What's with all this ridiculous hoo ha over Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand then? The media are obviously suffering a slow news week to be making so much of this story and the 10000 of the good and the righteous, who apparently contacted the 'powers that be' to complain about the incident, must have little of importance in their lives if they can get so hot under the collar over what is in reality little more than a prank that overstepped the mark.....albeit arguably not in a very kind way.
I'm not a fan of Brand, though I will admit to being rather amused by Ross and I can perhaps understand why Andrew Sachs and his granddaughter might feel slightly affronted but hell fire, have people lost all sense of humour and perspective? The stunt might have been a little over zealous and somewhat ill considered but it was hardly a hanging offence now was it?!
These guys, like them or not, are at the top of their game, they are in a branch of the industry that has always pushed the boundaries and always will, it's how the 'art', for want of a better word, evolves and it's not too many years since the pious and petty were creating a similar commotion about Monty Python and like (the link is not lost on me, Python, Cleese, Sachs, see where I'm at here?!!!) and look what happened there!
Ok, if it is felt appropriate then an apology might be in order but to sack the pair of them would be utter codswallop!! Hammers and nuts come to mind.....and even more so given that the whole issue lost any credibility when this morning it would appear Sachs granddaughter has seen fit to talk to The Sun!
She must be feeling "totally and utterly exposed and betrayed" then!
I rest my case.
One thing is for sure...most of us had never heard of Georgina Baillie (that's the granddaughter if you were still in any doubt) before all this, but we certainly have now...funny that isn't it? What is it they say about any publicity being better than no publicity?
If the BBC, long time British establishement benchmark of common sense, reason and forward thinking, capitulate in the face of pressure to sack these guys they will go way down in my estimation. An apology? yes, a severe reprimand? maybe but sacking?..... let's get just a little perspective here shall we chaps!!
19 Comments:
hurrah, i agree. basically, it's a shame they picked on an old man, someone younger and I don't think anyone would have cared!
Ill advised? Perhaps.
Funny? Bloody hilarious! :O)
Guess I'm just used to two naughty boys trying to out do each other.
WV: Plumber
What you mean Georgina Baillie sold her story to the Sun Surely not...!!! Shes the victim here, I can't beleive she'd exploit the situation/media frenzy...!
;o)
As I despise the both of them, especially the slimy, sleazy, look-how-wonderful-I-am Ross, I could care less what happens to them.
I also think there are too many occasions when these 'celebs' do or say something and then issue a meaningless apology as if that makes everything ok. They KNOW that's the worst that will happen and they've already done the deed, so to speak.
These guys earn millions (of our money after all) so a petty fine is worthless. The current suspension is hardly a biggie either as I'm sure they have contracts that don't even require them to output shows.
Whether a full sacking is too strong a message to send out, I guess I think so too.
Sadly these overgrown schoolboys with their cringe worthy snigger snigger type of delivery will always prosper on tv/radio. The suspension may give us a well needed break from them.
Just IMHO of course.
Silverback.... (Can't resist, I've really gotta bite on this one... ;o) )
Reading your comments got me remembering The Late and Very Great Graham Chapman being sued/persecuted by the Late but not as great Mrs. Mary Whitehouse for pushing the bounderies back in the 70's.
Just a thought...
OMG Fletch......Victor Meldrew maybe but Mary Whitehouse....come on !!
But boundaries is the key word here. All very personal of course. I've never liked practical joke type shows (Beadle, Candid camera etc) as I see no humour in making fun of people.
But anything Monty Python did was fine with me.
I think the wretches should be hanged, drawn and quartered, then severly fined and banished to Scotland . . . or Wales . . . or Cleveland. We should see them driven before us and hear the lamentations of their women.
Actually, I believe they went over the line, knew the risks, and should stand up and take it like men. Sometimes when you stretch the envelope there are consequences.
On second thought, I have probably exaggerated a bit.
MEN is stretching the truth.
I don't think it was funny. I too hate all those practical-joke type shows where the victim looks like a "bad sport" if they don't take the "joke" well. I just think it was dull, schoolboy humour of the type any fifteen-year-old might try. It wasn't pushing the boundaries: it wasn't original enough - - it was just BORING. I wouldn't miss either of them.
I'm just happy that I am not and never will be a Sun or Daily Mail reader...
I'm with the Doctor on this one.
http://doctorvee.co.uk/2008/10/28/the-jonathan-ross-and-russell-brand-wagon/
Wait a min! Now it transpires the 'Satanic Slut' (The name of the Dance troop said Ms.Baillie was/is in), admits to sleeping with Brand all along... Am I losing the plot here, is this old news... Just what is all the fuse about then..!
Ummm and what do you recon? As seemingly all our Politicians have joined in the media frenzy about this it must mean the countries economy/recession is all under control surely? Or maybe they just wanted to show they were in touch with the public (if only some far right conservative elements)and have jumped on the band wagon with only half the facts, again...
Newsflash... Russell Brand is storing WMD's in his basement! (you heard it here first!)
Anyways, where was I..... :O)
Well, personally, I was absolutely horrified when I heard the recording of that programme. This isn't humour, it practically amounts to defamation and public slander - not that I have any interest in knowing whether the granddaughter did in fact sleep with Brand or not.
I think that it matters little whether she personally is well-behaved, slept with one or both of them, or sold her story to the Sun (though that would be a foolish thing, if it's true). The attack was on Andrew Sachs, someone who did nothing to deserve this, and who appears to be a gentle, somewhat shy, very courteous man who knows how to behave properly - as was seen in the interview he gave today.
I'm with Silverback. The whole thing is just plain sleazy. And totally unfunny.
Jay/Silverback/Daphne/(Bully ;o))
Ummm.... So only 2 people complained about it at the time it was broadcast... 2 people from the target audience six or seven hundred thousand... meaning 99.9997% of listeners weren't outranged! (Not a bad hit rate!)
The rest of the later complaints and negative comments afterwards have come from people that the show wasn't directed at (dare I say an older listener?), who's usual line is 'It just wasn't funny'.
And that's my point, these people were never going to find it funny, but they/you weren't meant to be listening. We all have different levels as to what we find funny, acceptable and where the boundaries are.
Silverback, remember the ruckus when 'Brian' came out from the fanatical Christian Mob? I bet your thoughts then where 'You don't have to watch it!', and in this case you were never meant to listen to Ross/Brand, and never would have if the media hadn't stirred it all up.
Bottom Line... Admit it chaps and chap'ess, you're just getting old ;O)
BTW, JFTR, I can't stand Brand!
Wicked! Wicked! Wicked men. They besmirched her fair name. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/30/russell-brand-ross-baillie-sachs
Fletch. I don't want to get into a comment 'war' as we all have our opinions and they rarely, if ever, get changed on here.
I've used the old 'you didn't need to watch/listen' argument plenty of times myself and I DO see your point. And those of everyone else on here. But in this case it goes beyond complaints from people who did or didn't listen.
Thankfully I've rarely seen any newsworthy incidents or even heard about them at the time but I can be upset and/or outraged by news of them. I don't hear about lots of things like that until well after the fact but can still have an opinion about them. Doesn't matter if the person or persons affected are prostitutes, pole dancers, 12 yr olds or OAPs.
Everyone, it seems, has an opinion as to whether this incident was even newsworthy at all but I'm just making MY point.
These two guys (who admittedly I can't stand) overstepped the mark (IMO) and as they both work for a corporation funded by us, then I feel we, young or old, have a right to say.....look you did something wrong (as defined by society in general), you've upset a lot of people who pay your huge salaries (a very few at the time and a lot more now we've heard about it) and you need to face the consequences.
Certainly many people will have found it funny or at worst, nothing to get steamed up about. No doubt. As I've said before, I've never found practical jokes to be funny. At any age. Certain people do, certain people don't. Same with Brand/Ross. I've never found them to be funny. Or entertaining. And certainly not 'talented'. And this has to have tainted my opinion of this whole thing. I know that.
Sacking would've been too much and a period of suspension would've been fine by me. The 'personality' of the granddaughter and her 15 minutes of fame and money attitude are irrelevant really. I'M only talking about Brand/Ross and Sachs.
Anyway the latest post on the excellent Newsbiscuit site(http://www.newsbiscuit.com/) sums it all up perfectly and I for one have said enough on the subject. The incident doesn't rate more.
Moving on.........
Sorry Gemma, but I'd like to just answer Fletch's last comment and then I'll shut up. ;)
Fletch -
But this isn't just a question of 'do I find it funny?'.
It's not even a question of 'am I in the right age bracket?' because when they phoned someone outside the programme it ceased to be just a radio show whose content you could take or leave, it brought it out into the public domain.
I can't answer for anyone else, but the reason I found it offensive is that they involved an innocent person and caused him a good deal of discomfort, if not emotional pain. Leaving aside the fact that he is an actor, Andrew Sachs is a 78 year old grandfather, and by all accounts a gentle, shy and sensitive man. Not an appropriate target, in my opinion. How would you feel about your own grandfather being the subject of this kind of 'prank'?
I know I'd be livid if he were a relative of mine, and I'm angry on his behalf now.
It was a cheap shot.
Lol...well I would comment but I think you have all just about covered every aspect! :o) Oh....and no need to apologise Jay, frank and open discussion is what it's all about IMO :o)
My feelings aren't changed, I still believe the whole issue is an overreaction given the full circumstances and save for the age comment by Fletch I have to agree with him (on this ocassion!), Trac and Paula. Fletch, are you suggesting that myself and Silverback are old???? I sincerely hope not! ;o)
I'll end by saying, yes it was ill considered, yes it wasn't very kind where Sachs was concerned (though I'm sure given his history he understands all genres of comedy) and yes an apology to him was in order but what has come out off all this for me is a disapointment in the BBC and a liking for a guy I didn't used to....Russell Brand. His approach and honest apology to the mess he made impressed me.
"... and a liking for a guy I didn't used to....Russell Brand. His approach and honest apology to the mess he made impressed me."
Well, that much I can agree with. I still don't much like him, but he did, in his rambling and incoherent way, make a decent apology to Andrew Sachs - and that is all that Sachs wanted.
Last I heard he hadn't apologised to Georgina yet, but I guess in time he probably will, public or not.
As for the BBC, I don't know if you're aware of this, but they still may be prosecuted under the Broadcasting Act, so it's not surprising that they're reacting the way that they are.
Jay: Lol..it was kind of 'rambling and incoherrent' but among it he said he would apologise to Georgina privately at a later time :o)
Oh...and I mailed you on the rest :o)
When interviewed, Sachs could only say:
Que, que?
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