Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip - Review

 

Thursday October 4th, 2012

In the wake of a summer of Olympic fever (I can’t have been the only one weeping on my sofa as Jessica Ennis took her gold), and following the annual catastrophic breakdown of reserve in X Factor contestants as they are granted 5 minutes of fame before being relegated from human memory forever, the time seems ripe for a documentary investigating that old stereotype of the British stiff upper lip.

The culture of Keep Calm and Carry On seems to suggest that this is a part of our national character that we treasure, along with insane queuing skills. Ian Hislop, as self-assured as a brilliant if slightly intimidatingly clever history teacher, sets out in Stiff Upper Lip – an Emotional History of Britain to discover where this perception of the British came from, and whether it still rings true.

It is a fresh and interesting way to explore British history, and the opening episode of the series, focusing on the emergence of the stiff upper lip, navigated a dexterous course through art, literature and our national treasures in order to interrogate a history more difficult to pin down but arguably more enthralling than one involving facts and dates.

The conclusion of this enjoyable hour of television was that whilst prior to the late 18^th Century we were quite an excitable bunch, when the French Revolution kicked off we became rather alarmed at the apparent link between excessive emotion and radical politics. Faced with the terrifying prospect of becoming like the French (a fear that still resonates with Boris Johnson today), the British reacted by constructing a contrasting national character, embodied by the restrained heroes and heroines of Jane Austen and the reserved British icon the Duke of Wellington, a suitable opponent to the rather more vulgar Napoleon. By the mid-1800s the stiff upper lip had become entrenched in the national psyche, evolving into the infamously repressed Victorian era, which will be explored by Hislop next week.

A fascinating, if hardly groundbreaking, documentary, Stiff Upper Lip benefits hugely from its timely airing – basking in the warm glow from our greatest summer, we are experiencing unusual levels of national pride and are once more intrigued by what it means to be British. This, and Hislop’s confident and wry presentation, adds weight to what could have been a flimsy subject. I have to admit I was surprised to see that it had being stretched to a 3 part series – whether it holds quite enough interest for that remains to be seen. I will, however, tune in for the conclusion, to see if my screeches of excitement during the Olympic Opening Ceremony mean I should be packing my bags for a less reserved isle.

Would I Lie to You?/Have I Got News For You

April 15th 2012

The BBC Friday night comedy juggernaut rolled back into town this week, with the return of well-established panel shows Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News For You. Though strikingly different beasts, both abided by the adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

The former kicked off proceedings with the familiar team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack with Rob Brydon hosting. Now in its 6^th series, the basic format, if you can’t work it out from the title, has panellists reading unseen anecdotes about themselves, or claiming a connection to a mystery guest, while the others interrogate them to sort the truth from the lies. David Mitchell remains effortlessly brilliant destroying newcomers with his pedantry and gunning down their falsities with his ruthless logic machine, and Lee Mack hones his posh jibes in response.

I’ve no idea who thinks up the lies or discovers some of the bizarre truths about the celebrity guests, but at times they can be inspired, and the subsequent cross-examinations can be hilarious – I’ve never forgotten Kevin Bridges’ utterly implausible story of how he once accidentally bought a horse, with his tale being ripped to shreds before turning out to be impossibly true.

But the very nature of this show is that it can be hit and miss – it relies on the perfect combination of inspired lies and quick-witted guests. By these criteria, the opening episode of the series, with the hardly magic combination of guests Alex Jones, Alexander Armstrong, Mel Giedroyc and unfortunately Chris Tarrant, was very much a miss. Then again, all it takes is one brilliantly tall tale and it could feel like a different show next week. And not that I’m biased due to my slight obsession with him since Gavin and Stacey, but Rob Brydon’s short dance sequence elevated the show to possible BAFTA standard.

By contrast, Have I Got News For You, the satirical news quiz now in its 43^rd series, seems like it will always have legs so long as politicians insist on making fools of themselves. With recent revelations of the rich avoiding tax by temporarily leaving British airspace, and the flooding of Greggs by politicians desperate to be photographed with a soggy pasty, Ian Hislop and Paul Merton have plenty to take aim at.

Joined this week by Grace Dent, Miles Jupp and guest host Stephen Mangan, the show adhered to the familiar sequence of rounds that pick apart the news with aplomb. When faced with scandals where you have to laugh or you’ll cry, Paul Merton’s eccentricity is as perfect as ever for highlighting the absurdity of our ruling class, and for deflating Ian Hislop’s occasional pompous rants.

One of the few shows both myself and my parents enjoy (I don’t think I’ll ever convince them of the merits of Desperate Housewives), it is consistently the perfect tonic to depressing current affairs. Compared with a lacklustre edition of Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News For You demonstrates that often the truth can be funnier than fiction.