i love "the stretch twig of peace is at melting point, people here are literally bursting with war, this is very much a country thats going to blow up in its face"@@Phildough
You know, the horrible translation between PAL and NTSC TV standards is such a weird nerdy problem nobody outside of the industry should ever know about, but at 5:13 Chris Morris still makes a killer joke out of it. All the American segments of The Day Today were realistically blurry and ugly to the point I could believe Morris used actual NTSC equipment to film them. (Also I get a kick out of British actors doing American news anchor accents.)
athodyd That's what I love about this show, and similar shows which pay excruciating detail to technicalities like this, and to comic effect as well! They probably ensure the camera was set to the highest Gain level known to man. Never Twice Same Colour is a horrible standard, and one of the reasons I avoided US TV back in the day, when it was a major issue. Old episodes of fairly recent US shows look awful. The "American network" segments on this show are outstanding, authentic and absolutely hilarious, they are my favourite bits for sure!
+Telegothika Telgothika And it's great to sit here in the USA and watch how clean this is, with the fuzzy CBN report...on this side of the pond, we watched fuzzy video from the 50hz world all through the 80's and 90's.
I'm so glad at least a few Americans enjoy this show, I feel like i want to take ' the day today' and make every American watch it. Yes the American reports are brilliant , the script is pure gold and the female actress nails it every time. possibly the best sketch the show did....
28:28 "We are mere pawns in a pollical game, trapped in the physical manifestation of a non-sensical clash of mere ideals between two governments tragically isolated both from their electorates and the guts-on-your-shoes reality of armed struggle." A cutting nod to the voiceless. Love Chris Morris.
I interpret it more to do with how westerners project their own feelings and understandings onto other cultures and dpeak over them and about them, rather that allowing them to speak for themselves.
Tension here is very high Chris. The stretched twig of peace is at melting point. People here are literally bursting with war. This is very much a country that's gonna blow up in it's face.
04:40 kills me. “I’ve never suffered from facial hair, but in any case they have electrolysis in my country.” Alan Partridge: “Electrolysis for dissidents?”
This is comedy at its best, so high quality it's difficult to comprehend it was made in the start 90s - seems very modern in a uncanny way; notice how media makes war and is milking it in sensationalism and sentimentality. So cleverly portrayed.
This pilot episode is very much a tentative dummy run; the real thing that went out as the first TV broadcast is elsewhere on UA-cam. It's faster, sharper, and has all of the OTT transitions, graphics and stings. In the WAR sequence the pace is even more frenetic, and Chris Morris has perfected his impersonation of Jeremy Paxman in full shit-stirring mode. It's utterly magnificent. 😁
"He points down, up in the air, does a double twister, comes down, bangs his head on the board. Lovely!! The judges will surely give him high marks for that."
this is one of those shows that is better after you watch/rewatch a few episodes and get the feel for what there going for and you pick up more and more little phrases and clips that are just amazing.
The attention to detail is staggering - the 'Stylish death' segment was of course filmed in the UK, but was intentionally put through a standards converter to make it look like a clip from the US, and the audio mixed quite hot as seemed to the style of US news back then - and even then Morris himself references technology, saying that he sees no gain in quality. It's such a small detail, and frankly one for proper anoraks, but it's amazing that he went to this much trouble.
@@johnmartinez7440 For a start, its called Saturday Night Live for a reason, if things go wrong or the joke doesn't land there's no take 2 or editing it out later. I wouldn't say I'm a fan of SNL, but people seem to love to hate it. Its a variety show, and the comedy is secondary to the musical guests. The fact that they have any good sketches at all is impressive when you compare it to some scripted comedies which aren't funny despite having every opportunity to make them funny before they are aired. A terrible SNL episode is funnier than a good episode of "Mike and Molly" (Haha, they're fat, get it?) and you get the musical guests and celebrity appearences on top of that.
It’s great to see the pilot - a sort of programme in evolution. Some of its raw, some - the Chapman execution sequence - finalised. Real life change in actors!
It was said better in the first episode of the full series, as it felt like Chris was speaking into his microphone to the galley, here it is just bit louder as he is sat close to her in the studio. Funny though and I loved it.
I'd say the most savage thing is on the Jam sketch where at the end he whispers sypathetically ( whilst she cries) , " was that very difficult for you.... Do you have anything to say in your defence ?..... Thank you... and now the sport '! COLD !!
Perfect down to every single detail - that swooping crane zoom in on Morris at the start which then immediately switches to a different shot for no reason, making you feel like you've just been punched in the head
Must be 15 years since I've seen this and it's just as funny and prescient as I recall it being. So many memories coming flooding back here. Always loved how much Chris Morris despised Calattaley (sp?) Sisters! Isn't there a segment where he puts down a machine gun just at the end of one of her reports? Anyway - cheers for the upload - looks like I've got quite a night ahead of me!!
This is brilliant,I never even knew it existed. Love the Gavin Hawtrey bit (John Thomson) and as for "filled the cat with nitro-glycerine" well......pure genius!!!!!!
It's really interesting to the see how the war sketch has evolved from this pilot to the broadcast. Lots of the key moments were hit but it was clunky and the timing was a little awkward. We get to the broadcast and it's smooth as anything.
I keep replaying the clip of Coogan pointing at people who are talking and shouting over them going "that's some words!" and then pointing at his own mouth going "and there's some more there!"
Interesting that in the broadcast version, the guards (marines?) at the Presley Elvocution sing "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
No, the broadcast version is the same as here, the dvd version (which is the one on UA-cam) couldn't get clearance for those songs, so contrived a hybrid of Elvis songs and the US anthem as a workaround.
Ha-ha! Expensive looking credit sequence. Loved THE DAY TODAY when it was first released and given the insane events which occur in the world today, most of the news stories here are actually very believable.
Yeah, the "using real weather reports" thing only really worked well on the radio series, where weather reports could be seamlessly cut up and edited into a new weather report where Suzanne Charlton calmly talked about a downpour of whales in the north of England and the structural damage it may cause.
30 years later and its far too accurate. especially when the content is obvious nonsense, and the vehicle becomes the focal point, exatly what tv is like today.
@@TheMissy1975 I have seen a lot of British comedy and I had been surprised I hadnt heard of Morris. He's a seriously good comedy writer and performer .
The sketch starting at 13:30 (debate 2000) was inspired by a ch 4 late night discussion program called "After dark", which consisted of a group of people arguing complete meaningless bollocks...(A bit like youtube comments section..lol ) It was usually boring, exceot when Oliver Reed was on, but they kicked him off for saying to the feminist lady "give us a kiss, big tits". lol
It wasn't really a forerunner to Big Brother in any way. It was a high-brow debate show for so-called intellectuals, not a low-brow bid for D-list fame wannabes
19:04 basically incited would you lie to me. A familiar theme for most of the comedy in this show. Edit, this show was way before its time, hence it has developed a small legendary meme culture of its own. Well deserved by the writers, and obviously Steve Coogan/Alan partridge went on to be a much bigger character than the show was ever expected to be, absolute top notch television from the errrrr 90s? Im too young to know, but still A1 quality none the less
34:17 - Notice how different the tone and look is of the newspaper review compared to the proper series. Chris's delivery is not right. Bit stilted. The camera does not show the headlines. The newspapers are folded and not fully displayed as in the proper series. The newspapers do not have the fake titles printed on them. Completely different feeling. I am glad they changed it when they got the full series.
@@Jayfive276 +Mogwai Gremlin was referring to the charity jam woman who Morris destroyed for her arrogant and self-important time-wasting exercise, in which she had planned to raise 1,500 pounds auctioning celebrity-made jams. Hope you can relax now after a year fretting over this (see ua-cam.com/video/Sb_-0qSCBR8/v-deo.html )
"Let's kick the stick from the blind man of ignorance." is my takeaway quote.
I'm going to skin-up pure truth and draw like a madman.
So good. Think it might originally be one of the voiceover lines from On The Hour. "Slamming the wasps from the apple of truth" was another great one.
i love "the stretch twig of peace is at melting point, people here are literally bursting with war, this is very much a country thats going to blow up in its face"@@Phildough
Safe to say they hit the nail on the head with the expensive looking title sequence
It really was awesome after it was properly made
"You weren't put into a sports camp and trained into a tennis machine?" classic Alan Partridge
Minnie Driver!
You know, the horrible translation between PAL and NTSC TV standards is such a weird nerdy problem nobody outside of the industry should ever know about, but at 5:13 Chris Morris still makes a killer joke out of it. All the American segments of The Day Today were realistically blurry and ugly to the point I could believe Morris used actual NTSC equipment to film them. (Also I get a kick out of British actors doing American news anchor accents.)
athodyd That's what I love about this show, and similar shows which pay excruciating detail to technicalities like this, and to comic effect as well! They probably ensure the camera was set to the highest Gain level known to man. Never Twice Same Colour is a horrible standard, and one of the reasons I avoided US TV back in the day, when it was a major issue. Old episodes of fairly recent US shows look awful. The "American network" segments on this show are outstanding, authentic and absolutely hilarious, they are my favourite bits for sure!
+Telegothika Telgothika And it's great to sit here in the USA and watch how clean this is, with the fuzzy CBN report...on this side of the pond, we watched fuzzy video from the 50hz world all through the 80's and 90's.
I'm so glad at least a few Americans enjoy this show, I feel like i want to take ' the day today' and make every American watch it. Yes the American reports are brilliant , the script is pure gold and the female actress nails it every time. possibly the best sketch the show did....
He did. The footage was converted back and forth between PAL and NTSC several times to exaggerate the effect.
That's such amazing little detail!
"expensive looking title sequence"
Bet you that was just the directions given to an animator who returned with that
It's a pilot.
Reply that misses the point
28:28 "We are mere pawns in a pollical game, trapped in the physical manifestation of a non-sensical clash of mere ideals between two governments tragically isolated both from their electorates and the guts-on-your-shoes reality of armed struggle." A cutting nod to the voiceless. Love Chris Morris.
I interpret it more to do with how westerners project their own feelings and understandings onto other cultures and dpeak over them and about them, rather that allowing them to speak for themselves.
Tension here is very high Chris. The stretched twig of peace is at melting point. People here are literally bursting with war. This is very much a country that's gonna blow up in it's face.
04:40 kills me. “I’ve never suffered from facial hair, but in any case they have electrolysis in my country.”
Alan Partridge:
“Electrolysis for dissidents?”
That's the young Hollywood actress to be Minnie Driver!
Dan the man!
My days! “Taker her off the monitor, I don’t want to see her face” that caught me off guard and I’ve just spat tea on my cat.
I hope your cat isn't filled with nitroglycerine
Three Leaf Clover she is, but you don’t buy a lethally volatile cat without precautions. She wears a hooded wax jacket 24/7.
"You couldnt present a...cat"
This is comedy at its best, so high quality it's difficult to comprehend it was made in the start 90s - seems very modern in a uncanny way; notice how media makes war and is milking it in sensationalism and sentimentality. So cleverly portrayed.
The 90s were modern
except no?
The very reason it remains so relevant now is because of its satire of media forms, which have never really changed over the decades
The way he says “sports camp” at 3:51 made me cry with laughter
This pilot episode is very much a tentative dummy run; the real thing that went out as the first TV broadcast is elsewhere on UA-cam. It's faster, sharper, and has all of the OTT transitions, graphics and stings.
In the WAR sequence the pace is even more frenetic, and Chris Morris has perfected his impersonation of Jeremy Paxman in full shit-stirring mode. It's utterly magnificent. 😁
Yes, this is a pilot.
"He points down, up in the air, does a double twister, comes down, bangs his head on the board. Lovely!! The judges will surely give him high marks for that."
this is one of those shows that is better after you watch/rewatch a few episodes and get the feel for what there going for and you pick up more and more little phrases and clips that are just amazing.
This is a find. Never knew this existed! Thanks for posting
The attention to detail is staggering - the 'Stylish death' segment was of course filmed in the UK, but was intentionally put through a standards converter to make it look like a clip from the US, and the audio mixed quite hot as seemed to the style of US news back then - and even then Morris himself references technology, saying that he sees no gain in quality. It's such a small detail, and frankly one for proper anoraks, but it's amazing that he went to this much trouble.
I never knew this existed.
Glad they changed the set, and Morris took the style down a notch for the actual run. More newsnight than GMTV
Style and content aren't the same
The currency Cat is actually a really smart way to instantly visualize what is going on in the market .
This pilot episode is literally funnier than anything SNL has ever done. Why are the brits so good at comedy bros?
SNL has its own legendary legacy, to be fair, and it's a very different show. You don't have to shit on one thing to enjoy the other.
@@johnmartinez7440 I would shit on the entire SNL cast if i could
@@johnmartinez7440 For a start, its called Saturday Night Live for a reason, if things go wrong or the joke doesn't land there's no take 2 or editing it out later.
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of SNL, but people seem to love to hate it. Its a variety show, and the comedy is secondary to the musical guests.
The fact that they have any good sketches at all is impressive when you compare it to some scripted comedies which aren't funny despite having every opportunity to make them funny before they are aired.
A terrible SNL episode is funnier than a good episode of "Mike and Molly" (Haha, they're fat, get it?) and you get the musical guests and celebrity appearences on top of that.
Because we didn't coin the term 'bros', but we did produce a band called Bros which is pronounced 'bros' not 'bros'. Thanks.
It is in our nature to celebrate abject failure, observed through well-meaning characters whose pride and dignity is continually compromised.
It’s great to see the pilot - a sort of programme in evolution. Some of its raw, some - the Chapman execution sequence - finalised. Real life change in actors!
I think the 'Elvis' death for Baxter is much, much funnier than the reanimated corpse... even if I do love the Louis Armstrong "nnnnnnrrrrrrJERSTICE!"
a soldier's head flew past the window, shouting 'victory'
Chris: "Take her of the monitor, I don't want to see her face." Hands down, the most savage thing Chris Morris has ever said.
It was said better in the first episode of the full series, as it felt like Chris was speaking into his microphone to the galley, here it is just bit louder as he is sat close to her in the studio. Funny though and I loved it.
Absolutely agreeing with you lol.
wibblywobblytimeywimey I think his rant at the jam lady was better
me too
I'd say the most savage thing is on the Jam sketch where at the end he whispers sypathetically ( whilst she cries) , " was that very difficult for you.... Do you have anything to say in your defence ?..... Thank you... and now the sport '! COLD !!
I just love Alan Partidge's obsession with groins :D
I lol'ed when the vicar and the journalist kissed.
This is such a 2014 comment, lol’ed 😂
This is literally the only series worth watching in TV history.
comedy today is like a blind tube mare
comedy today is like a tin full of flying scissor beans
What about brass eye?
That's the one thing we didn't want to happen.
Well, apart from Button Moon.
Minnie Driver!
Perfect down to every single detail - that swooping crane zoom in on Morris at the start which then immediately switches to a different shot for no reason, making you feel like you've just been punched in the head
The camera angles in the interview with the Bulgarian lady too lol
Shame Minnie Driver never had more parts in the show. She was good in this.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Must be 15 years since I've seen this and it's just as funny and prescient as I recall it being. So many memories coming flooding back here. Always loved how much Chris Morris despised Calattaley (sp?) Sisters! Isn't there a segment where he puts down a machine gun just at the end of one of her reports?
Anyway - cheers for the upload - looks like I've got quite a night ahead of me!!
Nine years too late, but IIRC it’s actually “Collaterlie Sisters”
This is brilliant,I never even knew it existed. Love the Gavin Hawtrey bit (John Thomson) and as for "filled the cat with nitro-glycerine" well......pure genius!!!!!!
Alan Partridge had a thing for Eastern European girls even then!
This type of work was one of the only things we had to be proud of.
It's really interesting to the see how the war sketch has evolved from this pilot to the broadcast. Lots of the key moments were hit but it was clunky and the timing was a little awkward. We get to the broadcast and it's smooth as anything.
32:29 'This was the scented rose in the bumgut of Satan' LMAO
If only every pretentious arts programme discussion had a welder taking part.
We need to create a discourse of SILENCE
That financial report part is amazing
This is beautiful
29:00 that's one more tear on the face of the WORLDS mother." Lol
I keep replaying the clip of Coogan pointing at people who are talking and shouting over them going "that's some words!" and then pointing at his own mouth going "and there's some more there!"
When TV had a backbone! What a time to be alive
Just fantastic.
Interesting that in the broadcast version, the guards (marines?) at the Presley Elvocution sing "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
No, the broadcast version is the same as here, the dvd version (which is the one on UA-cam) couldn't get clearance for those songs, so contrived a hybrid of Elvis songs and the US anthem as a workaround.
"Taking the reefer of news and pulling like a madman"
Lovely stuff.
the pratt fall 32 .26 behind Chris Morris when he is talking about the flying sissor beans is genius timing
I like how they're all impressed your man is a qualified welder
“Electrolysis for dissidents” 😆
Bahaha Patrick Marber is so good as the Elvis guy.
Timeless!
Ha-ha! Expensive looking credit sequence. Loved THE DAY TODAY when it was first released and given the insane events which occur in the world today, most of the news stories here are actually very believable.
Loving the expensive looking title sequence. Very expensive indeed
" *Bad ecclesiastical hurting* " has Armando Iannucci written all over it.
4:54 banger line
"The stretched twig of peace is at melting point"
It used to be such a lovely place, the Australio-Hong Kong border region.
I know right
Was there only last month and it's now bombed to shit and full of skanky refugees.
WE NEED TO BUILD A WALL !
his face of worried with the news is priceless haha
Yeah, the "using real weather reports" thing only really worked well on the radio series, where weather reports could be seamlessly cut up and edited into a new weather report where Suzanne Charlton calmly talked about a downpour of whales in the north of England and the structural damage it may cause.
While I know this will never happen, we need this now more than ever. Please do a new "season".
Wintergreen's pun game is legendary
the day today : taking the news reefer , and pulling like a madman
30 years later and its far too accurate. especially when the content is obvious nonsense, and the vehicle becomes the focal point, exatly what tv is like today.
15:10 I missed the teleporting desk the first time I watched this.
Holy shit that’s brilliant, can’t believe I didn’t notice that
Minnie Driver? She was good. And Alan’s charm is irresistible.
"I have a reservation at the restaurant of death"
Do you think this debases the kings memory?
No mam, no, the king did that himself by dying on the jon in a big nappy..
Sarah Eughoppes
Oh god that's good.
Oh my god, that's Minnie Driver.
Belter
Minnie Driver has a Mahooooosive face!!!!
I’ve never noticed before
Debate 2000... oh how I don't (but also do) miss that segment on Newsnight.
If it wasn't for Chris Morris, I'm sure I would be mentally ill.
Minnie Driver. That was a surprise.
Very pleasant to see Mini Driver here, text book.
this HQ production left me speechless
28:03 is a brilliant joke that should not have been cut.
'We have electrolysis in my country' 'Electrolysis for dissidence'
We need the day today today
Extremely talented satirist
That Chris Morris.
This show is exhibit A.
Got my teenage son into Chris Morris via Jam.
@@TheMissy1975 I have seen a lot of British comedy and I had been surprised I hadnt heard of Morris.
He's a seriously good comedy writer and performer .
The sketch starting at 13:30 (debate 2000) was inspired by a ch 4 late night discussion program called "After dark", which consisted of a group of people arguing complete meaningless bollocks...(A bit like youtube comments section..lol )
It was usually boring, exceot when Oliver Reed was on, but they kicked him off for saying to the feminist lady "give us a kiss, big tits". lol
metafis Yes it was desperate stuff.It was a kind of forerunner to the equally desperate Big Brother.
metafis Channel 4 did not give a shit back then. I miss those days
It wasn't really a forerunner to Big Brother in any way. It was a high-brow debate show for so-called intellectuals, not a low-brow bid for D-list fame wannabes
Fuck I remember that!!!! It was HILARIOUS 🤣
Holy shit I’d never noticed that the bulgary sportswoman was international actress Minnie Driver!!
I got an ad at exactly 31:35 and it was a perfect cut
Minnie Driver @04:00 !
And great b-roll cutaway reactions!
Loved Minnie Driver forever
Minnie Driver was a surprise
19:04 basically incited would you lie to me. A familiar theme for most of the comedy in this show.
Edit, this show was way before its time, hence it has developed a small legendary meme culture of its own. Well deserved by the writers, and obviously Steve Coogan/Alan partridge went on to be a much bigger character than the show was ever expected to be, absolute top notch television from the errrrr 90s? Im too young to know, but still A1 quality none the less
Comedy heaven. Where did you get this? I'm still hoping it's somehow hidden on the DVD
34:17 - Notice how different the tone and look is of the newspaper review compared to the proper series. Chris's delivery is not right. Bit stilted. The camera does not show the headlines. The newspapers are folded and not fully displayed as in the proper series. The newspapers do not have the fake titles printed on them. Completely different feeling. I am glad they changed it when they got the full series.
Sad they cut out a lot of Donald Bethlehem's material in Episode 5...
jordanjabroni this is the pilot episode
I think he had a thing for Minnie Driver too - she was in KMKYWAP too.
Chapman Baxter dies in every episode
Bruh! Spoilers
@Phil Lester exactly I'd forgotten.
Peter! Next time you cross the road, DON'T BOTHER LOOKING.
I think my favourite thing about this pilot is just how evil Chris Morris is
that american idiocy 🤣 ‘elvis, the king. the only king!’ as though he wasnt the only king to not be a king.
Woa, heck. It's a news bulb.
"It feels like I've been shot with a big knife!"
Doon Mackichan sounds like a name for a Scottish home makeover show.
"Electrolysis for dissidents" 😂
The stretched twig of peace is at melting point.
is that minni driver as tennis player?
+1seansouth You know full well that it is and I believe the only reason you've asked that is to make yourself look important.
+Mogwai Gremlin ha ha ha! oh internet
1seansouth How dare you come on here and say "ha ha ha! oh internet", you could get more replies by raffling dogs.
The fuck are you on about?
@@Jayfive276 +Mogwai Gremlin was referring to the charity jam woman who Morris destroyed for her arrogant and self-important time-wasting exercise, in which she had planned to raise 1,500 pounds auctioning celebrity-made jams. Hope you can relax now after a year fretting over this (see ua-cam.com/video/Sb_-0qSCBR8/v-deo.html )
Would be nice to see out-takes from day today or brass eye. Must be some footage out there?? Anyone??? BBC and Channel 4 I’m looking at you