Blimey!

i don't go on bebo for a bit and look what happens! the other moderator leaves so it's just me in charge... fuck!

so basically if there is anything you would like me to do or add to the page just ask in a comment below

By the way. how do you like the new series so far? i still think paul is definately the star

Tyler

Having seen just about every episode of Have I Got News For You (referred to as HIGNFY from now on. It’s easier) for nine years, I’ve become painfully familiar with the format and running of the programme and have enjoyed it immensely every week without fail. However, to gauge the full HIGNFY experience, I really wanted to see it from the studio itself as a member of the audience, or clappers, because that’s essentially what they are. To see Ian Hislop and Paul Merton in the flesh has always been a strong ambition of mine, and one that I’ve done all in power to achieve but with nothing to show for it. Until now.
Hat Trick Productions, the independent company who produce the show for the BBC, finally granted me tickets for last night’s recording after many years of trying. You can imagine my excitement when they finally came through the door, as I was assured that I would be witnessing this prestigious comedy show first hand.
I was already familiar with where it was filmed; about a year ago I attended ITV’s (and incidentally Hat Trick’s) much-ridiculed HIGNFY rip-off News Knight at the same studio. It was a good evening’s entertainment, with some great panellists including Marcus Brigstocke and Clive Anderson and some typical below-the-belt autocue gags being delivered by the sardonic Sir Trevor McDonald, but the show was in it’s first series, and the audience as well as the panel were finding their feet.
HIGNFY is different. In the 18 years that the show has been dominating political satire on our screens, regular viewers have familiarised themselves easily with the format and the contrasting yet brilliantly successful styles of Hislop and Merton. And it’s not only the viewers; Hislop and Merton themselves have become so engrained in their surroundings, that they almost feel it’s their second home. This results in every guest being toppled by them. It’s not an exaggeration to say that even if Oscar Wilde were alive and was to appear on the show, he would struggle in the island of doom that separates the tidal waves of the two regulars. Anyway, before I come down with cherry-blossom poisoning from the amount of bootlicking I’ve just done, let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
With News Knight, the queue was about 100 people strong with fifteen minutes to go until entry. With HIGNFY it was 500 strong by this point. We were lucky enough to have gained “priority tickets”, so we jumped these unfortunate people, or losers, and were directed into the studio where we took our seats on the second row behind where Ian Hislop sits, with an excellent view of all of the panel. I don’t know why, well I guess it’s the power of television, but the studio itself seemed so nondescript to the delightful arena that I was expecting. Having watched this studio for nine years on television, I had built an image of a magnificent HIGNFY shrine. It wasn’t. The set was dull and unlit; the panel itself was strewn amongst endless cables and the round thing in front of it, which I’d always insisted was a solid circle of pure gold, was nothing more that a circular cut of carpet which was fraying at the edges. The backboards were creaky and poorly painted, the audience arena was positioned in such a way that many people had a completely obstructed view of the panel (which is much more compact than appears on TV), and the ceiling hung with so many lights, mirrors, microphones, macro phones and speakers that it wouldn’t have looked out of place as an exhibition at the Turner prize. I have no shame in admitting a tinge of disappointment. A place I’d imagined for 8 years to be kept in pristine HIGNFY conditions, with every nook and cranny dusted and cleaned to maintain an arena that could only be one show, was nothing more than a hastily-constructed set, with time for no man and built with all the passion of a Hyundai rather than a Ferrari. I was childishly disappointed, but only because of my love for the

Tickets for the spring series will be available from the Hat Trick productions website from midday on Wednesday 19th March 2008.

Get in there quick, because they are given away really really quickly!

Good luck

www.hattrick.co.uk