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Re: The New Breed of JAM Performers - Paul Merton

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MiriamJun 2, 2008
 

 
Ok I am more awake now- the first time I saw Paul was on Have I Got
News For You- our seattle Brit TV fans group started showing it at
least 15 yrs ago and even though it is very british in it's subject
matter the whole group liked the show from the start- ( it helps that
so many of us are Raving Anglophiles) even when we didn't know that
much about UK politics. Paul stood out first for his often Unuual
shirts and then for his deadpan delivery and his sometimes biting
Wit. We have also seen much of Room 101/the Galton & simpson plays

( yes I know some people Hate paul's version but I thought they were
alright-- And i do know some of tony handcocks works-I just took them
as someone who Loved and appreciated the Orginals and wanted to bring
the Works of G&S to a New audience---- ducking the rotten fruit being
thrown at me now----------------

I "discovered" JAM in the late 90's when a local radio station
started running BBC World Service overnight and I caught one in the
middle of the night- I reconized Paul's voice and kept on listening.
It was Love at first sight for me and JAM with or without Paul
playing the game.
Now having heard most all of Paul's appearances I can see how he
has progressed from the rather uncertain but keen fan/player to the
more confident skillfull player he has become. While I do love
his 'flights of fancy' I really like when he takes something and
makes a running joke or can't let something someone said go or some
decision by Nicholas that he doesn't like.
One last thing- one of the things I really like about Paul Merton
in general is his obivous affection for the Comedy of the Past- from
Buster Keaton to the 7o's comedy ( I recently rewatched while dubbing
onto a dvd disk the "paul merton's life of comedy") Miriam



--- In just-a-minute@..., "Robert L. Torres"
<bobbyshaddoe3004@...> wrote:

>
> I'd like to take this time to begin a series of discussions

regarding

> the new generation of performers who have come on JAM and become a
> core cast of regular performers much in a similar vein to the
> Original Foursome.
>
> Who better to start off with than the man who could be seen as the
> one responsible for revitalizing the series after the death of
> Kenneth Williams: Paul Merton.
>
> Paul Merton was brought onto the show for two episodes in the 1989
> season which came following the death of Kenneth Williams. His

early

> appearances had a more reserved Paul Merton trying his best to
> contribute well amongst the more seasoned veterans, but he did

manage

> to display the very talents which have made him something of an

icon

> in British comedy.
>
> I remember on one of his first appearances, he had been given the
> subject of 'Bottle' and in spite of several slip ups, the subject
> wasn't taken away from him. In addition, it was one of the first
> examples of his off-the-cuff improv style when he talked about
> someone jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, trying to

get

> back up to the plane, but didn't make it because he fell to the
> ground at such speed, he was flattened as a pancake by the time he
> hit the ground. And then says, 'And his wife later called his
> condition as very satisfactory'. He then gets challenged by Derek
> for deviation, saying 'What has this got to do with bottle?' and
> Peter springs to Paul's defense, saying 'Well, it certainly takes
> bottle to tell a story like that.'
>
> Paul's style was unique and very different amongst those who had

been

> associated with JAM in the past, although Paul would occasionally
> tell anecdotes about his life now and then, more often than not his
> material was simply stuff he would think up off the top of his

head,

> which definitely showcased the depth of his intelligence and
> creativity. Not to mention he became very adept at picking up on
> other people's material and mining the comedy gold for all its
> worth.
>
> Very often the best stuff from Paul would come from his journey

into

> the surreal, and would very often be allowed to go off in this

veing

> well past the minute mark.
>
> Paul eventually helped open the door for many of his contemporaries
> to appear on the show, people like Tony Hawks, Graham Norton, Jenny
> Eclair, Linda Smith, Julian Clary, and so on.
>
> He was pretty much able to breathe much needed life into the

series,

> which by the time of Kenneth Williams' death, had begun to sound a
> bit stale, in that some of the panelists tended be of an older
> variety, and there didn't seem to be any attempt on Ed Taylor's

part

> to appeal to a younger audience.
>
> With Paul in, Ed Taylor was soon out, and in came Sarah Smith, and
> then Claire Jones, who would steer the show through the 90's on a
> crest of comedy the likes of which no other radio panel show would
> exhibit.
>
> Amongst my other favorite bits of Paul's humor is the way he took

up

> the banner of making fun of Nicholas' age, and soon came up with

all

> sorts of things to use as ammunition: such as the notion of

Nicholas

> liking to dress up in women's clothing and go around the streets of
> London like a prostitute, or the fact that Nicholas seems to have

had

> certain sexual dalliances with certain barnyard animals, or the

idea

> that Nicholas has had sexual dalliances with women three times
> younger than he is.
>
> Case in point I believe was during one particular show, I think the
> whistle blower at the time was Elaine Wiggley. Anyway, Nicholas
> stopped the show for a moment because Elaine was telling him
> something, and just before Nicholas could start the next round,

Paul

> picks up on this and creates this idea that what Elaine was trying

to

> tell Nicholas was that she was pregnant, which remains one of my
> favorite Paul Merton moments.
>
> The first time I ever saw Paul Merton or even became aware of who

he

> was, was during his appearances on the original 'Whose Line is it
> Anyway?'
>
> He was excellent on that series, and displayed his improv skills
> exceptionally well.
>
> Amongst his other accomplishments that I am aware of include 'The
> Masterson Inheritance' (perhaps one of the funniest shows, and an
> excellent example of Paul's brand of comedy), and 'Have I Got News
> For You'.
>
> I seem to recall one of the funniest moments on the series came

about

> when both Paul and Ian spent most of the show making fun of Angus
> Deayton for the tabloid reports of him being caught in some hotel
> with drugs and prostitutes or something like that.
>
> Paul has also appeared on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, although I'm
> not sure what else he's done.
>
> I'd like to open the floor now to anyone else who wishes to discuss
> this exceptionally talented and funny individual.
>

 
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