Fuck me, the Graham Norton Show is soul destroying

[Better Midlands]

But there's also something to be said about the drawing power of the BBC internationally - Ross's show on ITV doesn't get anywhere near the level of guest that his one on the Beeb did, while Norton hit the high notes (metaphorically) as soon as he took over.

In the Netherlands Comedy Central would air the show a week after it was on in the UK, it was always heavily promoted and I guess a biggie for them - GM would trail the show specifically for NL, I imagine this was going on in quite a few territories which must have helped getting the big guests.

[thr0b]

Norton's show gets an airing in America as well - I believe he's fairly well known there.

[mothman]

Did Parky have the same problem when he moved to ITV?

I was wondering about this when I first posted, but the fact is I really don't know. Anyone?

[Blue Jam]

Norton's show gets an airing in America as well - I believe he's fairly well known there.

I wouldn't know how many viewers Drag Race UK has over there, but appearing alongside RuPaul as "National treasure Graham Norton" probably hasn't hurt his standing.

[Mr Trumpet]

I don't bother with chat shows. I like his Eurovision commentary though.

The old formula of "let's get Miriam Margolyes back on to tell Tom Hanks about her fanny" must be getting a bit stale right? But it makes for good YouTube clips and I think that's half the point nowadays.

I've said it before and i'll say it again - Alan Partridge was ahead of his time on Knowing Me Knowing You. His fictional show would have been a smash if it aired today.

[Glebe]

"Now! I understand you, John Bishop, and you, Tom Cruise, have something in common - you both love Laser Quest!"

*sits back and watches the magic happen*

[jobotic]

Yeah it's drivel. He is good on the radio though and I can't help but like him. He's no Liza Tarbuck, mind.

[seepage]

Why does every single white male on the telly grow a beard when they're in their 50s?

Most of my chums in their fifties have given up and grown long white beards. Perhaps they're content just sitting in the back of 'spoons playing knife fingers with a little plastic chip fork.

[kalowski]

I last saw Graham Norton's show about three weeks ago. It was an absolute chore to sit through.

Why does every single white male on the telly grow a beard when they're in their 50s?

I haven't. I've gone the full Egg Wallace - totally shaved.

[Brundle-Fly]

I can only imagine they spend hours backstage choosing the anecdotes that are supposed to appear recalled on the spot.

Every TV chat show/ talk show guest remit for over half a century plus. That's how it has always worked. They're not podcasts.

[Brundle-Fly]

/quote]

Screwed up the quote thing...

Because for men in their fifties, beards hide double chins/ wattles and are still conveniently fashionable? What does being single (or even being white) have anything to do with it?

[Ignatius_S]

Did Parky have the same problem when he moved to ITV?

After his ITV chat show ended, Parkinson wrote an article that touched upon this - although the show attracted 'big names' he bemoaned about what they brought compared to the ones when he was on the Beeb.

One issue he said was that, essentially, the big stars of today couldn't hold a candle to the ones of yesterday - reasons he cited were that their achievements weren't as great, struggled with having decent anecdotes or even being mildly interesting.

Another was that guests only really appeared when they had something to plug, which impacted what could be discussed.

I think there may have been financial issues as well - I'm pretty sure that Parky also complained about people working in the States wanting hugely expensive travel and hotel rooms for themselves and fifty or so of their close personal friends.

[Ignatius_S]

Every TV chat show/ talk show guest remit for over half a century plus. That's how it has always worked. They're not podcasts.

That's true, but from what I've read/been told there used to be certain guests that basically you just let them get on with it; you weren't going to be sure what they would say/stories they would tell, but you knew it was going to be gold. I remember one article by Parkinson that the success of his BBC chat show was basically down to the calibre of the guests, rather than his skills as an interviewer.

One of my friends worked with Michael Aspel and during one lunch with the crew, he talked about various guests on his chat show. Kenneth Williams was one and from what I remember, was very much as above - you just had to let him proceed as he wanted to.

[The Culture Bunker]

I guess back then, you could be a raconteur like Orson Welles and jaunt around the world regaling talk show hosts with your tales, and it would be fresh to the audience - not like anybody over here was watching Johnny Carson or Dick Cavett. Now, tell a story to Stephen Colbert and it's on youtube within 10 minutes, so when you're doing the rounds elsewhere, all you've got is your latest project to bang on about.

[Ignatius_S]

I guess back then, you could be a raconteur like Orson Welles and jaunt around the world regaling talk show hosts with your tales, and it would be fresh to the audience - not like anybody over here was watching Johnny Carson or Dick Cavett. Now, tell a story to Stephen Colbert and it's on youtube within 10 minutes, so when you're doing the rounds elsewhere, all you've got is your latest project to bang on about.

What Parkinson was talking about was more that the likes of Welles had a huge reservoir of anecdotes and could appear multiple times and not repeat themselves. Also, there's an element of how they told their stories - even if you've heard the story before, a lot was in the telling.

[chveik]

it's all about plugging their new shit, not really entertaining the audience.

[Gurke and Hare]

One issue he said was that, essentially, the big stars of today couldn't hold a candle to the ones of yesterday - reasons he cited were that their achievements weren't as great, struggled with having decent anecdotes or even being mildly interesting.

Parkinson said that things were better in the old days? Imagine my lack of surprise.

[Famous Mortimer]

Because for men in their fifties, beards hide double chins/ wattles and are still conveniently fashionable? What does being single (or even being white) have anything to do with it?

Heck yes. My beard is the only good thing that's ever happened to my face.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

[quote author=Lisa Jesusandmarychain link=topic=90670.msg4743306#msg4743306 date=1636274202

Why does every single white male on the telly grow a beard when they're in their 50s?


Screwed up the quote thing...

Because for men in their fifties, beards hide double chins/ wattles and are still conveniently fashionable? What does being single (or even being white) have anything to do with it?

I meant " every single" as in " every one of the blighters", which could also be seen as exaggeration, of course. We, the viewers, have a lovely view of Rob Brydon's unadorned chin, for example.

[Noodle Lizard]

I think it worked far better before YouTube, or at least before that became its primary medium of consumption. I remember seeing it on TV most weeks (Friday night, what else would you do?) and finding it refreshing to see American megastars being completely taken aback by its crudeness and relative lack of piety. Not in a cruel way, necessarily, but in a way that disarmed them just enough to drop the kind of pretense that's requisite for doing the press circuit in the States. It was the kind of thing that made you happy to be part of Britain.

Now, of course, well ... I don't need to reiterate what it's become. But there was a bit of value there, for a while.

[gilbertharding]

Senior actors appearing on chat shows with unfamiliar beards is a trope which dates back years and years - at least as far as Parkinson in the 70s.

I believe it's supposed to suggest one of two things: the actor is off duty, between roles, being himself. Perhaps it's a disguise, so that he can pass among us, unmolested. Or else, it's supposed to imply that the beard is for a part - as yet undisclosed.

Either way, the whiskers are supposed to provoke intrigue, mystery etc.



Regarding Graham Norton - it used to be a good show, as others have noted. Big American stars, plied with booze, being made to sit next to someone from Silent Witness or Miriam Margoles. Now it's shit. The 'big American stars' are now just wankers from the latest superhero shit, on an obvious publicity drive which they can't even be bothered to pretend isn't happening. And the anecdotes and party tricks are so boring.

I think it jumped the shark a while ago, mind. One episode where Madonna was the only guest. Fuck that.

[poodlefaker]

His Radio 2 show is spoiled by the fact that he obviously has truly appalling taste or no real interest in the music he plays. AT least Ross/Andy Davis would occasionally slip some good stuff in, whereas Norton is happy with the usual R2 dreck.

[jobotic]

That's why Tarbuck's better. She plays some cracking stuff and knows what she's on about.

She does sound permanently pissed though.

[Magnum Valentino]

His Radio 2 show is spoiled by the fact that he obviously has truly appalling taste or no real interest in the music he plays. AT least Ross/Andy Davis would occasionally slip some good stuff in, whereas Norton is happy with the usual R2 dreck.

Not on Radio 2 any more.

[JaDanketies]

Did Graham Norton used to be edgy and outrageous? I don't remember if he really was or if I was just surprised to hear such rude words on the tele when I was younger. I have vague memories of his previous chat shows being a bit spicy.

Yeah he did crank phone calls which I remember thinking were really hilarious. I don't think he does them any more. Back in the 90s, making innuendos about being a gay man was also very edgy; I don't believe Norton does these any more, but he used to come out with them with the frequency of Mr Humphries from Are You Being Served. It's a bit passe now though, and also I guess nobody wants to hear about a nearly-60 Graham Norton's sexual escapades either.

[Gurke and Hare]

Or else, it's supposed to imply that the beard is for a part - as yet undisclosed.

Isn't it often the case that out of work actors grow a beard just in case, because it's easy to shave off for a beardless role but less easy to grow one quickly if it's needed?

[turnstyle]

I once went a live recording of the Graham Norton Show (don't crowd me, fans).

Though I think it was called 'So Graham Norton' back then? It was 2002, and we all needed cheering up after 9/11, which as you will remember happened the year before. My flatmate had secured tickets to go to a recording. I don't even think she was a fan, but she was Irish, and I think she just liked the idea of going and looking at another Irish person, albeit it one more famous and successful than her.

Back in those days I had a LOT of spare time, so I tagged along. My main memories are of queuing up for AGES. There was a 5 minute diversion where you had to fill in a short survey, presumably in the hope of finding some mirth that Graham could riff off. Sad to report my group was sans mirth, as it turned out.

Someone in the queue ahead of us was a Norton lifer, and told us they regularly came to watch the record. They also said that the best looking people get picked for the front rows. Tittering like excited school girls, my group entered the studio, where we were promptly directed to...the back row. Literally the final row of chairs. I acknowledge I'm not one of your pretty boys, but I would describe myself as 'comfortably average', and in a way, I've never forgiven Norton for this shun. I'm middle row material, baby, easy.

Anyway, it was pleasant enough. The guests I remember were Mo Mowlam (before she died, obviously). Mo was a good egg, and entertaining. Then there was Natalie Imbruglia, who was on to plug her song Beauty on the Fire (no, me neither), and had to endure Norton getting giddy about a load of 'hilarious' Australian jokes. I think that was it. Did they really only have two guests in those days?

When my flatmate asked if I wanted to watch it back later on, I was all 'not arsed mate, cigs', because really, I had already endured it once, and the thought of seeing it again did nothing for me.

In summary, no, it didn't cheer me up after 9/11. If anything, it made me wish I'd been in one of the towers on that fateful September day.

[mothman]

That would have been the Channel 4 show back then. Doubt the BBC version would ever have anyone as minor as a politician on. Well, apart from Tories obviously, with a vaguely left-leaning celeb on for "balance."

[famethrowa]

I remember way back when he made some bemused US actors watch him talk to "Madame Pee Pee", some camgirl who had a piss on grainy early 2000s internet hookup. You wouldn't get that these days, it's all too-small black suits and some musical act copying Adele or Amy.

[JaDanketies]

I remember Natalie Imbrulia talking about biting both ends off a biscuit and drinking tea through it?