Just A Minute

 
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The New Breed of JAM Performers: Sue Perkins

Messages in this topic: 1
BobbyMar 15, 2010
 

 
Without a doubt Sue Perkins is part of the established New Breed of panelists. Having now been with the program for ten years, she is without a doubt the most prominent female regular on the show.

I love Sue's style, she is exceptionally funny and very talented. I love how when she talks on a subject, she is very erudite and fluent (for the most part) and I always look forward to what she's going to say. Her banter with the other panelists is also great.

Its strange that she was never on the same show as Linda Smith when Linda was still alive, I would've loved to have heard them trading remarks.

The funny thing, I had always felt that Linda was set to become the more prominent female on the show, and I can't help but wonder how much Sue's increased presence on Just a Minute is due to the loss of Linda Smith. I'm sure had Linda not unexpectedly died, there would've been a sort of thing where shows would alternate much like they do occasionally with Paul and Tony Hawks. Where if Paul can't do a certain show, Tony will be there, if Linda can't do a certain show, Sue would be there and perhaps occasionally put them together on the same show.

it would've been nice if at least once, we could've heard Paul, Linda, Tony and Sue together on a panel, that would've been a real corker of a team I'm sure.

Anyway, Sue's very first appearance was in 2000, where she was on the panel with Clement Freud, Tony Hawks and Jeremy Hardy. her debut appearances were very memorable for me in that she was part of a historic moment in that she, Jeremy and Tony were able to go for three consecutive rounds without being interrupted.

There are so many other awesome moments I could mention, like the episode where she was on the panel with Tony, Paul, and Charles Collingwood, and she was part of a great running gag with the other panelists (bar Charles) in claiming that Admiral Collingwood was a homosexual, which enraged Charles (who was incidentally the Admiral's descendant) to no end.

Another one of my favorite moments I believe came in 2002, when she was on the panel with Wendy Richard, Ross Noble and Tony Hawks. I can't remember what the subject was, I think it had something to do with 'What's in my Pocket?' and Sue talked about not wearing trousers and said she was wearing lingerie, and had long blonde hair that draped over her curvaceous body. She was then challenged for deviation and her reaction was absolutely priceless. Because it then led into an incredible debate over whether she had light black hair or brown hair, which I thought was fantastic.

There was also another episode from 2005, the panelists were Paul, Graham and Ross. I think she was on the subject of 'Smoothies' and she nearly went for the whole minute, speaking very fluently, painting an elegant picture for 54 seconds. Here it is:

Sue Perkins: The best way to make a smoothy is take Clive Owen, Pierce Brosnan and Alistair Stewart, pop them into a food processor, and blitz for 19 seconds. At the end of which there'll be a charming orange puree which stinks somewhat of cheese and has a redolent whiff of cologne. When drinking it, you'll be transported magically to the casinos of Monaco, where you'll want to put down chips and stare into the cleavages of buxom ladies, all called Candy. "More", you shout, as this breathless whirl of excitement carries you on through, up the stairway where a man in a dinner jacket looks longingly, and says "come this way". He may be Russian, who knows, it's too early to say. His Middle East European accent luring into a strange world, down again into the recesses, to an odd serial killer like figure with a strange pistol in his pocket, who points it at you and says... (pauses)

and I was so disappointed that she didn't make it for the full minute because she was doing so well and the image she created was absolutely fantastic.

Aside from Just a Minute I haven't seen Sue Perkins in anything else, although I have looked her up on Wikipedia and I'm absolutely amazed at all of the things she's done in writing, and for comedy. I think what I love best about her list of accomplishments, is that they all seem to stem from appearing on panel shows and reality shows of some sort, to which Sue herself is quoted in saying that the BBC pay her a regular wage for "blabbering on random shows".

I love Sue Perkins, and long may she continue on this program. :)

 
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