Just a quick one, to say there's plenty of me on Radio Four today. Perhaps too much. New Cabin Pressure at 11:30, featuring the return of the mighty and hilarious Geoffrey Whitehead as Mr Birling; and then on the Now Show at 6:30 I get to express my important opinions about the News of the World hacking Milly Dowler's phone. Sneak preview: I'm broadly against it.
Family stuff to do today, so I'll put my 'Paris' post up tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it!
Happy Birling Day to you too!
ReplyDeleteWaiting imatiently for the post about 'Paris' episode.
It's so interesting to read all those additional info about it! And inspiring to see how you work with the stuff. The stuff that works ;)
Bonjour !
ReplyDeletejust heard the 2nd episode !!!!
just so funny as usual !!!
Poor Martin !!!
the devil got a name...Douglas !!!
Have a good Birling Day !!!!:-))
"Paris" simply one of the best episodes of any sitcom ever written. Brilliant! I ache from laughing.
ReplyDeleteI laughed so much at that I had a coughing fit and ended up sounding as hoarse as Martin/Benedict in consequence!
ReplyDeleteDouglas you're a very, very bad man!
This weeks Cabin Pressure was the funniest thing I've heard on radio for ages. Had to stop work as couldn't see to type for laughing
ReplyDeleteFantastic. You me fooled. I really thought the culprit was Caroline. Of course, unless Arthur lets on to Caroline that Douglas did steal the whiskey Martin isn't going to have to pay anything. After all, Caroline was told that Mr Burling enjoyed his whiskey and so he did (eventually). It was just in Douglas' possession long enough to frustrate Martin.
ReplyDeleteI think there is only one word that could describe this episode - BRILLIANT!! You Sir, are a genius. :)
ReplyDeleteMr. Finnemore you are indeed a comic genius!!
ReplyDeleteAww Martin - I just want to give the poor guy a hug!!
Thank you ever so much for the brilliantly written episode!! I'm going to be very upset when this series comes to an end =(
Happy Birling Day! (Hope he remembered to tip this time!)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birling Day! After a [literally] sleepless night, Cabin Pressure was the only reason I got up this morning; needless to say it's always worth it :)
ReplyDeleteI've remembered it was at the end of Qikiqtarjuaq that Roger Allam was crying with laughter (that I couldn't remember had been bugging me far too much), but Benedict's hapless Martin/Sherlock/Marple had me crying with laughter in Paris :D
I eagerly await your Paris post!
Funny story...my brothers and I were talking about how we wished past characters would recur, and Mr. Birling was one of the ones that came up. Lo and behold...here we are! Excited to listen to the episode this weekend, sir!
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of characters, how about something written with Benedict's mum in mind? Wicked Wanda...
ReplyDeleteFabulous fabulous rant on the Now Show. And so true. Here's hoping for a better future. Tomorrow is another day....
ReplyDeleteJohn you were superb on the Now Show. Nobody does silly as well as you but this was anything but, it was a measured, grown up piece of wonderful writing, summing up the taudry machinations in a pithy but none hectoring way. Very, very well done.
ReplyDeleteJohn you were superb on the Now Show. Nobody does silly as well as you but this was anything but, it was a measured, grown up piece of wonderful writing, summing up the taudry machinations in a pithy but none hectoring way. Very, very well done.
ReplyDeleteWhat Jane Russ said.
ReplyDeleteNow Show: Spot on. Nothing much to add, really.
ReplyDeleteCabin Pressure: I love the show because it's funny and clever, and just a bit silly, but never cruel or crude. And in terms of plotting, I think I'd put it on a par with Fawlty Towers, as far as I'm any judge. It's a good trick to have me believing Martin actually would try to accuse somebody of stealing his own whiskey.
There are, though, two things I'm not sure I understand:
1. Why would Caroline think that opening the bottle would make it harder for Douglas to steal it? Wouldn't she simply have confiscated the "nail varnish"?
2. Why does Martin think he'll have to pay up? Surely he got away with it?
Brilliant Cabin Pressure this morning with seriously devious plot! Superb cast as usual- and always a pleasure to hear the great Geoffrey Whitehead- an instantly recognisable voice.
ReplyDeleteJohn, your pithy and insightful News International rant on The Now Show should be required listening for all (especially MPs.)
Dang, did I enjoy the Radio 4 piece this eveing, during the making of a spag-bog. Absolutely blooming brilliant! Yey! You tell 'em (on my behalf)! Cheers! =).
ReplyDeleteJohn, you made me very proud to be a Radio 4 listener today! Your piece on the Now Show was - as you said - everything I agreed with, but put in a much more concise, insightful and inspiring way than I could manage!
ReplyDeleteAnd then 'Paris' which had me laughing so hard I nearly injured myself! By the time Arthur likened Martin to Miss Marple I was nearly crying. I hoped that this series would be just as good as the previous ones and if anything it's better! Beautifully crafted comedy.
In short (long?) it was a very happy Birling day for me, so many thanks!
Once again, you are a genius.
ReplyDeleteBirling day! Birling day! Whee!! Perma-hysterics listening to 'Paris'. It just may be my all time favorite episode.
ReplyDelete"Well, this is where the monkey comes in..."
"No, I'm Miss Marple!" :-)
ReplyDeletePlus your Sherlock Holmes references... too funny.
Great to see the return of Mr B.
Douglas is a sneaky man - love him to bits!
A very good ep, Mr Finnemore.
Hello from the US.
ReplyDeleteWanted to say that I just listened to your piece on "The Now Show" and thought it was brilliant -- the way you balanced the satire with the (all too justifiable) anger ... really great writing.
Maybe someday we Americans will get just as mad at what Murdoch has done here --- although I do doubt that.
Anyway, keep being fabulous.
PS Love "Cabin Pressure."
I've just listened to the Now Show on the iPlayer, and had to stop myself applauding at the end of your excellent segment on the News of the World. Fantastic piece of writing - I would love to have a transcript.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant rant on The Now Show. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteExtremely good piece about News of the World etc. on the Now Show. Please put it on YouTube so we can distribute it.
If we do nothing Murdoch and his crew of sleazy crooks will get away with it all.
It's astonishing that the entire social circle of our Prime minister have been implicated. Yippee !
Brilliant piece on the Now Show - well done Sir!
ReplyDeleteYour piece on The Now Show was just about the greatest piece of satire I can ever remember.
ReplyDeleteFilled with righteous anger, it made me laugh and indeed cry. Can we get that perfect 8 1/2 minutes sent to every politician, editor and journalist?
Actually, can we just replace the first section of the news on every channel (even SKY!?) for the next few days...?
Can someone cleverer than me get it onto Youtube so it can live on beyond the BBC's 7-day Listen Again window?
Just heard your Now Show contribution. Well said, sir!
ReplyDeleteAlso, Birling Day 2. WONDERFUL. Thank you!
Bloody hell. Your Now Show slot was a bit good. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteCompletely brilliant piece on the Now Show last night - measured and concise, it perfectly expressed the outrage felt by many and was delivered with such alacrity and grace. What genius! Thank you so much for the most sensible words yet spoken on this subject - may I add my voice to the many demanding upload to You Tube.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely superb rant on The Now Show this week!
ReplyDeleteA breath of fresh air attempting to float down a little sustainable truth sugared with old fashioned integrity and morality.
Can we have a new coalition immediately please? Hugh Grant for Prime Minister (he's done it before so knows the score) with yourself, John, as supreme Deputy.
John's commentary on the obscene behaviour of the News International top executives (every outfit is a reflection of its bosses' attitudes) was moving in the extreme and captures absolutely the strength of feeling of the nation. Ridicule of the pompous and disgraceful - soon hopefully the disgraced - is a marvellous weapon
ReplyDeleteThe best yet - long may he communicate !
Your piece on the Now Show re NoW should be required listening for all those idiots at Westminster - especially Mr Cameron - surely they can't now give BSB to Murdoch?
ReplyDeleteHello and happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered Cabin Pressure! It's genius! Today I was listening to the Paris episode on my headphones in the garden. I think my neighbours were slightly concerned on hearing my loud outbursts of indiscriminate laughter. Thank you for being so inventive and hilarious!
LOVED the rant on The Now Show. I fully endorse your stand.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Murdoch rant on The Now Show. I was tearful at the end. Commendable that a comedy programme can allow a whole minute without a laugh for a valid political point. Of course, Satan's favourite antipodean will still get away with it.
ReplyDeleteI have been a massive fan for some time (not so much in terms of affection, more in terms of size) and I have just listened to the Now Show podcast and think I actually love you.
ReplyDeleteJohn, as I much as I am a big fan of your work, and do not want to see Murdoch take over full control of Sky, there was a big flaw in your Now Show argument.
ReplyDeleteNews International are not trying to take over Sky. And Rebekah Brooks has nothing to do with Sky or the Sky bid.
To use an analogy at the risk of sounding patronizing, News Corp are the parent, News International their child, and BSkyB a step child they are trying to adopt.
Of course News Corp do still have to prove to social workers that they are a fit (and proper) parent, but that is not as easy as just saying that little News International did something naughty. It needs evidence that the parents helped.
All that said, I realize you must not have had much time in which to write your routine between the story breaking and the recording, so it was kind-of impressive.
Michael, News International also owns Fox News. This station, until recently, broadcast Glenn Beck, a man who, without a shred of evidence, accused a Jewish banker of betraying his own people to the Nazis so they could be shipped off to death camps, who suggested that the "overwhelming radical Muslim population" of the UK was about to rise up and we would become part of an extended Muslim Caliphate that covered the Middle East and Europe, who called Obama a racist and who suggested that socialists, communists and nazis are all the same because they contain the word "socialist". Glenn Beck was never reprimanded for this. Sean Hannity, one of the so-called serious news hosts has said that the Iraqi people should pay the costs of the US military for invading them and compensation for every US soldier killed. This is the tip of the iceberg, I could go on.
ReplyDeleteIf News International has raised two children (News Corp and Fox News) to be thugs and bullies, why on Earth should the UK foster BSkyB with them?
Dear Mr Finnemore,
ReplyDeleteCabin Pressure (Paris) Tres Bien!
Unfortunately missed first episode, but can't wait for the next one now.
Love all the characters, can't decide between them, all played to perfection.
Thank you for your amazing speech on the Now Show about the NOTW scandal. My husband and I gave you a standing ovation.
ReplyDeleteHusband says I'm not allowed to listen anymore...having to much fun with John...don't worry LOVE, I will never leave you...
ReplyDeleteIs Birling Day a specific day? Random? If specific, I want to put it on my calendar and celebrate with MJN.
ReplyDeleteHappy birdday darling! your blog is amazing! there's no doubt about it.
ReplyDelete