Talk:Have I Got News for You

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[edit] older entries

I removed:

Germaine Greer's on-air excoriation of rival newspaper columnist Suzanne Moore and concomitant introduction into the English language of the expression "fuck-me boots".

Greer's comments on "fuck-me shoes" (not boots) were first published in the Grauniad (or indeed written for the Grauniad and leaked to the Evening Standard). What she said on HIGNFY is here: http://www.hignfy.net/transcripts14.htm.

Also, libel is when a defamation is in "permanent form", including a television programme, as per http://www.writersworld.tv/authors/libellaws.htm

--rbrwr

Ummm... why refer to the Guardian by Private Eye's joke-name for it? SoM 11:48, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I was probably in a frivolous mood. It was a long time ago, I was young... Anyway, I assume that anyone who is sufficiently interested in HIGNFY to read this talk page would understand and appreciate the reference (or at least be able to work out which publication is meant). I've made it a wikilink for the benefit of anyone who might still be confused. --rbrwr± 12:44, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Fair enough. I only even mentioned it (IIRC) because it's a featured article.--SoM 19:10, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've removed the above link, because the link no longer works. The site may have been used as a reference, in which case can we still verify everything on the page? I expect so, since it's a very well-known programme and all that, but I just thought I'd better draw people's attention to the potential problem. What do we do when websites used as references disappear, anyway? Do we have to remove all the material we got from them which can't be verified elsewhere? -- Oliver P. 22:47 1 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Removing information?! Surely not! I had hoped to leave the dead link, to emphasise the fact that it was there, but no longer - I rather suspect (unsubstantiated) that the BBC over zealously shut down the fansite... --ntnon 00.06 2 Jun 2003 (UTC)
Some of it's available from the Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org (though we can't necessarily rely it remaining there, either). The Greer transcript I mention above is at [1] --rbrwr
Hi, I owned the website in question, and the BBC id not shut it own but in fact actively linked to it, as proved by BBC Online stories related to HIGNFY. The site shut down because I could not long afford the time and the price of webspace had gone up. The link to Off The Telly at the bottom of the page refers to an article written by me, of which there are further parts to be published soon.

I don't remember the exact details but I remember a Tory MP once sued the BBC and Hatrick Publications for publishing a book acompanying the programme called Have I Got 1997 For You which said he was a "bastard" or a "shit" or something along those lines. If anyone remembers any more details of the case please post them here. Saul Taylor

"Conniving little shit", apparently. --rbrwr

[edit] Alexander Armstrong

I can't find any evidence that he will be the new perminant host as the article previously stated. Saul Taylor 12:43, 2 Feb 2004 (UTC)

See [2].
Hmm, on further viewing, it is written by the AP about reporting from The Sun, of all places, so perhaps we should take it with a pinch of salt...
James F. (talk) 00:12, 3 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I don't think we should say that a new presenter has been apointed until the BBC officially anounces it. Saul Taylor 04:01, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC)
He will make his fifth host's appearance in episode 2 of the new series next week. Jeremy Clarkson is due to host episode 1, with Germane Greer as one of the panellists, apparently, so I've edited it to say "Most (broadcast) apparances", so it still says 7 for her. Robert Mc Cann

Can we please keep the updating until after the transmission? Because it was done prematurely, Clarkson was incremented TWICE for one ep. - SoM 16:30, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Started Have I Got News For You episodes list. Its my first atempt at doing tables. Saul Taylor 02:27, 5 Feb 2004 (UTC)

An anonynomous contributor has added:

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were once reported by TV guides as being guests on an upcoming show. When the show aired, two different guests were present, and Angus joked that he didn't know how that had happened.

I don't remember this and I couldn't find any verification substaniating it on Google. Does anyone else remember this happening? Saul Taylor 17:48, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Yes, I'm pretty sure this happened - there's a couple of contemporary postings on Google Groups [3]. I think it just seemed like a crap joke at the time, so whether the BBC really did start the rumour I've no idea. Sjorford 21:14, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
On the "Best of HIGNFY" DVD there is a trivia feature - they appear as subtitles - which gives extra info. and background to stories. One of the comments is about this - saying the BBC and production company were inundated with calls when the story was circulated. I will not profit from this so don't consider it an advert - That DVD features clips from the beginning of the show to Angus' last appearance and is EXCELLENT. I've just bought it myself, well worth it (£8.97 from a certain high profile website....)Mark 20:56, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Agreed. Even if you have no knowledge of, memory of, or interest in the people or topics covered on this CD, you'll still split your sides laughing. -- Derek Ross | Talk 04:07, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)

Could Piers Morgan's appearance be considered a high point? I'm tempted to put it in. I know its considered the worst appearance by any guest ever but its highly watchable - I think its the same phenomenon as people slowing down to watch a car crash. Mark 21:00, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Boris

What article of HIGNFY could be complete without mention of Boris Johnson appearances. For those who haven't seen these delights (both as guest, and as guest presenter), then the MP for Henley's rambling tangential style is TV gold.

In particular: during his guest presenter appearance, when the autocue would, at every available opportunity, try to get Boris to swear, and his efforts to avoid this.

Paul did that too. Thanks to whoever corrected the DVD synopsis of "The Full Boris". I was sure that it was 90 minutes, but I've watched again this week, just to make sure, and it is indeed 60. But then again, seeing as its Boris we're talking about, it probably feels like 90 minutes each time you watch it. Robert Mc Cann

According to the show's main page Boris has been banned from appearing on the show ever again (with no evidence). On the list of episodes page it shows that Boris is to host the show on the 15th December. Should the 'fact' be deleted? Kelly elf 11:11, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

That's not right, is it? Well, I don't know what the episode list's source is for Boris hosting the last show this series, but if he is we should certainly delete that bit from the main article. Though on a personal note, I'll be highly diasppointed if Kirsty Young isn't presenting any this series. She's clearly the best one.--PaulTaylor 16:52, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Balls to that! Dara O'Brean! Natural choice.--Crestville 10:30, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Dara o'Briain is good, but I don't think you really want a comedian hosting it, a non-comedian who's funny is better. Besides, Dara's doing Mock the Week now - he can't have two topical BBC comedy panel shows.--PaulTaylor 15:52, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
Deyton was a comedian. Young is a news presenter - where's she going to get the time to film HIGNFY? I think Dara would ditch Mock the week in a flash if the chance for HIGNFY arose.--Crestville 15:35, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Well, Angus Deayton was a comic actor, rather than a straight-up comedian. I know Kirsty Young probably wouldn't be able to do it full-time, what with her proper journalist commitments and Desert Island Discs nowadays. She's still best.--PaulTaylor 15:57, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image

This article has been listed as a featured article lacking a picture; what about a screen-capture of one of the DVDs?
James F. (talk) 07:48, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Copyright? Is that fair use? If so, could we use, say, the DVD cover from http://www.amazon.com ? See [4] -- ALoan (Talk) 17:07, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)
I suppose we could use the Amazon cover image, but, frankly the quality isn't much...
A screen-capture would come under Fair Dealings, I imagine, yes, and almost definitely under Fair Use (so the Wikimedia Foundation would be all right, too).
James F. (talk) 02:58, 9 Jul 2004 (UTC)

THe picture of Boris, and most certaintly the caption describing him as a future prime minister are entirely inappropriate for this article. Mintguy (T) 00:24, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

There's a better version of the same image at http://www.boriswatch.com, which as it is also derived from the book cover would possibly be OK to use, if it's just the quality that's the problem. And on the caption: is an amusing caption not appriopriate for an article on a comedy programme? Perhaps there is need to add more on Boris's contributions to the show in the article? Richard Taylor 09:40, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I think a picture of Boris somewhere wouldn't be too inappropriate, however, I think such a picture should be lower down on the page, if we include one, as at the moment it is in the place you would expect a picture of the show's logo, or a general screen grab or somelike like that. I do think the boriswatch image is a better one, in any case, as it doesn't have the writing on, but the ideal boris image would be a screen grab, as then it would be a picture of him in the show, which is after all the subject of the article.

As for the caption, I don't think you can justify it merely on the grounds of humour, as it probably won't be clear that it is humourous to people not aware of who boris is. As such, I think you shouldn't say he is a potential future prime minister, unless there is evidence that he is likely to make a bid for PM. Also, I think the caption is too long anyway, and much of the information should be in the article proper.

I do think we should have some information on Boris, although what we want to include is debatable, as there isn't one big moment to focus on like with Hattersley and the Tub of Lard, although his 'kick blair's butt' round would probably qualify. Silverfish 11:26, 8 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Anyone who has been described as "the star of Have I Got News For You" (when campaigning for Henley) needs a prominent mention, but I don't agree with the captioning. Find a moment (the guest presenting episode with the coconuts should do it) and stick it in there. Kinitawowi 11:06, Aug 11, 2004 (UTC)
I put up a hand-drawn version of the HIGNFY title this morning. I'm not sure what Wikipedia's stance is on trademarks though, so this may not be alright. -- Solipsist 11:14, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)
I think the picture should include Angus Deyton, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, as they were the original three. Maybe use one where Boris Johnson is a guest star (hey, I'm a Boris fan too). --Nathan 00:00, 7 December 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Peter Mandelson?

There was at one time a splendid running gag/series of choice moments about Peter Mandelson - shortly after Matthew Parris outed him, so, 1998, I guess. And the Beeb had some kind of a clampdown about mentions of Mandelson, so naturally HIGNFY mentioned him at every possible opportunity. At least, that's how I recollect it - but I'm not quite confident enough in my knowledge to insert it. I'm hoping someone who remembers better will be jogged into adding it by this post ... --JennyRad 16:24, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Well remembered! I've now added it. Chris 42 17:53, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First names or surnames

I was wondering if there's a particular reason why in the 'Running Gags' section, Merton and Hislop are refered to as 'Paul' and 'Ian' and this is not the case in the rest of the article. If there's a reason then obviously that's fine but I'm happy to change it if needs be. User:SamTrev 20:05, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

There is no good reason I can think of, other than people feel quite familiar to them after all these years.--Crestville 10:30, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Good NewsWeek

Should be added that this was a subject of a lawsuit from Hat Trick Productions. I don't want to add without a reference, so hopefully someone else will find one.

[edit] Inappropriate tone

I added the {{inappropriate tone}} tag and would like to explain. There are many instances of unencyclopedic language, e.g. "she proceeded to give Ian Hislop five points straight off the bat." straight off the bat is not formal language. Neither is "But it could have been worse" "Naturally, the HIGNFY team took great delight in flouting this directive" "Occasionally, or, in other words, if there's time to fill" and regarding the famous News of the World episode "Merton cried out 'This has been one news story of the week but the one I'm really interested in, Angus, is'" when in fact he said it at a pretty normal volume.

Also POV problems, a Michael Winner comment is called "regrettable" and the Hamiltons "managed to come through pretty well"

Finally are pure, silly jokes really at home here? "In a recent episode, the panel were discussing gay marriages and Paul turned to Ian, saying, "We're still on for the 20th, right?" "So far, Paul's theories have included that Boris has been knitted, he is a glove puppet from the neck down, he requires batteries and there is an electric current going through his chair to wake him up when he slows down." See Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not

The article is also heaving with unsourced information - I know it's all true because I've listened to the DVD commentary too - but not everyone can be expected to know this. Mark83 20:55, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Choice moments/notable incidents

I've removed a lot of minor, non-notable jokes and incidents. Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Any incident which we describe must have had a major impact or have historical significance, this should not be a list of every joke. For example a joke about KFC selling "troughs" of french fries. I found it funny but is not significant. I've left things like the Thatcher swallowing joke - Merton said on the DVD commentary that is was at that point one of the most talked about moments. Another example is the Piers Morgan thing. It is important not only because it was one of the worst performance by anyone in television history, but also because it's significant - the editor of a major newspaper responsible for reporting on people's private lives demanding his privacy. Mark83 00:17, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Intrusive about a woman's body"

"Hislop was, afterwards, criticised for being intrusive about a woman's body, although the actual recording shows that he did not say anything on that subject."

What on earth is that supposed to mean? Criticised by whom, exactly? 217.155.20.163 00:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Some newspaper--Crestville 16:58, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pot Noodle.

Maybe I'm going a bit too far back, but does anyone remember the episode where they spent half (or near half) the show coming up with new names for Pot Noodles. In a HIGNFY book that I got last (2006) Christmas, it says that the company gave the show a vast amount of Pot Noodles because of the free publicity. I was wondering, should this be in the "notable moments" section? --Skully Collins Edits 14:06, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

  • It happened quite recently, as far as I remember. I'm not bothered about its invlusion because I didn't find it very funny, but it's probably as notable as much of the other stuff in that section. Also, we could probably do with that book and the other two in the References section being properly listed, maybe after the DVDs/Videos in the article.--PaulTaylor 15:49, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Maxwells (I was tempted to use "Maxwell House as the header, but I won't)

Help

I am trying to write articles about Ian Maxwell and Kevin Maxwell, nothing litigious, however one has been deleted and the other is up for deletion. Why does Wikipedia not have biographies of these two very significant businessmen?

Can anyone help.

Johnnybriggs 03:55, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't know so much about them, so I can only help by stating the significants of these two individulas in Britian in the early 90s, involved as they were in their father's biggest scandal and the defendnats in one of the biggset British litigations ever over the mirror pension fund. They are not just non-noteable children of Robert Maxwell, they are destestable arseholes in their own right. If you need any advice on how to make this come across in their articles, please contact me.--Crestville 10:36, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
re:they are being deleted because they is no information on them. Read the sources at the botom and use the information to form full articles on them.--Crestville 10:37, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Surely if someone meets WP:NOTE it doesn't matter if there is a full encyclopedia or a stub. A full article is good, a stub is bad, but neither should be deleted. Request for expansion is fine, but deletion could fall into disruption to make a point. -- Mark83 12:04, 7 February 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Paula Yates

I've changed the bit about Paula Yates, the truth is she didn't know what was going to happen in the show; this wasn't an act. I remember reading in one or two newspapers that Paula collapsed after the show and people just stepped over her, Michael was called for and took her home in tears. I do try and get all the facts before I make an edit, but this is something I know by heart. Thanks (INXS-Girl 14:40, 05 April 2007 (UTC)

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