Review
I’m sure that there’s not many, if any people reading this that have never seen a single episode of Have I Got News For You. In case you haven’t though, H.I.G.N.F.Y. is a topical news quiz where two teams answer questions on current affairs in order to win the quiz that week. At least in theory that’s what it’s all about. In reality it is 30 minutes of Paul Merton, Ian Hislop and (until very recently) Angus Deayton, taking the mickey out of their fellow panellists, politician, celebrities, royals and anyone else who happens to be in the public eye that week.
What we have on the DVD is a collection of what the DVD producers feel are the best bits from the series between 1990 and 2002. There are about 10 minutes worth of clips for each year and the clips can either be played in sequence as one long feature or you have the option to watch a particular year. The first thing that struck me when I started watching the feature is how different they all looked 12 years ago. From Angus Deayton’s hairstyle, to Ian Hislop having a lot more hair and Paul Merton actually looking quite ill back then.
The other thing I really noticed, was the way that many of the old jokes are startlingly relevant today, in respect of what we now know about people. There are jokes about the honesty of people like Jeffrey Archer or the sexual preferences of Michael Barrymore for example. I was almost starting to think that the panel must be clairvoyant.
I’ve always liked this show and very rarely miss an episode, for me the star of the show is Paul Merton. He has an incredibly quick wit and can come up with something funny for just about any scenario. Combined with Hislop and Deaton the three of them make a great team, and now that Deayton has left the show (in suitably controversial fashion) I think the series has really lost its edge. I far one cannot think of another host that could fill his shoes.
Video/Audio
Video quality is on the whole as you might expect for a TV program release. Generally it’s up to broadcast quality however there are occasions, particularly on some years when they quality takes a noticeable drop. I guess this is down to the quality of whatever masters they could get hold of. One other thing to mention on the video side is that when you get to 1998 the aspect ratio changes. This is because this was the first year that H.I.G.N.F.Y was broadcast in widescreen and thankfully the producers have used the intended aspect ratios.
Not really too much to say on the audio side, the whole feature is presented in a functional but not outstanding Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. The track is perfectly adequate and I wouldn’t really expect anything more or less.
Extras
For a TV program this disk has a fairly decent selection of extras. First up is an audio commentary from Paul Merton and Ian Hislop. I have to confess that I was a little dubious of a commentary for a program like this and I think I was right to be so. While it is occasionally quite funny they do start to struggle for things to say over such a long feature. It’s not an overly bad commentary, but not one I would want to get through in one sitting.
Trivia Text is a nice little feature. Throughout the main feature a text box appears towards the bottom of the screen with interesting facts about the program, general statistic and humorous quips. Why do they Do it? Is a six and a half minute feature from a NewsNight special that aired in may of 1997. This feature discusses the reasons that people volunteer to go on the program knowing full well that they’ll be ridiculed and made to look stupid by the team.
Tributes, Memories, Contempt is a three and a half minute selection of interviews with public figures who are either fans or enemies of the show. They discuss why the love or loath the program. Room 101 is a very funny four and a half minute clip from Room 101 when Terry Wogan asks the then presenter Nick Hancock for H.I.G.N.F.Y to go into Room 101.
Trails is as you might have guessed a collection of TV trails for the program from over the years of it’s running, generally these trails are very amusing. Finally there is a selection of text only production credits which also features a list of all the guests featured on the DVD.
Overall
For a best of release that’s obviously been timed for the Christmas Present market, this is a very well put together DVD. The main feature is over two hours long and there is a decent selection of extras. Given the nature of the material it’s not something I could watch over and over again, but as a fan of the show it was good to relive some of the old episodes.
If your looking for a Christmas box for someone who’s a fan of the show or you want it for yourself then the DVD is a worthy purchase.