BBC Radio 4
Friday, 12 October 2007. Radio.
BBC Radio 4 is worth the license fee alone. There, I've said it, and I am proud to have done so. The flagship station of the BBC, costing more than £71.4 million a year it is the second most popular British domestic radio station after Radio 2.
I've been an avid listener of Radio 4 for many years now, waking up to the Today Program has become the only way I can function properly each morning. However, Radio 4 has given so much to the world, particularly in the field of comedy. Little Britain, Alan Partridge, The League of Gentlemen, and many others all started life on Radio 4, so I thought I would give you some suggestions to make your life better.
- The News Quiz, a satirical comedy news panel game, which inspired Have I Got News For You. As of September 2007, The News Quiz is available as a podcast, as part of the "Friday Night Comedy" lineup for Radio 4. The podcast switches between The News Quiz and The Now Show, depending on which show is being transmitted. Don't know what a podcast is? Well let me tell you! The News Quiz is on Fridays at 6.30pm, and Saturdays at 12:30.
- Genius, a comedy series which sees comedian Dave Gorman and a celebrity guest chew over the ridiculous, unworkable but sometimes genius inventions, schemes and policies of the public. Genius is on Mondays at 6.30pm.
- In its sixth series, Old Harry's Game is a sitcom set in Hell. Coming from the pen of Andy Hamilton, (creator of Drop the Dead Donkey), it is probably the only topical comedy series to contain Emperor Nero, Leonardo Da Vinci, and a foulmouthed Jane Austen... although personally I am finding the most recent series somewhat lacking the sparkle and intelligence of the philosophical arguments that used to take place between Satan and Professor Richard Whittingham, actor James Grout's ill health has led to an absence from the series. Old Harry's Game is on Thursdays at 6.30pm.
- As previously noted, Douglas Adam's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, is currently being serialized on Radio 4 on Wednesdays at 6.30pm.
A recording of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue", from Andy.
And that is just what is being broadcast at the moment! I haven't had time to mention the greatest panel game of all time, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation - one of the finest stand-up comedians working in the UK today, and the previously mentioned Now Show.
BBC Radio 4 is available to listen to Online, on FM: 92 MHz - 95 MHz, DAB: 12B, Freeview: 704, Virgin Media: 904 and Sky Digital: 0104.
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