Product Description

This title includes four specially selected episodes of Radio 4's much-loved panel game, hosted by Nicholas Parsons. 'Welcome to "Just a Minute!" And as the Minute Waltz fades away...please talk for 60 seconds on a random subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation'. First broadcast in 1968, "Just a Minute" is one of the longest-running radio comedy shows. A national institution, it is also loved and listened to all around the world. These four episodes find regulars Paul Merton and Clement Freud attempting to talk non-stop for sixty seconds, along with special guests Gyles Brandreth, Jack Dee, Pam Ayres, Sir Tim Rice, Tony Hawks, Liza Tarbuck, Sheila Hancock, David Mitchell, Josie Lawrence and Sue Perkins. Among the subjects hilariously tackled are tomboys, my secret vice, charisma, hot air, Speakers' Corner, cat lovers, agony aunts and bugs. Join host Nicholas Parsons and the distinguished panellists, as they use their intellect, imagination and verbal dexterity to beat the clock and win the points in these four ferociously funny shows.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1362 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-08
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

Many more minutes of entertainment
I can only concur with what everyone else has been saying. This is a truly entertaining collection of programs from the radio show 'Just a Minute' in which many of the BBC's best comedians and stars tell jokes and have a general banter (like many formats, its always goes off topic). Ideal for playing when driving or working around the house!

Like a beloved, and slightly naughty old friend
I've given this five stars because I love Just A Minute. I love Nicholas Parsons and the much-missed Clement Freud and Jack Dee, Pam Ayres and Lisa Tarbuck and almost all the other panelists who feature on this 'best of' compilation. I really enjoy the gentle (although sometimes surprisingly quite rude) humour, and the joking about and Nicholas Parsons' endearing ramblings and the quick wits of the contestants as they try to out do each other in terms of avoiding repetition, deviation and hesitation. I even like the Minute Waltz that always 'fades away' at the beginning of each programme.

What you get here are four excellent episodes of Just A Minute from earlier this year (2009). You don't get anything else, so really it is only suitable for fans of the programme, or people with the kind of sense of humour who you think might enjoy it if they heard it. I listened to the two CD's back to back in my car earlier and although I was laughing out loud, they made me feel a bit wistful and nostalgic. Clement Freud died earlier this year and life won't ever be the same without him, and I can't help feeling Just A Minute is a gorgeous relic from a time that's passing by. At the very end of this compilation is a clip of Clement being asked on a separate episode of JAM what his preferred eulogy would be. I won't give away the answer but it's very funny and very poignant and such a good joke that it's worth buying this for that alone.

So I'm going to keep these CD's close and whenever life feels like it's getting too stressful or too serious or just too modern, I'm going to treat myself to an episode of gentle fun and good humour.

And yes, I agree with the previous reviewer about Nicholas Parsons being a national treasure. Give him a knighthood, he's just a genius.

JUST 120 MINUTES OF SHEER DELIGHT
JUST A MINUTE is one of the few radio programmes where I try to listen both to the initial broadcast AND the repeat, often finding it funnier the second time round when you already know what's coming! So these four programmes in this latest compilation were already quite familiar to me before playing the CDs. Even so, I still loved every second of it.

If you've never heard JUST A MINUTE before, where have you been? If, on the other hand, you're a regular fan, you will know exactly what to expect and `The Best of 2009' certainly delivers on its promise. All the shows featured here were recorded in the BBC's own Radio Theatre, the first three from earlier in the year and the fourth show is a more recent offering from July. In between, the show lost its last remaining panel member from the classic days with the passing of the irreplaceable Clement Freud. Indeed, Programme Three, recorded on March 9, was his last contribution, and the July show concludes with a very moving tribute* to this wonderful man and his dry laconic wit. In fact, Clement's final `subject' was "My favourite joke" where he tries to talk about an English-man, Scots- and Irish- without repeating the word "man". When Nicholas Parsons points out that these are acceptable as individual words and thus there was no reason to abridge them, Clement justifies himself by saying "It amuses me!" A perfectly Freudian reply.

The discs present the shows without preamble or introduction (unlike the series of `Classic Just A Minute' releases). Nicholas Parsons continues to elicit groans with some of his more cringe-making ad-libs but I wouldn't want, indeed cannot imagine, anyone else taking over as Chairman. He is there to be made fun of and argued with, but essentially he is indispensable in his crucial role. An impressive array of comic talent is on hand throughout, trying to avoid repetition, deviation, hesitation and repetition (joke © Humphrey Lyttelton) including contemporary mainstay Paul Merton in three of the four shows.

The only query I would have is that any choice of four programmes from the year's output is bound to be highly subjective. Who determines that these shows are `The Best of 2009'? Another listener could easily pick four entirely different shows. Better to think of these as a representative sample and, as such, a perfect starting place for any new listeners.

* The brief tribute to Clement Freud contains a clip featuring his observation on "How I would like my epitaph to read" and is side-splittingly funny, but you'll have to buy the CD to find out what he says.