Just a Minute: Through the Years

Oct 9, 2024 8:24 AM

Author:BBC Radio Comedy,Nicholas Parsons,Paul Merton,Kenneth Williams,Derek Nimmo,Peter Jones,Kenny Everett,Full Cast

Ten archive editions of the the much-loved BBC Radio 4 panel game plus two very special programmes, chaired by Nicholas Parsons.

Seasons come and go, and years fly by, but Just a Minute has been a constant ray of sunshine on Radio 4 for over 50 years.

Now, in this new collection of programmes, ten previously unpublished editions — from the 1970s to the 2010s — are presented alongside two very special half hours: Just a Minute: 50 Years in 28 Minutes and 50 Years of Just a Minute: Paul Merton in Conversation with Nicholas Parsons.

Among the many guest performers attempting to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation from the subject are Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud, Derek Nimmo, Peter Jones, Paul Merton, Andrée Melly, Patrick Moore, Kenny Everett, Tim Rice, Wendy Richard, Richard Murdoch, Jenny Eclair, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Stephen Frost, Gyles Brandreth, Sue Perkins and Frank Skinner.

Who will win enough points to take a commanding lead, who will find themselves trailing a little, and who will finish in a strong fourth place? Find out as we play Just a Minute!

1. 12 October 1971: Featuring Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Andrée Melly, Kenneth Williams

2. 18 April 1978: Featuring Clement Freud, Patrick Moore, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams

3. 5 February 1980: Featuring Kenny Everett, Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Kenneth Williams

4. 16 June 1984: Featuring Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Tim Rice, Kenneth Williams

5. 16 June 1988: Featuring Clement Freud, Derek Nimmo, Wendy Richard, Kenneth Williams

6. 28 April 1990: Featuring Peter Jones, Paul Merton, Richard Murdoch, Wendy Richard

7. 2 August 1999: Featuring Jenny Eclair, Stephen Frost, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Peter Jones

8. 19 January 2004: Featuring Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Graham Norton, Linda Smith

9. 9 January 2006: Featuring Clement Freud, Stephen Fry, Paul Merton, Tim Rice

10. 18 August 2014: Featuring Gyles Brandreth, Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, Frank Skinner

11. 25 December 2017: Just a Minute: 50 Years in 28 Minutes. Featuring panellists from across the years

12. 1 January 2018: 50 Years of Just a Minute - Paul Merton in conversation with Nicholas Parsons

Devised by Ian Messiter

Chaired by Nicholas Parsons

Episode selection by Michael Stevens

Music: The Minute Waltz (Waltz in D Flat Major, Op. 64) by Chopin

Duration: 5 hours 50 mins approx.

Please note: The humour in these programmes sometimes reflects the era in which they were first broadcast. Contains strong language and mild innuendo. Due to the archive nature of some of the episodes, sound quality may vary.

Reviews

A fascinating insight into the child star turned superstar, Hindsight lets fans know JT better than ever before

—— OK

His blow-by-blow account of the performance is breathless in its fan-boy enthusiasm and much of the rest of When Ziggy Played Guitar is rooted in its personal impressions. “The by-product of Ziggy’s success was the validation of identity, our identity”, Jones writes, and it’s hard not to be moved by his hero worship.

—— New Statesman

Jones is a wonderfully fluent writer, with a terrific knack for atmospheric phrasemaking, period detail and juicy factoids.

—— Daily Telegraph

Dylan Jones’s account of David Bowie’s rise to superstardom. We’ll eat up anything about the greatest pop star who ever walked this planet.

—— The Herald Magazine

This excellent book looks at the background to that memorable TV event, and its enduring legacy.

—— Choice Magazine

Unlike previous Bowie biographies, Jones’ book says less about Bowie and more about the time, reading often, and in a very entertaining way, like a culturally-aware history textbook. For every mention of the miners’ strike or Bloody Sunday there’s a full page devoted to The Velvet Underground or A Clockwork Orange – and these pages are needed to help fully explain how Bowie put together this character who proclaimed "let all the children boogie".

—— whiffytidings.com

Meticulously researched by GQ editor Dylan Jones…this 214-page tome enlists the help of people like Bono, Neil Tennant, Siouxsie Sioux and ahem, Tony Blackburn to put those 240 glorious seconds into cultural context.

—— Hot Press Magazine

A personal view of one of the most influential moments in pop history.

—— Choice magazine

Jones's engaging personal tribute to Bowie's glittering talent concludes that 'Ziggy is owned by all of us who were touched that day.

—— Daily Mail, Must Read

The great chronicler of Hollywood in the late twentieth century turns his critical eye to the cinema and television of the twenty first. Essential reading

—— Colin MacCabe

A bold, witty, and brilliantly argued analysis of the role pop culture has played in the rise of American extremism

—— Ruth Reichl

Your book was . . . like a bag of pot, with me saying, 'I'm not gonna smoke.' But I was insatiable

—— Quentin Tarantino on EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS

Previous Article：Bridget Christie Minds the Gap: The Complete Series 1 and 2 Next Article：Richard Herring’s Objective: The Complete Series 1 and 2

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.