'Even though I liked it, I have to admit it was a flop. But why did it fail?'

Like you I liked it, but it wasn't serious current affair programme, nor, a comedy show. Hence, the show didn't have right balance like the marvellous 'I Have Got News For You' and 'Mock the Week'

Great To see Victoria Coren on 'I Have Got News For You'!!!

I quite liked it and hope it comes back. It wasn't brilliant by any stretch, but was still quite good, improved a lot over the course of its run and had potential.

The format needed some work - some items should've been dropped to prevent some of the more interesting debates and interviews being cut short. The show made a decent attempt to engage a young audience in current affairs and there aren't many shows that achieve that: QT maybe, but only for the politically active and HIGNFY stopped being watched by the young years ago.

I think all the 'lefty' arguments founder on that point, too. If you're aiming for the youth audience, why ever would you contemplate adding material aimed at the right? When I was at school/college, right-leaning students were rare and as well as being eminently punchable, took themselves far too seriously to watch anything resembling satire on TV.

Finally, I'm not sure why people dislike Lauren Laverne so strongly? I've always thought she was better suited to radio than TV, but she's an excellent broadcaster and I thought she did a good job of steering the show whenever there was a slip up. If you compare her to her three, very talented comedian co-presenters then clearly she comes up short. But Laverne isn't a comedian and doesn't claim to be; she's a broadcaster with a sense of humour and her role on the show wasn't the same as the others. It's not fair to judge her jokes to the same standards as the others, as she's primarily there because she's the best qualified to deal with Live TV.

The best part of the series for me was discovering how goddamn sharp David Mitchell is as an interviewer. If it weren't for the enforced brevity of his segments, he would have been able to get to the heart of the matter far better than any of the "proper" political programs.

As for lefty bias, if there were a left wing government the program would have challenged its behaviour. The only "bias" should be that of challenging authority and decision makers. Except that isn't bias, that is real journalism and it invites thought instead of being spoon fed a press release.

I heartily agree, I'm not on twitter but am interested in the change it can inspire. 10 O'CL is about the only show I still watch.

Jimmy Carr is a one-liner, anything else I've seen him do is a waste of time. Lauren LaVerne is a good presenter for the show but she has no funny material.

I'd watch a show of just "Listen to Mitchell".

Perhaps he should stand for leader of the LibDem party. I garuntee it'll be a vote-puller.

The RutlandFlyer - Yes, agreed. Ten O'Clock Live is for the twitter age, not based on the sad 1990's, or any age, with those critics with a pathetic tear in their eye of lost youth.

My favotite bit of Charlie Brooker from one of his shows from that BBC4, if you don't mind, which was from only a year or two ago, so is more today, folks, as he would say. Charlie arse-wipeing on his show Screenwipe,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQJLIWS4P7w

It started out a bit ropey, as you'd expect, then had a brief spell of being OK and then succumbed to being predictable, lacking a certain X factor. The QT clash was a huge error and the whooping audience were out of kilter with the feel of the show. And I hated it when a serious debate (a few of which were attempted) were ruined by the insertion of a gag. Satire doesn't need a laugh-per-minute quota; oftentimes the joke is the very re-stating of the ridiculousness of a situation. The jokes usually derailed any argument by making the person making the serious point look foolish for carrying on. I do hope it gets recommissioned; it probably just needs a few tweeks.

The reason the show failed is because they constantly selected easy targets for their derision in a sneering, A-level student sort of way - any white, rich, politician or footballer was fair game - but none of the panel would have the guts to attack a target that required a bit of insight and wasn't simply a stereotype which pandered to the baying crowds of sycophants adorning the studio. To the members of Ten O'Clock Live, the world is simply black and white, no complexity required.

Also, nothing, absolutely nothing Lauren Laverne says is funny.

David (05 May 2011 at 15:51) posted too late for me to say Oh, yes - and all that lefty bollox too (and I'm a bit of a lefty myself).

Hangar-like set didn't help. Intimacy helps to create a decently snarky atmosphere. Mitchell's interviews made him look like a ranty sixth-former out of his depth

@Scott D

Yes, it's well known that Mitchell has indicated a leaning to the Lib-Dems. Do you honestly think that the Liberal Democrats sit between Labour to the left and the Conservatives to the right like some sort of thin yellow line of traditional reasonableness? Think again. The Lib-Dems are as riven by socialist idiocy as Labour, all underpinned by decades of perma-fringe political fantasy - courtesy of the old SDP sandalista loons who escaped from the Labour asylum way back when.

I agree with the above - i just fast-forwarded past everything except Brooker and Mitchell. Jimmy Carr is about as suited for live tv as Fred Flinstone, and Lauren Laverne is an airheaded charisma-vacuum.

About the "left-wing bias" - it was a highly centrist show: the Guardian / Observer paradigm of "Lets make capitalism work for people" instead of "Shoot the bankers and divvy up their diamonds".. The audience was usually a lot more radical than the cast.

But ah well, I have a funny feeling Brooker and Mitchell will be back on our screens at some point ..

British political satire is dead. I for one, find this a terrible thing. Long live private eye, David Mitchell and Carr. British comedy is dead, because the British public has changed beyond recognition. Even friends or cheers would be difficult for the masses to get now. http://www.bathroomremodelingtips.net/

Awwww, poor trolls, no witty intelligent right wing show for them (can't imagine why).

The dress-up bits were stupid, Lauren was perfectly OK (as an anchor) and the loudy audience "Clap Now!" tendency made it look a bit contrived. The more spontaneous funny bits were good but the set pieces came across as a bit rehearsed, again contributing to the contrived feel which they should work on.

Why did it fail? Because not only did the bad constantly outweigh the good, but also it was so ridiculously left wing it insulted the intelligence of viewers like myself, who tired of the borish studenty audience and the presenters' inability to resist playing to it. We need a Real Time for the UK.

It failed because it was an unfunny load of left-wing moaning, lies and nonsense.

We have just endured 13 years of an appalling maladministration, and these out-of touch comics are immediately giving the incoming government a kicking for trying to fix the mess they inherited.

This show was as funny as watching rich, hypocritical lefties kicking a load of paramedics when they are trying to save lives.

Why did it fail? Because it was largely a bunch of lefty meedja wankers either making crapply predictable jokes or being nauseatingly self-righteous hypocrites with no apparent memory of the years 1997-2010. Which is a shame because Charlie Brooker is a gifted and very funny broadcaster.

In short, the sort of self-indulgent, infantile, champagne socialist shit that not many people choose to read in The Independent. Not many chose to watch this cobblers either.

It got better. No need for Laverne - she's not a comedian, apparently not political, and has no ability of hosting a debate-style format. A straight, quick-witted news-journalist host, not even necessarily from TV, would make the rest of it hold together much better.

Agree about the comments regarding the studenty claque of the audience, and frequent lazy gags at the expense of Banksters! Tories!, but those could be sorted out with a journalist host and a little bit of delight in unsettling the studio audience.

As for those calling for a comedian from the right to be involved - err, who exactly?

I loved 10OCL. I don't read too much into partisan leanings and stuff. No matter what your political persuasion, everyone hates bankers, right?

As someone mentioned above, Mitchell can be incredibly insightful when he wants, Carr pushes the envelope, Brooker is grumpy genius. Lauren does well against these heavyweights and keeps the boys in line.

I hope C4 recommissions a new series.

replace carr with penny and give her whiskey so she lightens up a bit/takes the edge off

the show wasn't nearly left-wing enough quite frankly

#NOT TR0LLING HERE GUYZ#

Only Labour supporters would enjoy watching other Labour supporters endlessly shouting 'Bankers!, Tories!' for an hour. That leaves a potential audience of less than 40% straight away.

I blame Lauren Laverne. She was terrible.

Simple times, you could say. Ah well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw

Stackpole Head, for a walk,
http://www.barafundlebarns.co.uk/westtrewentbarnsassets/077.jpg

Choughs on Stackpole Head, as well as the human visitor,
http://www.pixelbirds.co.uk/webchuff2.jpg

I thought it was great. Perhaps a recorded show would remove some of the time-bumping crunches but it was good to see these four put into the same program. I often recorded it as well due to the timing. I think the reviewer here musn't be used to seeing this kind of format and with such diverse elements made in this country. I think the show really worked, and the lack of polish caused by it being live and trying to cram so many ideas in actually added to the tension of the program, on top of the satirical comedy, guest panel bust-ups, political guests looking nervous that they are live and risking their careers and Jimmy Carr doing what he does best, edgy comedy mixed with a bit of slapstick. If channel 4 cant get a program like this with these people to work then they've got serious management problems. Can't wait for a new series!