Filed under: Clip, Comedy, Game Show, Panel Show, Repeat/Rerun | Tags: celebrity panel show, current affairs, Have I Got News For You, HIGNFY, hilarious, Ian Hislop, ode to Ian, Paul Merton, political satire
Here they come, the informative ones
I have a confession – I’m in love with Ian Hislop. Please don’t cringe but it’s true. Despite his short body, nik nak head and smug facial expressions, I find him very sexy. He is the James Bond of brains. You know that he could talk his way out of any bad situation with his charisma, intellect and sense of humour. He is also committed, being the only person to appear in every single episode of Have I Got News for You. Anyway – gush over!
For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s another top British celebrity panel show. The format: a satirical look at current affairs. Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye and Paul Merton, comedian are regular panelists whilst the host changes each week and has included everyone from Brian Blessed to Jeremy Clarkson.
Just ending its 35th series, our resident political mockers are partnered each week with a guest panelist from the world of journalism, politics or comedy. This is great because obviously these three schools offer a very different perspective on the world, so very episode is original.
One of the best rounds is The Odd One Out. This consists of four pictures that are all connected in some preposterous way, except one of them is (shockingly) the odd one out. For instance, you have the Cheeky girls, Sacha Baron Cohen, Prince Charles and Vlad the Impaler. The odd one out is Sacha Baron Cohen because he had rented property in Transylvania (to film Borat), the rest own property. Another great one is when all of them have been attacked by a dog except for one – he had been killed by his dog.
Have I Got News For You is one to watch with your partner with a nice cuppa tea. Grown out of Newsround? This is actually a great one if you want/need more know how on politics but just haven’t got the attention span for the news yet. So, if you’ve just got out of Uni and need to rear yourself off Teletubbies, flick on to Dave and give this a go.
For the slightly older members of the hard working tax-payers (in your 20s and 30s), this will lighten your news-filled anxious head. Or maybe you’ll merely appreciate the basic function: it’s hilarious. Here is a recent montage of Ann Widdecombe as guest host.
Trivia: HIGNFY is to be rebranded into the UK version of the US website the Onion.
More Trivia: The BBC has signed it up for 38 series.
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Let's talk televisuals.. 
I love Ian Hislop too! He’s brilliant. I used to wish he could be my mentor when I was wanting to be a journo years ago!
Comment by Sophie October 10, 2008 @ 12:57 pmGood blog babe
xx