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Original poster

today programme, 'pooh bah' reference

26 replies

WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 03/12/2009 09:18

peter mandelson was told he was like pooh bah from the mikado, yes a terribly clever comparison, but even peter mandelson had to say 'who is pooh bah?'. which just confirmed for me the today programme is about competitive cleverness and general smugery and not really very good.

OP posts:
christiana · 03/12/2009 09:19

Message withdrawn

Original poster
WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 03/12/2009 09:23

i liked his jolly 'bye bye' at the end.

OP posts:
christiana · 03/12/2009 09:36

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Bramshott · 03/12/2009 09:43

Oh God, his "byeeee" at the end made me want to vomit (but then he generally does)!

christiana · 03/12/2009 09:45

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senua · 03/12/2009 09:46

Didn't hear the Mandelson interview but I do like a certain amount of competitive cleverness and analysis - I would prefer it to the TV yoof's "that's you updated in 60 seconds".

I thought I liked Evan Davies and was prepared to wait for him to grow into the job but he's not rotweiller enough. He just parrots the researcher's opening question and meekly accepts the answer; he can never manage the follow-up, killer question

christiana · 03/12/2009 09:50

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Jux · 03/12/2009 09:55

I agree with Senua. He's weak and rather embarrassing.

Mandelson needs to be subjected to competitive cleverness.

I don't think there's any harm in having one radio programme amongst the plethora which actually uses educated and cultural references.

Original poster
WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 03/12/2009 10:49

ok there is being clever adn there is using archaic references that only middle aged listeners who were unfortunate enough to be exposed to gilbert and sullivan at school will get.

OP posts:
Sparks · 03/12/2009 11:06

I reckon Mandy understood the Pooh Bah reference, but was deflecting the question so he didn't have to answer it.

cumbria81 · 03/12/2009 11:09

Well I misheard it as Pooh Bear so I guess I have failed in the cleverness stakes

MayorNaze · 03/12/2009 11:11

i know who pooh bah is. iam 28.

i saw the mikado when i was 13. and liked it.

Grandhighpoohba · 03/12/2009 11:23

Smugery? I shall try not to be offended!

Swedington · 03/12/2009 11:24

Brilliant.

But I have to say now I can't stand the Mikado. But I do like Peter Mandelson. He is pure panto and brings a bit of cashmere to a polyester government.

Original poster
WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 03/12/2009 11:25

yes it is not hard to imagine him cackling while twirling a comedy moustache behind a large black cloak.

OP posts:
PrincessFiorimonde · 03/12/2009 11:34

I heard the end of the interview and really find it hard to believe that Mandelson has never heard of Pooh Ba. On the other hand, he was funny the other day when he disagreed with Davis about something and started his riposte: 'Euan, much as I love and respect you ...'

All the Today presenters irritate me at some time or another (though I still listen), cos I'm a grumpy old woman. But Naughtie really gets me when his meandering questions take forever to deliver.

PrincessFiorimonde · 03/12/2009 11:38
senua · 03/12/2009 12:18

Coincidentally, I have just read this quotation:
"Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labour; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it" Samuel Johnson, over 200 years ago.

I have no problem with Today presenters making educated references when speaking to politicians. G&S is not that obscure and I would like to think that if said politician can understand the reference then it shows that s/he has 'hinterland' and doesn't just exist in the Westminster Village.
However, I do have a problem when they use English-language colloquialisms on foreigners.

Swedington · 03/12/2009 12:50

Mandelson was pretending not to know..... when people say they love opera, they almost always look down their noses at Gilbert & Sullivan. It's like adoring the BBC and everything it does, but never having watched Eastenders. Ever.

Swedington · 03/12/2009 12:52

Senua - "that s/he has 'hinterland' and doesn't just exist in the Westminster Village."

Yes, it would show they are just as happy at Glyndebourne

OrmIrian · 03/12/2009 12:54

Hurray for Today.

Don't beleive in pandering to competitive ignorance and thickery.

Mikado is hardly high culture is it

I think he was being disingenuous anyway.

Original poster
WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 03/12/2009 13:03

high culture, low culture who cares. most of the listeners will not have had a clue what he was on about. i don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the works of g&s but don't think i am particularily ignorant nor thick

OP posts:
OrmIrian · 03/12/2009 13:05

You don't need to though. I don't get a lot of references to BB or Strictly etc but I don't see that it matters. Should he have compared him to a character from Eastenders perhaps ?

JeffVadar · 03/12/2009 16:43

I'll bet Mandelson knows exactly who Pooh-Bah is.

He (Mandy) could probably sense the danger that the interviewer was about to make the point that he (Pooh-Bah) wasn't a democratically elected representative of the people either.

SomeGuy · 03/12/2009 16:46

Yes quite, the OP stating that it is competitive cleverness is missing the point. If you are a true competitive smugger, you'd pretend not to know because G&S is so frightfully common. Rather like a normal person sneering about The X Factor.