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Re: Paul collection

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MiriamJun 5, 2008
 

 
-The DVD has just arrived! I will post my "review" soon. Miriam


-- In just-a-minute@..., "Miriam" <delmelza@...> wrote:

>
> I can hardly wait- amazonuk emailed me that they have sent it and I
> should have it by next week!-- Now if the Paul Merton In China dvd
> will Ever get Released-I preordered it months ago!. Miriam
>
> In just-a-minute@..., Dean Bedford <dbedford@> wrote:
> >
> > This review of the new Paul Merton DVD makes it sound like a

great

> buy...
> >
> > The Paul Merton Collection DVD review
> > A double disc set of some of the finest work of Mr Paul Merton.
> What's
> > not to like?
> >
> > Simon Brew
> > With the feel of an evening of broadcasting dedicated to one

person

> > rather than a DVD set, The Paul Merton Collection is a double

disc

> > collection bringing together some highlights from one of

Britain's

> most
> > popular, and off-the-wall, comedians.
> >
> > Things kick off with the best part of an hour of Have I Got News
> For
> > You. Some of it hasn't made a DVD collection before (although a

lot

> of
> > it, inevitably, has), and there are some terrific moments

contained

> > within the compilation. Here, we see Merton's stint at hosting

the

> show,
> > as well as the one occasion where he went on Ian Hislop's team,
> before
> > taking a series-long sabbatical from the programme. Other
> highlights
> > include the time he sat next to a television broadcasting a live
> link of
> > former spy David Shaylor (which he promptly turned off), the
> infamous
> > Tub Of Lard episode, and the occasion where he borrowed a mobile
> phone
> > mid-show to check out a fact with West Midlands police. You'll

also

> find
> > clips of episodes with a pretend Elton John, the time when Peter
> > Mandelson's sexuality wasn't allowed to be discussed on the BBC,
> and the
> > episode after Angus Deayton had found himself plastered on the
> front of
> > the News Of The World. You will laugh a lot.
> >
> > It's a whistle-stop tour through perhaps the show he's best known
> for,
> > and it's interspersed by occasional links from the man himself.
> It's
> > unsurprisingly, though, the most familiar-feeling material on the
> DVD,
> > although it's still very, very funny. And I could watch him

telling

> Anne
> > Robinson to leave her name at the door on loop, personally.
> >
> > Next, there's 35 minutes from his stint on Whose Line Is It
> Anyway?.
> > Merton was a regular performer in the first few series of the

show,

> and
> > while I'm a fan of the show, the material here feels more hit and
> miss
> > than usual. That said, there are still moments of comedy gold

here,

> but
> > it's not where the gold on the disc is to be found. His deadpan
> delivery
> > does suit some of the improvisations particularly well though, of
> course.
> >
> > More interesting is a trio of television interviews that Merton

has

> done
> > that have been retrieved from the archives. There's a 90s natter

on

> > Clive Anderson Talks Back first up, although there's not much

meat

> in
> > the conversation, once the sparring between host and interviewee

is

> > over. More interesting are the pair of appearances on Parkinson,
> > especially the second, taken at the point after Angus Deayton had
> been
> > removed as host of Have I Got News For You ("we stabbed him in

the

> > front"). Parkinson, by this stage, was never going to ask
> particularly
> > contentious questions, but these are better interviews than you'd
> > expect, and welcome inclusions on the disc.
> >
> > Switching over to disc two, the absolute highlight here – and of
> the
> > package as a whole – is the 105 minutes from the archives of Paul
> > Merton: The Series. Broadcast in the early 90s on Channel Four,
> this is
> > a fairly surreal, and very funny sketch show, that had been
> impossible
> > to track down on DVD until now. There's plenty to enjoy here, the
> > highlights of which are Merton's monologues from behind the

counter

> of a
> > kiosk, although he also brings his deadpan, off-the-wall genius

to

> > plenty of other day-to-day scenarios. It makes the purchase of

the

> set
> > worthwhile in its own right, and we can only hope that someone
> decides
> > to release the show in its entirety at some point in the future.
> >
> > But we're not finished. There's nearly an hour and half of Room

101

> > material here, too, topped and tailed by his first episode

hosting

> the
> > show (with previous host Nick Hancock in the guest's chair), and
> his
> > last, where Ian Hislop tries to consign Paul Merton himself down
> the
> > chute.
> >
> > In-between are some Room 101 classics, even though they're more
> about
> > the guests than the host himself. So we get Anne Robinson

rallying

> > against the Welsh, Stephen Fry trying to put late-night review
> shows in
> > and Johnny Vegas confessing to spending up to 20 hours at a time

in

> > Internet chat rooms. If we had to pick a favourite clip, then Ron
> > Atkinson trying to consign Renee & Renato's Save Your Love to

Room

> 101,
> > only for Renee himself to put out of the chute, would be our pick.
> >
> > The set is then concluded with two versions of Merton's short

film,

> The
> > Suicidal Dog, which he co-wrote and directed He talks about this

in

> the
> > aforementioned Parkinson interviews, and it's interesting to

watch.

> Well
> > directed, dry and witty (a small dog lying on the tracks in front
> of a
> > miniature train is extremely funny), it's a pity he's never got

to

> the
> > point of producing a full screenplay, as he also hints at when
> talking
> > to Parky. Incidentally, if you're choosing which version to plump
> for,
> > the silent take on the film is our favourite (and, we suspect, Mr
> > Merton's).
> >
> > The Paul Merton Collection is a strong and varied traipse through
> some
> > of the man's comedy highlights. The omission of at least one of

his

> > Galton & Simpson episodes is a real pity, and it would have been
> more
> > complete if some of his radio work could have been included too.
> > Furthermore, there's no real extra material here, short of the
> brief
> > introductions and interludes that Merton inputs, dressed in
> historical
> > garb. That too is a shame. But for your £25, and it's not tricky

to

> get
> > it discounted substantially, The Paul Merton Collection offers

the

> best
> > part of six hours of the man's work, and on a laughs-per-pound
> ratio,
> > there are few releases this year that'll match it.
> >
>

 
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