Not the Nine O'Clock News

Not the Nine O'Clock News
source
Show name	Not the Nine O'Clock News
Genre	Satire, Sketch comedy
Starring	Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Pamela Stephenson
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Num episodes	28
Executive producer	John Lloyd
Runtime	30 minutes
Company	BBC
Channel	BBC2
First aired	1979
Last aired	1982

Not the Nine O'Clock News

Not the Nine O'Clock News was a British television sketch comedy series notable for its satirical take on contemporary Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II and media institutions such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and publications like The Times, The Guardian and Daily Mail. Combining musical parody, filmed inserts and studio sketches, the programme influenced later shows featuring performers associated with Monty Python alumni and successors including Blackadder, Spitting Image, The Young Ones and Have I Got News for You. Debuting on BBC Two in 1979, it ran through the early 1980s and became a touchstone in British comedy alongside series such as Fawlty Towers, Yes Minister and Only Fools and Horses.

Background and Development

The series emerged amid a late-1970s British broadcasting landscape shaped by debates over public service broadcasting around institutions like the BBC, regulatory bodies such as the Independent Broadcasting Authority and cultural shifts following the Winter of Discontent, the 1979 United Kingdom general election and the rise of figures including Margaret Thatcher and Denis Healey. Production personnel drew from theatrical and television traditions that included Cambridge Footlights, Oxford Revue, Royal Shakespeare Company and fringe companies like The Young Vic and Royal Court Theatre. Development involved producers and executives connected to programmes such as The Frost Report, That Was the Week That Was, The Two Ronnies and the emerging alternative comedy circuit associated with venues like The Comedy Store, Soho Theatre and festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Creative influences cited by the team included Monty Python's Flying Circus, Beyond the Fringe, Rowan Atkinson's stage work and television experiments by John Cleese, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman.

Format and Content

The show blended studio sketches, pre-recorded location pieces, song parodies and mock interviews, using production techniques similar to those of Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show and SCTV. Scripts referenced contemporary events such as the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviet-Afghan War, the 1980 United States presidential election, the NATO debates, and cultural phenomena tied to artists and institutions like David Bowie, The Beatles, ABBA, Elton John, Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and broadcasters including BBC Radio 4 and Capital Radio. Musical parodies echoed tracks by Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, The Police, Queen and Bob Dylan while filmed inserts used locations like London, Westminster, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and international backdrops referencing New York City, Moscow and Paris. The programme's satirical targets ranged from politicians such as Tony Benn, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and Michael Foot to media figures including Alastair Burne-Jones, Clive James, David Frost, and broadcasters tied to networks like ITV Granada and Thames Television.

Cast and Crew

Principal performers included Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson, each of whom had connections to institutions such as Cambridge Footlights, National Theatre and Monty Python alumni circles. Writers, directors and producers on the programme worked across British television with credits linking to John Lloyd, Clive Anderson, Ben Elton, Richard Curtis, Paul Merton and other comedy figures who later contributed to shows like The Armando Iannucci Shows and The Day Today. Musical direction and arrangements involved musicians familiar from the UK session musician scene and ties to producers who worked with artists such as Sting, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and studios like Abbey Road Studios. Behind the camera, editors and cinematographers had credits on drama and comedy productions for BBC Television Centre, Ealing Studios and independent companies that collaborated with broadcasters like Channel 4 and Sky Television.

Broadcast History and Episodes

The series premiered on BBC Two in 1979, produced in multiple series through 1982 with specials timed around events such as the 1980 Summer Olympics, the 1981 Royal Wedding cycle of media coverage, and the Falklands War aftermath. Episodes were scheduled in prime-time slots and repeated on secondary channels; archival copies later circulated via home video formats and broadcasters including BBC Four and independent syndication in markets such as Australia, Canada, United States and New Zealand. The episodic structure included recurring characters, parody music videos and topical sketches reacting to headlines from outlets like The Sun, Daily Telegraph, The Independent and international agencies such as Reuters and Associated Press. Some sketches provoked complaints routed through bodies like the Broadcasting Complaints Commission and were discussed in parliamentary questions raised in the House of Commons.

Reception and Legacy

Contemporaneous reception mixed praise for incisive satire from critics writing in The Times, The Guardian, Observer and New Statesman with criticism from commentators allied to Conservative Party and Labour Party factions. Awards recognition and industry impact connected the series to prizes such as the BAFTA Television Awards and influenced later satirical productions including Spitting Image, Mock the Week, Have I Got News for You and performers' subsequent careers across film and television, including roles in Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral and international projects with figures such as Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The show's techniques and alumni informed academic studies at institutions like Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Manchester and research published in media journals reflecting on satire, censorship and broadcasting policy amid the Thatcher era, the transatlantic cultural exchange with United States television and the evolution of British comedy into the late 20th century.

Category:British television sketch shows