He missed the shipping forecast

June 15, 2013 2:47 PM

Jake Yapp presents the whole of Radio 4 in 4 minutes. (SYLT)
posted by Cannon Fodder (30 comments total)

I only listen to In Our Time, but for what it's worth he nailed it.
posted by cthuljew at 3:01 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

The delivery of the "Oxbridge Chronicles" also perfect.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:07 PM on June 15, 2013

A precocious American child living in Brussels thirty years ago, I could choose between Radio 4 (200 kHz) and the World Service. Not much has changed on Radio 4 in the intervening years.
posted by wotsac at 3:10 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Very sharp, totally accurate.

But I still love R4. I have to, there isn't really anyone else even trying to do what it does. I wish there were.
posted by Segundus at 3:18 PM on June 15, 2013 [7 favorites]

Caught this via a Facebook friend a few days ago. As a long-time lover of Radio 4 and loather of the SODDING ARCHERS, I LOL-ed more than a few times. But yes, he definitely missed a trick with the shipping forecast.
posted by Decani at 3:20 PM on June 15, 2013

There's no way to make Gardener's Question Time funny.
posted by maledictory at 3:26 PM on June 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

Hmm. He seems to be under the impression that Neil Nunes is from Antigua. I wanted to like this more than I did. Just didn't think the impressions were close enough, really.
posted by howfar at 3:29 PM on June 15, 2013

Just as well that he chose to take the piss out of Jane Garvey, because I'll brook no mockery of Jenni Murray.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:44 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

He shouldn't make a mockery of John Humphrys.

That's John Humphrys' job.
posted by Jehan at 3:56 PM on June 15, 2013 [4 favorites]

Just didn't think the impressions were close enough, really.
posted by howfar at 11:29 PM on June 15

This really wasn't about the accuracy of the vocal mimicry.
posted by Decani at 3:59 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Nailed [much of] it. God I love Radio 4. So much.
posted by glhaynes at 4:11 PM on June 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

Dying of laughter. I love Radio 4, but oh gods, some days.
posted by strixus at 4:40 PM on June 15, 2013

This really wasn't about the accuracy of the vocal mimicry.

To me, if you're basically lifting your jokes from episodes of Dead Ringers that aired a decade ago, you should probably try to be a better impressionist than John Culshaw, just so you're bringing something to the party. It's not as if the bar has been set particularly high.
posted by howfar at 4:50 PM on June 15, 2013

Oh, how I love you Radio 4....and Radio 4 Extra. I am fickle.

Neil Nunes, please read me bedtime stories.
posted by Kitteh at 5:26 PM on June 15, 2013

Poor old Neil Nunes though, it was so hard for the Radio 4 audience (middle class, white and very very old) to get used to an announcer with his particular accent.

Great bit, but nobody takes the mickey out of Radio 4 as Radio 4 itself.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:54 PM on June 15, 2013

See also: this spoof of The Now Show by the Rum Doings podcast (half of which is John Walker of RockPaperShotgun fame!)
posted by Drexen at 6:35 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

I see that the Rum Doings podcast follows in the footsteps of The Now Show by being blisteringly unfunny.
posted by wotsac at 7:06 PM on June 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stewart Lee on Radio 4 presenters.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 9:14 PM on June 15, 2013 [4 favorites]

To me, if you're basically lifting your jokes from episodes of Dead Ringers that aired a decade ago, you should probably try to be a better impressionist than John Culshaw, just so you're bringing something to the party. It's not as if the bar has been set particularly high.
posted by howfar at 12:50 AM on June 16

Reference on that "lifted jokes" accusation? I'm not a fan of plagiarism and if this guy is indulging in that I'd like to know.

This was a damned funny send-up of some very recognisable Radio 4 tropes. The impressions were decidedly secondary, to the extent that this would still have been highly amusing even if the guy had made no attempt at all to copy the voices.
posted by Decani at 12:34 AM on June 16, 2013

I loved this! "The Swans Have Burst" by Trevor Fraser Dunlop. Brilliant!
posted by shibori at 1:34 AM on June 16, 2013

Yeah, you can't mock Jenni Murphy, that's the one upside of cancer I suppose - forever mockery immunity.

My fav youtube comment (really) was this one...

"Beautiful. Sadly the video has such a niche target audience (Radio 4 listeners who can operate YouTube) that it's not going to get the recognition it deserves."
posted by C.A.S. at 1:49 AM on June 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Reference on that "lifted jokes" accusation? I'm not a fan of plagiarism and if this guy is indulging in that I'd like to know.

The several series of Dead Ringers broadcast on Radio 4! I'm not sure if every single one of these aspects of R4 got sent up, but it was certainly the majority. I mean, it's fine, I'm happy people enjoyed it, but this specific type of pisstake of R4 is really not very original (most impressionist stuff isn't, I think), and I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it included some finer brushwork among the broad strokes. Hence my wish for better vocal impressions; it's hard to do a subtle impression of someone you sound only vaguely like.
posted by howfar at 2:38 AM on June 16, 2013

I was out at the 'all enthusiastic academics are virgins' joke. It was just so weak, when In Our Time gives you acres of better stuff to mock it for. I liked the concept, and I love both Radio 4 and taking the piss out of Radio 4, but this didn't amuse me.

If we're taking the piss out of Radio 4, not only Dead Ringers does it better, but Listen Against does it better as well.
posted by Coobeastie at 3:08 AM on June 16, 2013

nthing the Dead Ringers trope on here. I got to 48 seconds and was just, yeah.

Dead Ringers really used to mock, big time. This is weak sauce in comparison.
posted by marienbad at 5:42 AM on June 16, 2013

I listened to four extra for about ten minutes. They had an urbanized version of The Archers which confused the heck out of me. And that was the last time I listened to four extra.
posted by zoo at 5:45 AM on June 16, 2013

Also a bit annoying that they only got to about 8:00pm. Of course, this is pretty much when I stop listening, so it may actually be that there is nothing on after Front Row.
posted by zoo at 5:52 AM on June 16, 2013

And that was the last time I listened to four extra.

Missing out. What you heard was hardly representative. In the main 4 Extra is classic comedy and drama, with some new bits thrown in. It's not really a companion station to R4 at all, just rebranded as such to try to boost the listener figures for Radio 7.
posted by howfar at 6:13 AM on June 16, 2013

What you should use 4 Extra for is not as live radio, but for its comedy archives, which cycle through most of the still existing classic Light Programme/R4 series. Back to back episodes of say Round the Horne and seventies ISIHAC or I'm Sorry I'll Read that Again, on a Sunday afternoon with tea and crumpets? Bliss.
posted by MartinWisse at 9:37 AM on June 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

I never really listened to dead ringers. In general I'm not a fan of impression shows because they often rely on the impression and one joke associated with it. To me this video is perfect precisely because it has a throw away joke for each bit and then moves on. Some (the swans that burst) are better than others: I'll admit the In our time joke is pretty weak.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 11:29 AM on June 17, 2013

ISIRTA!!! Back when Angus Prune Bill Oddie was funny.
posted by marienbad at 4:09 AM on June 23, 2013