Have I Got News for You (HIGNFY) is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one always captained by Ian Hislop and one by Paul Merton, each plus a guest panelist, answering questions on various news stories on the week prior to an episode's broadcast. However, the programme's format focuses more on the topical discussions on the subject of the news stories related to questions, and the satirical humour derived from these by the teams. This style of presentation had a profound impact on panel shows in British TV comedy, making it one of the genre's key standard-bearers.
Paul James Martin, known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter.
Thomas Merton was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and given the name "Father Louis". He was a member of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign those hates to oblivion in Room 101, a location whose name was inspired by the torture room in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which reputedly contained "the worst thing in the world". Orwell himself named it after a meeting room in Broadcasting House where he would sit through tedious meetings. It was produced independently for the BBC by Hat Trick Productions.
Caroline Mary Aherne was an English actress, comedian, writer, producer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host Mrs Merton, in various roles in The Fast Show, and as Denise in The Royle Family (1998–2012), a series which she co-wrote. She won BAFTA awards for her work on The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle Family.
Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010. In all, 27 sitcoms started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand.
Zienia Merton was a British actress born in Burma. She was known for playing Sandra Benes in Space: 1999.
Ferryside railway station serves the seaside village of Ferryside, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The station was opened by the South Wales Railway on 11 October 1852 and is now an unmanned stop. It is 238 miles 51 chains (384.0 km) from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Stroud.
St Andrews Road railway station is located near to St Andrew's Road and serves a large industrial area near to Avonmouth, Bristol, England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Great Western Railway.
The Scales of Justice was a series of thirteen British cinema featurettes produced between 1962 and 1967 for Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios in London. The first nine episodes were made in black and white, the last four in colour. The final episode, Payment in Kind, was Merton Park's last production.
Paul Merton: The Series is a British sketch show that aired on Channel 4 from 1991 to 1993. The main star was Paul Merton, who co-wrote it along with John Irwin. It is available on DVD and every episode is available for viewing free via Channel 4 service All4. It can also be purchased in the UK via iTunes.
Narcotizing dysfunction is a theory that as mass media inundates people on a particular issue, they become apathetic to it, substituting knowledge for action. It is suggested that the vast supply of communication Americans receive may elicit only a superficial concern with the problems of society. This would result in real societal action being neglected, while superficiality covers up mass apathy. Thus, it is termed "dysfunctional" as it indicates the inherent dysfunction of both mass media and social media during controversial incidents and events. The theory assumes that it is not in the best interests of people to form a social mass that is politically apathetic and inert. The term narcotizing dysfunction was identified in the article "Mass Communication, Popular Taste and Organized Social Action", by Paul F. Lazarsfeld, and Robert K. Merton.
Paul Merton in China is a four-part television series broadcast on Five commencing from 21 May 2007. It follows the journey of writer and comedian, Paul Merton and his interpreter Emma, as they travel across the vast country, exploring Chinese culture, expansion and changes from the rule of Mao Zedong. The series was a hit for Five and Merton confirmed on Michael Parkinson's show that a second series entitled Paul Merton in India had been commissioned. The theme music from Channel Five's advertisement is Michel Legrand's Di Gue Ding Ding, which was also used as the theme music to Heston Blumenthal's series In Search of Perfection aired concurrently on BBC Two. All four episodes were released on DVD in late-October 2008.
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game, hosted by Sue Perkins since 2021. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Perkins assumed the host's chair permanently, starting with the 87th series. Just a Minute was first transmitted on Radio 4 on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003.
Paul Merton in Europe is a six-part television series airing on Channel 5 from 11 January 2010 onwards. The series is a follow-up to Paul Merton in India. It follows presenter Paul Merton as he travels around several countries in Europe including Germany, Ireland, Italy, France and Spain. The series was released on DVD on 8 March 2010.
Paul Merton's Adventures is a comedy series, broadcast on the British television channel Channel 5 in October and November 2011. It starred the British comedian Paul Merton along with Peter Anderson and Stephen Frost. The series has six episodes, each based on a type of holiday.
Barbie MacLaurin is a BAFTA and GRIERSON nominated producer and director.
Paul Merton's Palladium Story is a two-part British television series first broadcast on BBC1 on 18 and 25 September 1994. It is presented by Paul Merton who celebrates the history of the London Palladium, in each episode celebrity guests contribute to talking about the history of the venue. On 10 March 2011, just under 17 years after their original broadcast, both episodes were repeated on BBC Four back-to-back.
Paul Merton's Secret Stations is a British travel documentary television series, first broadcast on 1 May 2016 on Channel 4. Presented by Paul Merton, the series focuses on some of the little used stations in Great Britain which operate as request stops. Reviews were largely positive but not overly so, focussing on both the subject matter and Merton's contribution to argue how the series elevated itself above other series in the genre.
