Just finished "Unbelievable Truth". Need a new show.

Cafe Society
1

Over the past few months, I’ve been listening to David Mitchell’s radio show, the Unbelievable Truth. I love David Mitchell and his style of humor and really like the show. It cracks me up and is fun to listen to.

Are there any other shows I should listen to now that I’ve heard all of Unbelievable Truth? I listen through my Ipod via the radio, which I transmit with a radio transmitter.

Other panel shows would be fine, especially if they are not “current events” related, so I can listen to the backlog.

I listen with my kids around, so PG or PG-13 is about as far as I’d go. Most of Unbelievable truth goes over their head, so I’m cool with it.

Thanks!

2

Aren’t they still making that? Unless you know otherwise I would expect there to be another series (though Mitchell is on TV panel games a lot now, so maybe radio can no longer afford him).

The BBC puts out a lot radio panel games, but they are of variable quality. I agree that Unbelievable Truth was one of the better recent ones. If it is Mitchell You like, rather than panel games, there is That Mitchell and Web Sound, which was his radio sketch show.

I am not sure how you are getting this, but most of the decent BBC radio comedy (and some of the crap) since decades ago gets rerun ad infinitum as a web stream via BBC Radio4 Extra. (Some of the stuff literally goes back to the 1950s, and maybe, rarely, even the '40s.) If you wait long enough, what you want will come around. If you go to their schedule pages you can stream any show from the past week. (You can’t download directly, but I use a program for the recording of streams to put it on my pod.) You can do the same from the regular Radio 4 schedules too, and get shows in their first run, but Radio 4 is mostly news and documentary/magazine type stuff, with only the occasional comedy or other entertainment show interspersed. Radio 4 Extra is pretty much all entertainment (comedy and drama), though it is nearly all reruns from stuff originally on Radio 4 or other BBC broadcast channels.

3

They are making it now, but I’ve caught up on all the previous series. I’m wondering if there is another series I can listen to that is similar.

4

Have you tried QI?

5

Well, similar in what way? As I said, the BBC have put out LOTS of radio panel games over the years, but they vary wildly in quality and tone. I would suggest that you look through teh radio 4 Extr streams at teh link I gave you, and sample some. Radio 4 Extra streams loads of such games every week, some that were first broadcast on Radio 4 proper a week or so before, and others first broadcast 40 or 50 years ago (and points between). They also stream lots of non-panel game comedies, which also span the range from ancient to recent and from brilliant to garbage (although people may disagree as to which is which.)

Just a Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue are generally considered to be the classics of the BBC radio panel game genre, but they may not be for everyone. (Both have been running forever, and Clue in particular depends on your being in on the many, many running jokes that they rely heavily upon. It has also suffered badly from the loss of long-running chairman Humphrey Lyttleton.)

From the fact that you like Mitchell I can’t infer very much about your general comedic tastes. He has a fairly unique comic style, I think.

QI is TV. I think we are talking about radio. (And QI is even more a vehicle for Stephen Fry than Unbelievable Truth is a vehicle for Mitchell).

6

I’d agree with njtt, the suggestions will depend on what you like about this one. But, you might consider:

Heresy initially presented by David Baddiel, now by Victoria Coren and since she got hitched to David Mitchell I think her speech patterns are very similar to his! This one is about challenging the accepted ideas - it’s ok. Occasionally properly funny, but it’s not a classic.

I’ve Never Seen Star Wars not a panel game, this one is presented by Marcus Brigstock. I like it a lot - a single guest each week is given a handful of things to do that they’ve never done before. They report back on how the experience went. It’s usually entertaining and contains occasional moments of real tenderness. It also doesn’t seem to depend too much on the guest’s personality - I’ve heard versions where the guest was someone I didn’t really know, or didn’t really like, and it still worked.

Museum of Curiosity guests try to get interesting objects into a virtual museum. Included for completeness - I hate, loathe and detest this one, but maybe YMMV.

Of the classics mentioned above, Just a Minute is probably closer to Unbelievable Truth, but I much prefer I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. I’ve only(!) been listening to Clue for about 15 years, but the running jokes are repeated so very often that you soon pick them up. It has changed a bit since the death of the original host, but I think his replacement is a worthy successor and it still makes me snerk with laughter at least a couple of times a show. Some people do hate it with a passion, though.

If you want to branch out further from panel games, Radio4 does do some good pseudo stand up shows too. Look for Mark Steele, Mark Thomas and Jeremy Hardy and a variety of self-titled vehicles. Be aware that I’m an unrecontstructed leftie though, and those three are the ex-Trotskyite Triumvirate :). They’re not that political these days, but they are amongst the reasons Radio4 comedy sometimes gets accused of left-wing bias. Obviously that adds to their appeal for me, but it may not for you.

My Teenage Diary is a bit of a left-field suggestion too, but it’s both funny and moving. Basically a minor celeb reads out extracts from their teenage diaries, and discusses the context. It’s moved me to tears on more than one occasion. Again, it doesn’t seem to matter who the subject is.

Agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion to check out the Radio4Extra schedules. Radio4 itself runs something every weekday in the comedy slot of 6.30 pm, but Radio4Extra holds all the archive stuff in addition.

7

Hmm. Charley has been pretty thorough there. The only one I collect that isn’t listed is The Infinite Monkey Cage, but that’s a fairly different kettle of fish, a science programme hosted by Dr Brian Cox and the desperately unfunny Robin Ince.

8

Going back a bit, if you can find the 99p Challenge, that’s worth it too. That was a panel game show with Simon Pegg.

And on a different tack, Cabin Pressure is a sitcom, but it’s one of the funniest shows in recent memory - radio OR TV. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, too.

9

There was a comedy panel show called the 99p challenge that ran a few years ago now. That used to throw up some funny moments, and had people like Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Armando Ianucci as regular panel members.

I’m sure you can find them on the internet somewhere

To be honest though, The Unbelievable Truth is probably the funniest show they have done on Radio 4 in a long time.

10

Adore it, but it is quite visual. Seen every episode. I’ve also seen Would I Lie to You?

Just a Minute sounds fun, as do the others. I really appreciate the suggestions.

11

First episode of the new series released today. Guests: Graeme Garden, Henning Wehn, Katherine Ryan, and Lloyd Langford.