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Why I Love...Have I Got News for You

Ian Hislop and Paul Merton
  • Posted at 3:11pm
  • 07 April 2008
  • by ChrisSkeat-RT
  • 13 comments

I suppose it makes sense that comedians can sometimes find themselves on the edge of madness. Spike Milligan was a famous case in point. Maybe it's the pressure they put themselves under to succeed that causes a breakdown.

In the case of Paul Merton, long-standing team captain on the BBC1 comedy Have I Got News for You, it was shortly before he became a household name. Back in 1990 he suffered a mental breakdown (reportedly caused by working too hard, overexcitement at reaching his personal goal, exacerbated by taking anti-malarial pills) and checked himself into Maudsley psychiatric hospital for six weeks.

If that's what it took to convince him to keep going, I'm glad he persevered. His surreal, deadpan take on the week's current affairs is the reason I love the satirical, light-hearted show that has become so popular over the past couple of decades.

He has the ability to take a theme in a completely different direction. Often quite quiet for periods of the show, he suddenly latches onto a particular topic and gives it an utterly unexpected twist, going for the absurd rather than the obvious. His wit neatly complements the serious nature of Ian Hislop's political sniping and means that guests have to be on their guard, especially if they have ideas above their station.

Merton doesn't do pompous. And he's quick to belittle anyone who does. He also demonstrates that an inventive brand of improvisation works better than a rehearsed script and provides the funniest moments simply because of total unpredictability.

As if to cement his comedic stature, Have I Got News for You no longer suffers from its lack of a long-term presenter following the much-publicised departure of host Angus Deayton back in 2002. After a series of sleazy allegations printed in the tabloids and, infamously, on a Paul Merton T-shirt, Deayton was forced to leave.

At the time Merton dealt with the incident in his own immutable style, referring to the former host as "Angus with a silent g" and telling Michael Parkinson: "He never invited me to any of these parties. I was a bit upset by that."

Some of the best illustrations of his singular bravado over the years include when Anne Robinson presented the show and Merton twice shouted "Bank!" at random moments. He concluded, "I only watch the last five minutes of the Weakest Link because The Simpsons is on afterwards. It's nice to see some animation on the television screen."

And after Robert Kilroy-Silk claimed Arabs had contributed nothing to society in the last 500 years, Merton asked him, "What's your contribution been, Robert? When you weren't doing that crap show, what's your contribution been to society?"

He insisted that Iain Duncan Smith was in fact two people, Iain and Duncan Smith, and gave "Is it Lulu?" as a stock answer until he was correct in 2006. He then started saying "Is it Eamonn Holmes?" instead.

Finally, in one show, when two responses didn't get a laugh in the odd-one-out round, he quipped, "Shall I go for three in a row?" Pause. "I can't think of anything that's not funny. Over to you, Angus." Martin Clunes almost wet himself with hysterics. The BBC would be bananas if they ever asked Merton to stop.

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Comments

  • Posted on 02 November 2009
  • at 10:14pm
  • by susie

Amusing but as usual on the bbc ,unquestioningly sexist, overweight white middle aged middle class bloke the odd token women and or black man thrown in. Same old same old.

  • Posted on 11 August 2009
  • at 7:45pm
  • by beasty

Great prog... instantaneous fun. Ian ( Hislop ) do you read these blogs ? Only..it's your old laundry lady here from chelsea launderette lol.Long gone are the days' when I pinned a little note on your gateways carrier bag of laundry..suggesting you made a visit to M&S.Those were the days Ian...your a smashing chap and I love this prog. xxx

  • Posted on 15 May 2009
  • at 7:05am
  • by Stuart

In response to the person who said that Mock The Week is the topical news quiz to watch, what are you on? Show after show of deeply unfunny comics squeezing lines out of their unfunny stand-up shows (seeing Russell Howard on Live At The Apollo confirmed this). The only true wits on there tend to be Andy Parsons and Dara O'Briain.

  • Posted on 02 May 2009
  • at 7:10pm
  • by mike

Merton is funny but the flights of fancy sometimes do not work well, I think he is best at the captions. He contributes little to the satire, Hislop provides all the red meat of the program when he answers a question.

  • Posted on 21 December 2008
  • at 1:46pm
  • by Phil

I suppose it's a matter of taste but I find Paul Merton deeply unfunny particularly after his superior treatment of Angus Deayton whose work I generally admire. He was an excellent stand in for Jonathan Ross on the Comedy Awards recently. The truth is "Have I Got News For You" became too cosy when it moved to BBC1. The topical quiz progamme to watch now is "Mock the Week".

  • Posted on 19 December 2008
  • at 5:50pm
  • by Doreen Lococo

I live in Germany and thanks to satellite viewing I can now hear British wit at its best. Love the show

  • Posted on 23 October 2008
  • at 3:27pm
  • by Bob t

Has anyone noticed how East Enders titlepage ends up being like Lord? Mandelson lying down with the Dome as a pimple on his nose. (It helps if you can spot his quiff on the right hand end.) Also a dark structure or area is spot on for his eye. Look out for it!

  • Posted on 04 October 2008
  • at 6:40pm
  • by Rita Kleppmann

Paul Merton was Jesuit-trained (google him!). The Jesuits are high-calibre thinkers who can also explain at the appropriate level. Their manner of teaching is both logical and lateral and aims to bring out the talent of every individual. With great success.

  • Posted on 05 September 2008
  • at 11:46pm
  • by gooseface

what on earth does mental floss have to do with being a jesuit? im not sure i follow your (almost certainly jesuit influenced?) thinking, though im sure that merton and noble could string a link between them. id quite like to watch that.

  • Posted on 20 August 2008
  • at 3:07pm
  • by Hmm

Maybe this article should be titled "Why I Love Paul Merton", considering it's sycophantic drivelling that misses the show altogether.

  • Posted on 05 July 2008
  • at 4:22pm
  • by David

Could we have less or qieter laughter as it is so easy to miss the throw away late comment

  • Posted on 24 June 2008
  • at 4:03pm
  • by Amann Baykon

Don't you just wish that this show was on every week when Parliament is sitting. There is always something going on the team could get their teeth in to. They are so clever with their instant wit. Merton proving that you don't need an Oxbridge degree to have the audience rolling in the aisles. My granny used to say, It takes a clever man to be a fool and she was right! Roll on the next series.

  • Posted on 21 April 2008
  • at 5:59pm
  • by ndawson

I think I can trace in Paul Merton, a Jesuit-educated brain. Whilst he goes on about Metalwork [Ungraded] as his peak of academic achievement, his flights of imaginative fantasy grow from a very logical brain. In one episode, years ago, Ian's guest commented on the amount of hair in Angus Deayton's ear. Paul's guest remarked that the ear he could see was also hairy. "Maybe it goes all the way through," said Paul and mimed holding the ends of a thread of hair going through Angus's head. He then moved his hands to the left and right and said, "Mental Floss." His Jesuit teachers would be proud of him!

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