Saturday Zoo

Last updated

Saturday Zoo
Starring Jonathan Ross
No. of episodes13
Release
Original network Channel 4
Original release16 January (1993-01-16) –
10 April 1993 (1993-04-10)

Saturday Zoo is a British alternative comedy and chat show series, featuring an eclectic mix of stand-up acts, interviews and music. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, it ran for 13 episodes, beginning in January 1993, on Channel 4. [1] [2]

Contents

Production

The series was produced by host Jonathan Ross's own production company, Channel X, [1] [3] headed by Kenton Allen. [4] Unlike previous shows, Ross specifically designed it to be "a show that I want to watch" without being particularly interested in viewing figures or popularity. [5] The show was broadcast live, with no possibility for retakes or editing. [6] Writers for the series included Kevin Day and Patrick Marber. [7] The music director and keyboard player was Janette Mason, who also wrote the show's theme tune. [8] [9] [10]

Guests

The series had a number of high-profile guests, including supermodel Naomi Campbell who appeared on the first episode. [11] Other guests included Kylie Minogue, [12] Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken and Jean-Claude Van Damme. [6] Penn & Teller also performed, making their first live appearance on a UK television programme. [13] Musical guests included former Dexys Midnight Runners frontman Kevin Rowland, [14] Del Amitri, [1] Suzanne Vega, Stereo MCs and P.M. Dawn, [6] and k.d. lang performed her recent hit single, "Constant Craving". [15]

The show featured the first appearance on television of Steve Coogan's character Paul Calf, [16] and helped launch the career of political comedian Mark Thomas. [17] Rowland Rivron and Graham Fellows (performing in-character as John Shuttleworth) made regular appearances on the show. [4] [11] The Fast Show 's Simon Day featured in several sketches. [6]

Critical reception

Saturday Zoo was not well received by critics, who focused on Ross's omnipresence on television at the time. A review in The Independent described Ross as "humour-resistant Teflon". [18] It was subsequently viewed as stalling Ross's high-profile career. [18]

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Edwards-Jones, Imogen (6 February 1993). "Saturday Night: It's ego feeding time at Jonathan's zoo". The Independent . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Saturday Zoo". Vortago.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Jones, Ian (2 November 2001). "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross". Off the Telly . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 Rivron 2011, p. 147.
  5. ↑ Simpson 2007, p. 55.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Day, Simon (2011). Comedy and Error: They Really Were Marvellous Times (extract). Simon & Schuster . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Saturday Zoo". TV.com . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Getting To Know … Janette Mason". NARC Magazine . 21 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Marriott, Bob (29 April 2005). "In-Demand Janette Shows Her Versatility". Coventry Evening Telegraph . Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Pollock, David (13 April 2018). "Janette Mason". The Courier & Advertiser. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. 1 2 Simpson 2007, p. 56.
  12. ↑ "Saturday Zoo – Tape 1449". VHISTORY. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Jackson, Kevin (30 January 1993). "Right before your very eyes. Penn and Teller do magic, but the real trick is that they like to give the game away". The Independent . Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  14. ↑ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide To Rock. Rough Guides. p. 290. ISBN   978-1-843-53105-0.
  15. ↑ "Saturday Zoo (13th February 1993)". Screenocean. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Coogan, Steve (2015). Easily Distracted. Random House. pp. 249–250. ISBN   978-1-780-89171-2.
  17. ↑ "Shelf life: Mark Thomas TV hoaxer with a heart". Scotland on Sunday . 30 September 2001. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  18. 1 2 Simpson 2007, p. 57.

Sources

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