Just A Minute

 
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taking my Thora thoughts wider...

Messages in this topic: 1
Dean BedfordJan 21, 2010
 

 
One of the things I like about Just A Minute is that it can be enjoyed
on different levels and played in a variety of ways.

The two skills needed for success at the game are being quick-witted and
sharp enough to pick up on the mistakes of others, and being fluent
enough to keep going when you're talking. Clearly not everyone is going
to have both or either of those skills - I doubt I would for one!

Over the years many people have been demonstrably bad at the game. It
seems to me that if that's the case you have a choice. You can think
"s--t, I'm making a fool of myself here in front of a worldwide audience
of millions" and try to concentrate harder - and probably end up not
doing any better at all.

Or you can think "f---k it, I'll just have some fun" and decide to revel
in your incompetence.

There have been several shows where guests ignored the fact that they
were abysmally poor at the game and just had a hell of a lot of fun,
creating very memorable shows.

I can think of four women in this category, all unlikely to get another
call-up. But Thora Hird, Lorraine Chase, Elaine Stritch and Su Pollard
(on TV) all created a lot of fun, all the same. Elaine in particular was
terrible at the game. But her single show is Nicholas Parsons' all-time
favourite and is certainly a classic, largely because of her distinctive
style.

Oddly I can't think of any male one-off guests who threw caution to the
wind in quite the same way.

But some players kept getting further gigs while making fun of their own
inadequacies. I'm thinking of Richard Murdoch, Barry Cryer, Chris Neill,
Aimi Macdonald and yes, Peter Jones - all a hell of a lot of fun and
seemingly not caring all that much about their inability to get many
points. Coming at the show from this sort of perspective adds variety
and a different way of enjoying the show.

None of this suggests this is the only way to play the game, of course.
But if I was advising any newcomer to the show I would probably suggest
they not take the points too seriously. Just have fun - the listeners
will pick up on that.

 
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