Some thoughts that have been brewing and some comments.
First, due to the generosity of people here I have been able to listen
to JAMs from across the decades and have started to get a feel for the
moods of the show. I think one of the things that I lov about it is
that the structure allows such freewheeling stories and banter.
Listening to, say, My Word I am struck by how serious and slow that
now seems; and having downloaded a few Sorry I haven't a clues it
reminds me of the problem of a lot of catch-phrase comedy - JAM has
some but they seem less frequent (examples - Paul's sandwich
hesitations, Kenneth's explosions).
This exposure has led me to seek and purchase a copy of Kenneth's
diaries - he is still my favourite but I am warming rapidly to the
(not so new now) young turks. As a JAMmy bugger I looked at the JAM
and Parsons sections via the index first and saw KWs dismissal of Nick
(he never seemed to have warmed to him) plus his own displeasure at
some of his 'outbursts'.
But that takes me onto Nick as chairman. I agree he isn't perfect - he
plays favourites (often it seems in the context of a particular
episode, but also over time) but tends to balance; he isn't consistent
but then who could be over 40 years, as the rules have gatehred a
wealthy of common-law interpretation (eg the early banning of
repetition of the subject, which has morphed into you can repeat
homphones of single words). On the whole I think he does a good job,
and is a surprisingly good listener noting repetitions that people
have missed.
However I think the B second letter of the alphabet C have created
their own problem - yes no one panelist was irreplaceable because
there is/was a pool of regulars and guests. There have been no
chairman experiments for decades. The chair job is difficult - balance
but also thinking about the flow or who is hot on a night, listening,
taking the barbs, working the audience - and also has to have someone
with a bit less of an ego: it is the panelists game.
A question - are there any experience current players who you think
could take on the mantle, and if not who else could. And lets hope the
organisation I referred to before thinks about trying out some
apprentices.
On other points - again thanks for uploads I have listened to the
latest and I was annoyed by Giles false pedantry - the plural of Midas
would not have an apostrophe which seems to be what he was claiming
(as in his reference to Parsons) and the bluster should have been
pricked (a moment KW could have enlivened).
--- In
just-a-minute@..., "Robert L. Torres"
<bobbyshaddoe3004@...> wrote:
>
> It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of the current chairman of
> Just a Minute. However there have been moments, very few mind you,
> where he has actually proven to be quite good at what he does.
/snip/
>
> anyway, this is not a slight against Nicholas at all, I know he has
> a great love for the show, as do I, as do many people. I would love
> the show to continue, I just feel that its a daft to say that people
> hope the show 'dies with Nicholas'. The show is bigger than Kenneth
> Williams, Derek Nimmo, Peter Jones, Clement Freud and Nicholas
> Parsons. Yes they have all set the groundwork for those who partake
> in the show now, but as individuals they are of no greater
> importance to show as a whole.
>