Just A Minute

 

 
The 'New Statesman' article, written by a woman, vigorously thumps the tub for the cause of putting more women on comedy panel games; but, sadly, gives no valid reason for doing so.
 
Apart from trotting out the old chestnut about women "excelling" at longer, more discursive and anecdotal comedy, no reasons are offered as to why women don't do well in panel games; and, frankly, the article's suggestion that women do anecdotal humour best is not really bourne out by the experience of female panellists on 'Just A Minute', surely the quintessential anecdotal and discursive panel game.
 
If the suggestion was true, far more women panellists would have done blindingly well on 'Just A Minute' over the years. And, clearly, they haven't.
 
It is suggested in the article that panel games are a testosterone-fuelled 'bear pit', but do we really recognise that as a description of 'Just A Minute'? As a summation of 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks', perhaps. But how much testosterone is generated by the likes of Clement, or Julian Clary, or Kenneth Williams, or Stephen Fry, or Peter Jones? 'Just A Minute' isn't like 'Mock the Week', with a torrent of jokes about or against women: 'Just A Minute' doesn't, on the whole, seek to raise a laugh at the expense of women in general.
 
It has always been competitive; but it doesn't go in, now, for the level of competitiveness which used to be its hallmark, years ago, when Kenneth Williams ruled the show and was fiercely competitive, even to the extent of enlisting the studio audiences to support him in brow-beating the chairman and the other regular panellists. No one, now, gets browbeaten on the show.
 
So I don't think the 'New Statesman' article assists us in understanding why there aren't more good women panellists on 'Just A Minute', in particular. It reiterates Victoria Wood's explanation of why she doesn't appear on television panel games, but it offers no new arguments; nor does it even refer to radio, save for a throwaway mention of 'The News Quiz.'
 

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From: Dean

Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 11:05 AM

To: just-a-minute@...

Subject: [just-a-minute] why aren't women on panel games

 

 

An interesting take on this

 

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/helen-lewis-hasteley/2011/10/panel-shows-women-comedy