Not the Nine O’Clock News is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the Nine O’Clock News on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy sketches, re-edited videos, and spoof television formats. The programme features Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith, and Griff Rhys Jones, as well as Chris Langham in the first series.
The format was a deliberate departure from the stream of consciousness meta-comedy pioneered by Monty Python’s Flying Circus, returning to a more conventional sketch format. Sketches were mostly self-contained, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, and often had a degree of naturalism in performance. The series launched the careers of several high-profile actors and writers, and also led to other comedic series including Blackadder and Alas Smith and Jones.
The series benefited from video editing and recording techniques. The pace was enhanced by jump-cutting between library clips, usually of politicians, royalty, or celebrities. The then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher complained when, by adroit image editing, the programme implied she had crashed a car. Effects used in pop videos, provided by the Quantel Paintbox, were often a highlight of the musical numbers.
Satire was a key theme in the series’ comedy. For example, one spoof news element might include a routine announcement that NASA had once again announced a delay in the launch of its Space Shuttle owing to technical difficulties, as the screen showed the shuttle on its launch pad with oxygen streaming off the tanks, overlaid with the sound of a car engine turning over but not starting. An opening graphic featured the same blue screen and white analogue clock ticking down to 9:00 p.m. as preceded the original Nine O’Clock News, followed by an announcement of the time in similar voice and, in parody, the announcement that this was “definitely not the Nine O’Clock News”. Skits could include scenes such as a group of rural Americans at a barbecue singing several minutes of comical implausibles like “I’m prepared to believe that Nixon wasn’t a crook; I’m prepared to believe Love Story‘s a readable book…” and finally concluding, “I believe that the devil is ready to repent; – but I can’t believe Ronald Reaganis president.”
Three vinyl albums were released at the time the series was screening, entitled Not the Nine O’Clock News, Hedgehog Sandwich, and The Memory Kinda Lingers. These albums were very successful, with the first two both reaching the top ten of the UK albums chart, a rare feat for a spoken word album. Hedgehog Sandwich also peaked at number 89 in Australia. The original version of The Memory Kinda Lingers is a double LP. The second disc is titled Not in Front of the Audience and is a live recording of the cast’s stage production. Hedgehog Sandwich and the first disc of The Memory Kinda Lingers were later combined on a BBC double-length cassette and double-CD set. “The Ayatollah Song” b/w “Gob on You” (as featured in the TV show) and “I Like Trucking” b/w “Supa Dupa” were also released as singles. The 1980 single “Typing Pool” by ‘Pam and the Paper Clips’ (EMI 5015), is variously ascribed to Pamela Stephenson and NtNON. It was in fact written by Roger and Nigel Planer, who were among the show’s many writers.
