"Yeah, But Ali G Was Good Wasn't He?" (11 O'Clock Show)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	11 O'Clock Show
Date:	17/06/04 (284 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Competently filled the 11 - 11.30pm time slot, Some very funny features and regulars, Informative

Disadvantages: Repetitive jokes, especially from the main studio, Some presenters failed to impress, Not very original

‘The News Alternative’ that was the 11 O’clock show ran for a number of series on Channel 4, mostly starting within around one hour of the time slot advertised by the title. The series was something of a cult hit and indeed was the show that introduced hugely successful comedians Ricky Gervais and Ali G to television audiences, although after a while the format of the show became both tedious and unoriginal.


CAST


The topical show was presented by the forcefully-controversial Iain Lee and the arousing, deadpan Daisy Donovan from their confined set that seemed to be a fusion of Chris Morris’ news desk from ‘The Day Today’ and Andi Peters’ broom cupboard from Children’s BBC. As well as making jokes and observations about current events and the media world, Iain and Daisy also presented regular features such as ‘Do and Don’t’ on subjects such as teenage pregnancy. These features were amusing, but it was always the switch to contributions from the show’s more impressive personalities that were eagerly awaited.

An oft-criticised but occasionally interesting part of the show featured Daisy as the ‘Angel of Delight,’ interviewing people on the streets and politicians, manipulating them into accidentally saying ‘hilarious’ things that could be interpreted as sexual through editing. A notable example included an interview with a female politician in which Daisy asked her if she would ever ‘finger’ Mrs. Thatcher; simple double entendre material essentially. When interviewing male politicians, she would put on an incredibly flirtatious, innocent persona that was quite funny and must have been uncomfortable for those involved.

Ali G shot to fame straight after his series of uninformed, ignorant interviews on important aspects of society with political and artistic figures. His catch-phrases and general speech may have become incredibly tiresome and much imitated, but I still find his classic interview clips as funny as ever, although as soon as he became famous he left his three minute slot on this programme far behind him. Classic discussions included Ali’s visit to the countryside in which his streetwise urban character was scared by a cow and his cringingly ignorant views on sexism.

Ricky Gervais appeared on the show as Ali G was on his way out, and he immediately became the sole reason I watched the show. Anyone who has seen his live performances or his short-lived series on Channel 4 will be familiar with his critical and occasionally shockingly rude style, although it’s difficult to pin down exactly what he did on the show; one week he would stand in a field talking about the Second World War, the next he would discuss pornographic websites.

Ricky Grover’s menacing ‘Bulla’ character appeared in 2000 after the show hit its real decline, but the obese prison inmate was reasonably amusing.


MATERIAL


In terms of the satirical and topical material, the 11 O’clock show only proved itself to be fairly average. On occasion I noticed direct rip-offs of jokes from other current events programmes, even the high profile Have I Got News For You, while comedy duo Lee and Herring even commented on the ripping off of their own material from their ‘This Morning With Richard Not Judy’ Sunday morning comedy show:

STEW: This week saw the last episode in the current series of the 11 O’clock show…

RICH: Oh no Stew, who will copy our jokes now?

The title of this opinion is another quote from TMWRNJ, summing up the possible response of Channel 4 executives when faced with the cancellation of this series.

Despite some unoriginality, the 11 O’clock show was at least something amusing to watch on Tuesday or Thursday school nights, and the camera tended to remain on Daisy Donovan long enough for more bored viewers to enjoy her contribution in their own way; her innocent English girl persona contrasted very well with her occasionally harsh language. The show’s final series was a major disappointment to most viewers due to the change in presenters and the drop in quality of the material, and it seems that the show’s legacy will only be to the careers it helped launch.

Summary: