Following through on its biblical styling, this book is split into two "Testaments". The first deals with the origins of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, the precursor to I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. I have to admit I'd never heard of this show before reading this book, but have listened to a couple of episodes this past week and it is surreal fun.

The second testament deals with I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue itself. It begins with Graeme Garden's plans for a version of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again that was improvised, his reasons being that radio didn't pay well enough to warrant him and Bill Oddie slaving over scripts every week, thus an ad-libbed version would be preferable. And it carries on until Humphrey Lyttleton's very sad death a few years ago and essentially ends with the decision to carry on with either Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, or Rob Brydon taking over chairmanship duties.

The first testament comes across as the better researched and written, although many of the references are unfathomable if you aren't au fait with ISIRTA, as I'm not. Similarly the second testament is more a recap of everything that's happened on ISIHAC over the last forty years, if you're a big fan of the show there's very little new here. Roberts' insistence on playing up to the show's in-jokes gets a little weary at times, he briefly mentions the genesis of Mornington Crescent at the end of one chapter before slipping into the "no, it's a real game, really!" line of the show and giving the "official" history from some of the ISIHAC spin off episodes.

There's plenty of laughs, and indeed some tears, to be had in the book, but these come from excerpts from the show and the chapter about Humphrey's death. If you're a fan of ISIHAC, and especially a fan of both that and ISIRTA, then this book is certainly worth the read, but a newcomer to the show would most definitely spend their time better with some of the many episodes now available from the BBC. ( )

Following through on its biblical styling, this book is split into two "Testaments". The first deals with the origins of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, the precursor to I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. I have to admit I'd never heard of this show before reading this book, but have listened to a couple of episodes this past week and it is surreal fun.

The second testament deals with I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue itself. It begins with Graeme Garden's plans for a version of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again that was improvised, his reasons being that radio didn't pay well enough to warrant him and Bill Oddie slaving over scripts every week, thus an ad-libbed version would be preferable. And it carries on until Humphrey Lyttleton's very sad death a few years ago and essentially ends with the decision to carry on with either Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, or Rob Brydon taking over chairmanship duties.

The first testament comes across as the better researched and written, although many of the references are unfathomable if you aren't au fait with ISIRTA, as I'm not. Similarly the second testament is more a recap of everything that's happened on ISIHAC over the last forty years, if you're a big fan of the show there's very little new here. Roberts' insistence on playing up to the show's in-jokes gets a little weary at times, he briefly mentions the genesis of Mornington Crescent at the end of one chapter before slipping into the "no, it's a real game, really!" line of the show and giving the "official" history from some of the ISIHAC spin off episodes.

There's plenty of laughs, and indeed some tears, to be had in the book, but these come from excerpts from the show and the chapter about Humphrey's death. If you're a fan of ISIHAC, and especially a fan of both that and ISIRTA, then this book is certainly worth the read, but a newcomer to the show would most definitely spend their time better with some of the many episodes now available from the BBC. ( )

Dear Mr. Parsons: it's about time somebody wrote a book about your long running comedy quiz show, preferably in English. In the meantime, I suppose we'll just have to make do with this. Yrs faithfully, Mrs. Trellis, North Wales.

This is actually two books: a history of ISIRTA, which doubles as a love-letter to Jo Kendall, and a history of ISIHAC, which doubles as a napkin, if you fold it nicely. Admirably comprehensive, both books cover all the ground you would expect, and have enough excerpts from the shows for you to annoy your spouse with if reading in bed. I particularly liked the credit given to Jon Naismith and Iain Pattinson for making Clue what it is today. So now you know who to blame.

Well, as the short-sighted rhinoceros of fate mounts the VW Beetle of time, I see I've run out of sp ( )