CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 1991

 

"Good evening and welcome to the BBC's entry for this year's 'Most Promising News Quiz Featuring Four Panellists Sitting In A Semi-Circle Award'."

FIRST BROADCAST: 24th December 1991
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Harry Enfield; Paul Merton & Clive Anderson

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Harry:   The Gulf War

Paul & Clive:   The Russian coup

Ian & Harry:   The missing Mirror pension funds after Robert Maxwell's death

Paul & Clive:   The on and off-field antics and injuries of Paul Gascoigne

Scores: Ian & Harry 4; Paul & Clive 4

ROUND TWO - TABLOID HEADLINES:

Paul:  ‘DAVID PHONED AND SAID SOCRATES HAD JUST ASKED HIM TO SAVE THE WORLD’
Ex-sports presenter David Icke's claim to be the Son of God

Clive:  ‘IF SHE'S A TART I'LL GIVE HER THE BOOT’

Chancellor Norman Lamont rents out a flat to a relief masseuse

Harry:  ‘GOD'S COP GOES WITH A ROCKET’

The controversial retirement of Greater Manchester chief constable James Anderton

Ian:  ‘BRILLIANT ADVERTISING...OR JUST A TACKY ATTEMPT AT FREE PUBLICITY?’
An advert by Benetton featuring a new born baby

Scores: Ian & Harry 9; Paul & Clive 8

ROUND THREE - CONNECTIONS:

Ian & Harry - jewellery tycoon Gerald Ratner's gaffe about shoddy goods

Paul & Clive - Edwina Currie sues the Observer after they compare her to an adulteress murderer

ROUND FOUR - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Harry - old footage of Norman Lamont

Paul & Clive - old footage of Neil Kinnock

Scores: Ian & Harry 13; Paul & Clive 12

ROUND FIVE - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Frank Bruno; Steve Davis; Anna-Maria Gascoigne; a pantomime horse
(Davis, as all the others were appearing in panto that year)

Clive - Ian Hislop; Arthur Scargill; Kenneth Baker; Basil Brush

(Basil, as all the others had been prosecuted for contempt of court)

Harry - Edward VIII, Princess Michael, David Bowie, Benito Mussolini
(Princess Michael, as all the others had connections with fascism)

Ian - Prince Philip, Heile Salassie, James Anderton, Emperor Hirohito
(Anderton, as all the others are worshipped as Gods)

Scores: Ian & Harry 16; Paul & Clive 17

ROUND SIX - ROYAL HEADLINES:

Paul: ‘PRICE OF BONKIN' MISS TONKIN’

Mark Phillips sires a love child

Clive:  ‘SSSSH! ONE'S THINKING’

Princess Anne asks for the Charing Cross tannoy system to be switched off as she was thinking

Harry:  ‘OPERATION FOR PRINCE’

Prince William has neurosurgery after being hit by a golf club

Ian:  ‘A 4-STAR CHARLIE’

Prince Charles is taken home from Czechoslovakia in a limousine after a speech about fuel economy

Scores: Ian & Harry 18; Paul & Clive 23


ROUND SEVEN - FILM CLIPS II:

Ian & Harry:   Pavarotti concert in Hyde Park

Paul & Clive:   Dangerous dogs to be billed under new laws

Ian & Harry:   The mystery over corn circles

Paul & Clive:   Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith get divorced

Scores: Ian & Harry 22; Paul & Clive 27

ROUND EIGHT - MISSING WORDS:

Ian & Harry:

BOSSES PUT LAMONT IN __________

BIRMINGHAM SIX DETECTIVES TO __________

KINNOCK SCORNS TORIES AND LAYS OUT __________

LONDON ZOO OFFERS PLAN FOR __________

7,500 PITS BULLS STILL TO JOIN __________

Paul & Clive:

FERGIE BOWS TO QUEEN'S BAN ON __________

KILROY IS RETURNING TO __________

HATTERSLEY POURS __________ ON MAJOR'S LEADERSHIP

ORKNEY CHILDREN ARE FLOWN HOME TO __________

BUG IS FOUND IN MIRROR FINANCE CHIEF'S __________

Final Scores: Ian & Harry 26; Paul & Clive 31

 


 

ELECTION SPECIAL:

 

"Good evening and welcome at the start of 12 hours of unbridled delight. I refer not to the programme, but the period of time in which we have no Government."

FIRST BROADCAST: 9th April 1992
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Rory Bremner; Paul Merton & Alan Coren

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Rory:   Party political broadcast for the Conservative Party

Paul & Alan:   Party political broadcast for the Labour Party

Ian & Rory:   Party political broadcast for the Social Democratic Party

Paul & Alan:   Party political broadcast for the Natural Law Party

Scores: Ian & Rory 4; Paul & Alan 4


ROUND TWO - ELECTION PERSONALITIES:

Paul - independent candidate Lord Buckethead

Alan - Scottish Nationalist Party candidate and sex changee Sandra McRae, formerly Stephen Rae

Rory - dismissed Labour militant David Nellist

Ian - disgraced Conservative candidate Alan Amos

Scores: Ian & Rory 8; Paul and Alan 5

ROUND THREE - CONNECTIONS:

Ian & Rory - celebrities on the Conservative endorsement list

Paul & Alan - Labour MPs advised to keep a low profile

ROUND FOUR - ARCHIVE:

Ian & Rory - Roy Jenkins asked complicated economic question by teenage schoolboy

Paul & Alan - David Owen in "Max Headroom" style party political broadcast

Scores: Ian & Rory 12; Paul and Alan 8

ROUND FIVE - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Andrew Lloyd-Webber; Vince Hill; rock giants Emerson Lake & Palmer; Rolf Harris

(Harris, as all the others have recorded election music)

Alan - Ken Dodd; Ken Barlow (actor William Roache); Ken Livingstone; Steve Davis

(Livingstone, as all the others are Conservative supporters)

Rory - Sir Robin Day; Jeffrey Archer; Ted Dexter; Jimmy Edwards

(Archer, as all the others unsuccessfully stood as MPs)

Ian - Claire Rayner; John Mortimer; Robbie Coltrane; Gandhi

(Gandhi, as all the others are Labour supporters)

Scores:

ROUND SIX - MISSING WORDS:

Paul & Alan

MOST __________ WOULD VOTE FOR TORIES

LIB DEMS REAP REWARD FOR CLEAN __________

KINNOCK LURES FLOATERS WITH __________

POLITICIANS SHOW SIGNS OF __________

THATCHER STILL A FACTOR AS HEATH GOES __________

Ian & Rory:

OUR CILLA SENDS MAJOR TO HIS DATE WITH __________

I MADE __________ SAYS KINNOCK

TORIES SEE HURD'S __________ AS BIG PLUS WITH VOTERS

PADDY WAVES __________

HESELTINE FAILS TO FIND THE __________ IN HIS KNAPSACK

Final Scores: Ian & Rory 20; Paul & Alan 22

*For winning, Paul and Alan got a "Je t'aime J.M." official Conservative campaign T-shirt, while the losers got two.

 


 

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 1993:

 

"Good evening and welcome to our annual analysis of all the years' most crucial news events, or to put it another way, a random mop-up of all the stories we forgot to include when they happened."


FIRST BROADCAST: 24th December 1993
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Griff Rhys-Jones; Paul Merton & Bob Geldof

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Ian & Griff:   Prince Charles and Princess Diana get divorced

Paul & Bob:  Peace initiatives in Ulster, South Africa and the Middle East

Ian & Griff:   The conflict in Bosnia

Paul & Bob:   Sporting calamities involving the abandoned Grand National, the England football team which failed to qualify for the World Cup, and chess player Nigel Short, beaten in the world final

Scores: Ian & Griff 4; Paul & Bob 4

ROUND TWO - COURT DRAWINGS:

Paul & Bob - George Michael's lawsuit against record company Sony

Ian & Griff - caterer Claire Latimer's libel suit against Scallywag and New Statesman over allegations about her and John Major

ROUND THREE - WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Paul & Bob - panda rips off man's denim jacket through cage bars

Ian & Griff - Beijing mistakenly celebrates getting the 2000 Olympics

Scores: Ian & Griff 4; Paul & Bob 12

ROUND FOUR - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - Donder; Dasher; Rudolf; Blitzen

(Rudolf, as all the others were original reindeer helpers of Santa in "The Night Before Christmas")

Bob - a rat; a bikini; Good King Wenceslas; a veloceraptor

(the veloceraptor, as all the others have had songs written about them)

Griff - Father Christmas; a turkey; Tinkerbell; the seven dwarves

(the turkey, as all the others have been the subject of political correctness)

Ian - Lord Lucan; Glenn Miller; Shergar; Father Christmas

(Father Christmas, as all the others have no known burial place)

Scores: Ian & Griff 6; Paul & Bob 18

ROUND FIVE - MISSING WORDS:

Guest Publication: BIG ONES MONTHLY

Ian & Griff:

MAJOR HAS __________ UP HIS SLEEVE

WOMAN'S ENTIRE __________ VANISHES!

DIANA BACK ON __________

GROUP 4 TO CONCENTRATE ON __________

Paul & Bob:

__________ IS THE WORLD'S SEXIEST WOMAN

CLINTON SAID ORAL SEX WAS __________

SMITH LAYS OUT __________

WORLD'S BIGGEST __________ WEIGHS 407 POUNDS!

Final Scores: Ian & Griff 10; Paul & Bob 23

 


 

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 1994:

 

"Good evening and welcome to the Christmas edition of 'Have I Got News For You', and if you have just come in from the office party, yes I'm afraid you did say that and no they won't have forgotten by the time you see them again in January."

FIRST BROADCAST: 23rd December 1994
TEAMS: Ian Hislop &
Alexei Sayle; Paul Merton & Kelvin McKenzie

ROUND ONE - FILM CLIPS:

Paul & Kelvin:  Chief of defence staff's affair with Lady Buck

Ian & Alexei:   The trial of OJ Simpson

Paul & Kelvin:   The Gillian Taylforth libel trial

Ian & Alexei:   Man floods Illinois to stop his wife discovering his adultery

Scores: Ian & Alexei 2; Paul & Kelvin 6

ROUND TWO - ODD ONE OUT:

Paul - William G Stewart; David Tredinnick; the Spanish Inquisition; Perry Mason

(the Spanish Inquisition, as all the others are involved in asking questions for cash)

Kelvin - Camilla Parker-Bowles; Clint Eastwood; Ian Paisley; the Duchess of York

(Parker-Bowles, as all the others have been ordered out of people's houses)

Alexei - William Scott aged 7; Kelvin McKenzie; Tony Benn; the Maxwell brothers

(Benn, as all the others have appeared before Parliamentary select committees)

Ian - Mohamed Al Fayed; Ernest Saunders; Buster the Dog; Sir Teddy Taylor
(Taylor, as all the others have taken cases to the European Court of Human Rights)

Scores: Ian & Alexei 5; Paul & Kelvin 8

ROUND THREE - BACK TO BASICS ADVENT CALENDAR:

(Six numbered squares - three containing political sleaze stories for points, three containing seasonal images for no points)

Ian - No.1 - Jeffrey Archer's share dealing in Anglia Television

Paul - No.4 - snowman

Ian - No.2 - Alan Duncan buying council house on the cheap after lending his elderly neighbour the money for it

Paul - No.5 - stocking

Ian - No.6 - Stephen Milligan found dead wearing ladies' underwear with a plastic bin-liner over his head and a drug-soaked Satsuma in his mouth

Paul - No.3 - teddy bear

Scores: Ian & Alexei 11; Paul & Kelvin 8

ROUND FOUR - MISSING WORDS:

Guest Publication: None

Free for all:

__________ TAKE DIFFICULT JOURNEY INTO PRIESTHOOD

IAN PAISLEY OPENS __________ IN WALES

UPROAR AS GIANT PIG __________

VENABLES PUTS HIS FAITH IN __________

ACROBATIC __________ FOR HISLOP

Final Scores: Ian & Alexei 13; Paul & Kelvin 11

 

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