Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20100410 | A quirky, irreverent guide to the weekly events of the election. As the campaign begins, Gordon Brown proclaims that he's from a middle class family, while David Cameron insists that it's all about the 'great ignored'. What does it all mean? 'The Heckler' explores the nature of political reality in a surreal campaign. with one of Britain's leading philospophers, Alain de Botton, and ponders what the public really want from next week's Prime Ministerial debate with football pundit Hunter Davies and TV soapwatcher Gareth McClean. Plus why the parties' slogans sound so familiar, and how to make sense of the blizzard of economic statistics swirling around the campaign. Presented by Clive Anderson, without any loose ends or unreliable evidence.
Producers: Peter Mulligan / Leala Padmanabhan.
Editor: Martin Rosenbaum.
Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign. Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign |
| 02 | 20100417 | Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to this week's events in the general election campaign, including the first Prime Ministerial TV debate and the manifesto launches. The UK's first prime ministerial TV debate drew an audience of nearly 10 million. Viewers seemed to approve most of Nick Clegg. But will their feelgood factor persist? And could his newfound popularity really affect the outcome of the vote on May 6? The political betting expert and blogger, Mike Smithson, reflects here with the editor of FT.Com, Robert Shrimsley. And if you missed the debate, catch up in just a minute - with no hesitation or deviation, but perhaps a little repetition. The week has also seen the launch of the parties' manifestos. A host of proposals were reported in breathless fashion. But who can remember which polices belong to which parties? Leading ad-man Barry Delaney explains how politicians can get through to voters who aren't paying full attention. And Dr Tim Grant of the Centre for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University crunches the manifestos' words and phrases in his computer. Finally, the campaign has been haunted by the 'elephant in the room' - the subject which, some say, the two biggest parties don't want to mention. It's the deficit. How can we ever pay it back? And is it like a monster of horror fiction ? A question for writer Ramsey Campbell -- a man who creates monsters for a living -- and clinical psychologist, Martin Seager, whose job includes helping people cope with their fears. Presented by Clive Anderson, without any loose ends or unreliable evidence. Producers: Peter Mulligan/ Mark D'Arcy/ Leala Padmanabhan. Editor: Martin Rosenbaum. Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign. |
| 03 | 20100424 | Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign.
It's week three of the campaign, and is positive the new negative? How have all the main parties taken to rebuking the others for "squabbling" - or debating policy, as it used to be called? As events continue to be dominated by the Prime Ministerial TV debates, we also get a view from across the Atlantic. What's going on in the letterbox war -- we venture into the murky world of the election leaflet, with Richard Pope of The Straight Choice website. And we take the pulse of the seat the Lib Dems have to win to make Nick Clegg a majority Prime Minister - Redcar. Plus, are their heads in the game? We probe the state of mind of the politicians, with the aid of top sports psychologist Michael Caulfield.
The declared candidates in the Redcar constituency are:
Producers: Mark D'Arcy / Peter Mulligan / Leala Padmanabhan
Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign. Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign |
| 04 | 20100501 | Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign. This week, anyone for tennis? How the hidden rules of English electioneering were revealed in a Wimbledon final. What the politicians really think of the voters they have to woo and flatter, and if we do get a hung parliament, will our leaders be simply too exhausted by all that campaigning to thrash out a deal to run the country?
Plus the author Michael Dobbs sketches out some alternative endings to the story of this campaign ... will the final chapter bring a fairytale ending, a horror-writer's bloodbath, or a cliffhanger, setting up an inevitable sequel?
Producers: Peter Mulligan / Mark D'Arcy / Leala Padmanabhan.
Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign. Clive Anderson presents a quirky, irreverent guide to the events of the election campaign |