Mock the Week

*Mock the Week*
Mock the Week
Created by	Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson
Starring	Dara Ó Briain; Frankie Boyle; Rory Bremner; Hugh Dennis; John Oliver; Jo Brand
No. of episodes	10+
Production
Running time	30 min per episode
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	June 2005 –; present

Mock the Week is a British topical panel game, hosted by Dara Ó Briain. It is made by independent production company Angst Productions and made its debut on BBC Two in June, 2005.

Created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, the same people responsible for the comedy game show Whose Line is it Anyway?. Mock the Week is usually described as a cross between Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Have I Got News For You. There are two teams of three, with Rory Bremner on one side, and Hugh Dennis and Frankie Boyle on the other, with guest comedians, such as Jo Brand, making up the numbers. The late Linda Smith also appeared on the show on occasion. Although Bremner and Dennis are in effect team captains (and are sometimes referred to as such in publicity material), such a distinction is never actually made on the programme itself.

The show's theme music is News of The World by The Jam.

Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the last programme in the series, scheduled for 10 July 2005, was replaced at short notice by a selection of highlights from previous shows. This was mainly because the recording of the programme was due to take place on the evening of 7th July but the closedown of London's transport system meant that many audience members, as well as some of those due to appear on the programme, couldn't make it. However, the Channel 4 topical comedy 8 Out of 10 Cats which was being recorded in another studio at BBC Television Centre did go ahead but made use of panelists and production team members from Mock the Week who turned up to fill the panel and audience.

A second series began in January 2006, ending in March. The previous clip show actually rated well, so the second series ended in the same way.

The Studio

The Studio is divided into several areas. Rory's team to the right of Dara, and Hugh's team are to the left, with Frankie sitting on his left hand side.

To the left of Frankie is the Press Pit, which is basically a large desk where they play Between the Lines. Left of this is the Performance Area which is a much large area with a large TV monitor, which is normally used for stand-up challenges such as Dating Videos and Scenes we'd like to see.

The Games

If this is the answer, what is the question?

This round is played by all the players. In this round, a set of six categories is given to the players, covering topics such as sport, health, home affairs, world news, and the environment. Behind each topic is an answer, and the players have to try and guess what the question was.

This is similar to the American game show Jeopardy! where players have to respond in the form of a question.

Spinning the News

This game takes place in the Performance Area. In the first series all six players took part, but in the second only four did, with usually the captains not playing. On the TV is a, "Random News Generator," with several topics on it. A topic is picked at randon, and one of the players has to perform a piece on the topic it has landed on. If Dara judges that he/she has got a big enough laugh, then he/she gets to sit down again. The first team to have all their players sitting down wins. If one player from each team is left, then it goes to sudden death. A random topic is picked and both players have to perform on that piece. The one who gets the biggest laughs wins.

In series two, the name of round changed in every show. The last show in the series gave the round with its name in French.

Between the Lines

This game takes place in the Press Pit and is normally played by the team captains. In this round, one player tries to impersonate someone in the news that week (normally Rory) giving a press conference. The other player (normally Hugh) tells us what the person is really saying. The best performance wins.

The only time Rory did not play, Sandi Toksvig took over to impersonate Queen Elizabeth II.

Headliners

This round is played by all the players. In this round, a photo of someone famous in the news is given, along with the initial letters of a newspaper headline. The players have to guess what the headline is.

Dating Videos

This game takes place in the Performance Area. Normally two rounds are played, with one player from each team performing in the Performance Area. The player is given the name of a famous person and has to record a lonely hearts ad in the style of that person. The other players have to try and guess who they are.

Ask the Politicians

This is Mock the Week's tribute to the current affairs program Question Time. Normally two or three players go into the studio audience, and others stay in their seats. Dara acts as the host of the show, with the other players (normally the team captains and one or two other guests) playing politicians. Dara tells the players who they will be pretending to be. Rory is normally a famous Labour politician, and Hugh is normally a Conservative spokesman. The players in the audience give questions to the players acting, and they have to answer the questions given to them in their roles. The best performance wins.

So far, guest Al Murray, most noted for playing his famous Pub Landlord character, has appeared twice as "The Voice of the Silent Majority," where he adopts a right-wing persona, normally xenophobic and with a harsh line on crime.

Prime Minister Questions

This round is played by all the players. In this round, Dara plays the Speaker of the House of Commons. Rory plays the Prime Minister, and the rest of his team being front-bench MPs. Hugh's team play the opposition party. In this round, the teams are given a rather trivial news story, but treat it as it was the heavyweight issue of the day. The best performance wins.

In series one, Mark Steel, who was playing on Rory's team, did a very good impersonation of John Prescott.

Bombshell Phone Calls

This round is played by two players, one from each side. In this round, the two players play famous people having a telephone conversation (normally Rory and Frankie). During the conversation, one of them will drop a bombshell, which the other player has to react to. The best performance wins.

Newsreel

This round is played by two players, one from each side. In this round, a piece of news footage is played with no sound. The players have to act out what each person is saying, normally having no relationship to what the incident really is. The best performance wins.

Scenes we'd like to see

Traditionally the final round in the show. This game takes place in the Performance Area, and is played by everyone. In this round, the players are given a scenario for an event which is almost certain never to happen, and the players give their suggestions to the scenario if it were to happen.

Appearances

In the first series, the following comedians appeared:

In the second series the following comedians appeared:

External links

UK Gameshows Page: Mock the Week
epguides.com Episode guide for Mock the Week.