Just A Minute - Series 15 Omnibus (Part One)

The first seven episodes of the fifteenth series of the BBC Radio Four comedy panel show Just A Minute, originally broadcast in spring 1981.
0:00 - Series 15 Episode 1, 7th March 1981
Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Tim Rice
Subjects: Being Forceful, A Simple Devil, Parts I Refuse To Play, Chivalry, John Selden (1584), Ancient Unnecessary Unrepealed Laws, Electronics, The Geometric Markings Near Nazca In Peru, Red Tape.
27:04 - Series 15 Episode 2, 14th March 1981
Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud, Barry Cryer, Lance Percival
Subjects: My Following, After-Dinner Speaking, The Last Time I Stood On My Head, Sinbad The Sailor, Legs, How To Make A Fortune, Going To The Dogs, Icarus, Waterfalls, Hauntings, The Best Put-Down I Ever Heard.
53:45 - Series 15 Episode 3, 21st March 1981
Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Barry Took, Tim Brooke-Taylor
Subjects: Enough Money, What I Like Best, My Best Conjuring Trick, Reviews, My Flamenco Dancing, News, Arithmetic, Letters I Love.
1:21:36 - Series 15 Episode 4, 28th March 1981
Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Aimi MacDonald
Subjects: Having Women In The Show, How To Say No, Port, Getting Out Of An Awkward Position, Contemplation, The Oregon Trail, Archaic Practices, Ticklish Situations.
1:48:48 - Series 15 Episode 5, 4th April 1981
Kenneth Williams, Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud, John Junkin
Subjects: Parking Meters, What I Want For My Birthday, Curiosity, Swindles, Statisticians, Noodles, Quackery, Boo, Records I Would Like To Break.
2:16:45 - Series 15 Episode 6, 11th April 1981
Kenneth Williams, Derek Nimmo, Peter Jones, Sheila Hancock
Subjects: Fruit, Rocking Chairs, Shooting Stars, The Problem I Had Last Week, Trying, Overemotional Women, Tramps, Winkles, Gin.
2:44:34 - Series 15 Episode 7, 18th April 1981
Kenneth Williams, Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud, Peter Jones
Subjects: The Best Game, People I Shall Never Forget, Cheek, Stink Bombs, Making An Effort, Rudolf Diesel, Signals, Supermarket Trolleys, Punch & Judy, Great Paintings.

[@carlsutton8591]

Kenneth Williams in wonderful initable form. Marvellous...

[@nathelondon3719]

The King of JAM Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Clement Freud and Dereck Nimmo.....try and assemble a quartet like that today!!!

[@SirWhig-esq.]

Hilarity at its best.

[@Knappa22]

These episodes are riots compared to the very bland fare offered by Sue Perkins these days.
One aspect is the polarized approach to the rules in these earlier series. Either they let things go completely and let the person ramble on, sometimes to very funny effect, or they chase up the slightest thing often leading to a Kenneth Williams diatribe or a withering grumble from Clement Freud. In today's JAM they play it more seriously and a lot of the humour has been lost.

[@RockinRedRover]

agreed, plus nowadays it's clear that the programme's chairperson seems to want to be the star of the show, which NP never tried to be.

[@Omnicient.]

@@RockinRedRover She does and he does. They are cut from the same cloth. I watch very little of the new episodes and more or less stopped when Merton took the programme over and clearly and intriguingly allowed to which appeared to be backed up by Parsons.

[@RockinRedRover]

@@Omnicient. You say " She does and he does" - sorry, not sure what you're trying to say, who do you mean by "he" ?.

[@RockinRedRover]

@@Omnicient. Re Merton, I didnt realise until started listening to these old shows, that Merton's style is very much a copy of the greats of yesteryear, but without the originality of course.

[@simondebeer9917]

I listened to Sue Perkins as a contestant before she became chair & she's just not a funny person, far too big an ego

[@matthewrippingsby5384]

Kenneth Williams, in his diaries, mentions an episode after which they all agreed, it had 'got out of hand.' I wonder if that episode is in this batch... the 'wretch' episode's pretty 'tasty...'

[@GROMIT9]

I see Clement was more than usually unkindly disposed toward Nicholas during Episode 7 with the rest of the gang of four only too happy to join in-Also as Peter Wisely pointed out, Derek's performance with the bag of snow is somewhat lost on the radio audience.

[@Omnicient.]

If Parsons wouldn't be so quick to alter and invent rules it might help.

[@LoneKharnivore]

2:40:40 As usual Parsons is entirely wrong. The juniper berries are indeed for flavouring only.

[@EdParnell]

The show was better when the guests weren't just the latest fops and fads.