Enough Rope with Andrew Denton

November 7, 2006 2:39 PM

Oodles of past and current interviews with both living and dead celebrities and interesting nobodies over at the support website for Andrew Denton's Australian television show Enough Rope. You will find video excerpts, some full interviews as audio downloads (the more recent ones), and lots of transcripts.
posted by sjvilla79 (11 comments total)

I just grabbed the Jamie Oliver, Billy Crystal, and Little Britain MP3 files.
posted by sjvilla79 at 2:40 PM on November 7, 2006

It's a shame that this post will no doubt largely be ignored, because Denton is pure class. From the days of his comedy show, I've felt that he would have to be one of the sharpest tacks going around, anywhere. His ability to come up with spontaneous one-liners is astounding, and he uses it to good effect in Enough Rope, all the more so because it balances out some extremely sympathetic interviewing, often coaxing the most troubled stories from his interviewees.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:47 PM on November 7, 2006

heh:

STEVE IRWIN: Mate, it was 1970 and dad was a plumber - really well-to-do plumber. He did well in Melbourne but gave it all away to follow his passion, which was reptiles and mum was a maternity nurse who actually wanted to follow her passion, which was joeys, kangaroos and wombats and platypuses, raising them. They get hit by cars all the time. Together they started the Beerwah Reptile Park in the 1970s and it was tough times. We were on the main highway, the Bruce Highway. Snakes were something you hit with a stick. Crocodiles were evil, ugly monsters that kill something. Koalas and kangaroos make great fur coats. It was hard times, mate.

ANDREW DENTON: Not a bad BBQ either.

STEVE IRWIN: Oh! Lucky enough, we're kind of - we're putting our foot on that kind of attitude.

ANDREW DENTON: No, that was wrong.

STEVE IRWIN: Yeah, it was. Exactly. I'm bigger than you, mate. Tourism...

ANDREW DENTON: This could be a bad interview if you actually wrestle me to the ground.

STEVE IRWIN: Shall we do that?

AUDIENCE: Yeah!

STEVE IRWIN: All right.

ANDREW DENTON: I tell you what... Let's get a bit further in and then we'll see how we go, all right. If we are going to do it, I want to oil up first. No, no.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:02 PM on November 7, 2006

Fantastic stuff. Denton is up there at the top with the best interviewers. He is always incredibly well prepared and never asks the regular raft of pap questions. He is warm, engaging, incredibly funny and always full of empathy for his guests. He is one of the reasons I will turn a tv on these days. Thanks so much for this - I mean, I would have expected his material to be around but unless it's plonked down in front of me I don't think to go looking.

[this is good]
posted by peacay at 5:17 PM on November 7, 2006

I just blame him for the second outbreak of Rolf Harris.
posted by fFish at 5:25 PM on November 7, 2006

The ABC had a program the other night to celebrate their 50 years of reporting and current affairs, and they showed a wee clip of a very young Denton on 'Blah Blah Blah', which I'd forgotten about. How could I forget the masturbation episode?

One of the best Denton shows ever was the disability episode of 'The Money or the Gun', 'The Year of the Patronising Bastard'.
posted by andraste at 9:07 PM on November 7, 2006

I was fortunate to go to the same Uni as Denton and had pretty much the same run of lecturers. They were fond of telling stories - my favourite being him turning up to early classes in PJ's and a doona - so the attitude, if nothing else, hasn't changed much. Good on him - he's a delight to watch and Enough Rope is great. My favourite episode would have to be Richard E. Grant taking over the interview and grilling Denton on his private life, all the while with a twinkle in his eye.
posted by ninazer0 at 10:06 PM on November 7, 2006

Thanks so much for this - I mean, I would have expected his material to be around but unless it's plonked down in front of me I don't think to go looking.

And I was the same, Peacay. I realised I missed him with Jamie Oliver some weeks back (saw the snippet of the interview when watching Jamie's Kitchen), so went straight to the website to look for a transcript. Then there were all the other interviews right there in the list. The rest speaks for itself.

But I guess the only real problem with this post is that Denton hasn't and probably never will interview Britney Spears. Only then would a post about Denton and his show generate more than a quiet ruffle of the ranks here on MeFi. But I transgress.
posted by sjvilla79 at 1:33 PM on November 8, 2006

You might like to note Denton has just released a movie-length documentary "God On My Side", about American evangelicals.

I think he's good too. Just not as good as he obviously thinks he is.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 12:30 AM on November 9, 2006

Forgot to say, he's also behind that awful Tench program.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 12:31 AM on November 9, 2006

I agree with AmbroseChapel here. Although good, Denton often seems to be in a quick-talking scramble to cover mistakes, fluffs and faux pas, he sounds apologetic and looks embarrassed at times. I can't quite put my finger on what it is but I find him uncomfortable to watch. I cringe for him and his guest's when he hasn't quite pulled off a line of enquiry or bon mot although he does often recover quite well.
Without doubt - Tench stinks to high heaven.
posted by tellurian at 6:12 AM on November 9, 2006