Only an Excuse

[The 90+2]

I thought both only an excuse and the presenting and guests all decent last night for a wee change. Even found the presenter funny.

[Sammy7nil]

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Do the actors get paid for this??

No they pay the BBC to take part

[heretoday]

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One of the best groups Scotland has ever produced and two stars from line of duty and one from still game, 2 of the BBC's most watched programmes ever. Yeah awful.

Correct. It was.....................awful. Fireworks were good!

[Tomsk]

I'm surprised that anyone watches OAE. It's not as if they don't know what's coming. It must be 15 years since I last saw it, maybe more. I stopped watching because it utter cack. But just when you thought it was safe to back into the water, last night I had to endure about 15 minutes of Susan Calman either side of the bells. Dear Lord! What sins did we commit to have this visited upon us?

[Baldy Foghorn]

Utter garbage, really is cringeworthy stuff......

[.Sean.]

It’s genuinely embarrassing. How on earth does this muck get commissioned? 🤦🏽*♂️😂 All the folk saying ‘if it’s rubbish don’t watch it’ - It’s that bad you can’t stop watching it. Johnathon Watson is genuinely as funny as watching us getting beat in a derby, he must surely realise how toaly he is. Winds me up our tele license fee goes towards crap like that.

[Carheenlea]

Not seen it yet so can’t pass opinion on this years effort yet, but the show must score quite high viewing figures. It’s a bit like Mrs Browns Boys - I don’t know anyone who likes it (or rather admits to liking it..) but it is one of the most watched programmes on TV.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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"My mother was a Fanny, my granny was a Fanny. I come from a long line of Fannys"

The best Irn Bru advert ever.

Fanny eh? I like it.

[Gloucester Hibs]

Seems to be less and less actual football gags (or indeed gags!) year on year. The Greta sketch at the start and the peloton one at the end did raise a chuckle though. Think it peaked in 1993/4 with the World Cup special.

To echo the comments of someone on the Bounce, I know it’s gonna be pish but watch it anyway as a kind of self flagellation.

[Captain Trips]

It is on once for 30mins per year and will cost very little to make that is how it gets a gig.

[CraigHibee]

I'm surprised some people say only an excuse is absolute pish


It's not even that good, should have been canned years ago

[WeeRussell]

It’s poor and has been for many years. But I think people go over the top because it was once good.

It’s no worse than the majority of pish that gets screened these days.

E.g. is/was ‘Gavin and Stacey’ always as unfunny as it’s Christmas special this year? Because I watched (the start of) it this year and I’ll take Watson repeating his nonsense any day of the week before that.

[EastThomasSTboy]

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I thought both only an excuse and the presenting and guests all decent last night for a wee change. Even found the presenter funny.

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After all the derogatory remarks, I watched OAE on catch-up, and thought it was very Good (4 stars) especially the pisstaking of our very own airhead/dickhead (delete as appropriate) SNP chappy.
I thought most of the laughs came from the Non-fitba bits, apart from the Polis celebrations, which was funny.

Maybe its an age thing, and its only one programme a year, which has this "fanzine type" approach to the Scottish Game,

It would be better with a full series!!!!! BBC (glasgow) take note.

Happy New Year to Hibbies everywhere.

[JimBHibees]

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.

After all the derogatory remarks, I watched OAE on catch-up, and thought it was very Good (4 stars) especially the pisstaking of our very own airhead/dickhead (delete as appropriate) SNP chappy.
I thought most of the laughs came from the Non-fitba bits, apart from the Polis celebrations, which was funny.

Maybe its an age thing, and its only one programme a year, which has this "fanzine type" approach to the Scottish Game,

It would be better with a full series!!!!! BBC (glasgow) take note.

Happy New Year to Hibbies everywhere.

please tell me you are joking.

[Greenbeard]

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It was great to see Stanley Baxter again. Cut above the rubbish that passes for Scottish comedy these days.

Aye, but what was with the faux shock and horror from Lorraine Kelly (and her unknown toy-boy sidekick) when looking back at one of his parliamo Burzeye ads "oh my god he's blacked up"?
Put on PC-ness for the camera.
Director "we 're going to show this clip from near 50 years ago of Stanley Baxter playing an Asian but to get away with it you are going to have to look shocked and say how terrible it was that he was blacked up."
She is old enough to know that was common-place back then. And at the time, when it would be highly highly unusual to hear an Asian person speaking broad Weegie, it was actually quite funny to see/hear an Asian character parliamo Burzeye.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

The ads programme that proceeded OAE showed, along with excellent input from Stuart Cosgrove and others, how Scottish society has evolved over the years. Becomming more self confidence, diverse and forward thinking in our attitudes.

Only an Excuse seemes to be trapped in a bygone era where with every passing year it becomes less and less relevant to 21st century Scottish thinking.

There has obviously been a conscious decision to try and take a different course in recent times with more and more political references but when it's delivered in the exact same ignorant and humourless manner then it makes no difference.

[Cataplana]

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Aye, but what was with the faux shock and horror from Lorraine Kelly (and her unknown toy-boy sidekick) when looking back at one of his parliamo Burzeye ads "oh my god he's blacked up"?
Put on PC-ness for the camera.
Director "we 're going to show this clip from near 50 years ago of Stanley Baxter playing an Asian but to get away with it you are going to have to look shocked and say how terrible it was that he was blacked up."
She is old enough to know that was common-place back then. And at the time, when it would be highly highly unusual to hear an Asian person speaking broad Weegie, it was actually quite funny to see/hear an Asian character parliamo Burzeye.

Yeah but Shareen Najiani wasn't very impressed either. At least the BBC showed it, because the way things are going, it might be banned in future.

[Renfrew_Hibby]

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.

After all the derogatory remarks, I watched OAE on catch-up, and thought it was very Good (4 stars) especially the pisstaking of our very own airhead/dickhead (delete as appropriate) SNP chappy.
I thought most of the laughs came from the Non-fitba bits, apart from the Polis celebrations, which was funny.

Maybe its an age thing, and its only one programme a year, which has this "fanzine type" approach to the Scottish Game,

It would be better with a full series!!!!! BBC (glasgow) take note.

Happy New Year to Hibbies everywhere.

This could have been lifted from Follow Follow!

Watson is clearly a typical hun in his political thinking as there is a definite nastiness in his Nicola Sturgeon pieces from previous years and an undertone of 'Snp bad'.

I'm sure he talked about being a Tory supporter when he was a youngster in the Glasgow arts/drama scene of the late 80s. This was a time when Glasgow was nearly universally opposed to Thatcher and her policies.

He had ample opportunity to rip the pi sh out of Ruth Davidson to balance things up but no just continually stuck the boot into Sturgeon. Imagine if he only ever parodied and mocked Celtic and you get the picture.

[matty_f]

I didn't last long with it, saw the Brendan Rodgers sketch, took me a few moments to figure out who it was meant to be, then got halfway through the Greta Thunberg sketch and thought that if the best they can do is laugh at someone trying to do some good for the world, with a "haha she's vegan so let's make a joke about eating meat, and she's anti-flying, so let's joke about having flights", then the rest wasn't worth watching.

Cheap laughs, badly done.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

I suppose that the Hogmany telly has a bit of nostalgia thrown in to it, but nostalgic for what? OEA is being drawn out like Scotch and Wry, and maybe showing a classic episode of that show would fill the same role. If you have all year to write the show then every gag has to be a winner, but as football is moving week by week, it is impossible to keep it fresh and re-hashing stereotypes becomes the material. Being set up to fail perhaps.

[Baldy Foghorn]

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I didn't last long with it, saw the Brendan Rodgers sketch, took me a few moments to figure out who it was meant to be, then got halfway through the Greta Thunberg sketch and thought that if the best they can do is laugh at someone trying to do some good for the world, with a "haha she's vegan so let's make a joke about eating meat, and she's anti-flying, so let's joke about having flights", then the rest wasn't worth watching.

Cheap laughs, badly done.

I watched the whole lot, like watching a car crash, never even raised a smile throughout. Sad to see well known actors getting dragged down by it too

[Greenbeard]

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Yeah but Shareen Najiani wasn't very impressed either. At least the BBC showed it, because the way things are going, it might be banned in future.

And the irn bru Fanny ad? I wasn't paying close attention but did her side-kick make an oblique reference to the rhyming slang? Was going to rewind but couldn't find the doofer.

[Pretty Boy]

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And the irn bru Fanny ad? I wasn't paying close attention but did her side-kick make an oblique reference to the rhyming slang? Was going to rewind but couldn't find the doofer.

She took that in good spirits.

I think Val McDermid made a good point when talking about the transgender Irn Bru advert. She said people need to feel able to call out things that are offensive or inapporpriate but it's also important to remember it's OK to make and take a joke. As an outspoken member of the LGBT+ community she's probably worth listening to on such an issue.

Stanley Baxter parading about pretending to be Asian wouldn't get on TV now and rightly so. However it happened, it was of it's time and people shouldn't lose sight of that. It should possible to look back on it with an element of nostalgia, recognise it's place in comedic history and not be called racist for doing so. Equally there has to be a recognition it's not a joke that should be made nowadays.

[Carheenlea]

I saw the Thunberg sketch online on a BBC Scotland FB post. Painful.
If that was a highlight going by some commentators on here...

[BILLYHIBS]

Off topic but I thought the Susan Calman Hogmanay Show attempt was dire although they did spend a good wee while on the fireworks from Edinburgh

[hibsbollah]

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I didn't last long with it, saw the Brendan Rodgers sketch, took me a few moments to figure out who it was meant to be, then got halfway through the Greta Thunberg sketch and thought that if the best they can do is laugh at someone trying to do some good for the world, with a "haha she's vegan so let's make a joke about eating meat, and she's anti-flying, so let's joke about having flights", then the rest wasn't worth watching.

Cheap laughs, badly done.

Thé Greta sketch was just weird. Not a good target for satirists, unless you're a right wing shock jock on fox news.

[matty_f]

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Thé Greta sketch was just weird. Not a good target for satirists, unless you're a right wing shock jock on fox news.

Yep, it reeked of folk who should know better hitting an easy target.

[Keith_M]

They've never successfully replaced Rikki Fulton at New Year. I realise that some of his shows were a bit repetitive but they were mostly genuinely funny.

Is it maybe time they started looking outside the Glasgow/West of Scotland bubble?





Saying things in a Glasgow accent, contrary to opinion at the BBC, is not automatically funny *







* For instance, during my first visit ever to Glasgow as a Hibs Fan, "who you lookin at ya wee fenian Basturt". Surprisingly, I didn't actually burst out laughing...

[EastThomasSTboy]

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This could have been lifted from Follow Follow!

Watson is clearly a typical hun in his political thinking as there is a definite nastiness in his Nicola Sturgeon pieces from previous years and an undertone of 'Snp bad'.

I'm sure he talked about being a Tory supporter when he was a youngster in the Glasgow arts/drama scene of the late 80s. This was a time when Glasgow was nearly universally opposed to Thatcher and her policies.

He had ample opportunity to rip the pi sh out of Ruth Davidson to balance things up but no just continually stuck the boot into Sturgeon. Imagine if he only ever parodied and mocked Celtic and you get the picture.

So, an Auld dyed in the wool Hibby like me, is compared to the Huns,!!!!!! because I like to see our MPs getting the pish ripped out of them. Aye OK then!

Bye the way i dislike, nay detest, all Politicians, of every persuasion. But the SNP mostest of all.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

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Off topic but I thought the Susan Calman Hogmanay Show attempt was dire although they did spend a good wee while on the fireworks from Edinburgh

She was practically drooling over the girl from the Scottish women's football team. I think she might need to take her top back to the shop and get a bigger size cos the one she was given will be a bit snug.