Noel Edmonds – Comic Genius

Jamie’s Ministry of Food has a serious problem.

A work of comic genius means it will be hard for anyone to take celebrity driven reality TV shows seriously again.

Noel’s H.Q.

Sky One, Sunday 14th Sep 08

The 90 minute live show was the brainchild of Noel Edmonds. Edmonds has not previously been known as a comic but, on Sunday, he displayed a raregift for satire. He could be the new Chris Morris.

The master prankster set up the ruse with a piece in the News of the World.
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His absurd comic creation (a game show host who lives in France but does nothing but bang on about the problems of the UK) stated:

“Why should we have no more people in?

“We haven’t got enough energy, we haven’t got enough electricity, we haven’t got enough of a health service.

“We can all go down the pub and go, ‘Oh it’s terrible, all these immigrants.’ But what are we going to do in Britain to change this toxic culture if we don’t say, ‘Enough is enough.’ “
He wheeled out the full set of right wing “this country’s gone to pot” whines before rousing the rabble:

“Who’s going to do something about it. Brown? Cameron? No. They’ve had their go, now it’s our turn.”

His version of “we the people”- celebocracy. Rule by C-list TV personalities.

Here lies the dilemma for Jamie Oliver. How will anyone take a show like Ministry of Food seriously after a parody on this scale?  Edmonds took the ludicrous notion that lightweight, publicity hungry celeb’s actually had something to contribute serious political issues to an extreme level.

 

He harked back to a golden age that never existed. One by one- he addressed the topics close to the heart of people who believe that “do gooder” is a pejorative term. One by one- complex political problems were simplified so that they could be explained and dealt with in five minutes. Andi Peters sorted out the NHS and Nell McAndrew made the lives of pensioners more rewarding.

The enemies were clear- the people who had destroyed Britain. Immigrants weren’t named directly- but the amount of praise heaped on those who had paid tax for years and / or survived World War 2 suggested that Johnny Come Latelys were strictly second class citizens.

Each section of the comedy extravaganza was punctuated by a trip to Bonkers Britain. Edmonds (aided by Carol Malone) read out genuine news items. Most of them seemed quite reasonable cases of local government officials taking action against noise polluters, rule breakers and a guy who thought it was OK to leave an over filled, stinking bin on the pavement. Noel prompted the audience to howl and laugh at these nondescript news items. His message was clear: people are highly suggestible- especially in crowds. The mass media manufactures consent by setting a biased agenda. It is far easier to go with the flow than to actually question anything. To make sure that no one could doubt his integrity- Noel introduced his long time associate Cheggers- dressed as a wheely bin.

The comedy was edgiest when real people were thrown into the mix. A number of genuinely heroic folks who were struggling to make a difference were featured. Noel swooped down and made their dreams come true. Tears flowed as generous donations were made to charity projects. Edmonds was using the tactics of his old Xmas Presents show to address huge issues.

The comic tour de force came when Konnie Huq was sent to a nursery which was not being allowed to open because of “red tape”. It seems the council wouldn’t let them open up because the place was not fit for purpose. On the “before” pic’s – the joint appeared to have no facilities and dangerously exposed electrics. Rather than let “red tape” stand in the way- Noel’s H.Q. dispatched a team of tradesmen to fix the place up. It was confusing- but then you realize it’s supposed to be.

Konnie Huq’s presence was the key. Huq is famous for a number of things: notably fronting the fake poll on Blue Peter that blew the whistle on the corrupt culture of UK TV and becoming the pin up girl for oppressive dictatorships by defending the Olympic torch against Free Tibet demonstrators. And being rhyming slang.

Does she really care? What does this incident tell us anything about a wider issue? Is this just a cheap set up to exploit the real dramas of someone else’s problems?

We feel dirty playing along. We begin to realize that the subjects have been selected because they will entertain us. We begin to see that this is just a celebrity vehicle dressed up as something more profound. No one is challenging anything. Nobody involved in the show really gives a Konnie Huq about the real issues or the people. This is as cynically engineered as a porn film- but they hope that their money shot will jerk a tear.

Each issue reflects the concerns of the core audience. Losing a holiday because a travel agent has gone bust is presented as a tragedy- rather than an inconvenience.

Cutting edge satire rarely find’s its way into Sky TV and the pages of Murdoch papers. They deserve credit for broadcasting such a bold dismissal of the trashy, celebrity driven nonsense that passes for serious television these days.

 

We won’t get fooled again- will we?

In the words of Noel Edmonds:

“What are we going to do in Britain to change this toxic culture if we don’t say, ‘Enough is enough.’ “