Editing Not the Nine O'Clock News

{{Short description|British television comedy sketch show (1979–1982)}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| image        = Not-the-Nine-Oclock-News.jpg
| caption      = DVD cover. Left to right: Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson, Rowan Atkinson, and Griff Rhys Jones.
| runtime      = 25 minutes
| creator      = [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]]
| producer     = {{plainlist|
*[[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]]
*Sean Hardie}}
| director     = {{plainlist|
*Bill Wilson (series 1–3)
*[[Geoff Posner]] (series 4)}}
| composer     = [[Howard Goodall]]
| starring     = {{plainlist|
*[[Rowan Atkinson]]
*[[Pamela Stephenson]]
*[[Mel Smith]]
*[[Griff Rhys Jones]] (recurring, series 1; regular series 2–4)
*[[Chris Langham]] (series 1)}}
| country      = United Kingdom
| language     = English
| network      = [[BBC Two|BBC2]]
| first_aired  = {{start date|1979|10|16|df=y}}
| last_aired   = {{end date|1982|3|8|df=y}}
| num_series   = 4
| num_episodes = 27
| related     = ''[[Alas Smith and Jones]]''
}}
'''''Not the Nine O'Clock News''''' is a British television [[sketch comedy]] show that was broadcast on [[BBC Two|BBC2]] from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the ''[[BBC Nine O'Clock News|Nine O'Clock News]]'' on [[BBC One|BBC1]], the show features satirical sketches on news stories and popular culture of the early 1980s, as well as parody songs, comedy sketches, re-edited videos, and spoof television formats. The programme features [[Rowan Atkinson]], [[Pamela Stephenson]], [[Mel Smith]], and [[Griff Rhys Jones]], as well as [[Chris Langham]] in the first series.

==Format==
The format was a deliberate departure from the [[Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)|stream-of-consciousness]] comedy pioneered by ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', returning to a more conventional sketch format. Sketches were mostly self-contained, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, and often had a degree of naturalism in performance. The series launched the careers of several high-profile actors and writers, and also led to other comedic series including ''[[Blackadder]]'' and ''[[Alas Smith and Jones]]''.

The series benefited from video editing and recording techniques. The pace was enhanced by jump-cutting between library clips, usually of politicians, royalty, or celebrities. Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] complained when, by adroit image editing, the programme implied she had crashed a car. Effects used in pop videos, provided by the [[Quantel Paintbox]], were often a highlight of the musical numbers.

==History==
===Background===
''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' was [[Television producer|produced]] by [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]]. Lloyd pitched the idea to the heads of BBC Comedy and Light Entertainment and was given a six-episode series on condition that he collaborate with Sean Hardie, who had worked in [[Current affairs (news format)|current affairs]] at the BBC.

Initially, Lloyd and Hardie were considering doing a lampoon of current affairs programmes ''à la'' ''[[The Frost Report]]'', with [[Rowan Atkinson]] portraying an old-fashioned host attacking liberal and/or modern trends. The programme was to be called ''Sacred Cows'', but the news programme was chosen because of its larger number of sources. The name of the series derived from its scheduling, as it originally aired on [[BBC Two|BBC2]] at the same time as the ''[[BBC Nine O'Clock News|Nine O'Clock News]]'' on [[BBC One|BBC1]].

===Aborted first series===
Aside from Atkinson, the original cast comprised [[Christopher Godwin]], [[John Gorman (musician)|John Gorman]], [[Chris Langham]], [[Willoughby Goddard]], and [[Jonathan Hyde]], and the first episode of a planned series was scheduled for 2 April 1979; this also featured [[Chris Emmett]] (impersonating [[Denis Healey]]), and [[Robert Llewelyn]] (impersonating [[Bob Hope]]).

As the programme was originally scheduled to air in the time slot occupied by ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', [[John Cleese]] was to have introduced the first episode in a sketch referring to a technicians' strike in progress at the time that hindered the production of the series, explaining (in character as [[Basil Fawlty]]) that there was no programme that week, so a "tatty revue" would be broadcast instead. However, the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] intervened, and the programme was pulled as being too political, being replaced with a repeat of the American sitcom ''[[Rhoda]]''.<ref name="BBC Guide to Comedy">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/n/notthenineoclock_7774885.shtml BBC Guide to Comedy], by [[Mark Lewisohn]]. Retrieved 17 March 2007.</ref>

The sketch with Cleese was broadcast later that year when the final episode of ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' went out during the broadcast run of the first series of ''Not The Nine O'Clock News'', though the significance of the sketch was lost to some degree. This link is included on the [[DVD region code#2|Region 2]] DVD boxset of ''Fawlty Towers''. Basil's waiter Manuel, played by [[Andrew Sachs]], also appeared at the end of the unaired episode, trying to get a joke about the [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah's]] contact lenses.

Other sketches of the unaired pilot episode were also lifted or remade on episodes throughout the first series. Healey's and Hope's impressions were achieved by the use of "talking head" puppets, which in the mid-1980s would become a characteristic staple of ''[[Spitting Image]]'', produced by Lloyd in its early series.

===In production===
Lloyd and Hardie decided to re-cast the series, retaining Langham and Atkinson. They wanted to bring in a woman, but [[Victoria Wood]] turned the programme down. Lloyd met Pamela Stephenson at a party, and she agreed to join. Atkinson, Langham, and Stephenson were joined by Mel Smith,<ref name="BBC Guide to Comedy"/> who was scheduled to work on the pilot, but declined after reading the script (he called the finished pilot in retrospect "the worst half hour of TV" that he had ever seen). The first series was criticised for being "a poor mix of stand up, and a mild portion of sketches" and newspaper reviews referred to it as "extremely offensive" and that it "should not be allowed on TV". Ratings were dismal as well: the first episode had fewer than a million viewers.

However, the [[Controller of BBC2|network controller]] reportedly liked the programme so much, that a second series of seven episodes was commissioned, also helped by budgetary cuts at BBC, which were repeatedly lampooned in the second series' premiere episode, entitled "The Outrageously Expensive Not the Nine O'Clock News". Such cuts also forced the show to drastically reduce the use of outside scenes (which were recorded on film) as well as minor players. The shock value prominent during the first season was also toned down in favour of a more "offbeat" tone.

In February 1980, in between series 1 and series 2 of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', Mel Smith appeared as a news reader named "[[Reginald Bosanquet|Reginald Bowes and Cat]]" in the ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|Goodies]]'' episode "[[Animals (The Goodies)|Animals]]". His segment of the show was preceded by the caption "Not the News at Ten".

For the second series, Langham was replaced by [[Griff Rhys-Jones]], who had already been a regular player during the first series, aside from having directed the radio programme ''The Atkinson People''.<ref>[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/570920/index.html BFI Screenonline]. Retrieved 17 March 2007.</ref> The second series of ''Not the Nine O’Clock News'' won the [[Silver Rose]] at the [[Montreux Festival]]<!-- in 1980 ? --> and a [[BAFTA]] Award for Best Light Entertainment Programme in 1982.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080253/awards Awards at IMDb.com]. Retrieved 17 March 2007.</ref> The show's later series achieved improved ratings and became critically acclaimed.

''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' became a stage production in Oxford and London in 1982, but the main performers decided to end the project while it was a success: Stephenson began a Hollywood film career, Atkinson recorded the [[The Black Adder|first series]] of ''[[Blackadder]]'' (also produced by John Lloyd) in 1983, and Smith and Jones became a double act in ''[[Alas Smith and Jones]]''. An American adaptation, ''[[Not Necessarily the News]]'' ran for seven years, from 1983 to 1990 on the [[HBO|Home Box Office]] cable television channel.<ref name="BBC Guide to Comedy"/>

===Content===
Satire was a key theme in the series' comedy. For example, one spoof news element might include a routine announcement that [[NASA]] had once again announced a delay in the launch of its [[Space Shuttle]] owing to technical difficulties, as the screen showed the shuttle on its launch pad with oxygen streaming off the tanks, overlaid with the sound of a car engine turning over but not starting. An opening graphic featured the same blue screen and white analogue clock ticking down to 9:00&nbsp;p.m. as preceded the ''[[BBC Nine O'Clock News|Nine O'Clock News]]'', followed by an announcement of the time in a similar voice and, in parody, the announcement that this was "definitely ''not'' the ''Nine O'Clock News''". Skits could include scenes such as a group of rural Americans at a barbecue singing several minutes of comically implausible songs like "I'm prepared to believe that Nixon wasn't a crook; I'm prepared to believe ''[[Love Story (novel)|Love Story]]'''s a readable book..." and finally concluding, "I believe that the devil is ready to repent; – but I can't believe [[Ronald Reagan]] is president."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmWLJmbytkk Not the Nine O'Clock News – I Believe...]. Retrieved 7 March 2017.</ref>

A well-known sketch from the second season (1980) features Mel Smith as Professor Timothy Fielding, who brought a [[gorilla]] named Gerald (played by Atkinson) to a TV studio for an interview. Fielding claims that he trained the ape to learn to speak. As the sketch progresses, it turns out that Gerald is amazingly articulate and obviously smarter than Fielding. This leads to a classic exchange, where Fielding claims: "''When I caught Gerald in '68 he was completely wild.''", whereupon Gerald interrupts: "''Wild? I was absolutely livid!"''. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/not-the-nine-o-clock-news-40-anniversary-rowan-atkinson-mel-smith-griff-rhys-jones-pamela-stephenson-a9150431.html | title=Not the Nine O'Clock News at 40: No longer exactly topical but still surprisingly funny | website=[[Independent.co.uk]] | date=18 October 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/1999/jul/12/broadcasting.mondaymediasection | title=And now the good news | newspaper=The Guardian | date=12 July 1999 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/21/mel-smith | title=Mel Smith obituary | newspaper=The Guardian | date=21 July 2013 | last1=Jeffries | first1=Stuart }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1980s/nine-oclock-news/ | title=Not the Nine O'clock News – Nostalgia Central | date=27 June 2014 }}</ref>

===Legacy===
The programme is credited with bringing [[alternative comedy]] to British television: Lloyd once commented he wanted to do a "modern, working-class" comedy in contrast to other series of the time, such as ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'', as well as attempting to replicate the [[satire boom]] of the early 1960s that launched the careers of [[John Cleese]], [[Dudley Moore]], [[Eric Idle]], [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] and others. This also happened at a time that the magazine ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'', ''[[The Second City]]'' troupes and ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' became showcases of alternative comedy in North America.

In 2005, Atkinson, Smith, Stephenson, Langham, and producer Lloyd reunited to talk to Sue MacGregor about the series. Langham's departure was touched upon, with Lloyd seeming to take the blame, though Atkinson had campaigned for Langham to be kept in the cast (Langham refused to speak to his former cast mates for several years after he was fired, until appearing as a regular on ''Smith and Jones'' in the 1990s). ''The Reunion'' was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] on 31 July 2005.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/news/2005/07/29/20823.shtml The BBC's Comedy Blog entry for the 29th&nbsp;of July 2005]. Retrieved 17 December 2007.</ref>

A documentary featuring the cast reminiscing about the making of the programme was shown on BBC Two on 28 December 2009,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/11_november/23/christmas.shtml BBC Press release for Christmas 2009]. Retrieved 24 November 2009.</ref> before one of the 1995 compilation shows was aired (despite a "complete episode" being billed in television listings). The documentary was repeated on 3 August 2013, just over two weeks after the death of Mel Smith.

==Crew==
The main writers included [[Colin Bostock-Smith]], [[Andy Hamilton]], [[Peter Brewis]], [[Richard Curtis]], and [[Clive Anderson]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080253/fullcredits Cast list] at IMDb.com. Retrieved 17 March 2007.</ref> However, the producers accepted scripts for sketches from a wide range of writers (including a then-undergraduate [[Stephen Fry]]),<ref>Fry, Stephen (2010). ''The Fry Chronicles''. London: Penguin Group. p.180. {{ISBN|978-0-718-15483-7}}</ref> and ensured the programme remained topical by recording sketches only days before broadcast. [[Howard Goodall]] (subsequently composer of the theme music for ''[[Blackadder]]'', ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', and ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'') was musical director. Bill Wilson directed the first three series, while Geoff Posner handled the fourth.

==Episodes==
A total of 27 episodes of 25–30-minute duration were broadcast over four series.

Series 1 had been due to start on 2 April 1979, but was postponed due to a [[1979 United Kingdom general election|general election]] being called for 3 May, with the programme being deemed "too political".

===Series 1 (1979)===

# Kenny Everett in ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' – 16 October 1979
# Episode 2 – 23 October 1979
# Episode 3 – 30 October 1979
# Episode 4 – 6 November 1979
# ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' Christmas Party – 13 November 1979
# Episode 6 – 20 November 1979

===Series 2 (1980)===

# The Outrageously Expensive ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' – 31 March 1980
# Episode 2 – 7 April 1980
# Don't Get Your Vicars in a Twist – 14 April 1980
# International Darts – 21 April 1980
# Episode 5 – 28 April 1980
# Episode 6 – 5 May 1980
# Death Lasers of Kazaan – 12 May 1980

===Series 3 (1980)===

# ''Not the Nine O'Clock in the Morning News'' – 27 October 1980
# Election Special – 3 November 1980
# Miss World 1980 – 10 November 1980
# Nationwide – 17 November 1980
# Episode 5 – 24 November 1980
# Episode 6 – 1 December 1980
# The Royal Command Performance of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' – 8 December 1980
# Episode 8 – 15 December 1980

===Series 4 (1982)===

# Episode 1 – 1 February 1982
# Episode 2 – 8 February 1982
# ''Ní Se Seo An Nuacht Ag A Naoi Chlog'' – 15 February 1982
# Episode 4 – 22 February 1982
# Made in Wales – 1 March 1982
# Shame – 8 March 1982

===Specials===
# Not the Least of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (28 December 1979; Christmas Special)
# The Best Of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (9 September 1980)
# 25 Years Of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (16 September 1980)
# Not The Lot of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (23 September 1980; Material from Series 2)
# Not The Nine O'Clock Christmas: ''Write Your Own'' (30 December 1980; Material from Series 3)
# Not Another ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (9 October 1981)
# An Eighth Chance to See ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (16 October 1981)
# The Last of the Summer Repeats (23 October 1981; Material from Series 1, 2, and 3)
# Not the World Cup (19 June 1982; Material from Series 4)
# ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (7, 14 & 28 September 1983; Material from Series 4)
# ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (27 October – 15 December 1995; 8 Compilations)

The series has rarely been repeated; eight re-cut and condensed (to make it "faster and funnier than ever"<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A401851 The BBC H2G2 Page for "Not the Nine O'clock News"]. Retrieved 17 December 2007.</ref>) "episodes" made for a video edition in 1995 are shown instead. This is primarily because the original episodes in their entirety lampooned events that were in the news at the time. The last repeat of the show was on Sunday 27 March 2016 at 22:55 on [[Gold (British TV channel)|Gold]].

==Commercial releases==

===Video and DVD===
Two highly edited VHS releases of the series, entitled ''The Gorilla Kinda Lingers'' and ''Nice Video, Shame about the Hedgehog'', were released in 1995.

In August 2003, these videos were released on DVD under the title of ''The Best of Not the Nine O'Clock News: Volume One'', with ''The Best of Not the Nine O'Clock News: Volume Two'' following a year later. Both of these are available in one set, unavailable separately, in [[DVD region code#Region codes and countries|Region 1]].

===Records===
Three vinyl albums were released at the time the series was screening, entitled ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', ''Hedgehog Sandwich'', and ''The Memory Kinda Lingers''. These albums were very successful, with the first two both reaching the top ten of the UK albums chart, a rare feat for a [[spoken word album]]. ''Hedgehog Sandwich'' also peaked at number 89 in Australia.<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=220}}</ref>

The original version of ''The Memory Kinda Lingers'' is a double LP. The second disc is titled ''Not in Front of the Audience'' and is a live recording of the cast's stage production. ''Hedgehog Sandwich'' and the first disc of ''The Memory Kinda Lingers'' were later combined on a [[BBC]] double-length [[Compact audio cassette|cassette]] and double-CD set.

"The Ayatollah Song" [[A-side and B-side#B.2FW|b/w]] "Gob on You" (as featured in the TV show) and "I Like Trucking" [[A-side and B-side#B.2FW|b/w]] "Supa Dupa" were also released as singles.

The 1980 single "Typing Pool" by 'Pam and the Paper CClips(EMI 5015), is variously ascribed to [[Pamela Stephenson]] and NtNON. It was written by Roger and [[Nigel Planer]], who were among the show's many writers.<ref>[http://www.musicaltaste.com/showsong.php?songtitle=Typing%20Pool&performer=Pam%20and%20the%20Paper%20Clips&song_id=2427 Musical Taste listing and clip]. Retrieved 17 December 2007.</ref>

===Books and miscellaneous===
Three books were released to tie in with the series: ''Not! The Nine O'Clock News'', a collection of classic material rewritten and restructured as a parody of the short-lived magazine ''[[NOW! (1979-81 magazine)|Now!]]''; ''Not the Royal Wedding'' (the royal wedding in question being the [[Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer|marriage]] of [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Charles]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Diana]]); and ''Not the General Election'', a tie-in with the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]]. The first was reprinted in 1995 as ''Not for Sale''. ''Not the Royal Wedding'' was promoted by a little-known radio spin-off, ''Not the Nuptials'', transmitted on BBC Radio 1.<ref name="Worthington 2012">{{cite book |last=Worthington |first=Tim |date=2012 |title=Fun At One: The Story Of Comedy At BBC Radio 1 |publisher=Lulu Press }}</ref> The same station had also previously produced a behind-the-scenes documentary on ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' as part of their magazine series ''Studio B15''.<ref name="Worthington 2012"/>

Two "page-a-day" tear-off calendars, edited by [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]] and containing several contributions from [[Douglas Adams]], were released in the early 1980s (''Not 1982'' and ''Not 1983''). Also published around this time was a spoof Orwellian edition of ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper, ''Not the 1984 Times'', which – although widely assumed to be – was not connected to the series.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

==See also==
* ''[[Not Necessarily the News]]''
* [[Drop the Dead Donkey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Not_the_Nine_O'Clock_News.ogg|date=2005-07-01}}
*{{BBC programme}}
*{{BBC Online|id=comedy/guide/articles/n/notthenineoclock_7774885.shtml|title=Not the Nine O'Clock News}} Comedy Guide
*{{IMDb title|0080253|Not the Nine O'Clock News}}
*{{Screenonline TV title|570920}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050104082645/http://corpses.comedynetuk.com/editnews/not_episodes.htm Complete episode guide sketch by sketch]
*[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/notthenine/notthenine.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications: biographical information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030416142028/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/notthenine/notthenine.htm |date=16 April 2003 }}

{{InternationalEmmyAward Popular Arts Programming}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Not The Nine O'clock News}}
[[Category:1970s British television sketch shows]]
[[Category:1980s British television sketch shows]]
[[Category:1979 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1982 British television series endings]]
[[Category:BBC television sketch shows]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:1970s British satirical television series]]
[[Category:1980s British satirical television series]]
[[Category:British black comedy television shows]]
[[Category:British news parodies]]