''Saturday Zoo'' is a British

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

and chat show series, featuring an eclectic mix of stand-up acts, interviews and music. Hosted by

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

, it ran for 13 episodes, beginning in January 1993, on Channel 4.

Production

The series was produced by host

's own production company, Channel X, headed by Kenton Allen. Unlike previous shows, Ross specifically designed it to be "a show that I want to watch" without being particularly interested in viewing figures or popularity. The show was broadcast live, with no possibility for re-takes or editing. Writers for the series included

Kevin Day Kevin Day (born 3 May 1961 in London) is a British stand up comedian, comedy writer and sports presenter. He came to prominence in the British alternative comedy stand up scene of the late eighties and early nineties, playing clubs like The Comed ...

and Patrick Marber. The music director and keyboard player was

Janette Mason Janette Mason is a British jazz pianist, arranger, composer and record producer. Three of her albums have received four-starred reviews in ''The Guardian'' and her second album, ''Alien Left Hand'', was nominated for the Parliamentary Jazz Awards ...

, who also wrote the show's theme tune.

Guests

The series had a number of high-profile guests, including supermodel Naomi Campbell who appeared on the first episode. Other guests included

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

, Danny DeVito,

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Penn & Teller also performed, making their first live appearance on a UK television programme. Musical guests included former Dexys Midnight Runners frontman

Kevin Rowland Kevin Rowland (born 17 August 1953) is a British singer and musician best known as the frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners (currently called ''Dexys''). The band had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being "Geno" an ...

Del Amitri Del Amitri are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1980. Between 1985 and 2002, the band released six studio albums. Their 1995 single " Roll to Me" reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Five Del Amitri albums have ...

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

Stereo MCs Stereo MC's are an English hip hop/ electronic dance group which formed in Nottingham, England, in 1985. They had an international top 20 hit with their single "Connected". After releasing eight albums for Island Records, K7, Graffiti Recording ...

and P.M. Dawn, and k.d. lang performed her recent hit single, "

Constant Craving "Constant Craving" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang and Ben Mink, performed by lang and included on her second solo album, ''Ingénue'' (1992). The song was released in the United Kingdom in April 1992 and won lang a Gram ...

". The show featured the first appearance on television of

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

's character Paul Calf, and helped launch the career of political comedian Mark Thomas. Rowland Rivron and Graham Fellows (performing in-character as John Shuttleworth) made regular appearances on the show. '' The Fast Show'' Simon Day featured in several sketches.

Critical reception

''Saturday Zoo'' was not well received by critics, who focused on Ross's omnipresence on television at the time. A review in '' The Independent'' described Ross as "humour-resistant Teflon". It was subsequently viewed as stalling Ross's high-profile career.

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

*{{IMDB title, 0106121
''Saturday Zoo''
at BFI 1993 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings 1990s British television talk shows Channel 4 talk shows English-language television shows