I'm not against the idea of having Tony give it a go when Nicolas passes the torch. One reason that immediately comes to mind would be the fact that Paul, Graham, Sue and Gyles would be comfortable with razzing Tony very quickly, perhaps (probably?) even immediately, and Tony has a sly wit that would allow for him to sometimes fire back while at other times allow for humility. He's a very gracious player and while I think it would be an unfortunate loss for the panel, he doesn't seem to be on the panel as much as in past years.
As I said before, I'm not against bring in new players as it must be done in order for the game to carry on, but one per show would suffice with three JAM familiars. Also, if Paul is absent from a recording I think the smartest thing they could do is NOT use that recording date for new players - for example, a team such as Graham, Sue, Tony and Gyles would make for great listening when Paul is unavailable. There are several long standing players you could rotate into that foursome if need be, names like Julian, Jenny, Sheila, Ross, Liza, Charles, Kit, or Pam; there are enough great players to make up some funny solid panels when Paul can't make the date. In my opinion there is only one first banana and that's Paul. I'm a big fan of many established players but none of them are as consistently aggressive in a comedic way as Paul. I'd like to not feel that way in all honesty, but I've heard many shows with Paul absent over the years and it takes a rock solid panel to make up for his loss.
When Clement was still around I think it was a bit easier to make up for Paul not being on the panel from time to time, but of late it simply hasn't worked well. The more I listen to shows that included Linda Smith the more I miss her as a player, and I think the game does as well. I also agree with some of the comments made by others in reference to non-comedians - I love listening to Sheila, Pam, Kit and Charles and I also thought that Rick Wakeman came across as both a funny, engaging guy and a good player.
--- In just-a-minute@..., Espen Krømke <espen.kromke@...> wrote:
>
> Den 17. juni 2013 02:37, skrev Mark:
> >
> > A hosting choice that leaps to mind is Tony Hawks - he's smooth and
> > gentle, like Nic, a little sensitive, and has a great voice for radio.
>
> I've always rooted for Tony ever since we first started these
> discussions. I think he would be a really good chairman too.
>
> Tony as the new chairman and Graham as regular along with Paul. That'd
> take JAM over the hurdle.
>