Room 101: Ross Noble

Room 101: Ross Noble
Channel Four
1 December, 2003
Talk Show
DVD
B-

Despite his dislike of cats, I mostly enjoyed the Geordie comic's interactions with Paul here.  He has a high success rate of banishment, ironically his only failure to get into the Room being his objection to people who look like cats.

Room 101: Julian Clary

Room 101: Julian Clary
Channel Four
10 September 1999
Talk Show
DVD
C+

Although this has its moments, like Julian telling Paul, "You're wasted in the heterosexual world," I would expect something better from two comedians who had worked together for so long.  This was, incidentally, the final episode of the fourth series, the first Room 101 series to be hosted by Merton.

Room 101: Caroline Quentin

Room 101: Caroline Quentin
Channel Four
15 September 1995
Talk Show
DVD
B

I was going to go with a B- on this, but the closing clip of a horribly choreographed '60s rendition of "Dancing in the Streets" bumped it up.  Poor Caroline gets only one item (rats) into the Room, but it is interesting to know that she was in the chorus of the first cast of Les Miserables, and that her then hubby Paul Merton was bad at gift-giving.  (The Teasmade does not make it into the Room either, but it is nice to finally see one after Tony Slattery referred to the product on an early Whose Line Is It Anyway? episode.)

Room 101: Tony Slattery

Room 101: Tony Slattery
Channel Four
8 August 1994
Talk Show
DVD
B

Host Nick Hancock has celebrities bring in a list of pet peeves that might be banished to the title location (a 1984 reference).  Tony fails to get his bad '80s soap Gems in there but does manage Snoopy and a couple other peeves.  This episode is laugh out loud funny, but I of course didn't get every reference, so B is as high as I can go.  Contains an adorable photo of "mean, moody, and magnificent" Tony at 16.  (Note, I would've reviewed this sooner but I was thinking all my Room 101 episodes were from the later Paul Merton era.  Obviously it would've been interesting to see Paul and Tony reunite but it was not to be.)