Mark Steel's in Town. In 2010 Mark Steel's in Town won a Silver Award for "Best Comedy" in the Sony Radio Academy Awards. "This programme is stand-up comedy at its very best. Stand-up on radio is immensely challenging – and often unsuccessful but this programme is intelligent and rich in content, well paced and, moreover, funny. Although it is clear that a lot of preparation went into making this programme, the result is fluent, natural and exciting. It was also generous to its audience and to its location – and very much in tune with the sound and appeal of the network." The Sony Radio Academy Awards.
Married. Confirmed bachelor Robin Lightfoot wakes up in a parallel universe in which he is married with two children, the Lib Dems are in power, the Richard Whiteley Experience has just opened in Greenwich and alcohol is a class-A drug.
Masterson Inheritance, The. "An improvised historical saga of a family at war with itself. No script, no rehearsals, just an audience and a couple of microphones". There are 3 series, each series has 6 shows. Each half hour show is improvised, with only the imagination of the performers and some sound effects to tell the story of the Masterson family.
Millport, by Lynn Ferguson, is a surreal version of the only town on the island of Great Cumbrae in the River Clyde Estuary and takes small-town stereotypes to absurd lengths. The central character is barmaid Irene Bruce, who refers to her hometown as 'a scabby wee town on a scabby wee island', and hankers after a life on a larger stage on the mainland. Irene is perpetually bored, cranky and sexually frustrated, but at the same time unattracted to anyone around her. Her infuriatingly sweet (and dull) sister Moira writes articles for the (real) treacly magazine The People's Friend; no-one seems
to comment on the fact that her dog Robert can talk...
Milton Jones. Milton Jones is a multi-award winning comedian. He has been a panellist many times on BBC's Mock the Week, and was recently to be seen on BBC's Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. He has also recently had his ninth radio series commissioned for BBC Radio 4. He is a former Perrier Best Newcomer and Perrier Nominee as well as having won a Sony Award for his radio show the Very World of Milton Jones. He is also the current Chortle website 'Headliner of the Year'.
Miranda Hart's Joke Shop. Miranda is an unconventional woman: a tall, life-embracing, self-effacing clown, who's at her happiest amongst the wind-up teeth of her Joke Shop. Lacking the organisational skills needed for retail (or anything else). Miranda has gone into partnership with Stevie, one of Britain's greatest humour vacuums. Stevie mans the till for hours at a time whilst Miranda 'pops out' on regular, self-imposed challenges. Miranda is determined to suss out what it takes to be a girly girl, to deal with her outrageously embarrassing mother in public places, to get herself a boyfriend and to persuade other people to take life less seriously.
Mordrin McDonald - 21st-Century Wizard. Written by David Kay and Gavin Smith, Mordrin McDonald is a 2000 year old Wizard living in the modern world where settling garden disputes and watching Countdown are just as important as slaying the odd Jakonty Dragon. Step into the magically mundane world that is the life of 21st century wizard Mordrin McDonald. An isolated 2000-year-old sorcerer with enough power in his small finger to destroy a town, yet not even enough clout to get his bins emptied on time by the local council.
Mr And Mrs Smith. A year into married life and already things are a little creaky for Will and Annabelle. So, following Will's unimaginative anniversary present (a draining rack), Annabelle has signed them up for a course of marriage counselling.
Naked Radio. One of the great sketch shows of the eighties (some would say the great sketch show of the eighties), Naked Radio tends to be overlooked on account of its Scotland-only transmission, which meant most of the population of these islands were denied the privilege of hearing it. It did, however, spawn a television successor, the stupidly-titled Naked Video, which was something of a hit across the UK around the turn of the 1990s. The theme unifying Naked Radio's fast-paced sketches and one-liners was the show's "Scottish brief": writers were expected, in keeping with the show's localisation, to concern themselves mainly with issues affecting Scotland and the Scots. This was not the handicap it might appear: in fact, since the field of open targets thus included religious disharmony, Muriel Gray, Superscots, Dounreay and the Broons, it's difficult to see how they could have put a foot wrong. And, lest we forget, there was the Poll Tax: civilisation's loss with the introduction of this more than slightly unpopular measure was undeniably satire's gain, and, owing to Scotland's unsought 'Testing Zone' status during the late Thatcher years, Naked Radio was in a position to express its pointed views on the matter a year ahead of the rest of Britain.
National Theatre of Brent. Ham actor characters Desmond Olivier Dingle and Raymond Box manage to murder plays with whispered stage directions, mis-read lines, over-the-top acting, dodgy sound effects and awfully un-realistic dialogue.Patrick Barlow plays Desmond Olivier Dingle, the troupe's founder, Artistic Director and Chief Executive. The role of his assistant (or as Desmond likes to call him, "my entire company") has been taken by different actors over the years, including Jim Broadbent (as Wallace), Robert Austin (as Bernard), and John Ramm (as Raymond Box).
Navy Lark, The. One of radio's longest running laughter-makers, The Navy Lark kept the nation on the crest of a wave from 1959 to 1977. All at sea in the Senior Service were conniving Chief Petty Officer Jon Pertwee, silly-ass Sub-Lieutenant Leslie Phillips with his cry of 'Left hand down a bit!', and the constantly bemused Stephen Murray as 'Number One'. Tenniel Evans made mischief as Leading Seaman Goldstein, and Ronnie Barker played (barely) Able Seaman Fatso Johnson and Engineer Queeg, a man permanently out of his depth.
Nebulous. Nebulous is a post apocalyptic science fiction comedy radio show written by Graham Duff and produced by Ted Dowd from Baby Cow Productions; it is directed by Nicholas Briggs. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 4. The show focuses on the adventures of the eponymous Professor Nebulous, leader of the eco-troubleshooting team of K.E.N.T. (the Key Environmental Non-Judgmental Taskforce) as they combat various catastrophes and try to set the world back on the right path following a worldwide disaster known as "The Withering". As well as being a parody of a number of famous science fiction programmes, including Doctor Who, Quatermass and Doomwatch,Nebulous is considered a cult radio programme, attracting a number of guest appearances from famous actors.
No Commitments. A sitcom about the lives of three women: Anna, Victoria and Charlotte . The humour is gentle, and arises from the contrast between Anna, the self-assured and contented sibling, who spent her middle years caring for the trio's parents, and her two younger sisters, Victoria and Charlotte, one of whom is a neurotic, domineering housewife and the other a hystrionic with an incredibly messy love life. Both sisters regard Anna as the unfortunate of the family, but are in fact reliant on her support.
Old Dog and Partridge. Joe Turner’s successful blend of character and situation comedy set in the titular pub, an establishment run by Jack with assistance from his estranged but recently-returned daughter Nicola .
Old Harry's Game. The Prince of Darkness has a lot on his plate. He was thrown out of Heaven for trying to rebel against God (or Nigel to give him his real name), although Satan claims it was more of a, "management restructuring". After the proposal, there was a lot of thunder, lightning, f-ing and blinding. Satan came to find he had horns, goat legs, and was in a place that was much, much hotter.
On The Blog. Andrew Glasgow is geeky assiduous keeper of an internet blog. Part confessional and part performance, blogging has been heralded as the biggest revolution in journalism since the invention of radio but, as Andrew demonstrates, it's really just a jamboree for the kind of people who write round-robins at Christmas and also a massive repository of staircase wit.
One Foot in the Grave. One Foot in the Grave follows the exploits of irascible pensioner Victor Meldrew, who after being forced to retire from his job as a security guard, finds himself at war with the world and everything in it. Meldrew, cursed with misfortune and always complaining, is married to long-suffering wife Margaret, who is often left exasperated by his many misfortunes.
Our Brave Boys. Our Brave Boys is Christopher Lee's Radio, Comedy drama series about a high-flying civil servant who is posted to the Ministry of Defence, where she finds herself boss to four military officers. The "boys" are nearing the end of their stint at the Ministry of Defence, and each of them is looking forward to returning to his particular service and, hopefully, to promotion. But with their departure imminent, both they and the redoubtable Zelda discover that their feelings are surprisingly ambivalent.
Party. Based on the award-winning play from the 2009 Edinburgh Festival, Party is written by Edinburgh Comedy Award winner and Cowards member, Tom Basden. It explores what happens when a group of people try and change the world. Four young idealists have decided to form a new political party to save the world from itself. The new fifth member, Duncan, sets about saving the world from them. A suburban garden shed is the setting, as the adolescent adults debate forming their own political party.
Party Line, The. Duncan Stonebridge MP is a Labour Party backbencher, looking after the interests of the fictional constituency of Rothershurst. Following his party's poor performance in the 2005 General Election, Stonebridge's majority is now just 27. Trying to maintain control of a constituency that could easily vote him out, Duncan is always living in the shadow of the last MP, the late Conservative Sir Digby, who spirit lives on in the form of his widow Lady Harriet.
Party Party, The. The face of British Politics is about to change as the party representing the loony right and centre sweeps to power, disrupting forever the very normal, very predictable, very sit-com lives of the actors living in Microcosm. "Vote Party Party - for want of anything better to vote for"...A manic, futuristic comedy series, describing the weird and wonderful world of British politics in the far-off era of 1992.
People Like Us. Hapless broadcaster Roy Mallard sets out to give an impression of the day-to-day business of ordinary occupations.
Pickerskill Reports, The. Ian McDiarmid stars as Dr Henry Pickerskill, retired English master of Haunchurst School for boys, looking back on his favourite pupils and their fortunes in the adult world - based on their school reports and their letters to him after they left. Told in the form of flashbacks, each episode tells the darkly comic account of the life of one of the pupils. Shaped by Haunchurst School, these boys' flaws and gifts are analysed by Pickerskill and we find out what became of them in adulthood.
Porridge. "Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court, and it is now my duty to pass sentence. You are an habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner. We therefore feel constrained to commit you to the maximum term allowed for these offences — you will go to prison for five years."
Potting On. Radio sitcom starring Pam Ayres and Geoffrey Whitehead as a long-married aging couple running a garden centre with the help of various oddball employees. Gordon is a creature of habit while Pam longs to break out of her humdrum routine. Pam's ally at the garden centre is teenager Carol, a girl more than happy to speak her mind. If only, Gordon complains, there was something in her peroxide head apart from boob jobs, alco-pops, Johnny Depp and bronzed chests smothered in baby oil. Naive deputy manager Dave, though older than Carol, is smitten. Luckily, he has Pam to advise him on the route to Carol's heart: like pointing out that metal detecting is 'not' a good idea for a hot date! And how could the garden centre survive without the ancient and, quite frankly, bizarre Roy, the highly inaccurate singer of pop songs and runner-up in the Gloucester beauty pageant? Will Pam's last fling at life, adventure and fun overcome Gordon's passion for comfortable trousers, caravanning and penny-pinching?
Milligan, Spike
