It shouldn't have been so. The chairman was great, the contributors pretty tops, the scripts, format and general concept of the show perfectly fine. But somewhere along the line something went badly wrong. SOTCAA attended every recording session and invariably sat fuming and fretting during the edited broadcast the following week at blatantly wrong editing decisions. Ultimately the fault lies with a general malaise in production and attitude, a malaise which shows no signs of abating just yet. But, to give a name to our pain, we've decided to blame it all on one individual - the producer Adam Bromley.

The Motion Show was Bromley's first major producing job following a stint as 'associate producer' (ie, opening letters and checking there was enough beer in the fridge) on Dead Ringers. It will not be his last. He is, like all trainee, trainer-wearing producers, 'working his way up': he has currently got his hands on The Now Show, and will - if he's like any other radio producer who has ever lived - undoubtedly use this as a stepping stone to a career in television.

Nothing wrong with this, of course. After all, Armando Iannucci, the best radio producer in the world, tape-splicer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, On the Hour and Knowing Me Knowing You, did exactly this. And he made a fine life for himself. So, once again, the SOTCAA radio snobs lay into someone for having the gall to progress beyond radio panel game purgatory. What's the problem?

Well, there is a very clear difference between Iannucci and Bromley. Iannucci, rather than being driven purely by the desire to go onto 'better things', took fatherly pride in the radio projects he devised and nurtured, seeing them as great and worthwhile things on their own terms. As a result, they were exactly that. Bromley, in contrast, seems simply to be fulfilling the terms of his apprenticeship - biding his time, building up his CV, whistling a merry tune (or more likely a really dull one) until something more lucrative comes along.

And Iannucci could edit, of course. Or rather, he understood what editing was. BBC training courses may teach you many things, but nothing will replace the 'university of life' approach to tape splicing at which Iannucci was visiting professor - ie, the practice of loving radio comedy all your life and possessing an innate understanding of what makes it tick. Bromley doesn't seem to get this at all; as far as he's concerned, editing is about what Sir taught us in Module 6 - cutting out anything which inteferes with the show's format (namely, fluffs, no matter how amusing they may be, and naughty ad libs, which are just too much like hard work). Tidiness is where it's at.

And this is the problem - it's one of vanity. Iannucci rightly cared more about the programmes he worked on than his own standing as a producer - hence, mistakes were left in if they were funny or intriguing to the listener. During his stint on Mary Whitehouse, he even occasionally left visual jokes in the edit simply because he had enough trust in the intelligence of the listening audience to understand and even enjoy pondering on what was occurring onstage. One particular burst of delighted, inexplicable laughter was followed by Rob Newman imploring "It would take too long to explain, listeners..."

Bromley, however, seems worried that if he takes the same approach, he will be seen as - at best - eccentric, and - at worst - unprofessional. You may remember Sarah Smith and the 'ladder' incident, as detailed in Lee & Herring: Edit News. Or Sarah Smith, again, sacking Richard Herring from The 99p Challenge because his messy material, although very funny, was too difficult to edit. Exactly the same mentality.

You may also remember Dave Gorman on the SOTCAA forum last summer berating us for not understanding why things are edited out - failing to understand that we were in fact arguing that it is the very incongruity of certain lines (lines which, in a more narrative comedy, would have been unusable asides) which makes them fantastic, and thus prime targets for inclusion.

Ironically, meanwhile, Bromley constantly leaves stuff in he should have left out - fluffs which aren't amusing, people saying the same thing twice, lines which could easily have been re-taken but aren't. Incredibly lazy, especially considering that Bromley is clicking away at some Cool Edit Pro package, while Armando Iannucci, who had the old razor blades/chinograph pencil set-up, could produce edits that were so clean you could eat your dinner off them.

Listening to the edited Motion Shows, one concludes that Bromley really has little understanding of what makes a radio show work. A good producer, after all, recognises that an audience-based radio show is a representation of an evening of amusement, a 'best of' by any other name. We fondly remember an old Radio 5 panel game called Mike's Secret Mic, for example, where one 'round' consisted of playing the best bits from the pre-show sound checks. Brilliant! It was part of the show as far as the audience was concerned, so why not include it in the broadcast? A show has to have a structure, of course, but the structure should never dictate the terms of the comedy itself. Certainly on panel shows where (a) ad libbing maketh the man, and (b) nobody actually cares who wins. Bromley, however, is a veritable master at taking 70 minutes of great comedy material and turning it into yet another boring R4 panel game.

But why? Why are there so many people who, despite having the best job in the world (after all, editing Steve Punt, let alone Graeme Garden, is something no one has any right to do - not for money, anyway) so seemingly ungrateful that they simply want to make life easier for themselves? How many of today's producers for example bother to take their rushes home with them and make copious margin-notes before getting their mouse out? (Or is there some tedious union reason which dictates that all editing must be done on BBC time? If so, shame on them for not having the bottle to ignore such a ruling.) Do they not want to create a body of work that's fantastic? Or do they assume - depressingly correctly - that the material they work on is ephemeral and therefore not worth taking so much time over? It came as no surprise that, at one Motion Show recording, Bromley decided to scrap the final round and finish the recording earlier than scheduled. This potential round could conceivably have yielded the best material of the evening, but nah...there'll be enough in the can, and anyway there was a football match on. At another recording, keen to get the re-takes over and done with interrupted a stream of joyous footwear-related jokes with a squawky 'Stop doing shoe-puns!'. He may well have shouted 'Stop doing comedy!' Later that evening, Bromley was spotted in the pub talking to Motion Show devisor Bill Dare about how to approach The Now Show. "Basically, as long as it's topical, that's all that matters," he was heard to advise.)

So here's the proof of the pudding. We've picked, as an example, the episode in the recent series that had a really terrific recording session, yet was edited into a shadowy travesty of its potential glory. Our friends at R4 gave us a tape, which we've compared with Bromley's terse edit.

And we should point out, before Dave Gorman gets annoyed again, that we are aware R4 comedy shows have to be edited down to 28 minutes, and Bromley couldn't possibly have included all the below examples in the edit. But we're not saying that. Certainly, it wouldn't be advisable to include all the visual jokes just for the sake of making a point about the ridiculousness of radio. But our point is that Bromley included none of them and delivered a lacklustre radio show as a consequence. By sacrificing some of the weaker scripted material and reinstating some of the banter reproduced here, Bromley could have produced a comedy show of which he, and genuine comedy fans, would be rightly proud.

1. Each edition of The Motion Show features a 'practice debate' by way of a warm-up. In an ideal radio comedy world, these sessions would not only be recorded but also included, pre-sig tune, in the edit. Especially on this occasion, where Garden's "Time for music!" cue would have cut so beautifully into the theme tune:

	GARDEN Let's have a debate just to warm up...a practice-debate. Any ideas in the audience for a topic? AUDIENCE MEMBER Horse racing. GARDEN What about it? ECLAIR I once rode a donkey on a donkey derby at Blackpool, and it had a nose bleed. I think I might have kicked it in the head. But only because I wanted to win. MACONIE Did you know that more people are kicked to death by donkeys than die in plane accidents? ECLAIR I was only trying to get my own back. MACONIE So that's more horse fighting than horse racing... ECLAIR I like horse fighting! GARDEN Whatever you do, don't get in a plane with her... DENNIS You're not allowed to have horses on planes, are you? Unless they're drugged. PROOPS Unless they fit in the overhead bin. DENNIS It might be quite useful if you did crash, and you had a horse to clutch onto. Just hold onto the horse, and the horse would...swim. ECLAIR No, the horse would panic and cut your face with its hooves. DENNIS Well, you'd get special horse-shoes that were like flippers. MACONIE Are they made out of that polystyrene stuff that the floats are made out of at the baths? DENNIS I always think it's cruel giving horses metal shoes anyway. They ought to have... MACONIE Suedette? DENNIS They ought to have Nike Air...horse shoes. PROOPS I say let them race. And I don't think you should organise it, I think you should just let horses do it on their own. There'd be a lot more freedom involved. And then you could let other horses bet on them. As for horse fighting, I completely agree with that...and horse swimming beforehand, so they're wet, much like mud-wrestlers. You'll find the horses are sexier when they're wet. GARDEN You could have a wet saddle contest. PROOPS You've been to my house?! GARDEN While we're in this mood, shall we do the show? TEAMS Yeah! GARDEN Time for music! The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

2. Garden's first - of two - fluffs "'and in...it's time for our first debate") was left in.

3. This link was cut:

	GARDEN But first, I'd like to read out this letter. It says 'Dear Graeme...(Audible raised eyebrow)... Why oh why oh why do you insist on reading out listeners' letters when the show is recorded weeks ahead so they couldn't possibly have heard it and written in. Also, they always have some ridiculous made-up animal name like Mick Sparrow or Amanda Hamster. It's stupid. Yours sincerely, Elsie Badger.' Thanks to that observant listener with ears like a...um...badger. Oop, hello, I forgot to read the PS. 'PS, They also couldn't write a PS that referred to something you just said. Like talking about me having ears like a badger.' I think she's trying to tell us it's time for the first debate... The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

4. Bromley cut a line in Dennis' routine about manners where he talked about how you should never to turn your back on the Queen ("in case she nicks something"), which could have allowed the following to be left in:

5. Stuart Maconie is reading his speeches from a laptop because his printer broke down earlier in the day. There were a few references to this throughout the show, all cut because Bromley assumed the audience would be too stupid to enjoy pondering on Maconie's predicament:

	DENNIS (As Maconie approaches the podium) Can I help you with your laptop? MACONIE No, and don't turn your back on me. DENNIS What? MACONIE That was a very ill-advised back reference to your Queen joke, sorry... The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

5. This interjection was cut:

	MACONIE Let's look back in the past and see some of the great people in history whose reputations were founded on manners. Sir Walter Raleigh... DENNIS This is radio - you can't see the great people in history, you can merely hear them. In fact, you can't even hear them. Because they're in the past, before the radio was invented. MACONIE You have to develop a mind's eye... DENNIS (Pointing to himself) Eighteen years in full-time education. The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

7. Deviations in Maconie's routine were snipped - a bit where he started listing different hats ("I must have done a minute by now...oh, wrong programme") and a stream-of-consciousness parody of pub conversations about Big Brother.

8. Jenny's yoga demonstration was cut. "Great radio!", quipped Garden...which it would have been.

9. This exchange was gone:

	PROOPS I think I'd say that manners don't exist as we know...knew them. Sorry, I'm having a tense problem. I've confused myself now. 'Shut up, Greg!' 'No, you shut up!' I think I agree with Stuart more. GARDEN And who does Greg agree with? PROOPS Myself. Greg's gotta do what's right for Greg. The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

10. An amusing anecdote about Maconie joining a queue at Blackpool Station and finding it to be completely circular was cut.

11. Garden's second fluff on his "Would you do that at home? There's a man in the third row washing up..." joke was left in.

12. A nice interchange about Proops getting plural / singular confused (when talking about drug dealers' houses) was removed, as was this:

	PROOPS There are things you can avoid in the fast lane - like exercise and self improvement. (Silence from audience) And of course laughs at the end of sentences. The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

13. Unforgivably, the funniest thing the laptop-wielding Maconie's ever said in his life was removed:

	MACONIE Let me take you on a voyage of discovery...he said, as his screen saver came on... The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

The above deservedly received a huge laugh from the audience. A little more time and effort (and a completely different attitude to creating comedy) on the part of Bromley and the radio audience could have laughed too.

14. Maconie says "hand single for onanist", rather than "signal"; it is not re-taken.

15. Another derivation from Maconie (this time an Alan Bennett parody about Toast Toppers) was removed, despite setting up a later back reference.

16. Eclair's plea for a fake laugh to placed after her "I learned to drive watching The Sweeney" line was cut.

17. Garden asks "Who's got the edge, do you think?"; Maconie says "U2" and immediately apologises. Eclair asks "Have you been injecting Toast Toppers again?"

18. Dennis quotes Steve Punt: "I don't like being in the fast lane - I prefer life in the contraflow system behind the gritting lorry". Cut.

19. This whole fantastic ad libbed section was edited out:

	MACONIE I once interviewed Iggy Pop for the NME, and I remember asking him if it was alright if I lit up a cigarette. And he just looked at me as if to say 'I'm Iggy Pop!'. DENNIS Didn't he used to cover his nob in peanut butter and get the audience to lick it off? Wasn't that what he did? MACONIE No, you're thinking of Daniel O'Donnell. DENNIS Oh. I mean, if you're gonna cover yourself in peanut butter you've got to be absolutely sure it's smooth peanut butter. Because if people think that it's crunchy, you're in trouble. ECLAIR You know a good use for peanut butter? If you... DENNIS Put it on toast, I find that's a good use... ECLAIR No, this is true...if you get chewing gum caught in your pubic hair, the only way to get it out is with peanut butter. I promise you that is true - (to audience) why are you laughing so much?! MACONIE No, that is true - Iggy Pop told me. PROOPS (Referring back to his speech about life in the fast lane) Yeah, he told me that in the shower this morning. Although with Iggy Pop's hair, you have to remove it with almond butter. Cos his tastes are so jaded. GARDEN A vote. All those who prefer peanut butter...no, hang on... DENNIS I used to remember an advert that went (Sings) 'Sunpat peanut butter for the whole brigade'. It'd be much better if it had gone 'Sunpat peanut butter if you've got Orbit in yer pubis'. Did you know I used to work in marketing? The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

20. Eclair persistently fluffs the line "staying in four-star hotels", saying "four-ha stotels" each time. Would have been worth keeping in, for these two remarks:

	PROOPS May I ask a question - are you, by any chance, in the mix? DENNIS A 'four-ha stotel' would be fantastic. For stoats. The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

21. The lights dim unexpectedly. Proops makes a joke about the hamster that runs the BBC. Cut.

22. Proops complains that the milk the producer sent out for earlier has still not arrived. This was left in, but sadly the later back reference wasn't. Here is what was said after the post-credits applause (following a debate on "working too hard"):

	DENNIS Don't you just think that the sheer number of names in that credit roll suggests that we don't work too hard? GARDEN Yes. Says me, reading them out... DENNIS Four thousand people at the BBC, fifteen seconds work a day. BEAT PROOPS WHERE'S THE MILK? The Motion Show Series 2, Show 4, 21/06/01, BBC Radio 4 (session extract 18/06/01)

...would have sounded lovely with a nice fade-out after this line, but no. Other possible inclusions were Dennis saying (after a third attempt to record the credits) "Please feel at liberty to leave my name off if you like" and Garden's response to a visual joke (which we can't remember) saying "You had to be there".

So there you are. All those who oppose the motion 'Adam Bromley should remain in work', say nay...