Jonathan Ross classic or dud

He is fantastic at Seinfeld style rants about nothing important, and he can be fucking funny. However, like everyone else who appears on it, he does turn into über-blokey-moron on They Think It's All Funny. This cannot be overlooked.

That said he is a They Might Be Giants fan which is a big no-no. He mentioned Tanya's 10 TMBG piss-takes on his show once and was not amusing. So twunt.

(* - a couple of weeks ago he had Richard Littlejohn as a guest. Oh, how Wrighty chuckled [Wayne Carr's 'Chinnywag' came instantly to mind] as Littlejohn railed [but, y'know, in a light-hearted and matey way] against asylum seekers, the liberal elite and our society 'which now seeks to protect the criminal and persecute the victim'. The most repugnant piece of radio broadcasting I've ever almost felt compelled to write to R4 about.)

People tell me Jack Docherty was good during his Saturday evening stint. Anyone hear it?

revive why because he taboo interesting: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdcbO3XkGM&feature=related

the tv show is better now - his producer or whoever seems to have cottoned on to the idea that he can actually INTERVIEW people and ask them reasonably intelligent/interesting questions and they dont have to just be props for him to talk crap over.

the radio show though is sort of funny, but i just find him too smug and well not THAT funny to enjoy as much as everyone else seems to..

and the film show is decent but the reviews have too much of the 'reading from a teleprompt' about them. theyre too 'written' sounding.

destroy

Doesn't deserve his wife.

Probably an alright person in real life but an insufferable cunt on telly.

barry norman was a better film reviewer though.

the tone of his presenting on r2 needs to be delivered less 'funny'. much too much smug affectation.

"insufferable cunt on telly2

not just on telly.

Oh, yeah. I don't ever listen to the wireless so I forgot.

His Friday night show has been getting better recently, but for some reason this week it was insufferable during the extended monologue. I wish he'd keep eating that lethal desert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxZS-B32rjA

"Doesn't deserve his wife."

doesn't deserve her chest maybe, but if you've ever seen or read anything she's ever been involved in you know they do deserve eachother

From the evidence of his recent TV and radio shows the central problem is that he needs to book decent guests outside the usual Avalon Management/next door neighbour comfort zone.

Newsflash: David Thomson confirmed as presenter of Film '09.

He's not bad so long as he isn't going on about his fucking stupid dogs, and his matey interviews with his tennis partners/shared agent showbix friends (Gervais, Jimmy Carr, Jack Dee) are often excrutiating.

He should do more where he's tackling things he's actually passionate about, like the Steve Ditko documentary, lol Japanorama, and the early '90s stuff like Incredibly Strange Film Show and One Night With David Lynch.

he gave kerry katona a good grilling.

*insert Iceland-related punchline of your choice*

just saw him presenting the bbc 4 world cinema awards. im sure its hard to really invest yourself in your subject when youre the front for so many programmes per week but does he really like film? i know he used to do film reviews in one of the tabloids but his film reviewing/insight seems a bit crap IMO (either that or his producer/crew arent that good). plus, i dont wanna hear any 'thats a hard name to pronounce' jokes on a world cinema programme. c'mon...

i think he's marginally better than barry norman -- otoh norman did the show for about 30 years, and conceivably he was better *before i was born*. by the 90s he seemed completely bored by films. ross is just doing a consumer guide thing -- i guess he thinks he's serving the audience, who just want to know what to go and see, but he sounds insincerem and i don't think he's ever thrown a curveball.

no idea why he does the world cinema thing. it wouldn't matter if the bbc's main film critic said that (eg) '4 months 3 weeks 2 days' was literally the best film ever; the audience for world cinema seems to be basically static, and putting a spuriously popular face on the awards show seems pointless. on the other hand who else are they going to use? 10 years ago mark cousins, i guess, but now it'd probably be mark lawson.

theres always mark kermode...

I hate how Film 200- mainly consists of extended puff pieces now. It was a deal more serious-minded in Norman's day, IIRC.

he gave AvP/R the thumbs up

what does the guy who does Talking Movies actually think about films?

i dunno if it's on youtube or not, but norman's super-suckup int. w/ michelle pfeiffer is poss. the creepiest thing i have ever seen on tv (makes d. thomson's bk on nicole kidman look postively 'well-adjusted' in comparison)

back in the 80s, ross made a v. v. good series of C4 docs on cult/grindhouse auteurs like ted v. mikels and herschell gordon lewis - at the time, this kind of thing seemed like a TOTAL breath of fresh air when compared to norman's daily mail 'common sense' middlebrow take on cinema (even worse was when michael fucking parkinson used to fill in for bazza - i'll never forget parkinson making some outrageously homophobic comments when reviewing a derek jarman movie)

I quite enjoyed that Japanorama thing he did. He is properly passionate about all that stuff, to his credit.

I think the problem with Film 200* is an editorial thing rather than Ross, though it's disappointing that he hasn't been able to transcend the limitations of the show. It's clearly the tv equivalent of Empire or Total Film, unfortunately there's no equivalent of Sight and Sound on tv. I suppose there's the odd doc on BBC 4, and a little insert on Late Review or The Culture Show but there's not regular show which makes a habit of looking beyond the multiplex. Ironically the one BBC show which does is The Film Programme on Radio 4.

if only it was as good as empire!!!

Ross is more into comics than film.

You're never going to get a good film critic as equally good presenter or vice versa which is the problem with Film XX's format. An alternative film show would be great and Channel 4 should be able to do one now (but you'd think this with music and other media also). At least a return of Vids if nothing better is really feasible!

Haha, I'd completely forgotten about Vids! Manic litle Welsh fucker and tall lugubrious Scotsman, right?

indeed

At the end of series 2, the Vids videostore was blown up in a storyline, seemingly killing Stef and Nige. The duo would return in episode one of series 3, being resurrected by a Four-Way Arse God and sent back to earth to continue their task of reviewing videos.

Someone bothered to write a Wiki for Vids. The internet will never cease to amaze and baffle me.

format they do with kermode on the radio, where the presenter-who-likes-film-but-isn't-an-expert interviews the actual-film-critic works pretty well in terms of keeping the balance. though in either case it's weird having just one guy's opinion week-in, week-out.

i don't know if they have a comparable books programme, but having one person holding down 'the books slot' every week would be kinda odd. there probably are critics who are interested in every genre, every kind of world cinema, etc, but i think it's a funny way to do it. as in newspaper music reviews, why not have a panel system?

Having kermode on to do the film reviews is increasingly like getting your emo cousin to review this weeks dance records.

I have it on good authority that Ross's researchers are on to this thread and it may be mentioned on next Friday's show.

Step up the wit a bit.

i don't know if they have a comparable books programme, but having one person holding down 'the books slot' every week would be kinda odd. there probably are critics who are interested in every genre, every kind of world cinema, etc, but i think it's a funny way to do it. as in newspaper music reviews, why not have a panel system?

-- That one guy that hit it and quit it, Sunday, February 3, 2008 9:22 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

i mean JUST FOR EXAMPLE there's this wicked awesome sight and sound dude who i'm SURE would be up for this kind of a gig.

can't recall the name tho : /

Bring back Moviewatch with Johnny Vaughan.

you know how in the 90s tv comics could get a laugh by saying "space hoppers"?

is that what we're becoming now, as a generation, only with (say) "gamesmaster"?

Bring back Standing Room Only.

With Shelley Webb.

the 8:15 from manchester amirite guys?

All the Newsnight Review people should have been made to go on Dancing On Ice.

"And Worzel doing a crucifix there..."

Likewise I am sure that Newsnight Review would benefit hugely from the fresh aesthetic perspective offered by BRAVE OLYMPIC ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID NEVER THE BRIDE JAVELIN HERO Steve Backley, WEST END STAR Suzanne Shaw and TV's Tim Vincent.

I know I've done this somewhere else but anyway:

Jonathan TOSS morelike

There, that's that done.

I used to work on Vids... and I survived...

dear ross's researchers: If you had to kill one comedian, who would it be?

Bring back Collins and Maconie's Movie Club.

"Eh? Eh? No Country For Old Men? What was that all about? Eh? Eh?"

But for eternity.

Bring back Movies Movies Movies (later Movies Games & Videos).

Actually, really don't. I remember watching that show and distinctly thinking: "You know all that guff about how TV has become trash with no editorial standards whatsoever? Well now it is actually true".

Nowadays, showbiz-related shows with voiceovers that just regurgitate promotional material are unremarkable, but back then, that oaf shouting "This week in MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES we look at Jim Carrey in a hilarious face-bending caper!" was quite shocking.

Wikipedia tells me the oaf was Steve Priestley and he now presents Magic 105.4's drivetime show.

Categories: List of Notable Oafs

"And for the twelfth time this hour it's Chasing Pavements followed by Chasing Cars SPEAKING OF WHICH I hope the traffic jams tonight aren't slowing you down too much..."

What's the worst job you've ever had?

oh yes, and "yes indeedy oho 16 minutes to the hour OF that's the sound OF" until hell freezeth o'er.

Steve Priestley may have been the first person to do the "If you THINK you know the answer..." and spearhead the 'competition question has to be ridic easy so more people enter' trend commonplace thereafter. or maybe not.

I have it on good authority that Ross's researchers are on to this thread and it may be mentioned on next Friday's show.

-- Rib Dinner, Monday, February 4, 2008 10:30 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Link

more like LAME authority.

props to J-Ro for not taking part in the great TWBB kisschase. this counts as a curveball.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PAUL-ROSS-Canvas-Print-MirrorPrintStore/dp/B001N6W8U0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

That is amazing.

I READ HARRYS PLACE TOO

£48.93, a bargain!

I READ HARRYS PLACE TOO

Seems like a delightful site:

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1192/lolharrywuthz9.jpg

shami chakrabarti chose the kaiser chiefs for desert island discs, so, y'know.

"Fuck Off, Shami Chakrabati"

^^^qft

To get back on topic: http://twitter.com/wossy

The problem with Twitter is that everyone thinks they're Samuel bloody Pepys. Hint: they are not.

Paul Dacre's head to explode with joy

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2011/8/31/1314806054765/Jonathan-Ross-007.jpg

so this guy looks like he was from the tudor era?