I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: Vol. 14

By: Iain Pattinson

Narrated by: Tim Brooke-Taylor

Four more extended episodes from the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series specially compiled by producer Jon Naismith This fourteenth collection of the antidote to panel games finds Jack Dee giving regular panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden silly things to do - along with special guests Jeremy Hardy, David Mitchell, Marcus Brigstocke and Rob Brydon. Highlights include Sound Charades, Whose Duck Are You?, Complete Insults, Swanee Kazoo, Uxbridge English Dictionary, One Song to the Tune of Another, The Dog Lovers' Ball, Texting for Pensioners, Swankers, Unseen Prequels, Trail of the Lonesome Pun, Cheddar Gorge Experts and the inimitable Mornington Crescent. So get ready to laugh out loud as the gang indulge in more wonderful wordplay, accompanied by Colin Sell on the piano and the lovely Samantha, who's always ready to score.

WARNING: some listeners may find the content offensive.

©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

It's not Humph, but Jack Dee is great!

We are fans of the "Britcom" on TV, and having spent a fair amount of time in the U.K. over the last 15 years, are BBC radio 4 listeners. At the urging of British friends, we got into the Haven't a Clue series more than a decade ago.

It is called the antidote to panel games,. Unlike radio in the U.S. there are a number of quiz and panel type shows on radio on BBC. The chairman for nearly 40 years was Humphrey Littleton, who was beyond delightful. After his death, we assumed that the show was gone forever. Wrong!

The show consists of rounds of very silly things such as One Song to the Tune of Another, a personal favorite in our house, and Sound Charades, which can range from incredibly clever to just plain silly. Another fave is the Uxbridge Dictionary, where new definitions for common words are created. "Copulate---police didn't show up."

Mornington Crescent is the one which gets the most applause from the audience. If you have never listened to this show, you must know that the whole game is a total fabrication, and in that lies the fun. It sounds really dumb until you just go with the flow.

The show is not politically correct; the bias is certainly liberal, but hey, it's a silly show, so don't get up tight if you tend toward the more conservative, as we do. Most everyone comes in for jokes on this show. Yes, sometimes it is rather off color, with plenty of double meanings thrown in. This, however is very common even in older shows.

Humph, as chairman, had a very droll delivery, which made his bawdy comments sound oh, so innocent. Jack Dee's delivery is quite deadpan, which works. He was a guest on the show many times, and so has a familiarity with the format, and obviously loves it. We're so glad the Haven't a Clue is back with us, though there will never be another Humphrey Littleton.