Robin Williams Hijacked a BBC Debate

Posted by Alex in Science & Tech on April 2, 2008 at 4:49 pm


Right before a special BBC America World Debate on the future of news during the TED 2008 conference in Monterey, California, the crew had a technical difficulty.

Suddenly, a heckler spoke up from the back of the room:

The crowd hushed down as soon as it realized who was doing the heckling: attendee Robin Williams. It being Robin Williams, it didn’t take much cheering from the crowd to get him on stage. He then spent the next 15 minutes doing improv standup comedy to an eager crowd and an embarrassed BBC America staff.

"A new internet service in Israel is called Netanyahu." "Sergey Brin: started in garage and now he owns everything." "So, how much money have we raised so far?" And on and on, in the way only Robin Williams can do.

BBC finally got its technological ducks in a row (Williams: "This is supposed to be a presentation on new media?"), and the panel went on. (Source: Megan Barnett at Spottings Blog)

You can watch Robin Williams’ impromptu hijacking of the debate on BBC’s website: Link - Thanks moronic50!


Previous post
this post? Please Email this               
Next post

FROM THE NEATORAMA ONLINE STORE - Your purchase helps support the blog!

COMMENT

37 comments to "Robin Williams Hijacked a BBC Debate"

  1. Viola
    April 2nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    Holy moly, he got fat. Nice glasses, though. This kind of nonsense is the reason I love and always will love this man. He is non-stop. Cracks me up.

  2. Tim
    April 2nd, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    The BBC sucks…

  3. Yosh
    April 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    I hope he did that “nanu nanu” joke…that sh*t funny!

  4. Jamie
    April 2nd, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    I don’t think he was funny in the least bit. Why did the audience keep laughing? I don’t think he is a very intelligent or witty man. Not a good combo if you want to be a comedian, if you ask me. Stick to the scripts, Robin.

  5. graffiksguru
    April 2nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    BBC Rocks, Tim must be a Fox News kinda guy

  6. Carruthers
    April 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm

    Hopefully the BBC plays no part in “The Future Of News”. It has been broadcasting biased lefty propaganda for decades.

  7. CheeseDuck
    April 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    He hijacked the BBC network?

  8. Ampa
    April 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm

    Plenty of ego - not so much comedy.

  9. caitlin13
    April 2nd, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    I’ve always been a Robin Williams fan (he has a really neat history). I don’t understand why he got up and did this though. Was he not already the center of enough attention?

  10. Thomas
    April 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    That’s just Robin Williams. I find its best to let him wear himself out before you deal with him.

  11. SenorMysterioso
    April 2nd, 2008 at 8:18 pm

    I never found him to be a very good comedian. I think his appeal is that he does so many jokes and bad impressions in the course of a minute, something is bound to be funny.

    Why he was allowed to go on for fifteen minutes is what surprises me.

  12. xander
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    So he did it to fill in while the BBC was having problems? or was it malevolent?

  13. Yezzirr
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    What good is this article without the video? Robin Williams used to (kind of) (sort of) (almost) be funny but bearable.

    Get off BBC. American news is out of control…I need BBC not to be retarded

  14. xander
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    That is, the word “high-jacking” seems deceptive.

  15. caitlin13
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    There is a video Yezzirr. “You can watch Robin Williams’ impromptu hijacking of the debate on BBC’s website..*link*”

  16. Nominate
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    The news media in America is not objective. It is controlled by the government and it is dumbed down, usually only covering other countries when it shows them in a negative light, hardly every focusing on poverty or positive stories. It is for the redneck with a steak on his erect penis and a beer hat on his head.

  17. Evil Pundit
    April 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm

    The BBC is not objective. It is controlled by the government and it is dumbed down, usually only covering America when it shows it in a negative light, hardly every focusing on reality or positive stories. It is for the moonbat with a feminist’s bootheel on his flaccid penis and a Che poster on his wall.

  18. su.wei
    April 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    ah gotta love Robin! <33

  19. Shay
    April 2nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    This man tries too hard.

  20. BizzSnif
    April 3rd, 2008 at 12:30 am

    Have you guys seen his appearance on Jay Leno when he started making those African languages? That was the most hilarious thing ever from him on the spot!

  21. Tim
    April 3rd, 2008 at 12:57 am

    graffiksguru,

    Nope, not a fox news guy. I think Fox is as about as news worthy as any other sensational news agency.

    I am not a big fan of news media, and I have first hand witnessed the BBC’s lying and unethical news reporting. They lie, they create controversy out of everything and they prey on the misfortune and tragedy of everyone and everything.

    Just like all news agencies.

    Dipshits like to divide news in to conservative and liberal viewpoints, but the truth is the news media creates controversy out of nothing. Lies are what they sell….

  22. Viola
    April 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 am

    Yes!, the media’s a bunch of lie mongers, but what does that have to do with an American comedian doing stand-up on a British news broadcast?

    You guys are brutal. I kind-of just figured it was an April Fools thing.

  23. Viola
    April 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 am

    Never mind. I just checked dates and this was apparently taped in February. Still… brutal.

  24. DanO
    April 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 am

    I thought he did a good job considering the circumstances.

  25. Pol x
    April 3rd, 2008 at 6:10 am

    Firstly, Robin Williams is tedious beyond endurance.

    From Mork to Mawkish.

    As for the stuff about the BBC being a leftist government mouth piece.

    Well, frankly that is just gibberish.

    You’d have to have media like Fox to ever think of the beeb as being some leftist hot bed of sedition.

    It’s pretty much centrist, so gathers the ire of both left and right in the UK.

    There is also the idea that the BBC only shows the US in a negative light.

    Is it any news medias function to show the USA in a positive light?

    I mean other than Fox obviously.

    See that wouldn’t be the news, that would be cheerleading.

    So basically to see the centrist BBC as being extreme left, you have to be viewing it from the EXTREME right.

    All the best.

  26. luke
    April 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 am

    I like Robin

  27. sparge
    April 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 am

    I like Robin. But that wasn’t funny.

  28. Carruthers
    April 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 am

    Can’t we somehow ban raving socialists like “Pol x” from posting here?

    :)

  29. Kris
    April 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am

    I enjoy Robin’s enthusiasm more than anything – it’s pretty great.

  30. JoBo S
    April 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 am

    Robin has an amazing talent to just get up and start doing stand-up unplanned. Always very funny.

    In reading what some wrote about the media being controled by the government and such I think it has more to do with entertainment. Sure all governments will sway thier media groups to put themselves in a positive light and others in the negitive. However Americans are so much into being entertained that they even need it in thier news broadcasts. That’s the reason why shows like Today, and the View are popular. They will report the news in an entertaining meathod. As a result of this what makes the “news” is chosen by how many/who will watch it.

    This is the demands Americans have created. Just something to think about.

  31. Rosi1
    April 3rd, 2008 at 10:49 am

    I think Robin Williams is really overrated to be honest.
    I understand that he’s good at just getting up on the spot and improvising, but most of the stuff he improvises just isn’t that funny. And I find it hard to understand how he can believe that just putting on a funny voice and saying stuff constitutes humour.
    Also there’s a BBC America? That kind of goes against the name (BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation),doesn’t it?

  32. Pol x
    April 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 am

    Rosi

    the BBC America thing is really the BBC’s American section.

    There’s BBC World too.

    It all sort of stems from the BBC World Service, which dates back to when we had an Empire (adjusts monocle and pith helmet.

    You can still listen to the world service.

    BBC dot co dot uk and follow the links at the top for tv ot radio.

    In the UK we call the BBC Auntie Beeb,The Beeb or just Auntie.

    We’re rather attached to the old girl.

  33. Jaycatt
    April 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    Robin Williams is the reality TV comedian. I guess I prefer scripted dialog over improv.

  34. Evil Pundit
    April 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    Pol x:

    Deluded.

  35. N
    April 4th, 2008 at 2:55 am

    He was hilarious in the 80’s, the guy has real acting ability, The Fisher King movie was genius, it’s a shame he’s not in better films than trash like the RV movie, not his fault I’m sure, Hollywood is shit for anything decent, most movies today are bottom of the barrel crap.

  36. james h
    April 4th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    The BBC is not controlled by the government (much to the goverment’s annoyance).

    Most people in Britain are extremely proud of it, especially when compared to something like say, off the top of my head, Fox news.

  37. firithlotiel
    April 4th, 2008 at 11:23 pm

    thats soooo awesome.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Stay updated on the comments with Comment RSS