Mock the Week

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Mock the Week
Genre Quizshow Comedy
Creator(s) Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson
Starring Dara Ó Briain
Frankie Boyle
Rory Bremner (Series 1-2)
Hugh Dennis
No. of episodes 20
Production
Running time 30 min per episode
Broadcast
Original channel BBC Two
Original run June 2005 – present

Mock the Week is a British topical panel game, hosted by Dara Ó Briain. It is made by independent production company Angst Productions and made its debut on BBC Two in June, 2005.

Created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, the same people responsible for the comedy game show Whose Line is it Anyway?. Mock the Week is usually described as a cross between Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Have I Got News For You. There are two teams of three, with Hugh Dennis and Frankie Boyle on one side, and guest comedians, such as Russell Howard, making up the numbers.

Although Hugh Dennis is in effect a team captain (and is sometimes referred to as such in publicity material), such a distinction is never actually made on the programme itself. For the first two series Rory Bremner was considered to be the other team captain, but since series 3 he left the show and was replaced by a changing guest. In Series Four, it seems Andy Parsons and Russell Howard have become regulars also.

Although each episode has a winning and losing team, questions and games exist mainly to provide starting points for improvised comedy routines rather than to function as a serious competition and specific scores are never referred to. It is common for rounds to be contested with only members from the same team participating and for Dara O'Briain to end rounds by declaring simply "points for everyone."

The show's theme music is News of The World by The Jam.

Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the last programme in the series, scheduled for 10 July 2005, was replaced at short notice by a selection of highlights from previous shows. This was mainly because the recording of the programme was due to take place on the evening of 7 July but the closedown of London's transport system meant that many audience members, as well as some of those due to appear on the programme, couldn't make it. However, the Channel 4 topical comedy 8 Out of 10 Cats which was being recorded in another studio at BBC Television Centre did go ahead but made use of panellists and production team members from Mock the Week who turned up to fill the panel and audience.

A second series began in January 2006, ending in March. The previous clip show actually rated well, so the second series ended in the same way.

A third series of the weekly show began on BBC Two on Thursday 14 September 2006, for six episodes, followed by another clip show on 24 December 2006.

The fourth series began on Thursday 11 January 2007, with its clip show airing on Monday 19 February.

Contents

[edit] The Studio

The Studio is divided into several areas. Hugh's team sits to Dara's right, with Frankie sitting on Hugh's right hand side. The opposing team (formerly Rory's team) sit to Dara's left.

Next to Hugh's team is the Press Pit, which is basically a large desk where they play Between the Lines. Next to this is the Performance Area which is a much larger area with a large TV monitor, which is normally used for stand-up challenges such as Dating Videos and Scenes we'd like to see.

[edit] The Games

[edit] Main Games

These rounds appear the most often.

[edit] Headliners

This round is played by all the players. In this round, a photo of someone famous in the news is given, along with the initial letters of a newspaper headline. The players have to guess what the headline is.

[edit] Between the Lines

This game takes place in the Press Pit and for the first two series was normally played by the team captains. In series 3, when Rory Bremner left, Frankie Boyle took his place, despite the fact that both Hugh and Frankie are on the same team. In this round, one player tries to impersonate someone in the news that week giving a press conference. The other player (normally Hugh) tells us what the person is really saying. The best performance wins.

Exceptions to this come when Sandi Toksvig took over to impersonate Queen Elizabeth II. Rory Bremner has played Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and Michael Howard. Frankie Boyle has played Saddam Hussein, Sir Menzies Campbell, David Cameron and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

This game is not played much in Series 3 and 4.

[edit] Newsreel aka Royal Commentary

This round is played by two players, one from each side. In this round, a piece of news footage is played with no sound. The players have to act out what each person is saying, normally having no relationship to what the incident really is. The best performance wins.

Recently, this round was replaced with one called Royal Commentary with only Hugh playing, where he provides a commentary on a royal event.

[edit] Spinning the News

This game takes place in the Performance Area. In the first and second series all six players took part, but in the third on, only four did, with usually the captains not playing. On the TV is a, "Random News Generator," with several topics on it. A topic (such as the Olympics, the police, Scotland, the health service, etc) is picked at random, and one of the players has to perform a piece on the topic it has landed on. If Dara judges that he/she has got a big enough laugh, then he/she gets to sit down again. The first team to have all their players sitting down wins. If one player from each team is left, then it goes to sudden death. A random topic is picked and both players have to perform on that piece. The one who gets the biggest laughs wins. In series 3, it was changed so that the last player was given a different topic which they would have to speak on.

Since series two, the name of round changed in every show (For example, "Round and round and round it goes, where it lands, do some jokes", and "Stand up and Joke off"). The last show in the series 2 gave the round with its name in French.

In Series three this was changed so that four people would play, but then when they had done, the player would stand back where they were. Then Dara would just choose the best one from the four, and that team would win. This way of playing this round is still being used in Series 4.

[edit] If this is the answer, what is the question?

This round is played by all the players. In this round, a set of six categories is given to the players, covering topics such as sport, health, home affairs, world news, and the environment. Behind each topic is an answer, and the players have to try and guess what the question was.

This is similar to the American game show Jeopardy! where players have to respond in the form of a question.

[edit] Scenes we'd like to see

Traditionally the final round in the show. This game takes place in the Performance Area, and is played by everyone. In this round, the players are given a scenario for an event which is almost certain never to happen, and the players give their suggestions to the scenario if it were to happen. Examples of this round include:

  • "Things you don't expect a TV announcer to say" ("Tonight's episode of Songs of Praise contains strong language and scenes of a sexual nature" - Frankie Boyle).
  • "Unhelpful things to say in a crisis" ("I know, let's get the UN involved" - Ed Byrne)
  • "Things a sports commentator would never say" ("...and for those who missed them earlier, here are next week's Italian football results" - Hugh Dennis)
  • "Things the Queen didn't say in her Christmas message" ("I have had a few medical problems this year. I am now so old that my pussy is haunted." - Frankie Boyle)
  • "Unlikely lines to find in the Bible" ("He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy." - Andy Parsons)
  • "Things a Wimbledon commentator would never say" ("In the women's game, why does the pretty one always lose to the moose." David Mitchell)
  • "Things a TV chef would never say" ("If you're wondering how to get the perfect skin on your parsnips...then you're mental." - Frankie Boyle)
  • "Bad things to say at the opening of the new Wembley Stadium" ("Is it just me, or does it all feel a bit wobbly?" - Hugh Dennis
  • "Unlikely things to hear on Comic Relief" (Remember, tonight isn't all about comedy. Here's Ben Elton!" - Frankie Boyle)
  • "The worst thing your new neighbour could say" ("My wife breeds Rottwielers, my kids are in brass band, and I'm a paedophile." - Hugh Dennis)
  • "Things you wouldn't hear on a driving test" ("When I slap my head against the dashboard, I want you to crawl out of the wreckage and fetch help!" - Frankie Boyle)
  • "Unlikely lines to find in the Bible" ("And God said "Let There Be Light!.....Sponsored by Powergen." - Hugh Dennis.)
  • "Things a TV chef would never say" ("Hello I am Delia Smith and today we going to cook a panda - Gina Yashere)
  • "Things a TV chef would never say" ("These Korean meatballs really are the dogs bollocks." - Hugh Dennis.)

[edit] Other games

These rounds are played less often than the others.

[edit] Dating Videos

This game takes place in the Performance Area. Normally two rounds are played, with one player from each team performing in the Performance Area. The player is given the name of a famous person and has to record a lonely hearts ad in the style of that person. The other players have to try and guess who they are.

[edit] Ask the Politicians

This is Mock the Week's tribute to the current affairs program Question Time. Normally two or three players go into the studio audience, and others stay in their seats. Dara acts as the host of the show, with the other players (normally the team captains and one or two other guests) playing politicians. Dara tells the players who they will be pretending to be. Former team captain Rory Bremner was normally a famous Labour politician, and Hugh was normally a Conservative spokesman. The players in the audience give questions to the players acting, and they have to answer the questions given to them in their roles. The best performance wins.

So far, guest Al Murray, most noted for playing his famous Pub Landlord character, has appeared twice as "The Voice of the Silent Majority," where he adopts a right-wing persona, normally xenophobic and with a harsh line on crime, using amusing phrases such as "speaking for the people who would have shot that burglar a third time...".

[edit] Prime Minister's Questions

This round is played by all the players. In this round, Dara plays the Speaker of the British House of Commons. Rory plays the Prime Minister, and the rest of his team being front-bench MPs. Hugh's team play the opposition party. In this round, the teams are given a rather trivial news story, but treat it as it was the heavyweight issue of the day. The best performance wins.

In series one, Mark Steel, who was playing on Rory Bremner's team, did an impersonation of John Prescott.

[edit] Bombshell Phone Calls

This round is played by two players, one from each side. In this round, the two players play famous people having a telephone conversation (normally Rory and Frankie). During the conversation, one of them will drop a bombshell, which the other player has to react to. The best performance wins.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Series 1

[edit] Series 2

[edit] Series 3

[edit] Series 4

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
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