Mock the Week

Mock the Week is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson - the co-producers of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" - produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and premiered on 5 June 2005. The programme is presented by Dara Ó Briain and features regular appearances by comedian Hugh Dennis, as well as guest appearances by a variety of stand-up comedians, some of whom had regular appearances across several series.
The format of the programme sees six comedians divided into two teams and performing on a faux gameshow, in which the quiz aspect of answering questions relating to major and regional news items, all taken from the week prior to each episode's filming, is sidelined to focus on satirical, topical discussions on news items, stand-up routines, and the use of improvisational comedy. Every series also includes a compilation episode featuring notable scenes, outtakes, and additional footage cut out after filming, with re-runs of episodes being frequently shown on the channel Dave.
Format.
"Mock the Week" focuses on six panellists – all being a comedian or a stand-up comedian – split into two teams, in which they compete over four rounds, presided over by host Dara Ó Briain. Although the programme maintains a quiz aspect to the format, which features questions on news items taken from those made during the week before an episode's filming, it is largely sidelined completely with a focus on comedy derived from topical, satirical discussions on the subject of each question, as well as from rounds featuring either stand-up routines by certain panellists, or improvisation comedy. Unlike "Have I Got News for You", a similar topical, satirical programme that maintains a similar format but without the stand-up routines and improvisational comedy, "Mock the Week"s format does not use team captains or maintain a proper scoring system – teams generally win a round depending on who the host deems won it, including the episode.
Each episode is edited to feature about four rounds from those filmed and edited by production staff, to fit a 30-minute timeslot. Some content not used is often retained for use in a compilation episode, which also includes outtakes and highlights from the series. Although the first two series featured a multitude of different rounds for use, most of these were later abolished, leaving the programme to primarily use the following rounds in each episode:
On occasion the programme includes an additional round, which has mainly been shown during a compilation or special episode of the programme:
Panellists.
The panellists used on the programme are primarily comedians, including stand-up comedians, many of whom have made multiple appearances across the programme's history. While "Mock the Week" maintains the involvement of Hugh Dennis as a regular panellist - who has appeared in all episodes since its premiere in 2005, with the exception of a special episode of the programme that was broadcast as part of David Walliams' 24 Hour Panel People - it initially incorporated additional regulars alongside Dennis and Ó Briain, including: Rory Bremner (Series 1 to Series 2); Andy Parsons (Series 3 to Series 14); Russell Howard (Series 4 to Series 9); Frankie Boyle (Series 1 to Series 7); and Chris Addison (Series 10 to Series 12). However the programme later focused on ditching the need for regular members in the cast in order to incorporate more guest panellists for episodes.
Controversy and criticism.
On several occasions, "Mock the Week" has been the source of complaints, due to some risqué comments made by the panellists and the show's extreme use of profanity (in particular Frankie Boyle). In the first episode of Series 4, during a segment called "What The Queen Didn't Say in Her Christmas Message", Boyle made the comment: "I am now so old that my pussy is haunted." This led to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson being challenged about the comments on "Newsnight". Boyle later quipped "That was three years ago. If it wasn't haunted then it certainly is now."
In 2008, a larger controversy arose following another comment made by Boyle regarding swimmer Rebecca Adlington. Boyle stated that "she looks like someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon". The BBC ruled that the jokes were indeed "humiliating" and "risked offending the audience", while also calling Boyle "a brilliant member of the team". Despite this, Adlington's agent said that simply admitting mistakes was not enough, saying: "By giving Frankie Boyle a rebuke they fail to discourage others from doing the same."
Since leaving the show, Boyle has criticised both the show's production team and the BBC Trust. He claims that the show did not cover enough major news stories and was too restrictive on his risqué comedy act, as the producers and the BBC Trust were afraid of "frightening the horses".
The lack of female guests on the programme has been the subject of complaints in the letters page of the "Radio Times". Jo Brand, while criticising the male-dominated genre of comedy panel shows, said in 2009, "I don't do "Mock the Week" any more and neither do some male stand-ups I know who have tried it once. We just don’t like the prospect of having to bite someone’s foot off before they let us say something."
In 2013, former panelist Rory Bremner stated his reasons for leaving the show, saying: "I felt that there was a new and highly competitive and quite aggressive tendency there and felt uncomfortable. But I've since found out that very few people have felt comfortable doing Mock the Week." He also criticised the way comedians like Linda Smith were treated by new comedians, who "are like prize fighters".
Official merchandise.
A DVD, "Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV" was released on 26 November 2007. It contains almost three hours of material, including three extended episodes from series five, containing scenes that were considered too rude for broadcast. The three extended episodes are titled, 'Putin, Henman & Konnie Huq', 'Nuts, Pies and Nim Nim Nim' and 'Money, Sex and The Lib Dems'.
"Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV 2" was released on 9 November 2009. Again, the DVD contains the main 'Too Hot For TV' feature with a compilation of unseen footage, plus three extended episodes from the series archives titled, 'The Anal Lube Show', 'The Leg Show' and 'The Hedgehog Show'. The extended episodes have a total of more than 40 minutes of unseen material. Audio CD versions of both DVDs are available.
"Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV 3" was released on 8 November 2010. Like the previous two, this DVD features an hour-long "smut reel" and three extended episodes titled 'The Elves and Testicles Show', 'The Prisons and Other Dodgy Stuff Show', and 'The Johnny Blowjob and Bird Flu Show'.
Boxtree published seven original tie-in books between 2008 and 2014, plus one which compiled the best of the first two books.
"Mock the Week: Scenes We'd Like to See" (August 2008)<br>
"Mock the Week: This Year's Book" (September 2009)<br>
"Mock the Week: 1001 Jokes" (January 2010, collected the best of the first two books, later published in paperback as "Mock the Week: 1001 Scenes We'd Like to See")<br>
"Mock the Week: Next Year's Book" (September 2010)<br>
"Mock The Week's Funniest Book of All Time" (2011)<br>
"Mock The Week's Only Book You'll Ever Need (2012)<br>
"Mock The Week's Ultimate Panic-Buy!" (2013)<br>
"Mock The Week's Brand Spanking New Scenes We'd Like To See" (2014).