QI: Difference between revisions

[[BBC 2]] comedy [[Panel Show]]. Debuted in 2003 and soon to be filming its tenth series. Each series [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming|is named for a letter]] of the alphabet and the topics for each episode [[Alphabetical Theme Naming|begin with that letter]] ("J" being the theme for the upcoming season).

 

 

Fry asks questions on the topic of the week -- the first few series had no specific theme per week, and their episode titles have been applied retroactively; it was not until Series D that the "topic of the week" really came to the fore. The guiding principle, as indicated by the show's name, is that knowledge should be interesting, and a sufficiently interesting answer will be awarded points even if it's completely wrong. Conversely, an answer that is both incorrect and uninteresting (i.e., if it's the answer anybody would have given) will cause a klaxon to sound and the contestant will ''lose'' points. There are, consequently, two types of question in ''QI'': [[Unexpectedly Obscure Answer|obscure]] questions that give the contestants an opportunity to make interesting guesses before Fry reveals the real answer, and questions whose answers seem [[Schmuck Bait|obvious]] but are not, such as "[[Obvious Trap|How many moons does the Earth have?]]". Davies is the [[Butt Monkey|butt]] of a lot of the jokes on the show ([[The Last of These Is Not Like the Others|last on the introductions and getting a funny comment]], last on the buzzer sounds and getting a corny buzzer sound, being more likely than the others to [[Genre Blindness|get the klaxon]] and usually coming last, although he has the record for most show wins), and acts as a sort of foil for the concept by getting the more obvious answers (i.e. the ones the audiences at home are likely hollering at the TV) out into the open to be trounced.

=== This show contains examples of: ===

* [[Accidental Pun]]

{{quote| '''Stephen''': Where might you run into the world's biggest drip?<ref>i.e. someone who is weak or cowardly</ref><br />

'''Alan''': Oi!<br />

'''Stephen''': No! }}

{{quote| '''Stephen''': Who the hell is that?}}

** When [[David Tennant]] appeared on the show and was gesturing with his pen, the other contestants asked if it was his [[Doctor Who|sonic screwdriver]] and made sound effects for it.

{{quote| '''Alan''': I'm not actually Jonathan Creek, I just look quite a lot like him.}}

** And of course, when Daniel Radcliffe guest-starred, they made the whole episode about "Hocus-Pocus" and made quite a few references to [[Harry Potter]]. As Daniel had apparently done some research into real-life tricks and the history thereof, the net effect was to rig the game in Radcliffe's favor.

*** [[It Makes Sense in Context|And then he was decapitated]], so fair's fair...

** A [[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]]-style identity parade occurred when Phill Jupitus was on the panel in the episode "Indecision".

** Whenever Jeremy Clarkson is on the program, expect at least one reference to or question about cars and motor vehicles, if not a direct reference to ''[[Top Gear]]'' itself.

* [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]]: Alan, frequently, but there's also Stephen's example of something not to say in answer to the interview question "what is your greatest weakness" - "I just can't conce- oh look, a squirrel!"

* [["BANG!" Flag Gun]]: Used as props in the "Games" episode, during a question about applying game theory to a three-way duel.

{{quote| '''Alan''' (''imitating Stephen''): Have him scrubbed and brought to my room.<br />

'''Stephen''': Actually, [[Homoerotic Subtext|don't bother to have him scrubbed.]] }}

'''[[David Tennant]]''': Oh, that was a Scottish accent? }}

*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AQafwx3h7A "I've got to say, Stephen, it's been a bewildering array of Scottish accents!"]

{{quote| '''Jack Dee''': It's just one final chance to be a bloody nuisance to everyone, isn't it? "I want to be buried in a 15-foot fish." Oh yeah, great. That's so easy to achieve. You've always been a pain when you're alive, and now you're dead you're worse.}}

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Alan Davies. Notable are when he got a forfeit for his answer to "How do you do?" and the time'''s''' Stephen ''[[Comedic Sociopathy|hooked his buzzer to the klaxon]]''.

** A case can be made for Stephen's "good evening good evening good evening..." spiel, his "and I use the word <x> quite wrongly", "Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear" or a loud cry of "Ohhhhhh!" in response to the buzzer, or Alan guessing the blue whale.

*** ''"Blue Whale!"'' '''(''{{spoiler|KLAXON}}'')'''

{{quote| '''Phill Jupitus''': [''as Stephen''] "What one's the odd one out? None of them! Baa. Baa. Baaaa."<br />

'''Stephen''': Hey. Is that me?<br />

{{quote| '''Alan Davies''': The red squirrel can't live with the grey squirrel.<br />

'''Stephen Fry''': Ebony and ivory are together on my piano key... board, so why can't they be?<br />

'''Rob Brydon''': That's barbaric. Are you saying you want pianos clad in the pelt of a squirrel? }}

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Rich Hall still resents the "How many moons does the Earth have?" (Two) question from Series A and has made reference to it as late as Series I: "Which moon are we ''talkin''' about?" It is unsure as to whether he will continue with it as he received a forfeit for it. See [[Brick Joke]] above.

{{quote| '''Alan''': It's all the [[Doctor Who|time-traveling]] he does, he knows something about every era.<br />

'''Stephen''': (''cough'')He'sacting. }}

* [[Crazy Cultural Comparison]]: Occasionally when [[Eagle Land|Rich Hall or Reginald Hunter]] is on. In the Series D [[Children in Need]] special, subjects in the second half of the episode included ''[[The Clangers]]'' and Oliver Postgate; Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men; the [[Ear Worm|"Crazy Frog"]] [[Memetic Mutation|ringtone]]; [[British Accents|Newcastle accents]]; and [[Eurovision Song Contest|Terry Wogan]]. Right before the end, Rich, having been silent for about ten minutes, buzzed in just to say, "Ever since the Clangers I've been lost. The last picture I recognized was the KKK, and that's pretty sad."

* [[Creator Cameo]]: John Lloyd, the show's creator and original producer, made an appearance on the panel for the 100th-Episode Special in Series H.

'''Rich''': (''buzz'') A [[wikipedia:The Pentagon|Pentagon.]] }}

*** Oddly enough, he was in the right area as the answer turned out to be {{spoiler|Congress.}}

** David Mitchell snarks a lot, too.

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]:

{{quote| '''Stephen''': [''trying to get his attention''] Sean... Sean. Sean, you're not alone; there are people here.<br />

'''Alan''': You're saying it out loud, you're not thinking it. }}

* [[Dirty Old Man]]: In "H-Anatomy", Gyles Brandreth kept coming up with excuses to take Sue Perkins' hand, by "demonstrating" various ways to shake hands etc. She quickly grew both irritated and creeped out by it.

** Irritated and creeped out being the default emotion usually associated with spending time in Brandreth's vicinity...

{{quote| '''Stephen:''' 'Eyyy, no, no, when ''I'' said "eye," I meant "e-y-e," and ''you'' thought, possibly for comic effect, but if so, ''disastrously'', that I was saying "I," and that wasn't what was happening at ''all''! It was completely something else! It was one of those laughable misunderstandings! [[Dissimile|And I use the word "laughable" quite wrongly.]] So, erm, anyway...}}

* [[Don't Try This At Home]]:

** In the Series E episode on Electricity, Stephen attempted to give this warning after demonstrating that gherkins glow when a large electric current is passed through them, but went off on a tangent and ended up saying that you should live your own life and not do things (or avoid doing things) just because some person on the TV told you to.

** Inverted when discussing custard as a non-Newtonian fluid.

** Series H ("Health & Safety") revealed the unexpected comic potential of [[The Smart Guy|David Mitchell]] and [[Cloudcuckoolander|Ross Noble]].

* [[For Doom the Bell Tolls]]: An ominous tolling bell was added to the opening music of the "Gothic" episode.

** Played with in the Series I Christmas episode "Ice": After eating some ice cream, [[Genre Savvy|which they speculate might be made from breast milk]], the panel is told that it's fox testicle ice cream... and they continue to eat it. Then, when they're told that it's not actually made from fox testicles, Ross Noble feigns disgust.

* [[For Inconvenience Press One]]: Alan's buzzer in "Infantile".

* [[Golden Snitch]]: A few episodes have had certain questions or challenges that would give 100 or even 200 points if done correctly. Two series had recurring bonuses -- Series E had the "Elephant In The Room" bonus where at least one question per show would involve an elephant in some way that the panelists had to point out, while in Series F Stephen had a bonus "fanfare" which he would award to particularly interesting answers.

** Inverted by giving certain "obvious but wrong" answers which are deemed incredibly stupid; answering "carbon dioxide" to the question "What is the main ingredient of air?" would have given a deduction of 3,000 points.

** A discussion on the most famous person to have been beaten by a machine at chess led to the statement "Jesus plays chess", which Danny Baker thought would be a good name for an indie band.

** Stephen thinks that the "Pacific Trash Vortex" sounds like a grunge band.

{{quote| '''Stephen''': Flobbadob actually means flowerpot in Oddlepoddle. (''beat'') I ''cannot believe'' I just said that.}}

** Also a common response to his many [[That Came Out Wrong|That Came Out Wrongs]].

{{quote| '''Alan:''' What happened to [[MI 5|MIs 1, 2, 3 and 4]]?<br />

'''Stephen Fry:''' Well it's very interesting, I could tell you, but then I'd have to [[Subverted Trope|eat myself]]. }}

* [[Nintendo Hard]]: It's explicitly stated that the guests are not expected to know the answers to any of the questions.

** Although sometimes someone will know, and sometimes they won't know the answer but will know some sort of interesting relevant information. See [[Smart Ball]], below.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: When Stephen mentions in episode C01 that he would love to finally get some fanmail:

{{quote| '''Stephen:''' Apart from the, um...well you know who you are, don't you? ''[beat]'' And, I tried it, and it was a disaster.}}

* [[Nutty Squirrel]]: the Carnival episode.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Several guests such as Johnny Vegas, Lee Mack and Robert Webb have played with the format of the show by being as obtuse as possible, usually just to drive Stephen up the wall and derail the show. More to the point, this is how Alan Davies fulfills his role of [[The Fool]] on a consistent basis. When he wised up to his situation in series D, he started playing seriously and actually won four episodes in a row. But as his buffoonery is a cornerstone of the show's popularity, he was soon set straight.

** Even more brutally subverted--or perhaps even inverted--when David Mitchell gave "After 1939" as an answer to "When was the first World War named as such?" After the forfeit "1939" came up, David tried to argue his case, since he'd said "''after'' 1939"...eventually resulting in him getting ''two more forfeits'' in addition to the first. See [[Rage Against the Author]] below.

* [[Off the Rails]]: ''All the time'', but only because it's usually the game's entire point. Sometimes, it doesn't just go off the rails but upside down, in a ditch, and on fire. Notably, in the "Gardens" episode when Stephen asks about the best place to find a new species, which somehow led to an "interesting, fierce, [[Sarcasm Mode|and, I think, productive]]" debate on [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|what to do with a starving honeybee.]]

* [[One of Us]]: Jonathan Ross is a comic book fan, which gave him a chance to do a lengthy [[Motor Mouth]] gag in the Series D [[Children in Need]] episode about the origins of [[Wonder Woman]], the [[Triang Relations|private life]] of William Moulton Marston, and the evolution of [[EC Comics]] and its subsequent demise at the hands of the [[Comics Code]] Authority (albeit with a repetition of the myth that the word "FLICK" was banned in case it looked like "FUCK").

{{quote| '''Stephen''': Fabulous. I love that. That is brilliant. And to think that almost everyone I know thinks you're a coarse, vain, loudmouthed...}}

** Phill Jupitus once wore a [[Futurama|Planet Express]] shirt.

** The XL version of "Green" features a lengthy discussion about assorted comic book superheroes.

** Rich Hall apparently watches [[Myth Busters]].

*** As do the reasearchers. Several myths explored on that show have come up as questions (such as what happens when you drop a bullet and simultaneously fire another horizontally from the same height).

** In one of the [[Hilarious Outtakes|outtakes]] from Series 1, Stephen turns a fluffed line into a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]]:

{{quote| '''Stephen''': Piss and arse and wank!}}

{{quote| '''Stephen:''' I'm talking about Neptune and Uranus. ''(looks at audience.)'' [[Uranus Is Showing|No.]] ''No.''}}

* [[Psmith Psyndrome]]: The very first penalty of the series, in the pilot. Alan guesses that Adolf is the 6th most popular boy's name in Germany, and Stephen holds up a card that says [[Did Not Do the Research|Adolph]], claiming the intern didn't fact-check the spelling. Alan then tries to claim he shouldn't be penalized because he pronounced it with an F. Stephen relents and reduces the forfeit to 8 points.

* [[Psycho Strings]]: The forfeit for the "[[Symbol Swearing|F*#@]]" forfeit in "Fingers and Fumbs" was accompanied by its own sound effect featuring these, rather than the usual klaxon.

'''Stephen''': No, when I say, that takes me back a bit ''(franticly trying to speak over the audience laughter)'' I don't mean there was a time...! ''(resigned look)'' It's all gone wrong. }}

* [[Thing-O-Meter]]: The 'Pleasure Gauge' in the episode on Happiness.

* [[Too Dumb to Fool]]: As the panelists get more [[Genre Savvy]] and double bluffs become more common, Alan Davies has been earning points by plunging in with the obvious answer while the others sit back and try to decide what the writers are ''really'' asking.

* [[Toilet Humour]]: Often supplied by Sean Lock.