Talk:Comic Relief

Who does it aid?

Its strange that for this long an article , it doesnt state in a clear way who is it supposed to help and what difference it has made so far to the lives of its beneficiaries. Anyone? Varun (talk) 12:24, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Charity singles

This should have it's own page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by PeterJohnPiper (talk • contribs) 04:12, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

The Stonk was a double A side with Victoria Wood's "The Smile Song" - this needs to be included Distant Cousin (talk) 17:36, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

J.K. Rowling?

Is it desirable to add a section about the 2 harry potter books jk rowling has written for the organization, Quiddich Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and where to find them? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.111.81.183 (talk) 05:30, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

Chronology of noses

Can anybody remember all the different noses? There was one with a trunk last time, there was a furry one, and a smelly one. What else, and for what years? Mintguy 22:43 Feb 25, 2003 (UTC)

Let's see: Bagpuss and others have come up with the following 'best guess':

pipoo

• 1988 - Normal
• 1989 - Smiley face etched onto nose
• 1991 - Arms
• 1993 - Tomato
• 1995 - Colour change
• 1997 - Furry
• 1999 - Squeaky
• 2001 - Tongue
• 2003 - Hair Dos

I have now found references on the web for 1993-2003. Verfication can be found by searching Google for "Red Nose Day 199x"/"Red Nose Day 200x" and looking through pictures! Note there are only 7(!) hits for the 1995 search and you need to look at Alan Cumming's TV biography page to find a picture. These searches are no good for 1988,1989,1991. What we have are strictly speaking guesses, but I am pretty confident about all three. There is an excellent chance that is the only place on the web where this information is collated so I am going to add it to the article Pcb21 16:47 Apr 1, 2003 (UTC)

Heh, two years later... red nose day.com itself put together a history (maybe inspired by this page ... who knows!... and the list is finally undeniably accurate! Pcb21| Pete 23:30, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

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Is it my imagination, but isn't Children in Need an annual event, so it's not true to say Comic Relief alternates with it? -- Arwel 20:10 Apr 1, 2003 (UTC)

No. According to the BBC on some ago on a programme when talking about charity fundraising on the station they alternate. STÓD/ÉÍRE 21:13 Apr 1, 2003 (UTC)

But they don't children i need happens every year. -fonzy

Children in Need is every year in the autumn. Comic Relief is every other year in the spring. They don't alternate as such. --rbrwr

Just been checking. When originally launched, the plan was to alternate. This however has now been changed because they think two appeals in one year can work. So CIN was moved to later in the year to allow CR run in the previous March slot every two years. STÓD/ÉÍRE 21:34 Apr 1, 2003 (UTC)

What are the sources of the alleged criticisms of CR?

Re the newly expanded Red Nose Day. I think a lot of it is speculation of combined Wikipedia contributors... has anyone notable come out and actually said anything negative about RND or we are trying to add some criticism for its own sake? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 13:18, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I found these:

• • http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/000000005558.htm
  • http://www.spiked-online.com/articles/0000000054B6.htm

And an associate who works in a Christian NGO told me they don't give funding to faith-based projects. You can remove that until I've found a source or go and look at CR's terms and conditions yourself :-) I've got some other stuff to do today... BTW, I think the version I modified was just criticism for criticism's sake, but I tried to give a bit of balance and context. I do think some people find it boring.

Mr. Jones 16:53, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

• • • They were just criticized for their involvement with DHL, who support the military government of Burma through financial partnerships. I've added a link to the article. -DropDeadGorgias (talk) 19:10, Oct 5, 2004 (UTC)
      • That's a very good one..

There has been some criticism of Comic Relief, in particular red nose day.

• Some have suggested that the money the BBC puts towards the event would be better off given straight to charity. However, supporters argue, the money raised is far greater than the cost of the event, and without the telecast it is unlikely anywhere near the same amount would be given to charity.

• Comic Relief does not give to faith-based organisations. Some would regard this as an endorsement, of course.

• Conversely Comic Relief has been accused of bowing to pressure from Catholic organisations over funding for contraceptive programmes.

• Comic Relief's documentary sections have been accused of, amongst other things, colonialist sentimentality when comedians visiting a project in Uganda assisted by Comic Relief criticised the First world's lack of intervention in the genocide there.

• It has also been said that the show is boring. This is highly subjective, of course, but the event started out as a showcase of Alternative comedy, or alternative comedians, at least. It was seen as a reaction to the Middle of the road entertainment of the BBC Children in Need Appeal. Over time, as the regulars aged, the sharpness and perceived controversy of the comedy declined. Perhaps more problematically, the once original format of the show (comedy with serious bits cut in; see above) changed very little. Also, as the nature of British comedy took on a harsher, less worthy aspect from the mid nineties to the turn of the millennium, the presence of younger comedians (The League of Gentlemen, for instance) seemed somewhat incongruous.

• Another accusation is that the show is composed of simple reworkings of old ideas.

• Yet another is that some of the "celebrities" who appear are minor comedians and would not be on such a prime-time slot if it weren't for charity. This is only true insofar as many of the comedians on the show are far less well known than when they (and Red Nose Day) were in their heyday. It's also worth contrasting the evening's programming with the large number of British TV shows based solely on very minor "celebrities".

• [These are here temporarily, whilst I try to cite them] Pcb21| Pete 19:32, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Terminology

The "Red Nose Day" section includes this sentence: "The TV programming begins in the afternoon, with Children's BBC having various related reports, money-raising events and a celebrity gungeing."

I don't believe I've ever encountered the word "gungeing" before. This may be because I live in the United States. For the benefit of us non-Britons, can some sort of explanation be provided? Thanks. -- Pat Berry 22:15, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Dropping some form of (usually brightly-coloured) "gunge" onto a person, often as a forfeit or for just slapstick laughs. Sometimes it involves the person going into a booth whereby the gunge is then dropped on them from above. It's mainly for the kids. violet/riga (t) 23:35, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Just to clarify what 'gunge' means in this context. It is a form of viscous liguid designed to look and, presumably, feel unpleasant. A rough, US-friendly analogy might be 'slime', although for Brits the word conjures up a very specific consistency and look. Hippopotaman 08:47, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Australia

Has the "Comic Relief is coming to Australia in November 2005!" section come straight from a press release? It certainly reads like it. Teflon 21:23, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Exactly what I came to this talk page to ask. After a quick hunt around the web, I am going to be bold and update. --Telsa 11:28, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

Harry Potter?

Should there be some mention of the books J.K. Rowling wrote for Comic Relief? If memory serves, the profits made through the sale of Quiddditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will go towards Comic Relief. Micahbrwn 04:55, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

That's right. She mentions this in the foreword. Worth a mention? Singyouranthem (talk) 15:25, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Inclusion of The Apprentice template

Regarding the repeated inclusion of {{The Apprentice UK}} template by User:Dalejenkins - I see no good reason for that template to be included in this page. The template should be about connecting articles directly related with The Apprentice UK - of which Comic Relief is not. This article is about Comic Relief as a charity organisation. The role of the Apprentice in that has only been one special edition show in 2007. Imagine if every TV programme, which had ever made a Comic Relief special, were to include Comic Relief somewhere on their template - this article would be unusable! Let's not start a precedent... _└ ^UkPaolo/_talk^┐ 09:11, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Table Of Donations

I Think A Table Of Total Donations Each Year Would Be Helpful To Chart Its Sucess, I Always Wonder If They Set A New Record Every Year Or Not, I Mostly Worry It Bob Geldof and Bono Will Go Off The Rails If They Dont

Borat Complaints

"The 2007 event also caused massive controversy when Borat (played by Jewish actor Sascha Baron Cohen made a joke about buying "three chocolate boys". Many thousands of complaints were recorded within minutes of the airing. The BBC are expected to make a press release on Saturday the 17th of March stating that they will seek legal action against Cohen and his production team, as well as supporting a ban on him appearing on BBC shows for the next five years."

There is no way this can be known already; the event in question happened less than 12 hours before the time of posting. I am removing until confirmation is supplied. Hippopotaman 07:30, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Removed Claim

I removed this claim : It has also been criticised on how the show makes the donation money. Some people refuse to donate at all because of the amount of money spent on organising the event itself. AS it is misleading and untrue, see http://www.rednoseday.com/faqs/#comicrelief —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.142.83.4 (talk • contribs) 17:34, 17 March 2007

wait, you deleted that? i thought that was true. in fact, people keep mentioning that to me when somebody brings it up. i think its a common opinion that it should at least stay for debate. --A Person With A Listening Problem 21:17, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

poor phrasing

"It featured Sting, in which he is taking part with a celebrity and non-entity television show, swapping wives with the vicar's husband Harry." - this sentence does not appear to be pellucidly clearly phrased. -- 82.181.254.50 16:27, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

unrelated point?

In the section on 2001 events, it is said "Jack Dee won Celebrity Big Brother. This is the only day on record nobody committed suicide in the UK between 1993 and 2002." How is the latter sentence relevant to Comic Relief per se? It seems like an out-of-place fact. Singyouranthem (talk) 15:31, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was PAGE MOVED per reasonable, unopposed request. -GTBacchus^(talk) 08:08, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

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This page was recently moved from Comic Relief, on the highly unlikely grounds that someone searching for the term "comic relief" might enter the second word capitalized. The redirect was then changed to point to the term "comic relief" so a non-admin move to revert the change is not possible. I formally propose that it be moved back, subject to consensus. Please discuss. --Tony Sidaway 20:38, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

'Car' noses only in New Zealand?

The text

"Red Nose Day was also copied in other countries. One of note was New Zealand, which actually introduced a brief fad in 1990 of selling over-sized red-noses for car grilles for charity."

implies that these 'car' noses were only available in NZ. This isn't true - we had them in the UK too. 93.96.93.12 (talk) 10:26, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Ratings

More ratings information is needed througout this entire article and subsections. Also more information and individual pages for Comic Relief prior to 2007 (at least (2005-2003-2001) which are the most current and most easily availiable to get information for. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cooly123 (talk • contribs) 16:44, 27 February 2009 (UTC) we ask the internet these qestions and nothing comes up !!!

BARB -- [[ axg ⁞⁞ talk ]] 19:42, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

When comicrelief.com "The TV audience peaked at 12.7million viewers and a 52% audience share peak for Comic Relief: Funny for Money on Friday 13 March "

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—Preceding unsigned comment added by Cooly123 (talk • contribs) 00:08, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Lenny Henry

In the 2003 ost section it says Lenny Henry (legend) next to it. Why is the word legend there? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Missydreamchic (talk • contribs) 16:35, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Looks like an unnecessary contribution - I've removed it. ~~ [ジャム]^[t - c] 16:55, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

Additional funding for 2009?

The final Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 will be donating money to the Comic Relief fund and this should be noted when offical numbers are release. Also the 2009 edition thus far has raised over 80 million pounds as of 1/29/10.--Cooly123 17:02, 29 January 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cooly123 (talk • contribs)

Secret Policeman's Ball - Dubious Information

None of the material I have on Comic Relief from its beginnings in the mid-1980s cite "The Secret Policeman's Ball" as its inspiration. Indeed, mention is made in several of the articles I have on Comic Relief in its early years of the Band Aid and Live Aid efforts of 1984/1985. I feel that it is unjustified to cite "The Secret Policeman's Ball as an inspiration for Comic Relief, particularly as the ONLY inspiration. If evidence can be found that this is the case - and the original Comic Relief founders are all agreed on this, then fine. Otherwise such information - which has appeared since I last visited this page - should not be included. Reliable citations please! I have removed this information as it has no citations and seems to disagree absolutely with early material on Comic Relief —Preceding unsigned comment added by Solidsandie (talk • contribs) 00:28, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

Early Shows

Can we updare information on the shows in the 1980's in particular. There is a video of various celebrities performing Queen's Bohemian Rapsidy. --Cooly123 00:05, 6 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cooly123 (talk • contribs)

2011 Page - Article split requested

I believe its time for the 2011 appeal to have its own page, with the website being continuously updated.--Cooly123 17:32, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

With this do we want one for the dedicated night or for the overall 2011 campaign as there has been quite a lot going on this year to report Madscotinengland (talk) 17:15, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

If it was split off, it would be for The Whole Thing. –anemoneprojectors– 22:04, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Red Nose Day 2011 page set up - please do make any amendments as necessary. Madscotinengland (talk) 12:42, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

99 balloons of some sort or another

Which version of the song is Nena famous for - the German ("99 Luftballons") or the English ("99 Red Balloons")? In the English speaking world, I'd think the latter. But somebody just changed it to "99 Luftballoons, or 'Hot Air Balloons" [sic].

Typing "luftballoons" into Google Translate gives "air balloons", but that might be just because it recognises the root "luft" as "air" and leaves "balloons", which isn't a German word, as it is. The correct spelling "luftballons" becomes just "balloons". Moreover, the article on the song explains that a Luftballon is a toy balloon, not a hot air balloon, and the opening English lyrics ("You and I in a little toy shop buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got") makes it obvious. -- — Smjg (talk) 15:12, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Gender equality?

The criticism section contains some information on the "lack of gender equality in the causes supported by Comic Relief" pointed out by a writer in the Spectator. I don't believe that this section adds any value to the article, on the contrary, it diminishes its quality by adding extremely irrelevant and sectarious data. Is the author of such article expecting Comic Relief or any other charity to provide funds to charities that support groups of male people discriminated or living in worse conditions than their female counterparts? I understand that this is the only way in which the donation could be considered equal in gender terms. However, those male-focused charities do not exist because there has not been ever a report of social groups in which males are discriminated on gender basis. The fact that we only know of organizations supporting female causes says much about how serious the situation is.

I believe that it is a poor statement from a very questionable source and there is no reason to include it in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.62.109.57 (talk) 15:20, 14 March 2011 (UTC)

More ratings/reception information

I came across these articles to be incorporated into the article somehow.

Comic Relief 2005: http://www.digitalspy.com/broadcasting/news/a19858/comic-relief-hits-133-million-high.html

Comic Relief 2009: http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/news/a149658/comic-relief-peaks-with-128-million.html

http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/news/a149660/lets-dance-for-comic-relief-ends-on-79m.html

Comic Relief 2011: http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/news/a309900/comic-relief-telethon-peaks-with-124m.html

Date of Broadcast: 1985, 1986, or 1988?

This article states that Comic Relief started in 1985 with a point of reference to its accounting starting in 2006 but no point of reference as to the date it was first aired on BBC.

According to IMDb, UK's Comic Relief started on April 25, 1986, around the time the first single was released. Same information from TV Rage.

According to TV.com, the broadcast starts in 1988 when Red Nose Day began.

What I'm looking for is the actual date it was first broadcast on TV as a yearly event.

The 1985 launching maybe just an interview or to introduce to the people about the charity event.

1986 and 1987 were only listed in this article as the time the singles were released. The event itself may have not been seen on TV or only clippings were shown.

If anyone is to find information about the broadcast dates, please include references. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TJ Reyes (talk • contribs) 16:24, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Again: who benefits?

As the first entry here still remains unanswered, i have to second User:Varungarde – exactly where goes the money, who decides where, and how much of the income is contributed anyway?
"Red Nose" is a big event, likely so is the business – just by merchandising, like red noses and stuff. It's not far out, to say the main goal of those donation-events is image cultivating, and it's common procedure, the income is used to pay the "charges" first. "Collection" and "benefit" are some whole different things. Given the hype created round this event, there should be a look at the outcome, too.
Aint there no records, fiscal accounting? Seems hard to find sources anyway, this is "not for public" or whatever?
I think this is way more important than critics about gender stuff, or Borat's outbursts. Such a long article, high-imprtance, yet it doesn't have a single word on this essential qeustion.
--87.168.75.235 (talk) 09:53, 9 November 2011 (UTC)