iPlayer pick: Finding a solution

My iPlayer pick for this week – I say week but they normally either come daily for a week or once a month – is a double pick as I have two shows I’ve really enjoyed – one is even available in podcast form and both are radio.

The first of my picks features the dulcet tones of Derek Fowlds (aka Bernard Woolley) in a three part documentary series originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997 but repeated on BBC 7.

It’s called How to beat Sir Humphrey and features Derek Fowlds reprising his Yes Minister role as Bernard Woolley reading a guide to the Civil Service as written by one of the original Yes, Minister creators, Antony Jay.

In the first part Anthony Jay explores public protest and even on to action committees in his guide to beating bureaucracy and officialdom.

Part two is HERE and Part three is HERE.

My second part is at the same time similar and completely opposite – it’s presented by someone that has always annoyed me as a broadcaster in the past and my first BBC Radio 5 Live pick – it’s the Christian O’Connell Solution.

I’ve already said he annoys me, I’ve never been able to stand more than a few minutes of his style before – but it’s either the guests, the format or something about BBC Radio 5 Live that matures and makes presenters more interesting.

The premise of the show is that Christian is joined by a panel of guests who then set about setting the world to rights and coming up with usually over simplified solutions to a number of issues.

The first show featured Bob Mills (I first saw him on Sky1 hosting Games World), David Tennant (no introduction needed) and Kirsten O’Brien (CBBC presenter who described the presenters at CBBC as gay, childless or don’t like kids).

It was available as a podcast so didn’t require any effort in getting it and was easy to skip if I didn’t like it – but I found myself enjoying it and wanting more after it was finished – so yeah, a surprise hit for me.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tim Lovejoy to leave in shakeup at Radio 5 Live football phone-in 606 (guardian.co.uk)
• ‘Evans/Moyles war would hurt listeners’ (guardian.co.uk)
• BBC pays £100000 to sacked presenter Richard Evans (telegraph.co.uk)
• BBC ‘pays £100,000′ to settle dismissal claim with radio host (guardian.co.uk)
• No such thing as a bad review (netnewmusic.net)