Have I Got News For You

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Have I Got News For You
5 / 5

Series: 48
Aired: 1990 - present

Channel: BBC Two and BBC One
Writers: Various
Cast: Ian Hislop and Paul Merton with guests (Previous: Angus Deyton)
Variations: Have I Got Old News For You and Have I Got A Bit More News For You

For something to be still going since the 90s on television is exceptional. I suppose for a News Quiz to still be going is slightly less exceptional, but for it to still have the same cast? Pretty good going. Aside from the dropped host (I enjoy the guest hosting aspect immensely) Ian Hislop and Paul Merton have been talking about politics and the news since it's inception.

The premise is simple: take the weeks topical events (mostly political), throw in some comedians, politicians and journalists and talk about them. It's fairly foolproof, in as much as a topical news quiz can possibly be (I'm looking at you Mock the Week) and you pretty much get what you're looking for. Ian Hislop and Paul Merton have been doing HIGNFY (#hastag) since it began and you can clearly see why: you could almost call them a double act, they bounce off each other so well. Ian brings his Private Eye political knowledge to the fore, couple with his satire that the magazine is famous for and, of course, the legendary Spitting Image. Paul Merton and his dead-pan comedy cuts straight to the heart of the matter, counter-balancing Hislop's desire for the truth with his own desire for something funny instead.

An aspect completely unique to HIGNFY (#hashtag) is the occurrence of politician guests. I'm sure most of us are rather distrustful of most (all) politicians, especially in the current climate, but those who go on HIGNFY (#hastag (I'll stop doing that now, sorry)) gain my respect even if only slightly, purely because they are letting themselves in for some serious drubbing-and it will always be clever. I wouldn't be surprised if they're vacuuming the week after and suddenly realise that Hislop's comment wasn't even slightly a compliment. It's lovely and British and something I think the BBC need to hold on to. After the escapades of Brand and Ross, the BBC have been super careful about anything they let air and HIGNFY showed that in the first year or so after of that debacle, but now they're relaxing again and that's only for the better.

I've mentioned before that I prefer comedy that teaches over most (with an exception that I will write most fervidly about later) and HIGNFY is just that. If you find yourself not caring much about politics, watching a comedy-driven political show is the best way forward.