Agree with Aaron. HIGNFY's approach to having a UKIP representative on the show was to make the "facts" fit with the jokes they wanted to make, rather than the other way around. Lazy. What they really wanted to do was make BNP jokes, but didn't have had the guts (or the licence) to invite Nick Griffin on to a light entertainment show.
Quote: Aaron @ April 2 2010, 2:06 PM BSTI thought largely the opposite: bashing a party is fine - that's generally what happens with satire - but the implication that not being a fan of the EU (politically) is akin to being so out-of-date that you don't believe women should vote, is breathtaking. If those comments had been directed at Nigel specifically, rather than UKIP as a whole, wouldn't that be libellous? Or slanderous? Or something...?
Chipolata Snr's a fan of UKIP and fully intends to vote for them at the next election. He does also hold some pretty breathtaking opinions on women, blacks and gays. I think single issue parties do tend to attract a certain mindset.
Eep!
Aren't older relatives fun...
Quote: Tim Walker @ April 2 2010, 2:11 PM BSTAgree with Aaron. HIGNFY's approach to having a UKIP representative on the show was to make the "facts" fit with the jokes they wanted to make, rather than the other way around. Lazy. What they really wanted to do was make BNP jokes, but didn't have had the guts (or the licence) to invite Nick Griffin on to a light entertainment show.
In fairness, the approach of HIGNFY, which is a satirical comedy show, toward UKIP didn't differ that greatly to the approach of Question Time, a serious political show, toward Nick Griffin. They only discussed one issue on that show too. It's time these extreme parties were slated because of the dangerous ideas they posses with regard to the economy, world affairs and the social make up of this country, rather than just branding them racist. People who vote for these parties already know they're racist and it doesn't seem to bother them too much, a different approach is needed, otherwise we're going to continue on this dangerous road. So in that sense, I agree, but HIGNFY is a comedy show, so all I look for is that it makes me laugh, which it did, it's not Newsnight.
Quote: chipolata @ April 2 2010, 2:55 PM BSTChipolata Snr's a fan of UKIP and fully intends to vote for them at the next election. He does also hold some pretty breathtaking opinions on women, blacks and gays. I think single issue parties do tend to attract a certain mindset.
But the two aren't intrinsically linked, are they? That was the implication of the comments Hislop made this week. They aren't UKIP party policies of principles as far as I'm aware!
I'm not a supporter of them, but UKIP is not a racist party in any way that I can see, having read and listened to their policies.
Quote: Mickeza @ April 2 2010, 3:43 PM BSTIn fairness, the approach of HIGNFY, which is a satirical comedy show, toward UKIP didn't differ that greatly to the approach of Question Time, a serious political show, toward Nick Griffin.
And we criticised that too!
Quote: Mickeza @ April 2 2010, 3:43 PM BSTIt's time these extreme parties were slated because of the dangerous ideas they posses...
You're not REALLY implying that UKIP are an extreme or dangerous party, are you?!
Quote: Aaron @ April 2 2010, 4:15 PM BSTYou're not REALLY implying that UKIP are an extreme or dangerous party, are you?!
Maybe not so much UKIP, but I don't really think it's in Britain's interests to elect members of the EU Parliament whose sole purpose is to just embarrass its fellow MEPs and disrupt the whole process of it. We aren't a major world player any more, and either we align ourselves with the US or the E.U. and people who have stereotypical rants in parliament just so they can target fellow xenophobic morons to vote for them are a disgrace. They are tapping into exactly the same well that the BNP are, and that's why I, along with many others, are mistakenly lumping them into the same group. I think UKIP's policies if enacted would be damaging to the country, just as I think the BNP's would be, regardless of whether they are racist or not. This is my point, attack the policy itself, not the policy maker. However, I don't expect HIGNFY to start this trend on the BBC when its far more serious flag ship political programs aren't doing it either.
No country can go it entirely alone, not even America (despite what it may try to tell itself). But the UKIP policy isn't, as far as I'm aware, to completely cut the UK off from the rest of Europe and all but deny its existence, nor is it even to stop working with them entirely. It's just to keep a distance. You mention aligning ourselves; that's fine, but we don't need to become them.
Anyway, we're getting quite far off-topic now.
I would have thought the whole point if you're a politician going on HIGNFY is to have the piss taken out of you, not to have the hosts say how sensible your policies are. UKIP might not be racist - although their friend Geert Wilders seems a nice chap - but they do come across as a bit touched.
Anyway, I quite enjoyed this week's episode.
Yes, I thought that was quite enjoyable, though I have made quite a big dent in a bottle of Jameson which may be impairing my judgement.
Farage knew what he was letting himself in for, and came out of it as well as can be expected. The real damage was done by the video of his cringe-making assault on the non-famous Belgian, and he has no-one to blame for that than himself. From his point of view, other people implying that his party's views are more extreme than they are, might actually work to his advantage. He can steal some votes from the BNP without scaring off more moderate supporters by having to sully himself with that kind of politics.
Shows often disappear prematurely with smug assertions that they have 'run their course' when they haven't but bizarrely this tired old carnival of shite still carries on without even a personnel change.
In tonight's episode we had lazy mocking of John Prescott who is actually far more interesting than his media caricature, and Hislop doing his usual indignant turns to the audience (rather than camera) to show his disgust at MPs abusing their privileges.
Hislop appears to have only had two jobs since leaving university - both of which he still holds. He is an establishment figure who has benefitted from massive privilege himself. His attacks contain no real bite - are directed at all sides so are politically useless and crucially aren't all that funny. Merton has been phoning in his performance for years. Notice however his irritation at Lee Mack when Mack dismissed his Odd One Out answer as 'clutching at straws'.
As someone else pointed out these goons need to raise their game. But better still to drop the programme and replace it with something else.
About the only plus for a C**tservative government is it may reawake satire that labor disapointments has driven it into.
Satire should be about anger. Not cheery bonhomie.
Contrast the indignant yet often funny bile that HIGNFY dumped on the Tories at the fag-end of the Major government, with their rather tepid and half-hearted response to the mountain of sleaze, cock-ups and incompetence of the Brown administration in the last couple of years.
New Labour is the equivalent of the Handsome Prince raping the comatose Snowwhite.
We were expecting a fairytale ending and are now just a little lost.
