EPISODE 6:

 

"Good evening and welcome to another programme in the series that this week creates a little bit of televisual history, as for the first time ever, Ian Hislop is in the lead."

FIRST BROADCAST: 20th November 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Sandi Toksvig; Paul Merton & Nick Hancock

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Sandi:   Publication of a private conversation between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles

Paul & Nick:   Public schoolboy gets £6,000 compensation for caning

Ian & Sandi:   The Mirror appoints new hierarchy following the Maxwell affair

Paul & Nick:   Footballer Vinnie Jones fined £20,000 over his "hardmen" video

Scores: Ian & Sandi 4; Paul & Nick 4

ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul: ‘BEWARE CURRIE'S DISEASE’

Illness related to poor diet named after Edwina Currie

Nick:  TOMB IT MAY CONCERN

Council sends letters to corpses asking for permission to inspect their graves

Sandi:  NAKED SPICE TO ARMY LIFE

Army chiefs test the attitude of their troops by leaving pornographic magazines in the mock battle field

Ian:  JAPANESE UP TO THEIR EARS IN JEWELS FROM THE SEWERS

Range of jewellery made from human excrement by the Japanese


Scores: Ian & Sandi 7; Paul & Nick 10

ROUND THREE - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Sandi - Prince Charles makes water conservation speech in torrential rain

Paul & Nick - BBC reporter John Simpson forgets the Chancellor's name


Scores: Ian & Sandi 9; Paul & Nick 10


ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Linford Christie; Screaming Lord Sutch; Jonathan Guinness; the captain of the Titanic

(Christie, as all the others have had a beer named after them)

Nick - Henry Ford; Gerald Ford; Ron Todd; Sandie Shaw

(Gerald Ford, as all the others used to work for the Ford motor company)

Sandi - Princess Michael; Alessandra Mussolini; Katie Boyle; Bernard Manning
(Manning, as all the others are the children of fascists)

Ian - Tom Cruise; John Travolta; Sir Alan Walters; Bart Simpson*

(Walters, as all the others are Scientologists)

*Bart Simpson is not a Scientologist, but the woman who supplies his voice is.

Scores: Ian & Sandi 13; Paul & Nick 11


ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Paul & Nick:

DINNER GUEST HESELTINE WALKS INTO __________

MY FATHER NEVER GAVE ME ANY __________ SAYS BLANDFORD

PRINCESS CALLS ON __________ TO SHOW LOVE

LAMONT RELAXES WITH A __________

Ian & Sandi:

FERGIE TO STAGE __________ AT THE PALACE

SPECULATION GROWS OVER MRS CLINTON'S __________

PM TO REWARD NORM WITH __________

DANCING MILK BOTTLES WIN __________


Final Scores: Ian & Sandi 18; Paul & Nick 16

 


 

EPISODE 7:

"Good evening and welcome to the programme that has done for Friday and Saturday nights what ten pints of lager does for Sunday mornings."

FIRST BROADCAST: 27th November 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Chris Tarrant; Paul Merton & Meera Syal


ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Chris:   The fire which gutted Windsor Castle

Paul & Meera:   The seizure of £160m worth of cocaine

Ian & Chris:   The final divorce settlement for Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith

Paul & Meera:   Dolphins trained as spies by the Russians

Scores: Ian & Chris 4; Paul & Meera 4

ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul:
‘FASTER THAN A SPEEDING PULLET!’

Airline chiefs fire frozen chickens at aeroplanes to test what happens when collisions with live birds occur

in the sky

Meera:  PRIVACY PROTEST OVER THE MAN WHO CAME UNSTUCK WITH GLUE

MPs object to press treatment of a man who accidentally superglued his buttocks together

Chris:  GIFT SHOPPE PLAN ROCKS CRADLE OF DEMOCRACY

Part of Parliament to be turned into a shopping mall

Ian:  $5BN GADAFI GIFT HAS A TWIST IN TAIL

Every family in Libya to receive $10,000 from Gadafi

 

Scores: Ian & Chris 5; Paul & Meera 10

ROUND THREE - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Chris - two lesbians kiss passionately in full view of Republican heavyweights at fundraising dinner

Paul & Meera - defendant attacks Sky News reporter outside court

Scores: Ian & Chris 7; Paul & Meera 12

 

ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Ian Paisley; Valerie Singleton; Yasser Arafat; the Irish football team

(Paisley, as all the others have met the Pope)

Meera - Leslie Grantham; Johnnie Walker; Fred Housego; Robert de Niro
(Grantham, as all the others worked as taxi drivers)

Chris - Bruce Forsyth; Billy Butlin; Arnold Schwarzenegger; Glenda Jackson
(Schwarzenegger, as all the others worked at Butlins)

Ian - Bernard Levin; Russell Harty; Robert Kilroy-Silk; Sooty

(Kilroy-Silk, as all the others have been punched on live television)

Scores: Ian & Chris 11; Paul & Meera 15

ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Ian & Chris:

LABOUR MP STEPS DOWN TO SHAKE OFF __________

QUEEN TO LIVE __________

MAJOR CANNOT RECALL __________

MYSTERY OF LAMONT'S UNPAID __________

Paul & Meera:

__________ HELD AFTER 10 TONNES OF CANNABIS FOUND

RATNER PAYS __________ FOR DECANTER JOKE

HESELTINE JOINS ATTACK ON __________

NEW LAW PREVENTS POLITICIANS FROM KEEPING __________

 

Final Scores: Ian & Chris 16; Paul & Meera 18



 

EPISODE 8:

 

"Good evening and welcome to the news in capsule form, a sort of current affairs equivalent of Ex-Lax."

FIRST BROADCAST: 4th December 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Jo Brand; Paul Merton & Neil Kinnock MP

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Jo:   Credit card excesses of Norman Lamont

Paul & Neil:   Introduction of the Council Tax

Ian & Jo:   Stars paid huge fees for appearing on "Wogan"

Paul & Neil:   Demonstration over sado-masochists jailed for inflicting consenting acts on each other

Scores: Ian & Jo 4; Paul & Neil 4

ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul:  ‘MOTH IS DEAD LOSS’ 

Rare moth died five minutes before a prospective mate is delivered

Neil:  ‘IT'S HEIL THATCHER’

Moustache drawn on Commons portrait of Baroness Thatcher

Jo:  ‘CONDENSED SOAP!’

Three minute "highlights" episode of Australian soap "Young Doctors" is made by Yorkshire Television

Ian: ‘GLENDA VOTE-RIG STORM’

Forged votes found in Glenda Jackson's constituency

 

Scores: Ian & Jo 6; Paul & Neil 10


ROUND THREE - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Jo - Roy Hattersley and Susannah York singing at a piano

Paul & Neil - pantomime featuring Ken Livingstone as Robin Hood

Scores: Ian & Jo 9; Paul & Neil 11

ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Eddie Edwards; the Pope; Mrs Colin Moynihan; the Duchess of York

(the Pope, as all the others have had ski-ing accidents)

Neil - Douglas Hurd; Harold Wilson; John Wakeham; John Stonehouse

(Wilson, as all the others married their secretaries)

Jo - Edward Heath; John Major; Neil Kinnock; Andre Previn

(Major, as all the others have conducted orchestras)

Ian - Lord Whitelaw; Mark Thatcher; Gary Numan; Gavin Nash aged nine
(Thatcher, as all the others own guns)


Scores: Ian & Jo 13; Paul & Neil 13

ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Ian & Jo:

CHARLES: I WON'T TAKE DI __________

MAJOR IS URGED TO ATTACK __________

BBC MOVES __________ TO SURVIVE

TEBBIT WANTED TO BE __________

Paul & Neil:

QUEEN MOTHER COMBINES HER DUTIES WITH A LOVE OF __________

BETTY MAXWELL SELLS __________

YARD'S NEW CHIEF URGES POLICE TO ABANDON __________

NUMBER OF SEXUAL PARTNERS LINKED TO __________

Final Scores: Ian & Jo 18; Paul & Neil 15

 


 

EPISODE 9:

"Good evening and welcome to another half hour homage to the God of drivel."

FIRST BROADCAST: 11th December 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Peter Cook; Paul Merton & Douglas Adams

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Peter:  The Prince and Princess of Wales announce their separation

Paul & Douglas:  The Princess Royal to marry Commander Tim Laurence

Ian & Peter:   American forces arrive to keep the peace in Somalia

Paul & Douglas:   Dangerous criminals allowed to keep rabbits as therapy

Scores: Ian and Peter 4; Paul & Douglas 4

ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul: ‘SEX THERAPY FOR MAN WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH THE FAMILY CAR’

Man too shy to talk to women receives therapy to wean him off his relationship with his car

Douglas:  THE SWEAT SMELL OF SUCCESS

Scientists claim men sweat more over Christmas in order to attract women

Peter:  JUSTICE IS A FERRET DOWN THE TROUSERS

Vigilante group in Wales push a ferret down the trousers of troublemakers

Ian:  SAUDI CANE ORDEAL

British ex-pat sentenced to 50 lashes for using the word 'bastards'

Scores: Ian & Peter 8; Paul & Douglas 8


ROUND THREE - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Peter - stars flock to a bash supporting Margaret Thatcher

Paul & Douglas - eagle attacks the Prime Minister of Ireland


Scores: Ian & Peter 8; Paul & Douglas 8

ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Benito Mussolini; Michael Fish; Jackie Onassis; Shirley McLaine
(Fish, as all the others have been the subject of mini-series)

Douglas - Peter Middleton; Mary O'Hara; John Gummer; the singing nun
(Gummer, as all the others were monks or nuns)

Peter - Michael Portillo; Norman Scott; Jonathan Ross; Patsy Kensit

(Scott, as all the others were child models)

Ian - Sir Denis Henderson; Paul Henderson; Sir Roy Watts; Sir Peter Holmes
(Paul Henderson, as he was the only one whose firm had not committed a crime.  He ran Matrix Churchill - the firm acquitted in the arms-to-Iraq trial - and the Government tried to send him to jail, whereas the others ran huge companies who had broken the law yet were knighted by the Government.  All three of their companies were Conservative Party donors)


Scores: Ian & Peter 9; Paul & Douglas 10

ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Ian & Peter:

TIM, THE IDEAL ROYAL __________

NORMAN KEEPS __________ SAYS PM

SERBIA RULES OUT __________ AS PRESIDENT

LONDON BUSES TO BE __________ NEXT YEAR

Paul & Douglas:

I'D LOVE __________ SAYS KYLIE

BBC LOSE £60M IN __________

FERGIE __________ IN SEARCH OF A NEW IMAGE

ANNE AND TIM HAVE ALREADY HAD __________

 

Final Scores: Ian & Peter 11; Paul & Douglas 17

 


 

EPISODE 10 (CHRISTMAS SPECIAL):

"Good evening and welcome to our annual retrospective in which the year's crucial international and political crises are pushed to one side in favour of the grimy tabloid sex scandals."

FIRST BROADCAST: 18th December 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Stephen Fry; Paul Merton & Frank Skinner

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

 

Ian & Stephen:   The separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales

Paul & Frank:   Black Wednesday after the ERM collapse

Ian & Stephen:   Labour install John Smith as new leader after losing the election

Paul & Frank:   The failure of the BBC1 soap opera "Eldorado"

Scores: Ian & Stephen 4; Paul & Frank 4


ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul:  ‘TOE JOB TO NO JOB’

The affair between David Mellor and actress Antonia de Sancha

Frank:  IT'S PADDY PANTSDOWN

The affair between Paddy Ashdown and his former personal assistant Tricia Howard

Stephen:  MIA SAID SHE WOULD GOUGE OUT MY EYES

The affair between Woody Allen and the adopted daughter of his wife Mia Farrow

Ian:  BALDY AND ANDY TALK CASH

The affair between the Duchess of York and her financial adviser Johnny Bryan

Scores: Ian & Stephen 8; Paul & Frank 4

 

ROUND THREE - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Stephen - the "Newsnight" computerised map makes a mistake during the American election

Paul & Frank - badge falls off lectern during speech by Dan Quayle

 

Scores: Ian & Stephen 10; Paul & Frank 8

 

*This was the final time the Archive round was played as a regular weekly feature.


ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Highlight (Prince Charles's polo horse); Desert Orchid; Princess Anne; Camilla Parker-Bowles

(Desert Orchid, as all the others annually receive Christmas cards from Charles)

Frank - Noele Gordon; Humphrey Bogart; Lew Grade; Jesus

(Jesus as all the others were born on Christmas Day - scholars claimed that Jesus was actually born on

6th January)

Stephen - Jesus; Manakin Bhagin; an olive tree; Robert Maxwell

(Jesus, as all the others are interred on the Mount of Olives)

Ian - Roger the Hamster; Jeremy the Gerbil; Simon the Rabbit; Vinny the Rat
(Roger, as all the others are using a pseudonym)

Scores: Ian & Stephen 12; Paul & Frank 9


ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Paul & Frank:

JASON: I DON'T DYE MY HAIR, I USE ___________

I'M NOT GOING BACK TO BLUE PETER SAYS __________

ICKE: MY LOVER ISN'T PREGNANT, SHE IS __________

LAMONT OFFERS HIS __________ TO GERMANY

Ian & Stephen:

MADONNA IN __________ AT TESCO

THERE'S NO DISGUISING IT, FERGIE'S ON __________ AGAIN!

MELLOR IN __________ FOR FIVE YEARS

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON MAJOR TO CHANGE __________

Final Scores: Ian & Stephen 12; Paul & Frank 18


SERIES SCORE: Ian 5; Paul 5

 

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