Jan

11

The Longest Minute.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

January 11, 2008 |

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“If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don’t actually live longer; it just seems longer.”-Sir Clement Freud

On December 22nd, 2007, the BBC Radio 4 quiz show Just A Minute officially turned forty, making it one of BBC Radio’s longest running shows and just a little younger than Radio 4 itself, which started in 1967. Just A Minute was originally called One Minute Please, and was created by BBC producer Ian Messiter, who said he was inspired by a schoolmaster who’d punish students for not paying attention by making them speak for a minute without hesitation or repetition. Every show opens and closes with Chopin’s The Minute Waltz.

If you’ve ever watched Whose Line Is It, Anyway? you’ll recognize the format of Just A Minute. The host, who’s been Nicholas Parsons for its entire history, with occasional guest hosts, gives topics to a four-person panel. Topics range from the very specific to the very vague. On a recent show they included public relations, the tip of the iceberg, when you weren’t looking, happily ever after, and forbidden fruit. A panel member then has to talk about the topic for just a minute “without repetition, hesitation, or deviation”. The panelists challenge each other, and Mr. Parsons decides whether the challenge is warranted (often with some audience help, or occasionally some audience hisses). While repetition and hesitation are easy to define, the definition of deviation has, well, deviated over the years. Originally it was deviation from the topic, but it’s evolved to mean deviation from the truth, deviation from the English language, or even from logic. In a recent show, panelist Clement Freud, talking about public relations, mentioned that his youngest son had just given birth to his sixteenth grandchild. Panelist Paul Merton challenged, pointing out that, so far, no one’s son has given birth. Repetition and hesitation are easier mistakes to catch. Josie Lawrence accidentally used the word “actually” a second time while speaking and, realizing her mistake, added “oh bugger!” almost immediately. She also got challenged several times before she could even start speaking because she’d pause to take a breath. When a panelist successfully challenges they get to start talking about the subject for however much time remains. Panelists have been known to successfully challenge with only a second or two left on the clock and barely get a word out before the whistle blows. Points are awarded for successful challenges and for still speaking when the minute ends. The panelist with the most points at the show’s end is declared the winner, but winning is secondary. There was a short-lived television series that premiered in 1994, but the fun of Just A Minute is that it’s purely auditory. Yes, it’s a competition, and, yes, it’s comedy, but with most contemporary entertainment–especially so-called reality shows–consisting of people screaming at, around, or about each other, there may be a reason Just A Minute is still going strong after four decades. It’s four people sitting around listening to each other, and having a great time doing it.

The original panel included Sir Clement Freud (grandson of Sigmund Freud, which gives a whole new twist to the Freudian slip), who’s still a regular, Beryl Reid, Wilma Ewart, and Derek Nimmo, but panels throughout the years have included Stephen Fry, Graham Norton, Wendy Richard, Michael Palin, and Eddie Izzard.

You can catch Just A Minute on the web on BBC Radio 4 on Mondays at 6:30PM local time (that’s their local time), where you can also listen to a recording of the most recent broadcast. (Unfortunately a short time after each season ends the BBC removes the audio link.) There are also CDs and audio downloads available at the BBC Shop. Or check out this tribute web site which includes a complete history of the show, a discussion board, and detailed transcripts.

As for Just A Minute itself, here’s hoping for forty more years of minutes with plenty of repetition, hesitation, deviation, and repetition.


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