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The Now Show
- 2 March 2007, BBC Radio 4, 6:30pm
- Written by: Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and others
The first in the new series of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis's topical pun-heavy show offers a heady mix of petrol jokes and power ballads. But wait – that's no bad thing
Welcomed in by their horrible, pseudo-threatening theme tune, talented MCs Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis aptly held court from the word go. Opening skit (The Future's Bright, The Traffic Light's Orange) was fuelled by this week's watered-down petrol scandal, the fine for drivers who insist on using their mobiles behind the wheel and a section of the public's pig-headed campaign to prevent road tax.
Next came Mitch Benn with a little ditty about the Eurovision Song Contest. Sparked by the world's concern that Israel's Push The Button entry is an incitement toward terrorism, Benn reduced a variety of nations to their stereotypes via acoustic guitar. He also asked a pertinent question as to what a Middle Eastern country's doing in an EU competition anyway.
After Benn, "resident angry young man" Marcus Brigstocke railed against all that is shit in the world in typically frustrated manner. Brigstocke picked on those who complained against a road tax but saved most of his (considerable) wit and energy to rail against Labour's desire to replace the Trident missile system.
Other than that 'Gordon Brown' (aka Rory Bremner) kept ringing in to tell jokes at fellow ministers' expense and the team had a laugh at a new documentary from Titanic director James Cameron (cue power ballad piss-take). Then they moved on to ridicule David Cameron's suggestion that £15 is enough incentive to keep married couples together. Make leaving your spouse as hard as leaving your bank, they suggested, and nuclear families would be normal.
Fierce and focused and well on top of its game, The Now Show is
like hot-tempered Cambridge third year to the News Quiz's tired
Don. Thank goodness the holidays are over.
Georgie Hobbs
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