JO
Debbie McGee is back on her Radio Berkshire show this morning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioberkshire
MA
Indeed Debbie is. Kudos to her
Debbie McGee is back on her Radio Berkshire show this morning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioberkshire
Indeed Debbie is. Kudos to her
SW
One thing I was trying to find on YouTube the other day but couldn't, unfortunately, was the bit from The Big Breakfast when Jenny McCarthy presented for a week and Paul came on to teach her magic. I just remember them coming to the end of a trick and McCarthy saying "If you get this right I'm going to puke!".
Yeah, I would agree with that. It wasn't just Paul Daniels that was falling out of favour in the nineties, it was many variety performers, people like Bobby Davro and Russ Abbot were losing their primetime vehicles as well. The Magic Show had been running for fifteen years so it was a very old series at the time and had just run its course.
The challenge for every entertainer is to reinvent yourself for the next generation. Bob Monkhouse is a great example, he was able to move with the times and enjoyed continued success, plus increased credibility, until he died. Les Dawson would probably have been another one, in Louis Barfe's biography of him his old producer Royston Mayoh says that if he was still alive he'd almost certainly be an elder statesman of comedy, going on QI, like someone like Barry Cryer, and I would certainly agree with that. But it didn't always work out, I remember Jimmy Tarbuck going on HIGNFY (and Room 101) not long after Bob Monkhouse and it seemed like his agent was trying to point him in a similar direction, but it didn't really work out, Tarby was still too old school.
One thing I wouldn't mind seeing again is the documentary they made in 2001 where Paul went to America to see if he could be successful starting from scratch - http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a5290a23c57648f4923dd466fe93c24a. It was probably that, and the Louis Theroux film, that probably turned things around for him a bit, if people didn't really like him, they at least respected and admired him. He was a bit like Jeremy Beadle in that regard, or indeed people like Michael Portillo. People take against them when they're all over the telly all the time.
Did Paul and Debbie present a day, along with Richard Bacon, in that weird week between Johnny and Denise leaving and the revamp, when the show was hosted from the upstairs landing?
One thing I was trying to find on YouTube the other day but couldn't, unfortunately, was the bit from The Big Breakfast when Jenny McCarthy presented for a week and Paul came on to teach her magic. I just remember them coming to the end of a trick and McCarthy saying "If you get this right I'm going to puke!".
That's not really fair, he did have a bit of a renaissance in the last 10-15 years or so, his back catalogue and his talent seemed to be appreciated more by the generation that went off him for the new style magicians in the 90's. Like many entertainers of his generation his work was re-evalued by the next generation. It's like the way that in the 80's the generation of 'alternative' comedians would never have admitted to liking or being influenced people like Bob Monkhouse and Les Dawson... but now they are held in great esteem by both that an subsequent generations. It worked the other way too, he was very critical of Penn & Teller when they first arrived on British TV, go forward 20 years and he's appearing on their show
He seemed to me over the last few years to be a much more popular figure, he was very active on Twitter too
He seemed to me over the last few years to be a much more popular figure, he was very active on Twitter too
Yeah, I would agree with that. It wasn't just Paul Daniels that was falling out of favour in the nineties, it was many variety performers, people like Bobby Davro and Russ Abbot were losing their primetime vehicles as well. The Magic Show had been running for fifteen years so it was a very old series at the time and had just run its course.
The challenge for every entertainer is to reinvent yourself for the next generation. Bob Monkhouse is a great example, he was able to move with the times and enjoyed continued success, plus increased credibility, until he died. Les Dawson would probably have been another one, in Louis Barfe's biography of him his old producer Royston Mayoh says that if he was still alive he'd almost certainly be an elder statesman of comedy, going on QI, like someone like Barry Cryer, and I would certainly agree with that. But it didn't always work out, I remember Jimmy Tarbuck going on HIGNFY (and Room 101) not long after Bob Monkhouse and it seemed like his agent was trying to point him in a similar direction, but it didn't really work out, Tarby was still too old school.
One thing I wouldn't mind seeing again is the documentary they made in 2001 where Paul went to America to see if he could be successful starting from scratch - http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a5290a23c57648f4923dd466fe93c24a. It was probably that, and the Louis Theroux film, that probably turned things around for him a bit, if people didn't really like him, they at least respected and admired him. He was a bit like Jeremy Beadle in that regard, or indeed people like Michael Portillo. People take against them when they're all over the telly all the time.
NB
I saw Paul Daniels at one of his touring magic shows and was extremely good. Amazing to see the tricks really close-up and still baffling to fathom out how they were done. I believe he became disillusioned with the remote BBC management who were more interested in cutting £££s from budgets rather than investing in established names. Same with Noel's House Party - he was bringing in some hugely popular names yet the show became stale due to lack of investment and ideas.
Big Break was very popular with viewers yet the BBC were strangely snooty about a snooker game show - a strange situation considering snooker filled a lot of BBC Two's schedule. Jimmy Tarbuck's Full Swing was just awful.
I'm surprised Challenge isn't repeating Every Second Counts - it was a great success for BBC One. Challenge is now very dull repeating WWTBAM too often along with Bullseye to the point that you remember the questions before the answers!
Bobby Davro dramatically fell out of favour whilst on TVS because of *that* atrocious impression of a supposedly drunken Dusty Springfield (whom she successfully sued). Oddly enough he bounced back to present the Challenge revival of Winner Takes All.
Television is a strange thing in that some will be at the top one minute then completely disappear and others, eventually, have their autumn moment. Russ Abbot is one example - due to reappear on BBC One this Good Friday in a new series of Boomers.
Big Break was very popular with viewers yet the BBC were strangely snooty about a snooker game show - a strange situation considering snooker filled a lot of BBC Two's schedule. Jimmy Tarbuck's Full Swing was just awful.
I'm surprised Challenge isn't repeating Every Second Counts - it was a great success for BBC One. Challenge is now very dull repeating WWTBAM too often along with Bullseye to the point that you remember the questions before the answers!
Bobby Davro dramatically fell out of favour whilst on TVS because of *that* atrocious impression of a supposedly drunken Dusty Springfield (whom she successfully sued). Oddly enough he bounced back to present the Challenge revival of Winner Takes All.
Television is a strange thing in that some will be at the top one minute then completely disappear and others, eventually, have their autumn moment. Russ Abbot is one example - due to reappear on BBC One this Good Friday in a new series of Boomers.
VM
Greatest example of this is the story of Simon Dee.
Television is a strange thing in that some will be at the top one minute then completely disappear
Greatest example of this is the story of Simon Dee.
LL
Greatest example of this is the story of Simon Dee.
Although Simon Dee never "fell out of fashion". It was his demands and volatile working relationships that ruined his TV career and he was unable to recover from that.
Television is a strange thing in that some will be at the top one minute then completely disappear
Greatest example of this is the story of Simon Dee.
Although Simon Dee never "fell out of fashion". It was his demands and volatile working relationships that ruined his TV career and he was unable to recover from that.
BR
Agree on both counts. Used to love Every Second Counts though couldn't really remember why but just watching one again this week it's a simple fun format with a great host. Also much preferred Wipeout with Paul than Bob.
I think it has been said before that many hosts of classic gameshows didn't get any repeat fees because at the time there wasn't the belief they'd be repeated 20-30 years later, but if fees were due would they continue to be paid to the estate after the death of the host (or rights holder), or would it be one less person for Challenge to pay?
I'm surprised Challenge isn't repeating Every Second Counts - it was a great success for BBC One. Challenge is now very dull repeating WWTBAM too often along with Bullseye to the point that you remember the questions before the answers!
Agree on both counts. Used to love Every Second Counts though couldn't really remember why but just watching one again this week it's a simple fun format with a great host. Also much preferred Wipeout with Paul than Bob.
I think it has been said before that many hosts of classic gameshows didn't get any repeat fees because at the time there wasn't the belief they'd be repeated 20-30 years later, but if fees were due would they continue to be paid to the estate after the death of the host (or rights holder), or would it be one less person for Challenge to pay?
IS
Bobby Davro dramatically fell out of favour whilst on TVS because of *that* atrocious impression of a supposedly drunken Dusty Springfield (whom she successfully sued). Oddly enough he bounced back to present the Challenge revival of Winner Takes All.
Yes very much 'bouncing back' in the Alan Partridge sense of the term!
Bobby Davro dramatically fell out of favour whilst on TVS because of *that* atrocious impression of a supposedly drunken Dusty Springfield (whom she successfully sued). Oddly enough he bounced back to present the Challenge revival of Winner Takes All.
Yes very much 'bouncing back' in the Alan Partridge sense of the term!
PF
I hope that Challenge include Paul's vastly superior version of Wipeout (over Bob's terrible lunchtime CGI audience affair) and Every Second Counts back in to regular rotation. The only downside I would have with Challenge is that they seem to edit out Paul's interaction with the guests after each question or inbetween rounds and leave it as a strictly question and answer affair, taking away some of the charm. Instead of them editing it into a 30 mins slot, why not have 40 min slots so the shows can dgo out unedited.
JA
Apparently it was done under Virgin Media's ownership to get them into 30 mins with a commercial break, and noone seems to want to go to the trouble of getting the original tapes. Ditto with other shows from their past, Ninja warrior has only been reedited to be more like the new shows because the Stuart Hall situation forced their hand.
IN
Yeah, unfortunately VMTV had a policy of insisting that they met the top of every hour with a programme start. This lead to the ridiculous situation of them regularly putting out 15 minute fillers ("Auntie's Bloomers") in primetime to fill an hour alongside 1 vs 100 (which I presume they could neither edit down to 30 mins nor make up to an hour).
Apparently it was done under Virgin Media's ownership to get them into 30 mins with a commercial break, and noone seems to want to go to the trouble of getting the original tapes. Ditto with other shows from their past, Ninja warrior has only been reedited to be more like the new shows because the Stuart Hall situation forced their hand.
Yeah, unfortunately VMTV had a policy of insisting that they met the top of every hour with a programme start. This lead to the ridiculous situation of them regularly putting out 15 minute fillers ("Auntie's Bloomers") in primetime to fill an hour alongside 1 vs 100 (which I presume they could neither edit down to 30 mins nor make up to an hour).