"Call Jonathan Pie" BBC Radio 4 comedy

[yetanotherusernameAgain]

Episode 6 "Identity Crisis"

Jonathan (fictional radio talk show host) is attending a diversity training session and is basically saying all the things we would. A character in a comedy is saying things that wouldn't be countenanced on a factual programme.

Hope this link works.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002brqn

Good for you @TangenitalContrivancethat’s interesting, how did you put it and what did Chris say? I can’t completely abandon The Bugle - it’s made me laugh so much over the years - but probably listen to about one in six episodes these days as the guests are just not funny enough to be as smug as they are. Have never heard AZ come straight out with anything, but certainly lets through more spiteful JKR punchlines and things like that these days. His sister drank the Kool Aid a long time ago so not surprised. I wanted to think Alice Fraser was too smart to fall for it but now I’m not sure, and there’s only a handful of guests I can abide any more. That’s not to say some things shouldn’t be made fun of, it’s just they are very rarely done with wit on The Bugle these days.

The episode summary on BBC Sounds says:

"As the team face the pain and pitfalls of diversity training, Pie's prejudices are painfully exposed."

Are they signalling that Pie's comments are wrongthink?

Yes I listened to that at the time (albeit slightly hidden as a BBC Ireland production - and was 4 years ago)but it was the fact that a comedy show got through which surprised me - am used to the lazy tropes from the likes of the News Quiz etc

Was long time comedy partner of john Oliver, so not surprised sadly

I've listened. It's OK, but, my god, did it hurt him to hold all that in for a decade?
When better women and men than him lost so much for saying this (when he was keeping schtum).

I’m sure he’s taken the piss before. Perhaps not so directly but he’s dropped in the JP brand off caustic sarcasm about these issues before. I can’t remember exactly what but I remember thinking “thank god he gets it”

sorry to go on, but the essence of his type of comedy should be 'wow, I hadn't seen it that way before' . A great example is his podcast when Trump was elected 1st time - brilliant.
This time? Well, he's saying everything that's been said, over and over, again. for years. And it's not new. It's old.
So-called edgy comedians shouldn't be waiting until it's safe to be cutting and satirical.

I remember cheering this episode on, thinking Yes! The tide is turning!

And then - it didn't.

Probably. Maybe that's their way of putting it out while still dodging the rape / death threats.

May be like an Alan Partridge type character? ‘Listen to this guy getting it wrong, but hey he’s just a character, so don’t come for us’

As for Tom Walker/Pie he’s not anti or pro trans I think, but he is very anti identity politics (even did a thing with Little OJ on it) and that pro free speech does not equal you’re right wing. He did take some heat a while back for some comments regarding Sam Smith I seem to recall.

I'm halfway through and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Firing broadside at everyone and hitting the spots exactly. I have so missed this from Private Eye.

Thank you for the link and recommendation@yetanotherusernameAgain

I'm so going to post this on my social media.

All my "right-thinking" friends acquaintances never tired of posting his videos about Brexit and the Tories.

I can't wait for their brains to explode if they listen to this.

Bitter, moi?

I’ve heard Jonathan Pie reference it a couple of times in a clearly GC way on his YouTube channel though can’t think of specific episodes now. I don’t think it’s a bad thing he hasn’t gone deeply into it before. My TRA-leaning male friends really respect him and (sad to say) will be more influenced by his casual references to sanity than my logical feminist arguments.

Isn't thingummy one of the Pie writers? Andrew Doyle.

Yes. He is. Co writer.

<extra proud for remembering a name>

You have: he's fairly unusual in that he's touched more than once on this. He's quite Terfy! (well Tom Walker's persona Jonathon Pie is. He's not actually real.)

Really he hasn't! I subscribe or follow or whatever the fuck you call it, on FB and TwiX and he's touched on this several times in a fairly Terfy manner. Don't ask me for receipts because honestly I haven't got the time or inclination to plough through probably hundreds of his videos ... but he was definitely not a Kool aid drinker.

Ben Elton (aside from that cringeworthy episode of Friday Night Live or whatever it was, with Jordan Thingy and his, um, thingy) has also been hearteningly on side. I went to one of his stand-up tour dates last year and he was bloody brilliant on self-id and gender ideology.

Jordan Gray's YouTube stuff is very funny and quite terfy in a way. Pity about the TV willy but I'd still go and see him in the Fringe. His middle name is Gossamer. Now there is a man who really knows how to take the piss.

Honestly I’ve been going on his twitter feed and the fake live coverage rather than the live shows (seen all those as well). It felt like a topical thing to cover and I’ve not seen may stand ups cover it all all

Interesting thought.

I'm going to listen to it with this in mind.

Perhaps they are hedging to see how the audience will interpret it?

I.e. will the majority be laughing at him (like we do with Alan) or with him?

I saw the video clip that's up thread ages ago and had a similar thought of "oh hooray, here we go!".... and then nothing. So it's still early days really on this kind of satire being incorporated into comedy on a scale that breaks through. Obviously South Park got there a very long time ago. I can't remember if it was ITV or Channel 4 that used to screen South Park but I'd love to see them dig out those episodes for some nostalgia.

@BonfireLady I.e. will the majority be laughing at him (like we do with Alan) or with him?

I don't know about Alan Partridge, but to take a different example it's not like David Brent who we're always supposed to laugh at. Instead I sometimes laughed with and sometimes at and I suspect other listeners will do the same but at different points. I didn't agree with all the points he tried for but that's part of what makes the programme clever and fun and a bit thought-provoking.

I'll be interested to know what you think

That was brilliant - I don’t think anyone listening will have been sympathising with ‘alice’

I enjoyed that. I found myself sometimes agreeing with Pie and sometimes with Alice the DEI trainer - I guess that was the intention.

E.g. it would be a shame to lose inclusion initiatives altogether and go back to a Trumpian world of only white males in charge. But conversely a lot of skewering of the sillier elements of identity politics.

It was a very well observed piece that kept the familiarity of a BBC radio comedy while combining it with Pie’s schtick - I was surprised by the language and the casual use of the T word. The structure of the show allowed for making comedy of each side then reaching a somewhat reasoned conclusion by the time he was live in air at the end.

It wouldn’t have stood up if the writers were taking cheap swipes - they seemed to know their stuff. The line at the end about him getting invites to go on Triggernometry, Joe Rogan and GB News while the Guardian prepared a hatchet job was very funny and definitely on the nose.