Just A Minute: The Best Of 2011

Nov 15, 2024 1:30 PM

Author:Ian Messiter,Nicholas Parsons,Various

'Welcome to Just a Minute! And as The Minute Waltz fades away... please talk for 60 seconds on a random subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation...' First broadcast in 1967, Just a Minute is one of the longest-running radio comedy shows. A national institution, it is also loved and listened to all around the world. These four episodes find regulars Paul Merton, Graham Norton, Tony Hawks and Julian Clary attempting to talk non-stop for sixty seconds, along with special guests that include Stephen Fry, Sir Terry Wogan, Gyles Brandreth, Ross Noble, Sue Perkins and Liza Tarbuck. Among the subjects hilariously tackled are Dear Listener, The Best Sort of Babysitter, The Dictionary, A Limerick, The History of the World, How to Clean a Chandelier and On Valentine's Day, I Received... Join host Nicholas Parsons and the distinguished panellists, as they use their intellect, imagination and verbal dexterity to beat the clock and win the points in these four ferociously funny shows.

2 CDs. 1 hr 51 mins.

Reviews

admirably captures the atmosphere, story-telling practices and feel of a traditional Doctor Who story

—— http://www.huntspost.co.uk

the writing and acting are so tight they're in danger of cutting off your blood supply

—— Jane Anderson , Radio Times

Cabin Pressure is one of the best written, cast, acted and directed comedies on anywhere.

—— Gillian Reynolds , Daily Telegraph

The more I listen to John Finnemore's Cabin Pressure, the more I think what a stonking masterpiece it is. Perfect in every department.

—— Philip Pullman

no-holds-barred

—— List

very funny but also very moving

—— The London Paper

very funny

—— Hampshire View

there are moments here that shine with the genius for observational comedy for which Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (the Fatty of the title) are famous

—— Guardian

Dawn writes (with) tenderness, caring and oodles of charm. Well-paced, it's a reminder of why she has been a staple of the British comedy scene since the early 1980s

—— Guernsey Press

Anyone perparing for another dry, identikit celebrity autobiography is going to be delighted by these hilarious memoirs

—— She

French can still cut the comic mustard

—— Time Out

while much of the book's tone is that of the unassailably jolly Dawn we all expect ... other letters are tear-jerkingly poignant and none more so than those she writes to her late father Denys French

—— Daily Express

For all her honesty anyone hoping for a light-hearted romp will be delighted ... While her charm shines throughout, the more intense moments stay with you in a way that most celeb autobiographies can only strive for

—— Sunday Express

you'll be captivated by her witty and warm style

—— Prima

Self-depracating yet never self-pitying, irreverent yet never truly cynical, she comes across as a woman genuinely at ease with herself ... French is engaging company, and at her best she writes about heartbreak and elation with such grace that her book is impossible to dislike

—— Boston Standard

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