Never Mind the Buzzcocks 

Music-based comedy quiz show.

Stars:

Phill Jupitus, Mark Lamarr, Bill Bailey

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Phill Jupitus	...	Himself - Team Captain / ... 281 episodes, 1996-2014
Mark Lamarr	...	Himself - Host 157 episodes, 1996-2005

Storyline

A comedy trivia quiz based around pop music, originally hosted by Mark Lamarr up to October 2006, then hosted by Simon Amstell until his departure in 2011. From that point forward the show was hosted by different guest hosts every week until Rhod Gilbert became the new permanent host, beginning in 2014. Current team captains are Phil Jupitus and Noel Fielding, with Bill Bailey and Sean Hughes being previous captains. Each week different musicians and comedians make up the teams and play musically themed rounds, including one where team members have to identify song intros hummed to them and another where a bygone music star has to be picked out of a line-up of lookalikes.

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Plot Keywords:

pop music | four word title | band name in title | british comedy | rock star | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Game-Show | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1996 (UK)

Also Known As:

Забей на панк-рок

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), FremantleMedia, TalkBack Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2007, Preston of the Ordinary Boys walked out of a recording after host Simon Amstell read disparaging extracts from his (now ex) wife Chantelle Houghton's autobiography Living the Dream. Bill Bailey went into the audience and found a replacement who looked a bit like him, and the show continued and was broadcast in full.

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Quotes

Lisa: Put me out of my misery.
Mark: I'd love to.
[looking off-stage]
Mark: Could someone please get my croquet mallet?

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Connections

Referenced in Jumpers for Goalposts: Episode #1.1 (2001)

User Reviews

Hilarious

The only show to literally make me fall on the floor with laughter. I see all these complaints about an OTT laughter track, but I would swear that really is the audience reaction - it's certainly what I'm doing at home. From the early days of Mark Lamarr, Sean Hughes and Phil Jupitus, right through to the current line-up, it has remained one of the sharpest and funniest shows ever.

Of course, Buzzcocks has had its share of problems. It lost its edge a little towards the end of Lamarr's reign; having done the show for 10 years he was getting bored and working on autopilot. Happily, after he left, the show got revitalised with the arrival of Simon Amstell, and bounced back with a very different but equally strong style of hosting.

It's now common knowledge that Buzzcocks is pre-rehearsed, and that Sean Hughes left for frustration with this 'fake' aspect. To me this barely detracts at all. Far better to have a few pre-prepared answers than everybody floundering around in silence. Who wants the intro round ruined by performers muttering "I don't know that one"? Yes, they practice first - let it go. Furthermore, though I love Sean (and his accent), his replacement Bill Bailey is an even better team captain.

Do they take things too far sometimes? It's certainly remarkable how much they get away with - countless celebrity death threats, the punishment of naive guests (amazing that only one has walked off), and of course the infamous Courtney Love joke among many other controversial moments, would be cut from most other programmes. Gentle types will wince at times, but those of us with a cruel streak truly revel in it. The trio say all the things we want to but either don't think of or don't dare to voice.

Best of all, the show is for music lovers and music dunces to enjoy alike. Whether you know exactly what they're talking about, or whether you're completely at sea, Buzzcocks is always hilarious.