19 DECEMBER 1987, Page 58

Evil show

Sir: I can't have been the only one put off by the bullying tone of Michael Ignatieff's letter (5 December). Wendy Cope is doing her job properly (his petulant italics, not mine), in that she writes the most consis- tently entertaining television column since Clive James defected to the other side of the screen. One of her particular strengths is puncturing the delusions and self- importance of an industry which is apparently quite happy with the use of a word like 'show' in the supposedly serious context of intellectual debate. The Python team scored direct hits with more than just the 'Is There?' sketch. Will Ignatieff's `show' on Evil include Satan being asked who won the FA Cup in 1927?

Mark Jameson

34 Poplar Road, Botley, Oxford