David Mitchell in particular really likes radio. As well as his own series - which is probably easier and quicker to make without costumes and sets to worry about - he also hosts a radio panel gameshow The Unbelievable Truth (which is similar to, but not the same as a TV panel gameshow in which he plays a team captain called Would I Lie To You), as well as appearing on panels of other shows such as Just A Minute and Heresy.
Radio does indeed give him and Robert Webb a chance to try out new material, but is generally just an easier medium to work in. Clearly they don't have to do radio as well, but just love doing it. The money's certainly not there - although everything they make tends to get released on CD and iTunes. It's true that many series - once they move from radio to TV - quickly forget about the radio part. But not always. The oddest example I can think of is Trevor's World of Sport, a short-lived BBC1 sitcom set in the world of sports' agents. It was cancelled on TV but remerged for a further three series (only 6 episodes each) on radio. And if we go back in time, Tony Hancock had radio and television sitcoms simultaneously. Incidentally, although the Drill Hall is used a lot for radio comedy, there are plenty of other venues, not least of which is the BBC Radio Theatre under Broadcasting House. And quite a few shows have been, and are being, recorded at the Edinburgh Festival as we speak. Adam On Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 11:52 PM, Mark J.<[email protected]> wrote: > > > > On Aug 22, 4:13 pm, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: >> New episodes of their audio show are very welcome here. But experience >> shows that the radio series is the testing ground for skits that they >> later bring to the TV version "That Mitchell & Webb Look." I almost >> hate to hear the gags before they're realized on screen. > > I'm just surprised they're still doing a radio show. Don't most > British comics leave Radio 4 like a bullet once they get a TV series? > > And I should mention that the streaming is "live" only of the playback > and the Radio 4 booth announcer doing the intro and perhaps the > credits--the show is probably recorded at the Drill Hall theater in > London where all Radio 4 comedy shows with a studio audience are taped. > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
