Never Mind The Buzzcocks; A Sanitized Punk Return

Warning: The following article may contain language, references, and links that may be unsuitable for young readers. Reader’s discretion is advised.

I try to avoid writing about too much TV. I have my weekly Doctor Who reviews, and I’m happy with that. However, I’ve been watching a little more TV here and there these last few weeks, and one of the things I’ve been watching is a return of an old favorite. Now, this editorial started life a few days ago as a diatribe on modern panel shows, a medium mastered by the British since the only one the US produces is a British export “where the points don’t matter.” That one is also hosted by the queen of E3, Aisha Tyler, so maybe I love it for multiple reasons.

Nonetheless, the US has dropped that style of gameshow almost entirely, with a few exceptions attempting to topple the king of them all, Whose Line is it Anyway?. The UK has not let go of general knowledge and comedic takedowns of the political establishment or general celebrity through this format. Mock The Week, Call My Bluff, Have I Got News For You, Whose Line, QI, Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and most importantly, Never Mind The Buzzcocks are a few examples of shows in this format. Some are a little too “low-brow,” some are considered to be higher up the totem pole, and then there is Big Fat Quiz, which is just: “can you remember what happened during the pandemic?”

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a music-focused (sometimes celebrity-focused) panel show where two teams would take great big right-hooks at the popular music of the day along with rock and everything from the generation before. I love the original show. The format is brilliant, and generally, music sometimes needs that punch in the face to remind you how superficial and ridiculous the entire thing is. Set up as a bit of an outcast against all other TV, it wore a punk-ish identity by not only bashing the music featured each week but very often the guests too. The only long-term hosts were the wonderful Mark Lemarr and later his son, Simon Amstell, who employed sharp and dry wit that would bite at popular opinion. It was refreshing.

After 28-series in 19-years, the show was axed by the BBC in 2015. This came following several series worth of guest hosts that were not hitting the same mark. One could assume viewership was also a reflection of this, though the BBC seems to have never published data on the entire show’s history of viewership, so we’re left with speculation on that one. Nevertheless, in 2020 (of all years) the show was announced to be returning with a new host, a returning captain, and a new look. NME spoke with Greg Davies back in September before the show’s return and he described it as “chaos.”

I’ll get to the cast in a minute. Though I want to stick with that phrase because that is what the few episodes thus far have been, total unadulterated chaos. To some degree, the show has always been that, but at the height of its popularity it was at least controlled by a host able to whip guests into place. If you’ll excuse the expression, it is a comedic take on a pop quiz in a pub over popular music and is done with anger, comedy, and a little bit of tongue-in-cheek joviality. At least it was until Sky (an NBC-owned broadcaster) bought the disused set of Have I Got News For You from series 24, excessively lit it, and attempted to capture the audience that thinks James Corden is (sarcasm implied) such a cool guy.

Gone is the punky snarl of a show that would open with a joke against the guest(s) that week, and here is a gentle cuddle of telling modern musicians and comedians they are so fantastic. Arguably, yes, to modern standards some of the jokes made at the expense of celebrities in the heyday of Lamarr and Amstell would be off-color to some now. I won’t deny that some things have aged a little poorly, but generally, it was a show that wore a walk-out as a badge of honor (when they aired). You don’t need to hate the music made fun of to find some of Lamarr’s rants funny either. His piece on Robbie Williams’ “Angels” being voted the best song of the previous 25-years is very true, and I’ll happily say I like Robbie Williams. With Davies, the jabs are gone.

Two minutes in an old episode Frankie Boyle referred to Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, saying “she’s one of the world’s most famous and beautiful women’s in the world… friend.” It was a simple punchline and far more friendly compared to what Miles Jupp got moments before. Meanwhile, as the obvious comparison I am trying to make quite clumsily is brought front and center, in the first episode of the return, Davies pulled a joke when introducing Nish Kumar that was tamer than Boyle’s joke about Williams. “I thought it was too mean,” was the reasoning. That was a line said on a show named after the Sex Pistols only studio album, Nevermind the Bollocks, and the band the Buzzcocks. The anarchic punk spirit of the gods that brought us to this point would be spinning in their graves if all the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll had killed them by now.

I’m not looking for anyone to be told they should be dead, and I’m not looking for offensively over-the-top attacks on musicians either. I’m looking for harmless little hints at dry dark humor while keeping the light-fun tone, such as that time Jermaine Jackson was asked “has [Michael] done anything weird?” The entire aesthetic of the show is lost with this rather Americanized overuse of color, the friendliness, and generally, the lack of anything critical said of the music industry. No one seems to be talking about this, but the punk nature of the show is gone.

Instead, focus online from people claiming to be fans of the show have only found an issue with the casting. Daisy May Cooper replaced Phill Jupitus, guest Nish Kumar was criticized for simply hosting a show described as a poor imitation of John Stewart’s The Daily Show, and there is an assorted collection of modern musicians as cast members. I can’t say I am too pleased with some of those musician choices either. My biggest criticism is the lack of personality in said casting. Unless you religiously follow Cooper, Davies, or every guest, there is very little to say what they personally listen to. Say what you will of the early days of the show, but you could tell what Jupitus, Lamarr, Amstell, Bill Bailey, Noel Fielding, and Sean Hughes would enjoy or thought.

It is like casting Fozzie Bear and Bob Hoskins to host a night at a strip club, why are you doing that? The honest truth is, I don’t think there is a way of really fixing this. Yes, the casting is a collection of mismatched confusion that I don’t entirely understand myself, however, unlike everyone else sounding off online, I don’t think it is the only issue of the show’s return. I just think someone picked up the concept, dropped it wherever they felt like and left it where it was. It was only given a visual uplift and a slightly updated cast. There was no new name, no change to the format, nothing. This is why I think so many people are upset at the return more than anything else.

I like Greg Davies. I think in Taskmaster he does a wonderful job at being serious and a bit weird, but here he’s doing nothing. He’s hardly guiding the ship, and I’d argue his delivery is lacking the sincerity he’s attempting to provide. I’m personally not much of a fan of Daisy May Cooper, but I don’t think she’s the only reason for the show being less enjoyable than before. Nor have I been too great of a fan when it comes to the likes of the comedians in episodes 1 and 3. Nish also lacked a sense of sincerity when delivering a majority of jokes and acted like a hyperactive child that finds their own jokes a little too funny. Meanwhile, Richard Ayoade isn’t the type of person I’d put anywhere near a music-focused pop quiz. His delivery is drier than Lamarr’s tirade against Chris Moyles from series 1.

What I have seen is at least one or two people online mentioning that they’ve never seen the show before, but we should all just accept the new version for what it is. I have one problem with that: Why are we calling it Never Mind the Buzzcocks then? If it wanted to be something entirely new, it would have had a different name, a slightly altered format, or something to make it stand out as a show of its own making. With the same format, the same name, and the same games, it is hardly something new. It is something old given a new lick of vibrant paint and some glitter. Oh and as some seem to be uppity about now, lots of swearing for a show that airs after the watershed.

So, what is my point with all of this nonsense? I would rather the show have stayed dead and Sky found a new name for something that it wants to market a bit differently. It is not an all-out bad show though. I do think Cooper’s (and everyone else’s) over-the-top reactions to the tiniest thing are a little in the realm of “look at us guys, we’re having so much fun!” This rubs me up the wrong way, because it wasn’t a show that seemed to care who did or didn’t like it. It was aimed at students, stoners, and people stuck in on a rainy Tuesday night in the UK drinking cheap beer and avoiding coursework due the next morning. It had something unique about it as it poked fun at 70s-90s pop and novelty while snickering at all that was modern (mostly 2000s) music.

This modern interpretation (if you can call it that) does have some minor sparks, but there is nothing unique about it. It is not actively saying anything about the industry it is based around. It is a mild-mannered interview by Davies if Ellie Goulding took a dump in a cat litter tray at Coachella and overreacted to Daisy May Cooper’s horrid impressions of instruments. Impressions of that are best described as light recreations of cats and foxes having sex behind some bins. I don’t want a carbon copy of what we already had, because that’s not the point. I want it to retain some of that outsider spirit poking fun at the music industry if it is going to keep the name Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In truth, this is like an old liberal punk becoming sober and returning to the stage after joining the major conservative party that was in power for years.