Editing This Morning with Richard Not Judy

{{short description|Comedy television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox television
| image              = TMWRNJ.jpg
| runtime            = 45 mins
| genre              = Comedy
| starring           = [[Stewart Lee]]<br />[[Richard Herring]]
| country            = United Kingdom
| language           = English
| network            = [[BBC Two]]
| executive_producer = [[Jon Plowman]]
| first_aired        = {{Start date|df=y|1998|2|15}}
| last_aired         = {{End date|df=y|1999|6|13}}
| num_series         = 2
| num_episodes       = 18
}}
'''''This Morning With Richard Not Judy''''' or '''''TMWRNJ''''' {{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|w|ʌ|m|r|ə|n|dʒ|ə}}<ref group="note">Richard Herring would routinely pronounce the acronym as if the 'M' and 'W' had changed places (TWMRNJ) rather than pronouncing it as {{IPA|/təmˈwʊrən.dʒə/}}</ref> is a [[BBC]] comedy television programme, written by and starring [[Lee and Herring]]. Two series were broadcast in 1998 and 1999 on [[BBC Two]]. The name was a satirical reference to [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[This Morning (TV series)|This Morning]]'' which was at the time popularly referred to as ''This Morning with [[Richard and Judy]]''.

The show was a reworking of old material from their previous work together (radio and TV) along with new characters. Presented in a daytime chat show format in front of a live studio audience, the programme also featured a number of recorded location sketches. It was structured by the often strange obsessions of Richard Herring; examples include his rating of the milk of all creatures and attempting to popularise the acronym of the show (''TMWRNJ'') (in the style of ''[[Tiswas]]''). The show featured (and acknowledged its use of) repetition, with regular and vigilant viewers being rewarded by jokes that would make no sense to casual viewers. The show seemed to oscillate between the intellectual and puerile. Irony was often used, even though the citing of irony as an excuse was mocked by the show's stars in one of many self-referential jokes.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

The actor [[Kevin Eldon]] also reprised two of his characters from the earlier Lee & Herring series ''[[Fist of Fun]]'', Simon Quinlank (the "King of Hobbies") and his portrayal of "the false [[Rod Hull]]" as a [[Gelatin dessert|jelly]] fanatic with a false arm and giant chin. A run of sketches featuring Eldon as the false Rod Hull was filmed for the second series, but dropped when the real Rod Hull died just prior to the start of the series.{{fact|date=April 2025}} A new sketch was filmed as a tribute and featured as the closing item of the last programme in the series. (Rod Hull had taken this in good humour and had featured in one episode of ''Fist of Fun'' as a guest, pouring scorn on the false Rod Hull.){{fact|date=April 2025}}

''TMWRNJ'' was the subject of many complaints on ''[[Points of View (TV series)|Points of View]]'', largely due to the surprisingly adult content for a programme shown on Sunday lunchtime. The Jesus sketches were much remarked upon on ''Points of View'' due to the time of broadcast and uncertainty as to whether they were making fun of Jesus or people's take on the scriptures.<ref name="BBC Comedy">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thismorningwithrichardnotjudy/ |title=BBC Comedy: This Morning With Richard Not Judy |accessdate=25 October 2010 |publisher=BBC Comedy}}</ref> 

==Regular features: Series 1 and 2==

===The Curious Orange===
Questions about life from a gigantic talking orange, played by [[Paul Putner]]. The name is derived from the album ''[[I Am Kurious Oranj]]'' by [[The Fall (band)|The Fall]] (itself a reference to the film ''[[I Am Curious (Yellow)]]''), which was used to introduce each Curious Orange segment.  At the end of the first series, having been revealed to be Richard Herring's illegitimate son, he was crushed to death and "juiced", but he was later reconstituted by a [[mad scientist]]. Throughout the second series his behaviour became increasingly sinister, and for a while he was replaced by The Curious Alien (in truth due to Putner's commitments elsewhere).{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Histor's Eye===
Ostensibly an extremely low-budget Sky TV children's television programme featuring two [[pirate]] crows: the titular Histor (who concealed a multicoloured spinning eye beneath his eyepatch) and his hapless first mate Pliny Harris. Histor's ability to transport himself and Pliny through time ("as the crow flies") to view past events would be used to satirise current affairs, and the script would be peppered with deliberately weak but dense nautical- and bird-related multiple puns, which would increase in volume and weakness as the series progressed. (For example, Pliny would say 'Egg feather bird ''oeuf'' tit' in place of 'I've never heard of it', or 'Feather me wingers' in place of '[[Shiver me timbers]]'.) Pliny's idiocy drives Histor to insanity and, eventually, he murders him by stuffing him with eggs until he bursts, as he keeps using the word "egg" so it has no connection or relation to the context of what Histor was saying, (only for Histor to be subsequently haunted by Pliny's equally pun-obsessed ghost). A running joke in this segment was that despite Pliny's apparent idiocy, he would occasionally counter Histor's right-wing views with extraordinarily eloquent and well constructed left-wing arguments. This would often result in Pliny being physically attacked by Histor or a third party (e.g. having a broken glass shoved into his face by a "lager lout" [[Saint George]]).{{fact|date=April 2025}}

Another running gag not featured in the fictional show, but would be part of its introduction, would be a sketch in which Herring naively complains about a recent report in the media, only for Lee to try to correct him before realising the best way to make him understand better is showing him "An educational film for the under fives" he taped from cable TV. After the segment Lee would ask Herring if that cleared the matter up for him, with Herring praising the crows for this saying he now understands. Indeed, Herring once points out that the same joke is always told every week before showing the latest episode, shortly after Lee told him that telling the same jokes soon wears off, with the episode of "Histor's Eye" being focused on that topic. The gag was less frequent in the second series. During the segment, an indent reading "KIDZ CHANNEL" would be displayed in the top left of the screen, a reference to many Sky Television channels at the time during broadcast.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Musical Interludes===
[[Richard Thomas (musician)|Richard Thomas]] played keyboards every week on the show and in series 1 played a hymn at the end of the show.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Pause for Thought for the Day===
The Unusual Priest, played by [[Kevin Eldon]], would present [[ethical dilemma]]s, dealing with them in increasingly ridiculous fashion. Based on a character called Monsignor Treeb-Lopez originally created by Lee and Herring for the satirical radio news show ''[[On The Hour]]''.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===When Insects Attack===
A [[parody]] of the show ''[[When Animals Attack!]]'', with a voice-over supposedly by actor [[Greg Evigan]] (actually [[Mark Gatiss]]). The last episode of this segment, in the first series, saw ''The Lettuce Family'' attacked by a slug, which Evigan points out is a [[mollusc]] and not an insect. In the second series this was replaced by ''When Things Get Knocked Over, Spill, or Fall Out of Cupboards''.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===King (or Queen) of the Show===
In each edition, a member of the audience would be crowned "King (or Queen) of the Show", either at random or as a reward for sending in an especially entertaining letter. After being crowned, they would be offered various items from a trolley; these items would all be linked by the current theme of the show. The crown and trolley would be brought on by the normally mute ("We can't afford to pay you to speak") Trevor and Nathalie ([[Trevor Lock]] and Nathalie Brandon<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0104789/|title=Nathalie Brandon|website=[[IMDb]] |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>) who would sometimes be dressed in outlandish costumes.

===Trevor and Nathalie===
A man with 'an extremely small face', called Trevor (comedian [[Trevor Lock]]), and a woman called Nathalie, played by Nathalie Brandon, would appear on each show in non-speaking roles as slaves, often to bring in props or to usher in guests or other performers.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===The Five Aims===
Every week, Rich and Stew discussed five aims they wanted to implement before the end of the series, a parody of [[New Labour]]'s pledge cards from the 1997 General Election. (The aims were different every week).{{fact|date=April 2025}}

==Regular features: Series 1==

===The Profit Making Phone Opinion Poll===
Each week the show staged a phone-in which was purely designed to make money for Lee and Herring.  The phone-in was hosted by 'Jo Unwin and the actor Kevin Eldon' and tackled issues which dominated the week's news.  The phone-in would present viewers with three options to the topical question, of which one would be phrased in a style similar to "I agree, but trivial phone opinion polls about such important issues are morally offensive."{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===The Ironic Review===
A fly-on-the-wall documentary about a so-called cutting edge magazine. The item was ostensibly a satire of ''[[Modern Review (London)|The Modern Review]]'', with the journalists being in bitter competition to see who could write the most "ironic" article.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Men of Achievement 1974===
A short item in which the details of an entry in the book of the same name would be read out. At one point, it was noted as the least popular part of the show, but to be kept in 'until it becomes so popular, it gets its own series'. Men whose entries were read included [[Harold Warner Munn]], [[Robin Dudding]], and [[Moritz Jagendorf]]. {{fact|date=April 2025}}

===The School===
A fly on the wall documentary focussing on two teachers and their attempts to teach English at a secondary school. Mr Keith Harris (Herring) is an old fashioned teacher described as a 'good man' by the head master who is abused by his students and enjoys nothing more than marking. Mr Ian Kennedy (Lee) is a rogue teacher who constantly attempts to rock the establishment. He is described as 'a fuckwit' by the head teacher.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Roger Crowley===
The self-styled most evil man alive, played by Roger Mann. During the first series he would regularly break into the programme to outline his latest absurd plan for world domination. Based on [[Aleister Crowley]] (evident in the costume's triangular hat).{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===The Organ Gang===
Also known as ''TOG'', in keeping with Richard's unhealthy abbreviation obsession – A spoof children's series, drawn by [[Joseph Champniss]] and narrated by [[Brian Cant]], in which the characters were all organs of the human body, they would have some adventure and end up "laughing for a whole five minutes." It bore some resemblance to the real children's series ''[[The Garden Gang]]'' in which all the characters were fruit and vegetables. The final episode saw Brian Cant ranting at his duty of being the narrator saying ''I'm Brian Cant!''.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Special Guests===
The first series featured guests who were interviewed in a talk show fashion including [[Mel & Sue]], [[Jenny Eclair]], [[Peter Baynham]] and [[Jack Docherty]] (who claimed to have had sex with [[Morwenna Banks]] while she was dressed as her 'little girl' character from ''[[Absolutely (TV series)|Absolutely]]'').{{fact|date=April 2025}}

==Regular features: Series 2==

===Sunday Heroes===
A series of sketches featuring Jesus and his disciples as the main characters, parodying a schoolteacher and his class. In one sketch per week a disciple would pose a question to Jesus (Lee), usually on a topic of importance that would split Christianity (e.g. [[Transubstantiation]] vs [[Transignification]]). Instead of answering directly He would make a vague comment (such as instructing them to "consider the lily"), pause, then say "ahh" in a mysterious manner, causing all but [[Matthew the Evangelist|Matthew]] (Herring) to "ahh" along with Him, leading the disciple to become frustrated with the evasion ("This isn't an 'ahh' situation"; "Ahh!"; "No, not 'ahh' – you can't just say 'consider the lily'"; "Ahh!"; "No Jesus: Not 'ahh'.")  [[Saint Peter|Peter]] (Carlton Dixon) would insult Matthew for not understanding, insisting in a smug "class swot" manner that he "got it right away", and [[Judas]] (Eldon) would also laugh at [[double entendres]], only to be admonished.  The other Apostles were played by Paul Putner ([[Thomas the Apostle|"Doubting Thomas"]]), [[Trevor Lock]] ([[Thaddaeus]]) and TV's [[Emma Kennedy]] (the fictional Ian, who only started following Jesus as he misunderstood the phrase "[[Twelve Apostles#Fishers of men|fishers of men]]"). These sketches tended to cause some controversy given the time of the show and the day of its broadcast.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===The Corrs Shrine===
A shrine to the [[Corrs]] or more correctly 'The Corrs Shrine'. Essentially Herring's infatuation with [[Andrea Corr]]. The rest of them (particularly the "[[Jim Corr|Man Corr]]") he didn't care for, a joke based on the similar looks of the Corr sisters.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Extra Final Scene===
This would take the form of a tacked-on ending for a different film each week, for example as extra final scene for ''[[Blues Brothers 2000]]'' which saw [[Dan Aykroyd]] and [[John Goodman]] laughing and urinating on the grave of [[John Belushi]] before driving off in the Bluesmobile. Another was made for ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', in which [[Leonardo DiCaprio]]'s character swims to the surface after [[Kate Winslet]] is rescued to celebrate finally escaping her clutches.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Angus Deayton's Authorised History Of Alternative Comedy (with Angus Deayton)===
A satirical version of a BBC series that explored the boom in [[alternative comedy]] in the 1970s and early 1980s. The item would involve a comedian (either the portrayal of a real life person or a generic stand-up) reminisce about the "amazing times" they had, while shamelessly exaggerating their trailblazing influence. The characters would always be seen drinking from an [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] mug, a reference to the political party famously supported by [[John Cleese]] (whose picture appeared on the title screen) during the 1980s. [[Angus Deayton]] himself did not appear.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Curious Alien===
In series 2 the Curious Orange was replaced by the Curious Alien as Stew became increasingly frustrated with the Orange's behaviour.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Rich's Robbie Williams Tattoo===
Rich becomes obsessed with [[Robbie Williams]] as a result of his alleged relationship with Andrea Corr.  To display his love for the former [[Take That]] member Rich draws a felt tip pen tattoo on his stomach in the shape of [[Robbie Williams]].{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Nostradamus and his horse David Collins===
A regular feature in the second series, medieval seer [[Nostradamus]] (played by TV's [[Emma Kennedy]] with a false beard, a "flighty" horse called David Collins and, for no adequately explored reason, a Welsh accent) would give his predictions for the week ahead, which would often be either predetermined, extremely vague or completely absurd. The start of the segment would look at the previous week's predictions: if they were not correct, Nostradamus would be punished by a [[nipple cripple]], or something similarly pseudo-sexual, by Richard. During one episode Richard obsessed about [[Garden cress|cress]] for a whole show, as a spoof of product placement deals. When Nostradamus only got one out of three predictions correct, a barbecue of cress was burnt with a [[blowlamp]].{{fact|date=April 2025}}

As the series progressed, it became clear that there was sexual tension between Herring and Nostradamus, the latter openly enjoying the physical punishments handed out by the former. Herring believed their love to be forbidden since both were "men".{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Richard Herring's Food and Milk===
A weekly segment in which Richard Herring would taste a different milk (shrew, tapir, blue whale, Jesus milk, American beaver milk, the milk of human kindness) and give a rating out of ten. Despite the name no solid food was ever featured in this piece (although [[Golden Grahams]] also featured elsewhere on the show several times, apparently to ensure this unloved cereal did not go unnoticed in the UK).  He would end with the line "Remember, there'll always be milk". According to Stewart Lee, the five-second opening jingle that plays when the milk of the week is announced comes from a piece by avant-garde composer [[Harrison Birtwistle]]. The producers doctored the frequencies to make the already abrasive noise sound much louder than anything else, to be jarring to hungover viewers.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Lazy Comedy Slags===
Lee and Herring would discuss lazy comedy clichés, such as jokes that end by revealing an incongruous fact and jokes designed to play on the audience's sense of nostalgia for the 1970s.
During one episode they also brainstormed lazy comedy ideas for the BBC. Their ideas would usually include characters called Ian – a running joke which also featured in Sunday Heroes, with one of the disciples being called Ian. {{fact|date=April 2025}}

===Lazy TV Executive Twits===
Lee and Herring discussed the laziness of TV executives after Rich received an offer from [[Five (TV channel)|Channel 5]] to make a programme about fishing due to his surname. They decided to submit some ideas to Channel 5 themselves, which included:{{fact|date=April 2025}}
* Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Huge Furry Wishing Stall
[[Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall]] tours the country in a gigantic [[mink]] lined stall granting peoples' wishes.
* Fox watch with Dr Fox
[[Neil Fox (media personality)|Dr Fox]] hides a secret camera in the toilet of small American actor [[Michael J. Fox]] and watches him go about his daily ablutions.
* Jeremy Paxman's Pacman
[[Jeremy Paxman]] goes round the country on a [[moped]] playing the early [[arcade game]] [[Pac-Man]]. He is not allowed to leave any town until he has clocked up the highest score for that machine.
* Van Outen's Van Outings
[[Denise Van Outen]] goes out in a van and meets other people with 'Van' in their name and outs them as homosexual.  Whether they are or not.

==Transmission details==
* Number of episodes: 18
* Running-time: 45 minutes
* Series 1 (8 episodes): 15 February – 5 April 1998 – BBC Two, Sundays at 12.15
* Series 2 (10 episodes): 21 March – 13 June 1999 – BBC Two, Sundays, mostly at 12.15
* Shortened (30-minute) repeats of the programmes were aired by BBC Two on the Friday following each original broadcast

==Reunions==

===Lee & Herring at Tedstock (Bloomsbury Theatre), 5 February 2007===
Stewart Lee and Richard Herring reformed their act after a period of eight years to perform a brief selection of their old material at [[Tedstock]] 2007, at the [[Bloomsbury Theatre]], London.  The pair opened with a pastiche of the [[Mitchell and Webb]] [[Personal computer|PC]] vs. [[Macintosh|Mac]] adverts shown that year, which then led on to a rant by Rich that "It should have been us Stew!"{{fact|date=April 2025}}

===TMWRNJ Reunion Show at The Lyric, Hammersmith Nov 2008===
Lee and Herring performed a 40-minute selection of their TMWRNJ material at a 'reunion gig' at the [[Lyric Hammersmith]] in November 2008.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

==DVD release==

In 2014 Richard Herring wrote that he was attempting to acquire the rights of TMWRNJ from the BBC to release the two series on DVD.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/9753/monday_24th_november_2014.html|title=Monday 24th November 2014 - Warming Up |first=Richard|last=Herring|accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> However, in February 2015 he announced that the release would now not be happening, saying "It's not happening and I doubt it ever will, Nothing you or I can do about it."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2015/02/05/21789/lee_&_herring_show_will_never_be_released|title=Lee & Herring show 'will never be released' : News 2015 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide|publisher=Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions|accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> In an interview with ''Mustard'' magazine, Stewart Lee explained that the DVD's cancellation was due to a financial decision and his reluctance to fund what he considers a vanity project at this time. Lee does not however, rule out its future release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mustardweb.org/stewartlee/#fist|title=Stewart Lee interview in Mustard comedy mag|accessdate=17 October 2016}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{BBC Online|id=comedy/thismorningwithrichardnotjudy/|title=This Morning with Richard Not Judy}} Comedy Guide
* {{IMDb title|0143047|This Morning With Richard Not Judy}}
* [http://www.fistoffun.net/ Fist of Fun.net] fansite, includes downloads of their radio shows and live performances, episode guides, interviews, links to full episodes, etc.
* [http://www.leeandherring.com/ Lee and Herring.com]
* [http://www.stewartlee.co.uk Official Stewart Lee website]
* [http://www.stewartlee.co.uk/video-audio/tmwrnj/ Stewart Lee's website links to full episodes] Stewart Lee's site now has links to all of the full episodes of the show, hosted on YouTube
* [http://www.richardherring.com/ Official Richard Herring website]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih41uU17P_o YouTube clip]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRWDJghlQxA YouTube clip]

{{Lee and Herring}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:This Morning With Richard Not Judy}}
[[Category:BBC television comedy]]
[[Category:1990s British comedy television series]]
[[Category:1998 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1999 British television series endings]]
[[Category:Portrayals of Jesus on television]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Nostradamus]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]