Just A Minute

 
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Re: 900?

Messages in this topic: 15 View All
simonbkellySep 10, 2014
 

 
As with any long running show, episode numbers always become a bone of contention.

If we use Dean's episode guide as a reference, then there have been 837 "episodes" of JAM.
Dean has included the "Silver Minutes" specials (broadcast over 2 weeks on Radio 4) as 1 episode. When these were released on cassette, there were actually 4 parts to the show, although the last 2 parts were just clips from previous shows without any introductions or recollections from Nicholas in between. To reach the total of 900, though, I presume the BBC have counted the "Silver Minutes" specials as 1 episode.

To this, then, we must add the 28 episodes recorded in 1994 and 1995 for Carlton TV. These were only shown in the London ITV region, late at night (after the 10pm news), and are the hardest episodes to track down on video as they have never been repeated. This brings our total up to 865.

Add on the 20 episodes of the BBC TV series from 1999 (shown in the afternoon, around 12.30pm) and the total rises to 885.

Then there are the 10 episodes recorded in 2012 and shown on BBC2 in the early evening (6pm) which brings our total to 895.

Finally, there are the 5 episodes of Junior JAM recorded for The 4 O'Clock show and broadcast last year on Radio 4 Extra (at around 4.15pm each day). This brings us to the grand total of 900 JAMs (which, not surprisingly, was used as the opening subject for the 900th JAM).

Of course, Nicholas has NOT, as is often erroneously printed, "hosted" every episode. There are 9 episodes where he appears on the panel instead. 3 of these were hosted by Clement Freud, 3 by Kenneth Williams, 1 by Geraldine Jones, 1 by Andree Melee and 1 by Ian Messiter. The last episodes not presented by Nicholas were in 1983 so he has "hosted" every recorded episode since then!

There are at least 5 other notable recordings of JAM that were made for radio and/or TV that I'm aware of:

1969 - First BBC TV Pilot (untransmitted) featuring Kenneth Williams, Sheila Hancock and Clement Freud.
1978 - A short specially shot sequence for the BBC tv series, "Jim'll Fix It". Jimmy Savile fixes it for David Whalan to host an episode of "Just A Minute". Features Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Sheila Hancock and Ian Messiter. This is the only time JAM was recorded and broadcast without Nicholas !!!
1981 - Second BBC TV Pilot (untransmitted) featuring Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud, Peter Jones and Patrick Moore.
2011 - Streamed live online on BBCi, with an edited broadcast the following week on BBC3 TV, this was a special charity edition for Children In Need. The panel were Lee Mack, Sheila Hancock, David Walliams and Tony Hawks.
2012 - Gardeners' Question Time meets Just A Minute. Another special in aid of BBC Children in Need. The panel of gardening experts were Eric Robson, Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Wilson.

So, if we count every known "recording" of JAM on radio and TV, I make it 905. If you split "Silver Minutes" into 2 parts, as broadcast, then it's 906. If you include the 2 "cassette only" parts (which didn't include any "new" material so they aren't really what you would call "episodes"), it's 908.

I can also recall several interviews with Nicholas over the years where he has included a round of JAM as part of the interview, but you couldn't really refer to those as JAM recordings.

If Nicholas continues making 27 episodes a year, we should hit the 1000 mark in 2018.

It's worth noting, though, that Nicholas has also included JAM as a part of his one-man stage shows over the years (although it's unlikely any of these were recorded), so he has probably been chairman on more than 1000 performances of the show already!

Simon

 
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