny for me. Then again, I find Dara Ó Briain to be utterly dull.

He's a watchable host, but his habit of ending every sentence with 'errrrrrrr' does become a tad irritating after a little while I find!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Likewise, far too scripted and very unfunny for me. Then again, I find Dara Ó Briain to be utterly dull.

That time they kept mocking Dara for looking like the Megabus mascot was quite amusing though.

 

[gswindale]

It was certainly better in the early days - I think it was because most of each panel was the same, so there was a rapport between them all.

Always hated it though if Milton was on - one liners are good for "scenes you'd like to see", but not for the rest of the show and that is all he can do.

 

[nlogax]

Always hated it though if Milton was on - one liners are good for "scenes you'd like to see", but not for the rest of the show and that is all he can do.

I've never understood why people pay to go watch him do those lines live for the best part of two hours. Sounds utterly painful.

 

[northwichcat]

Likewise, far too scripted and very unfunny for me. Then again, I find Dara Ó Briain to be utterly dull.

I was in the virtual audience for one of the shows recorded during COVID restrictions and I'm not sure a lot of it is scripted. They tried to get 20 minutes worth of one liners in response to a news headline for what would be under 5 minutes of the programme segment. At one point it looked like they'd all exhausted their ideas but they were encouraged to try and think of some more.

Although, I agree about it being better in the older days and that Dara isn't as good as he thinks he is. In the virtual recording Catherine Bohart ended her stand up challenge with a joke that would have worked in Ireland but didn't in Britain. She messed up her walk off and then Dara insisted she went back, did the last joke again and then waits for the audience's applause before walking off. She wasn't applauded because she ended on a joke that didn't work, not because she walked off too soon but Dara didn't get that!

I've never understood why people pay to go watch him do those lines live for the best part of two hours. Sounds utterly painful.

I like him because he's unpredictable. With other one liners like Tim Vine and Stewart Francis they have some good jokes but once you've heard some of them, you can predict the punchlines before they come. Saying that I think in recent years Gary Delaney's been the go-to person for unpredictable one liners.

 

[dakta]

Sad to hear, I will miss it, I don't watch much in terms of TV when I do it's either something properly unmeaningful by intention it always was good watching for a switch off

 

[nlogax]

I was in the virtual audience for one of the shows recorded during COVID restrictions and I'm not sure a lot of it is scripted.

Can't speak for recent recordings but from my memory of seeing earlier shows a lot of it used to be scripted. Certainly hard to laugh when to get past some technical snafu some gags had to be re-done three or four times.