...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
QI
- 1758 statements
- 343 feature instances
- 245 referencing feature instances
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BBC2 comedy Panel Show. Debuted in 2003 and has aired 20 complete series as of 2023. Each series is named for a letter of the alphabet and the topics for all the episodes within a series begin with that letter.Standing for "Quite Interesting", the show was originally hosted by Stephen Fry and features a group of four panelists, one of whom is always Alan Davies of Jonathan Creek fame; starting in Series N, Fry left the show and was replaced by recurring panelist Sandi Toksvig (currently also hosting the revival of the quiz show Fifteen to One). The other panelists vary from week to week, but a number of recurring guests have appeared over the years. The pool of frequent guests has changed over time, but currently includes Aisling Bea, Jo Brand, Jimmy Carr, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Phill Jupitus, Cariad Lloyd, Jason Manford, Sarah Millican, David Mitchell, Sara Pascoe, Holly Walsh, and Josh Widdicombe. While the panel is mainly composed of comedians, famous names in other fields have turned up, such as Sir Terry Wogan, John Hodgman, BRIAN BLESSED, Greg Proops, David Tennant, Daniel Radcliffe, Dr. Ben Goldacre, Corey "The Great Big Mouth" Taylor, and Carrie Fisher.The host 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 forfeit 10 points, with a few exceptions (for example, Fry stated that claiming carbon dioxide makes up most of the air we breathe would have cost 3000 points). There are, consequently, two major types of question in QI: obscure questions that give the contestants an opportunity to make interesting guesses before the host reveals the real answer, and questions whose answers seem obvious but are not, such as "How many moons does the Earth have?". As panelists have been getting wise to the latter type of question, there has arisen a third type of question: the "double bluff", where the seemingly-obvious answer actually is the correct one, though not always for the reasons one would expect. Forfeits are also occasionally given for obvious jokes (such as Danny Baker being klaxoned in the very first episode for making a "New Balls, please" joke in response to an aside from Fry about a man being killed on a tennis court as a result of a botched castration) and for certain episode-specific rules (such as a "Don't Mention The War" rule in "Germany").Davies is the butt of a lot of the jokes on the show (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 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.As with all good Panel Shows the points are almost entirely irrelevant and merely provide the Framing Device for the comedy. The researchers, known as the "QI Elves", nonetheless check that everything is as correct as it can be, often sending messages to the host about things they've discovered while the programme is recording (especially if the guests have sent things onto a very distant tangent to what the question was actually about, which happens quite often). Sometimes, the Elves come up with new klaxon forfeits on the spot per Rule of Funny as the panelists go so far off script to inject even more chaos and comedy. On more than one occasion a panelist has forfeited points for a statement they made in a previous series which has since proven to be incorrect.This show can lead to some amusing tangents. It's also very educational. One of the interesting things is how much comedians turn out to know about obscure subjects — for instance, Rory McGrath spouting the Latin names of birds, or Vic Reeves turning out to be an expert on pirates. Also, this is a post-Watershed show and things have a tendency to get very "naughty" very quickly.Some series have a once-(or twice)-an-episode feature with a name linked to the series letter. These have included: | |
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Can't Believe I Said That | |
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Can't Believe I Said That: Stephen apologising for misidentifying the "language" the Flowerpot Men speak (which was Oddlepoddle, not flobbadob). | |
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Creator Cameo | |
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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. | |
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Pizza Boy Special Delivery | |
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Pizza Boy Special Delivery: Invoked when the panel was discussing the problems of sex in space. Bill Bailey and Alan started musing about what a porno set in space would be like: | |
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The Artifact | |
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The Artifact: The buzzers for each panellist are only ever properly used in the "General Ignorance" round, or if they're otherwise prompted to specifically use their buzzers. In most cases, panellists will usually shout out the answer to Stephen / Sandi instead. In earlier series, the buzzer saw much more frequent use. | |
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Heroic BSoD | |
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Heroic BSoD: In Geometry, Stephen explains that the pillars of the Parthenon look straight because they are straight. But poor Johnny Vegas. Poor, poor Johnny Vegas: Phil Jupitus collapsed in despair in "Kris Kringle" after Brendan O'Carroll suggested that Santa Claus isn't real. Stephen managed to mollify him by pointing out that the klaxon went off because Brendan was wrong. Incidentally, the answer to the question at hand (why Forbes removed Santa Claus from their list of the richest fictional people) was that Santa Claus is, in fact, real. | |
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Trailers Always Spoil | |
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Series "M": "Magic Trick" - Stephen Fry performs a difficult magic trick on the rest of the panel. This culminated in him receiving a membership to the Magic Circle at the end of episode M08, "Merriment." Ironically, most of the tricks shown in the subsequent montage hadn't actually aired yet, as "Merriment" was shot towards the end of the series but shown earlier (out of necessity as it was that year's Christmas Episode). | |
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Non Sequitur | |
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Non Sequitur: Occasionally done with the buzzers, particularly in the first few series where the episodes had no specific theme; in "Birds", the first three buzzers are all various birds, and Alan's is a jingle that repeats the word "fruity" over and over again. | |
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HilarityEnsues | |
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Hilarity Ensues: "They say of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is..." | |
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Your Mom | |
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Your Mom: | |
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Hitler Ate Sugar | |
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Hitler Ate Sugar: Discussed as a common result of Godwin's Law. As Stephen argues, claiming that things Hitler liked or disliked are automatically bad or good is "a mad argument", whether it be fox-hunting or wearing long socks. | |
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Genre Savvy | |
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Genre Savvy: Witness any moment when Stephen Fry asks a seemingly straightforward question... only for an awkward pause to ensue as no one wants to give the obvious answer because they think it's a trap. By the by, apparently it's a shelled slug. Also, players comment on how the obvious answer is often the wrong answer. A related phenomenon is people spotting the trap, but giving the wrong answer anyway, just to get it out of the way: Sue Perkins is particularly fond of doing this. Also, it's not unknown for people to give a "wrong" answer, expecting the klaxon, only to find out their answer is the correct one. In the Series G episode "Greats", Sean Lock deliberately gave an answer he knows cannot possibly be correct (or rather, not obvious-but-wrong, but unobvious and definitely wrong) to avoid setting off the klaxon. The contestants themselves wonder how far they need to take this trope, as one Series G episode had Stephen asking the team how old they were. Cue silence and an exasperated Dara Ó Briain wondering how the obvious answer could possibly be wrong. The correct answer, by the way, is between seven and ten years, as the body's cells are in a state of constant regeneration. Defied to hell and back by Robert Webb in "Hypnosis, Hallucinations and Hysteria", where he repeatedly trips the klaxon with utterly delighted childish glee. A contestant who's already taken a number of forfeits may also defy this if they feel they have nothing else to lose. Jo Brand has, in a couple of episodes, given answers specifically to trigger the klaxon after racking up a huge negative score. In series H and onward, the contestants would sometimes spot the obvious answer, with one announcing that they'll take the hit and get it out of the way. The klaxon gets in on this when it starts predicting what the panelists will say if they've said the same thing a few times. Namely, Rich Hall triggering it by answering, "which moon are we talking about?", and Jo Brand triggering it by answering, "my husband" (a Running Gag through her whole career). The time she triggered it by saying "Michael Winner" (a Running Gag that episode) is not an example of the klaxon predicting contestant tendencies, however; the forfeits are set up before the episode begins. The reason it got triggered is that Winner had gotten food poisoning a few years back, and her answer that time was in reference to that incident. And sometimes, the panellists will question whether the question itself is valid. Sometimes, this will even be the case. In Series J, Stephen Fry started employing a rather evil trick of sneaking in these questions into nonchalant chats with the panellists: Using this, evil Alan manages to trick another contestant into a penalty. | |
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Artistic License – Biology | |
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Artistic License – Biology: There is no such thing as a fish. This confusion mainly arises from the differences between the closed taxonomic system pioneered by Linnaeus and the phylogenetic tree of life that was adopted in the wake of Darwin. A salmon and a hagfish are both classified as fish in the general culture (as well as culinary traditions), but evolutionarily speaking the salmon is more closely related to, for example, a giraffe, than it is to the hagfish. | |
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Title Drop | |
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Title Drop: Guests are occasionally driven to remark that a piece of information is "quite interesting". It is of course from this reaction that the show is named. | |
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Why We Can't Have Nice Things | |
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Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Stephen loves to show off historical artifacts, but has to be careful not to leave them with Alan unattended, because he will destroy them if given the chance. Eventually the museums and other sources of such items caught on and left "specific Alan-not-to-touch instructions". However, in the L Series Christmas Special, Stephen himself knocks over the world's oldest artificial Christmas tree. | |
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Incurable Cough of Death | |
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Incurable Cough of Death: Referenced in "Illness", where the buzzers are a man coughing, a man coughing more severely, an ambulance siren, and the funeral march. | |
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Victory Pose | |
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Victory Pose: Bill Bailey poses with his beloved pipe after winning a show in Series J. | |
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The Rival | |
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The Rival: Has what is now a two-way rivalry with Radio 4 panel show The Unbelievable Truth, which is also in the habit of discussing obscure, counter-intuitive facts because they're the easiest to convince people are lies. Both shows have disputed facts put forward by the other (both regarding monkeys): QI said that Descartes believed monkeys could talk, but TUT corrected that he merely reported (disdainfully) other people believing this; TUT went on to assert that the monkey wrench was invented by a Charles Moncky, with QI pointing out that it was already so-named before he was born. | |
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Non-Verbal Miscommunication | |
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Nonverbal Miscommunication: In "Organisms", Cariad Lloyd attempts to indicate "taking bribes" with a hand-gesture behind the back at waist level accompanied by a Not-So-Innocent Whistle. None of the others have any idea what her intended meaning is, with guesses ranging from the flatulent to the nakedly sexual. | |
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Heh Heh, You Said "X" | |
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Heh Heh, You Said "X": In "Jargon", the panel discussed the "ejaculations" in Sherlock Holmes, how Watson ejaculated twice as often as Holmes, an ejaculation once woke Watson up, Mrs. St. Clair's husband ejaculated from his second-floor window, and so on. | |
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Milking the Giant Cow | |
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Milking the Giant Cow: Phill Jupitus in "Hodge Podge". "EVOLUTIOOON!" | |
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Wrong Genre Savvy | |
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Wrong Genre Savvy: Once the panellists started getting wise to the Schmuck Bait questions, the producers began adding "double bluff" questions that looked like obvious traps, but where the most obvious answer turned out to be correct. Other times, the producers have set up questions with several forfeit answers, usually one blatantly obvious and at least one less-obvious. It's not uncommon to see contestants give a less-obvious answer only to get the forfeit, or else steel themselves for a forfeit only to be told their answer was actually correct. It reaches the point in "Jungles" where Stephen asks Alan to hit his buzzer at one point, and Alan resists. Given that in three previous episodes, his buzzer had been hooked to the klaxon, his reluctance was understandable. In "Organisms", Sandi asks what animal is the most effective hunter, and the panelists, knowing it's the O series, immediately start naming animals with names beginning with O, all of which get the klaxon. The correct answer is considerable stretch of the format: dragonflies, which belong to the order Odonata. | |
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Thing-O-Meter | |
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Thing-O-Meter: The 'Pleasure Gauge' in the episode on Happiness. | |
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The Scottish Trope | |
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The Scottish Trope: Discussed in "Immortal Bard", where Stephen explains how that particular superstition got started. Also played for laughs. | |
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The Tooth Hurts | |
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The Tooth Hurts: When discussing how the body regenerates body parts (on the cellular level), Holly Walsh mentions that gums don't. David Mitchell's response gets a collective groan of pain. | |
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Condescending Compassion | |
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Condescending Compassion: What Alan accuses the audience of in "Jobs". | |
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Chekhov's Gun | |
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Chekhov's Gun: The panelists' buzzers have often been used as the punchline of a joke. Alan's "'ELLO DARLIN'" to answer the question "how do you get a girl?" in "Girls and Boys", Rob Brydon uses his to go back in time after a terrible pun in "Holidays" and Brian Cox's "All rise" in "Justice" in response to an innuendo. | |
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Patriotic Fervor | |
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Patriotic Fervor: Since becoming host, Sandi Toksvig has frequently praised her land of birth, Denmark, mainly for comic effect, of course. Questions involving Scandinavia have increased considerably. | |
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Long-Runner Cast Turnover | |
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Long-Runner Cast Turnover: There are only two guests who have appeared in every series up to Series Q: Jimmy Carr and Phill Jupitus. Amongst the guests who used to appear frequently but don't show up these days are Rich Hall (who stopped appearing after Series I, although The Bus Came Back for a single appearance in Series O), Bill Bailey (who has only appeared in Series O and T since Stephen left), Dara O'Briain (not seen since Series J) and Rob Brydon (also last seen in Series J), Sean Lock (who quit panel shows in general after filming his Series I appearances). Many of the current frequent guests (Aisling Bea, Cariad Lloyd, Holly Walsh, Joe Lycett to name but a few) started appearing either shortly before Stephen left or after Sandi took over. | |
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Only Sane Man | |
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Only Sane Man: Stephen, obviously. Alan sometimes slips into that role, or David Mitchell during his appearances. | |
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Know-Nothing Know-It-All | |
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Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Gyles. | |
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Anti-Climax | |
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Anticlimax: Stephen gets tripped up.... Whenever someone steels themself for the klaxon... and actually gets it right. In the I series episode "Immortal Bard", one question was "Can you name the Scottish Play?" After much hedging, Bill Bailey shouted "Macbeth!". Stephen simply answered, "Yes," adding that the klaxon would have sounded if they suggested that you shouldn't say the name "Macbeth" on stage. | |
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Dirty Old Man | |
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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. | |
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Special Guest | |
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Special Guest: The roster of panellists is so small and invariant that any new face probably counts. Stephen's Cambridge Footlights compatriates Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson have both appeared once, with Laurie in the Series A premiere episode "Adam" and Thompson in Series F's "Film". Several Christmas Specials pull out the big names for the audience in studio and at home Series F's "Fire and Freezing" with Trigger Happy TV's Dom Joly Series G's "Groovy" with David Tennant Series H's "Hocus Pocus" with Daniel Radcliffe Series I's "Ice" with BRIAN BLESSED Series K's "Kris Kringle" with Mrs. Brown's Boys's Brendan O'Carroll Series L's "No-L" with The Carrie Fisher Series M's "Merriment" with Grumpy Old Women and Loose Women's Jenny Eclair Series R's "Rejoice! A Christmas Special" with Chris McCausland of CBeebies' Me Too! On Series G's "G-Animals" episode, John Hodgman was given a special 5th seat on the panel in a last-minute chance to get him on the shownote The producers found out he was in the UK at the last moment and didn't have a free space. as he has been very vocal in his anger that QI had not made its way to the US (copyright issues on the images, who would've guessed...). Series I has included a few non-comedian guests based on that week's theme: "Incomprehensible" with Professor Brian Cox (who later reappeared in Series J's "Justice") and "Illness" with Dr. Ben Goldacre. Series N had two particularly unexpected guests: "Noodles" with Jerry Springer and "Noisy Noses" with Corey Taylor, lyricist and lead vocalist of Slipknot. Series P's "P-Animals" featured Teri Hatcher, with references to her time on Lois & Clark. Series Q's "Quaffing" brought on Prue Leith from The Great British Bake Off, which at the time Sandi Toksvig also hosted. John Barrowman has appeared twice: Series R's "Rude" and Series S's "Shady & Shaky". | |
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QI / int_27a58d30 | type |
Carnivore Confusion | |
QI / int_27a58d30 | comment |
Carnivore Confusion: David Mitchell's reaction to Stephen Fry saying that a Phylliidae, or 'leaf insect', eats leaves. | |
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QI / int_27ba9b64 | type |
What Did I Do Last Night? | |
QI / int_27ba9b64 | comment |
What Did I Do Last Night?: Alan told a story about seeing some pictures from a party he'd been at that showed people playing with sparklers, and he thought he must have been in the bathroom or something since he didn't remember sparklers being there. The next few pictures showed him lighting them and handing them around. | |
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QI / int_294ed981 | type |
Bilingual Bonus | |
QI / int_294ed981 | comment |
Bilingual Bonus: When Stephen introduces the host of the Swedish version of the show, he says he knows "Enough Swedish to order from a hotel room." Then, he sends a message to all Swedish QI fans: | |
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QI / int_294ed981 | |
QI / int_297170d3 | type |
Halloween Episode | |
QI / int_297170d3 | comment |
Halloween Episode: Has appeared in series D (Death) and H (Horrible). But not G (Gothic); despite the general themes of the episode, it first aired in February. | |
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QI / int_297170d3 | |
QI / int_29a39f6 | type |
Easter Egg | |
QI / int_29a39f6 | comment |
Easter Egg: As revealed in the Series M Christmas special "Merriment", there is a secret message hidden in the show's theme tune in Morse code. It spells out "www.alan0andstephenhero.com", a real URL that supposedly led to a page on the QI website with a secret bonus video. As of 2022 though, it simply redirects to the QI YouTube channel. | |
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QI / int_29a39f6 | |
QI / int_29d4ec8a | type |
British Teeth | |
QI / int_29d4ec8a | comment |
British Teeth: Subverted in the first episode of series M. According to the OECD, British children have the best teeth in the world. Emma Thompson mentioned the stereotype of the British having bad teeth in "Films and Fame" while discussing the Evil Brit trope, while Stephen Fry recalled the Book of British Smiles from The Simpsons. | |
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QI / int_29d4ec8a | |
QI / int_2a7b0247 | type |
Could Say It, But... | |
QI / int_2a7b0247 | comment |
Could Say It, But...: Often attempted to avoid the klaxon... seldom works. | |
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QI / int_2a7b0247 | |
QI / int_2b34de10 | type |
Conversational Troping | |
QI / int_2b34de10 | comment |
Conversational Troping: Occurs in Series H "History" with Stephen, Alan, David Mitchell, Sandi Toksvig, and Rob Brydon digitally edited into a photo of a combat squad. David (whose face was in a somewhat goofy expression) mused that he would be killed off early, while Sandi supposed she would be the woman brought along just to work the radio, but gets forced into flying a plane. Stephen would be the hero from the First World War, Rob gets killed off right before the end (just when you think he'll make it), and Alan survives the whole thing. | |
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QI / int_2b5ea43c | type |
Bland-Name Product | |
QI / int_2b5ea43c | comment |
Stephen gives a home recipe for waterproof sand which mentions applying "a very well known spray which you're recommended to apply to suede shoes, and which might be named something like GotchScard..." He also manages to entirely avoid mentioning Magic Sand, which is a trademark itself. | |
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QI / int_2d4a6d8c | type |
Sophisticated as Hell | |
QI / int_2d4a6d8c | comment |
Sophisticated as Hell: The show can swing from very academic to completely filthy, sometimes in mid-sentence. Once Stephen gave a long, detailed, nerdy description of how woodpeckers' tongues work, before suddenly ending with "If the pecker's got wood, why go for tongue, you may ask!" — resulting in a lot of stares and Jo Brand asking, "Could we maybe have an offshoot of this programme called Quite Unnecessary?" Also, Rob Brydon's anecdote about his father's choice of swearing: "The short answer to that is 'no'. The long answer is 'fuck no'." | |
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QI / int_2d4a6d8c | |
QI / int_2d4d16d9 | type |
I Know You Know I Know | |
QI / int_2d4d16d9 | comment |
I Know You Know I Know: "Double bluffs" get steadily more ridiculous, until hitting critical mass in the Comic Relief special, which opens with "how many sides - sides, S-I-D-E-S - does a right isosceles triangle have?" Two forfeits ("4" and "6") are hit before the correct answer, and it just keeps going like that, with questions like "How many legs does a spider have?" and "What is the capital of France?" David Mitchell on wearing vertical or horizontal stripes: Also happened in "Fingers and Fumbs" and "Hoaxes" (see Kansas City Shuffle for the details). | |
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QI / int_2d4d16d9 | |
QI / int_2e528f4e | type |
What Measure Is a Non-Cute? | |
QI / int_2e528f4e | comment |
What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Jimmy Carr brings this up in "Flora and Fauna". | |
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QI / int_2f5790f5 | type |
I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine | |
QI / int_2f5790f5 | comment |
I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: Hugh Laurie appeared in the pilot episode as a favour to Stephen. Also Emma Thompson in series F. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_2f5790f5 | |
QI / int_2f7e9080 | type |
Placebo Effect | |
QI / int_2f7e9080 | comment |
Placebo Effect: One of the questions on 'Illness' asks why this works (it turns out that nobody knows). | |
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QI / int_2f7e9080 | |
QI / int_2fcf9bbc | type |
Gratuitous Foreign Language | |
QI / int_2fcf9bbc | comment |
Gratuitous Foreign Language: The episode on Europe is full of Gratuitous European Languages. | |
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QI / int_308a5ff0 | type |
Strange Minds Think Alike | |
QI / int_308a5ff0 | comment |
Strange Minds Think Alike: The producers obviously have fun trying to predict the more obvious joke answers so they can be forfeited. Highlights include catching Jimmy Carr out on "the world's most poisonous snake" being Piers Morgan, and Bill Bailey on "what has huge teeth and only one facial expression" being Janet Street-Porter. | |
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QI / int_3126c34a | type |
Insufferable Genius | |
QI / int_3126c34a | comment |
Insufferable Genius: When panellists get onto a subject they actually know something about, they can sometimes forget to be funny and take the quiz part a bit too seriously — unwilling or unable to follow other panellists (Alan especially) and feign stupidity to a certain degree for the sake of entertainment. True enough, bantermeisters that often do provide intelligent answers can avoid appearing as this by actually providing jokes (e.g. Sandi Toksvig, Dara Ó Briain). Rory McGrath came off as awfully show-offy to many people during his first appearance. There was a question where they were asked the atomic number of a certain element, which Roy McGrath got right... and then continued to list off other atomic numbers without prompting. This was already on top of other things like listing off the Latin names of various animals. Sean Lock got annoyed with him and started to mock him relentlessly: "You're just doing atomic number wheelies now, aren't you?" Eventually even Stephen gets fed up with him, smiling and stating, "You are just beginning to try my patience now." John Sessions was so frequent an offender that he was given a buzzer that consisted of an over-eager child saying "Sir, Sir! I know Sir!" in a series B episode—his third or fourth taping.note And given the statements by both Stephen and Dara under Berserk Button and the fact that Sessions died in 2020, he's a very good candidate for being the one that kept asking for the questions beforehand. In the F Series episode "Films and Fame", after he got the first question right immediately, Emma Thompson asked him, "Are you going to be like this all night?" Poor, poor Brian Cox. Even though he's also an actor and comedian, Ben Miller decided to rely mainly on his education in quantum physicsnote He was on his way to earning a PhD but abandoned it to pursue a career in acting in the episode "The Future", much to his fellow panelists' dismay. | |
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QI / int_3158d060 | type |
ComedyDuo | |
QI / int_3158d060 | comment |
Stephen accidentally called Sue Perkins "Mel" in the Gothic episode, leading to much embarrassment and the panellists giving him grief about it the rest of the episode. | |
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QI / int_3158d060 | |
QI / int_31c87ac | type |
I Call Him "Mister Happy" | |
QI / int_31c87ac | comment |
I Call Him "Mister Happy": Stephen comments that the people who slept with Queen Nzinga the night before she had you executed might have found that "Mister Tiggy would probably be a bit shrivelly, wouldn't he?" | |
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QI / int_31c87ac | |
QI / int_32821ceb | type |
The Unintelligible | |
QI / int_32821ceb | comment |
The Unintelligible: John Bishop, on occasion. | |
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QI / int_32821ceb | |
QI / int_335ac42e | type |
Out of Order | |
QI / int_335ac42e | comment |
Out of Order: BBC America viewers will start with episodes 4, 3, and 9 of the "J" series (that's really how they're ordered as of February 2015). | |
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QI / int_335ac42e | |
QI / int_34dcfc96 | type |
Kick the Dog | |
QI / int_34dcfc96 | comment |
Kick the Dog: Quite literally, in response to the question "What can't remember anything?": When discussing the subject of squirrel kings (squirrels with their tails stuck together), Jeremy Clarkson takes very careful notes. | |
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QI / int_34dcfc96 | |
QI / int_34f590c9 | type |
Off on a Technicality | |
QI / int_34f590c9 | comment |
Off on a Technicality: Subverted when Lee Mack triggered the klaxon by saying "First of December" and the words December the 1st appeared on the screens; he tried to argue he shouldn't lose points as that wasn't what he said, but was informed "you don't get off that easily". 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. | |
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-0.3 | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_34f590c9 | |
QI / int_34f8042a | type |
Gratuitous French | |
QI / int_34f8042a | comment |
Gratuitous French: The episode on France, somewhat predictably. | |
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QI / int_35a858b3 | type |
Cluster F-Bomb | |
QI / int_35a858b3 | comment |
Cluster F-Bomb: When asked about Anglo-Saxon swear words in an L series episode, Sue Perkins gets the klaxon several times in succession by firing off a bunch of curse words, most of which were bleeped out. | |
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QI / int_35e5a546 | type |
Digital Head Swap | |
QI / int_35e5a546 | comment |
Digital Head Swap: Guests will have their heads put onto various background images for humorous purposes. The most common response is "I don't remember that picture". | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_35e5a546 | |
QI / int_35fb9016 | type |
Gratuitous German | |
QI / int_35fb9016 | comment |
Gratuitous German: The episode on Germany. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_35fb9016 | |
QI / int_3684532f | type |
Never Heard That One Before | |
QI / int_3684532f | comment |
Never Heard That One Before: Setting Bill Bailey's buzzer to, yes, "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home". Alan provides the obligatory Lampshading. Even more amusing given that Bill (real name Mark) was given the nickname by his music teacher for being able to play the song very well on the guitar. Using it as his buzzer wasn't just an amusing reference, but a throwback to the reason he's even called that. | |
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QI / int_3684532f | |
QI / int_36ed3e1e | type |
Ascended Meme | |
QI / int_36ed3e1e | comment |
Ascended Meme: The buttered cat paradox is discussed in series H's Hypothetical. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_36ed3e1e | |
QI / int_378039e | type |
TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers | |
QI / int_378039e | comment |
Used for the buzzer sounds in a first-series episode — Dave Gorman's buzzer chimed mi, Jeremy Hardy's chimed do, Jo Brand's chimed re, and Alan's made a noise like a pneumatic drill. | |
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QI / int_378039e | |
QI / int_38291355 | type |
Does Not Know His Own Strength | |
QI / int_38291355 | comment |
Does Not Know His Own Strength: On being told that giant anteater "hugs," like bear hugs, are fatal to humans, Alan suggested that this was the problem. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_38291355 | |
QI / int_382c7a57 | type |
Now You Tell Me | |
QI / int_382c7a57 | comment |
Now You Tell Me: After Alan destroys part of his desk with a saw in the Series G episode "Gardens", David Mitchell comments that, "I really wish they hadn't made this set out of asbestos." Bill Bailey claimed that once he went into an enclosure with a jaguar after the handler advised: "Always approach from the front." When he was almost within striking distance the handler suddenly corrected himself: "Oh no, sorry, 'Never.'" Alan has a bad habit of destroying historical artefacts, just before Stephen says how priceless they are. This has gotten to the point where museums that loan items to QI include a proviso that Alan must not touch them. | |
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QI / int_382c7a57 | |
QI / int_38d02d44 | type |
Batman Gambit | |
QI / int_38d02d44 | comment |
Batman Gambit: In "Ologies" the panelists were asked to put blindfolds on, taste a glass of wine and then say what type of wine it was (red or white). Alan lifted his blindfold and said 'Red' to a red-coloured wine, only to get a klaxon - the producers had deliberately put red food coloring in a glass of white wine because they thought he'd peek. | |
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QI / int_38d02d44 | |
QI / int_38f3321 | type |
Compelling Voice | |
QI / int_38f3321 | comment |
Compelling Voice: When Stephen wants to demonstrate the properties of miracle fruit to the other panelists, he tells them to put the pill they've been given into their mouth. Everyone does so, and Sue Perkins notices that she doesn't even question her actions when Stephen tells her to do something like that. | |
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QI / int_38f3321 | |
QI / int_392372f9 | type |
Actor Allusion | |
QI / int_392372f9 | comment |
Actor Allusion: Among others, Stephen's occasional "baa"-ing, and: When the topic of butlers comes up in "Jobs", the panel discusses Jeeves at length. From the same episode, during a Jubious Theory about Alice in Wonderland, Stephen mentions the non-Euclidean properties of the Cheshire Cat's smile, and then casually asks who voiced him in the recent Tim Burton movie. Alan suggests Hugh Laurie. Again in the "Illness" episode of series I. Naturally, this time it showed Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, along with some of his staff. A picture of Stephen from Wilde shows up in "Empire", much to Stephen's embarrassment. When David Tennant appeared on the show and was gesturing with his pen, the other contestants asked if it was his sonic screwdriver and made sound effects for it and ducked out of the way whenever to was pointing in their direction. They've also brought up Jonathan Creek a few times; 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. Radcliffe's buzzer was a clip of someone shouting "Expelliarmus!" On the other hand, he got some Potter trivia wrong; on being questioned about the rules of Quidditch, he stated that capturing the Golden Snitch automatically won the game for the catcher's team, which is not true. (Catching the Snitch ends the game, and gives the catcher's team 150 points, so the net effect is usually a win, but there is at least one canonical example of the catcher's team losing.) And then he was decapitated, so fair's fair... Also a bonus for Alan, who was able to put his aforementioned "experience" as a magician's assistant to good use. 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 programme, expect at least one reference to or question about cars and motor vehicles, if not a direct reference to Top Gear itself. In "Ice", BRIAN BLESSED's first appearance, Sean Lock appropriates Blessed's most famous line from Flash Gordon. In "Immortal Bard", the Shakespeare episode, a question on Lord Byron leads to Stephen referencing a joke he once used in a monologue called 'The Letter' for Footlights Revue. In "Jingle Bells", when Stephen brings out a jingling johnny: In the 11th series episode "K-Folk", Stephen claims that he didn't get an invitation to Alan's wedding, then suddenly remembers the truth: A double example for Jeremy Clarkson and Jimmy Carr in "Kings": A Producer's Allusion took place in Season D Episode 4; when discussing the village of Didcot, Stephen commented that a Didcot is in fact, "the tiny oddly-shaped bit of card which a ticket inspector cuts out of a ticket with his clipper for no apparent reason. It is a little-known fact that the confetti at Princess Margaret's wedding was made up of thousands of didcots collected by inspectors on the Royal Train." He then commented that this was not actually a fact, but a quote from The Meaning of Liff, co-written by QI creator and producer John Lloyd and Douglas Adams. Lloyd slipped the "fact" on Stephen's teleprompter. During "Kris Kringle", a football originally smuggled into the trenches for one of the Christmas truces of World War I was presented to Stephen by a soldier named Tony Robinson. He is indeed nicknamed Baldrick, and Blackadder references ensued, including the requisite baaing. Also during "Kris Kringle", Brendan O'Carroll wore a jumper which had Santa's body but not head on it (making it look like Santa had O'Carroll's head). The Christmas Special of Mrs. Brown's Boys (which O'Carroll is best known for, and which aired a few days before "Kris Kringle") featured the same Visual Pun with Grandad and Baby Jesus. In "Ladies and Gentlemen", Sue Perkins gets the klaxon during a question about weight loss remedies for making an obvious joke about The Great British Bake Off. In "Literature", they did a round based on the quiz show Only Connect, which is hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell, who was on the QI panel that week. Of course there would be references to Star Wars during Carrie Fisher's appearance in "No-L". Funnily enough, the cast was obviously trying very hard not to reference Star Wars for a while, until one inevitably slipped through and Jimmy Carr quipped "And how is Chewbacca these days?" When John Barrowman appeared on the R season episode "Rude" and a question about shuttlecocks came up, he started playing with shuttlecocks like they were Daleks. | |
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QI / int_392372f9 | |
QI / int_3946634e | type |
The Smart Guy | |
QI / int_3946634e | comment |
Series H ("Health & Safety") revealed the unexpected comic potential of David Mitchell and Ross Noble. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_3946634e | |
QI / int_39ed1c8a | type |
Conspiracy Theorist | |
QI / int_39ed1c8a | comment |
Conspiracy Theorist: While discussing Moon Landing conspiracies, Sean Lock proposes his own theory: NASA killed Michael Jackson. NASA spent a lot of money on a literal Moonwalk and were angry that when people hear Moonwalk, they think of Michael Jackson. Lock also mentions that the date of Michael's death was close to the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. | |
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QI / int_3adca595 | type |
Namesake Gag | |
QI / int_3adca595 | comment |
Namesake Gag: Asked the identity of the famous father of Ada Lovelace, writer of the first ever piece of computer code, Alan hazarded "...Mr Software?" On the L season episode devoted to 'Love', Stephen mentions that there are a large number of items of clothing named after military officers; especially those involved in the Crimean War. Stephen mentions Lord Cardigan and Lord Raglan. Alan tries to list some others and his list includes 'Lord Bobble Hat'. On the episode "M-places" the panelists learn that many locales, such as Manchester and Pap of Glencoe, are named after breasts. Naturally, they proceed to rattle off several suggestions of their own (a tame example? "Melonford"). On the 'Oddments' episode of the O series, Sandi was spectacularly failing to elicit the correct answer from the panel, and in desperation asked what the Orient Express was named after. Matt Lucas offered "Peter Express?". | |
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QI / int_3adca595 | |
QI / int_3bc88a7f | type |
Foregone Conclusion | |
QI / int_3bc88a7f | comment |
Foregone Conclusion: In "Knowledge", Stephen explains that in deference to the concept of the half-life of facts, the panelists will be awarded points based on the likelihood of their seemingly erroneous answers given in previous episodes having since been proven correct. Jimmy Carr immediately congratulates Alan on winning, which proves to be an astute prediction: Alan leads the final scores by almost 700 points. Subverted in "Lucky Losers", where Stephen declares that the panelist with the lowest score shall win, causing Danny Baker to congratulate Alan in advance. However, thanks to the producers conjuring up a massive "Blue Whale" bonus for giving that as a right answer, Alan ends up with the highest score by a considerable amount. | |
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QI / int_3bc88a7f | |
QI / int_3c0a4666 | type |
Noodle Incident | |
QI / int_3c0a4666 | comment |
Noodle Incident: When Stephen mentions in episode C01 that he would love to finally get some fan mail: | |
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QI / int_3c0a4666 | |
QI / int_3c88d6c2 | type |
Flat "What" | |
QI / int_3c88d6c2 | comment |
Flat "What": Stephen (of all people) delivers one when Bill Bailey tells him that a man was caught in a machine, went through a hole the size of a CD, and survived. | |
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QI / int_3c88d6c2 | |
QI / int_3d4d3dc9 | type |
Humans Are Bastards | |
QI / int_3d4d3dc9 | comment |
Humans Are Bastards: Alan invokes this trope here. In "Jeopardy", Stephen asks what the deadliest creature in Australia is. Ross Noble's Large Ham answer: "Is it man? The most terrible of all the creatures?" | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_3d4d3dc9 | |
QI / int_3eee0728 | type |
Captain Obvious | |
QI / int_3eee0728 | comment |
Captain Obvious: Many obvious types of answers can trigger the klaxon, but this method, if used creatively, can be used as a way of avoiding the klaxon: Or just for humour: From "Danger": On the subject of pilots' lunches: On the subject of atoms: And another one from Jimmy: On the subject of anteaters: On beavers: More than just avoiding the forfeits, because these answers generally get acclaim from the audience, they probably earn some points as well. Played with on one occasion when Stephen asked the panel what a Bongo was while avoiding "the obvious answer". Dave Gorman replied that, since the obvious answer would be a kind of antelope, Stephen was referring to a percussive instrument. Stephen, surprised, remarked that they'd thought the obvious answer would be the percussive instrument. Dave then pointed out that his answer was made the obvious answer since Stephen had introduced the round with "This round is all about antelopes." | |
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QI / int_3eee0728 | |
QI / int_4192763e | type |
Malaproper | |
QI / int_4192763e | comment |
Malaproper: Jeremy Clarkson made a probably-intentional one in the "Green" episode when he referred to the RSPB as the "Royal Society for the Prevention of Birds" instead of "Protection", "accidentally" getting it mixed up with the RSPCA which stands for "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals". (He is known to be fond of using deliberate malapropisms to express apathy or contempt toward something; indeed, he used the aforementioned gag on Top Gear (UK) as well.) | |
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QI / int_4192763e | |
QI / int_420a8323 | type |
Smart Ball | |
QI / int_420a8323 | comment |
Smart Ball: Half the fun of the show is when it turns out that one of the panelists happens to be a massive nerd with regard to a particular subject, the more obscure the better. Examples include: Helen Atkinson-Wood being able to accurately identify that the chemical reaction C6H12O6(s)+6O2(g)->6CO2(g)+6H2O(g) is "an explosion in a custard factory". Vic Reeves' expertise on pirates. Jonathan Ross being an expert on comic books. Rory McGrath knowing the Latin names of most birds as well as the atomic masses of every element. John Sessions being able to name the birth and death year of many famous artists. Jo Brand being a psychology expert, helped by the fact she used to be a psychiatric nurse. More surprisingly, she also identified an electron as a probability density function and explained what that means. Daniel Radcliffe's appearance in "Hocus Pocus", where he knew of the oldest magic trick in the book (but of course) but also showed quite reasonable knowledge in the Harrying of the North, to the other panellists' surprise. Clare Balding, who was an accomplished horsewoman on an episode all about horses. Cariad Lloyd being a Tolkien uber-geek who has watched all of the 'making of' documentaries for the films. Both Sandi and her co-panelists are initially unsure if this makes her more hot or less. (They settle on less.) The times where Bill Bailey has turned out to actually be something of an expert on the issue have been so common nobody is surprised when this happens with him anymore. Alan himself is experienced in SCUBA diving and mountaineering, which occasionally comes into play (for instance, he knows the exact height of Mount Everest). And occasionally he'll know something about geography or nature because of having seen a documentary on it. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_420a8323 | |
QI / int_43273c71 | type |
LongRunner | |
QI / int_43273c71 | comment |
Long Runner: As of series K, the show is 10 years old. Based on the theme naming, it would appear they expect the show to be on for at least 26 series. Given that they do one letter a year, by the time they got to Z, if they maintained the original cast, Stephen would be 71. Stephen stepped down after series M, with Sandi Toksvig taking his place; if she continues to Z she'll be 70 and Alan 62. | |
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QI / int_43273c71 | |
QI / int_434d893c | type |
Funny Foreigner | |
QI / int_434d893c | comment |
Funny Foreigner: Rich Hall, as an American comedian on a British programme is one of these by default, although he is perfectly willing to play this trope straight for laughs. | |
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QI / int_434d893c | |
QI / int_442f5893 | type |
Jesus: The Early Years | |
QI / int_442f5893 | comment |
Jesus: The Early Years: Stephen Fry shares a story about a confrontation between the child Jesus and a group of many dragons that had suddenly sprung from a nearby cave. Another episode involved the story about Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea coming to Glastonbury, the inspiration for William Blake's "And did those feet in ancient time." | |
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QI / int_442f5893 | |
QI / int_45a559cf | type |
Wardrobe Malfunction | |
QI / int_45a559cf | comment |
Wardrobe Malfunction: After Jack Whitehall's flirting with Stephen in series J caused him to have an awkward talk with his father, he promises to tone it down when he reappears in series L. A bit later, he "accidentally" tears his shirt open when celebrating a correct answer. | |
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QI / int_45a559cf | |
QI / int_474a2a5e | type |
Cultural Posturing | |
QI / int_474a2a5e | comment |
Cultural Posturing: This exchange: | |
QI / int_474a2a5e | featureApplicability |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_474a2a5e | |
QI / int_47e9e5c6 | type |
Smart People Know Latin | |
QI / int_47e9e5c6 | comment |
Smart People Know Latin: Bill Bailey makes a joke about Stephen knowing the Lord's Prayer in Latin, to which Stephen responds by quoting the first line of such at high speed. (This is a bit like testing someone's French expertise by asking them to sing Frere Jacques, but still...) | |
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QI / int_47e9e5c6 | |
QI / int_47fea76b | type |
Butt-Monkey | |
QI / int_47fea76b | comment |
Prior to "Holidays", three of the panelists took a trip to an H-named place at Stephen's expense. For the first part of the episode, they presented quite interesting facts about their destinations while Stephen commented passively. Alan didn't go anywhere; he was in detention.note He did actually do a presentation at the recording, but it was cut for time. | |
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QI / int_47fea76b | |
QI / int_48081842 | type |
The Stinger | |
QI / int_48081842 | comment |
The Stinger: Stephen usually gets one final joke or funny quote after the scores are read. After the credits of the eighth-series episode "Hocus Pocus", which ended with Graham Norton decapitating Daniel Radcliffe, there's a shot of Radcliffe's head in the basket turning to the camera and smiling, just to assure everyone that he's okay. | |
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QI / int_48081842 | |
QI / int_493bc214 | type |
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie | |
QI / int_493bc214 | comment |
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie: A Ghanaian funeral custom (being buried in coffins that can look like anything you want) was discussed in the Series G episode "Gothic": | |
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QI / int_493bc214 | |
QI / int_4a4d6f7c | type |
Comedic Sociopathy | |
QI / int_4a4d6f7c | comment |
It reaches the point in "Jungles" where Stephen asks Alan to hit his buzzer at one point, and Alan resists. Given that in three previous episodes, his buzzer had been hooked to the klaxon, his reluctance was understandable. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_4a4d6f7c | |
QI / int_4b1b14f0 | type |
Derailed for Details | |
QI / int_4b1b14f0 | comment |
Derailed for Details: Dara Ó Briain's "Twelve Frenchmen and Twelve Mosquitos" story. | |
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QI / int_4b1b14f0 | |
QI / int_4b4274e3 | type |
Second Place Is for Winners | |
QI / int_4b4274e3 | comment |
Second Place Is for Winners: Discussed when Colin Lane and Noel Fielding were on, having been (along with Alan) contenders for the most recent Perrier Awards. Both agreed that the Best Newcomer trophy, which Noel got, was better than the main trophy that Colin won. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_4b4274e3 | |
QI / int_4bfcfa7c | type |
Kansas City Shuffle | |
QI / int_4bfcfa7c | comment |
In the episode "Fingers and Fumbs", there was a special forfeit revolving around the use of the word "fuck" where whoever said it had to play Rock/Paper/Scissors with Stephen to decide if they would lose points. It was a double bluff, as Stephen said, the contestants were expected to think that "fuck" was such an obvious word to choose as a forbidden word, they would think that the makers would never pick it as such. It came up no fewer than six times (three of them Phill's), and Stephen didn't win any games. (He kept playing scissors, having claimed it was the best opening move; see Kansas City Shuffle.) | |
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QI / int_4bfcfa7c | |
QI / int_4cfe362e | type |
Awesome Aussie | |
QI / int_4cfe362e | comment |
Colin Lane in 'Landmarks'. Stephen and Alan both make fun of Australian Internet speeds, and Australians in general, to Lane's annoyance. But then Colin wins the episode, and celebrates by dancing on his desk. | |
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QI / int_4cfe362e | |
QI / int_4d070ee3 | type |
Power Perversion Potential | |
QI / int_4d070ee3 | comment |
Power Perversion Potential: If Sean Lock had the ability to stop time, he'd use it to win money from roulette at a casino... and adjust the underwear of the other patrons. | |
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QI / int_4d070ee3 | |
QI / int_4d7a7d53 | type |
I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You | |
QI / int_4d7a7d53 | comment |
I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You: Subverted. | |
QI / int_4d7a7d53 | featureApplicability |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_4d7a7d53 | |
QI / int_4f4372e9 | type |
Early-Installment Weirdness | |
QI / int_4f4372e9 | comment |
Early-Installment Weirdness: The show was initially split into rounds of questions on various subjects. The B series changed this so there were two rounds, one on one subject and 'General Ignorance', but the show didn't take its current format until around series D. In early episodes, Stephen Fry had a stack of cards on his desk with the episode's forfeit answers printed on them, and when the klaxon sounded he would hold up the corresponding card to demonstrate that the question-setters had genuinely anticipated the answer. Or rather, in practice what happened was that when the klaxon sounded he would spend a chunk of valuable running time shuffling through the cards to find the right one so he could hold it up, which probably explains why the cards were abandoned. The show was also much more explicit in the awarding of points, and much more free about it, too. As Alan mentioned in a documentary, panelists didn't really know how to act when the show was getting started. They didn't know if this was a serious quiz show and they should try to get the answers right, if they'd look stupid if they got it wrong, or if the points really mattered, etc. It was only later when people realized the show was more about being funny and interesting rather than being correct that it really hit its stride. Also at the start, presenter Stephen Fry was not the national figure he is now (the show itself contributing to his growth in fame). | |
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QI / int_4f4372e9 | |
QI / int_4f6d87f7 | type |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl | |
QI / int_4f6d87f7 | comment |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Richard Osman (6'7") and Lucy Porter (4'11") in "Little And Large". Similarly, Osman and Sandi Toksvig (also 4'11") in "Naked Truth". | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_4f6d87f7 | |
QI / int_51805c03 | type |
Treasure Chest Cavity | |
QI / int_51805c03 | comment |
Treasure Chest Cavity: A certain pre-industrial travel guide recommended that travelers prepare for potential theft by making an incision in one arm and hiding a jewel inside the wound, then sewing it up and allowing it to heal. Thus one would have some emergency wealth that robbers wouldn't be able to find. | |
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QI / int_51805c03 | |
QI / int_535156bc | type |
Christmas Special | |
QI / int_535156bc | comment |
However, in the L Series Christmas Special, Stephen himself knocks over the world's oldest artificial Christmas tree. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_535156bc | |
QI / int_55a28534 | type |
Fearless Fool | |
QI / int_55a28534 | comment |
Fearless Fool: Alan's role on the show, at least at first, was to jump in with obvious (or silly) answers and not be afraid of looking stupid. | |
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QI / int_55a28534 | |
QI / int_56240281 | type |
Country Matters | |
QI / int_56240281 | comment |
Country Matters: Sarah Millican complained that her spellchecker corrected the C-word to "Cynthia", which happens to be her mother-in-law's name ("you're lucky it's not the other way around"). Stephen pointed out that as Greek doesn't have a 'Y', and upsilon is pronounced 'u', the correct pronunciation of the Greek name would be a lot closer than you might think... In the Series P episode "Peril", the panel is stumped by the British Board of Film Censors' classification "Dangerous behaviour, mild threat, innuendo, infrequent mild bad language" for Paddington (2014), particularly the bad language, until Lee Mack chimes in, | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_56240281 | |
QI / int_58626d87 | type |
Genius Ditz | |
QI / int_58626d87 | comment |
Genius Ditz: Alan in later series. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_58626d87 | |
QI / int_58c32292 | type |
Catchphrase Interruptus | |
QI / int_58c32292 | comment |
Catchphrase Interruptus: Stephen opens episode eight of the G series, "Germany," with "Goooooo... ten Abend! Guten Abend, guten Abend, guten Abend und Willkommen to QI..." | |
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QI / int_58c32292 | |
QI / int_5a3b8032 | type |
The Un-Reveal | |
QI / int_5a3b8032 | comment |
The Unreveal: In "Ladies and Gents", Stephen says that there is a Viking swear word, rassragr, that was so horrible and insulting, it gave anybody who was called that word a license to kill the other person. Stephen then pointedly does not describe what it means as it's apparently too horrible for television. It just means a gay man who bottoms. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_5a3b8032 | |
QI / int_5a4aa505 | type |
Government Conspiracy | |
QI / int_5a4aa505 | comment |
Government Conspiracy: The episode on "Hoaxes" debunked a number of conspiracy theories about the Moon landings. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_5a4aa505 | |
QI / int_5ab267e1 | type |
F-- | |
QI / int_5ab267e1 | comment |
F--: In the "Nonsense" episode, Sandi Toksvig mentions how her school had three grades for swimming: A, B, and C. She was an F. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_5ab267e1 | |
QI / int_5beef860 | type |
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? | |
QI / int_5beef860 | comment |
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Cariad Lloyd and Phil Jupitus are both strong arachnophobes, something that wasn't considered before video of a tarantula was shown on the screens. Cariad had a considerable freak-out, and after talking her down (and making spidery movements with his hand in the corner of her vision) Phil said he'd be the same "if not for all the therapy". Bridget Christie has paralyzing trychophobia, a fear of clusters of holes. This has been triggered by the background images on both of her appareances. Tom Allen revealed that he has a crippling fear of snakes after footage was shown of a rattlesnake directly approaching a camera. | |
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QI / int_5c0a51f7 | type |
||
QI / int_5c0a51f7 | comment |
"Bang!" Flag Gun: Used as props in the "Games" episode, during a question about applying game theory to a three-way duel. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_5c0a51f7 | |
QI / int_5d6710a | type |
Pixellation | |
QI / int_5d6710a | comment |
Pixellation: One episode of the J series on BBC America had a klaxon-triggering swear word pixellated. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_5d6710a | |
QI / int_5e2e55e4 | type |
The Casanova | |
QI / int_5e2e55e4 | comment |
Sue Perkins got it for answering "Russell Brand" to the question "What would die if it went a year without sex?" | |
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QI / int_5e2e55e4 | |
QI / int_5fcb3c79 | type |
Golden Snitch | |
QI / int_5fcb3c79 | comment |
Golden Snitch: A few episodes have had certain questions or challenges that would give 100 or even 200 points if done correctly. 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. In a Series L episode, Stephen directly asks Alan what mammal has the most cells in its body, and Alan answers "blue whale" and is awarded the "Blue Whale Bonus" for getting the answer right. However, this is the "Lucky Losers" episode, and the winner that day will actually be the person with the lowest score. | |
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QI / int_5fcb3c79 | |
QI / int_5ff56a1f | type |
Long List | |
QI / int_5ff56a1f | comment |
Long List: Stephen is sometimes given these. The best example was when he listed everything the Scottish had invented. He got a round of applause at the end of it. | |
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QI / int_5ff56a1f | |
QI / int_6056f853 | type |
Homoerotic Subtext | |
QI / int_6056f853 | comment |
Homoerotic Subtext: Quite a bit, and all played for laughs of course. Aside from the unsubtle flirting between Alan and Stephen, there's a lot among other contestants as well. Most notably, Rob Brydon and Ben Miller kissing in the 'Future' episode of "F" series. And there's the endless innuendo... On the subject of Alan and Stephen flirting there was the episode where, if a member of the panel guessed their score exactly right, they would get a prize. Alan's answer, towards the end of the show, to Stephen's question of what that prize was was "We'd have sex." Fry simply made a remark about Alan's wishful thinking. Stephen and Professor Brian Cox. Good Lord. Stephen was probably just happy to have someone on the show who was smarter than him. Phill Jupitus went on record in the making-of documentary as saying that his unofficial role on the show is to be as shamelessly flirtatious as possible with Stephen. From Jumble, the subject of jactitation comes up (when you falsely say you're married to someone). "We're married in comedy, Alan. Comedy and erotic love." Jack Whitehall is someone else who seems to be a magnet for this with Stephen. | |
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QI / int_60eac4ba | type |
Off the Rails | |
QI / int_60eac4ba | comment |
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. In the "Gardens" episode when Stephen asks about the best place to find a new species, which somehow led to an "interesting, fierce, and, I think, productive" debate on what to do with a starving honeybee. Another one started with the origin of the word "vegetarian" and moved on to a debate about motorised monster truck-esque turtles — unsurprisingly, Jeremy Clarkson was involved. The Series G Christmas XL special "Groovy", in which they started talking about Mormon polygamy and went through the Osmonds to figure out that the Tenth Doctor would be killed off by the secret brother Big Graham Osmond ("played by Bill Bailey!"), who lived in the attic and wrote all their songs. Bill Bailey ends up chewing the holly sprig in David Tennant's lapel. | |
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QI / int_60eac4ba | |
QI / int_6159beb1 | type |
It Tastes Like Feet | |
QI / int_6159beb1 | comment |
It Tastes Like Feet: In an episode in the first series, Alan tells an anecdote about being given a chocolate bar by a nice old lady that turned out (after he'd eaten it) to be well past its use-by date, and "tasted like old ladies' cupboards". One of the other panellists requests reassurance that this isn't a euphemism. Jeremy Clarkson once talked about eating a seal flipper, and described the taste as "Exactly like licking a hot Turkish urinal." | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6159beb1 | |
QI / int_62259825 | type |
Nintendo Hard | |
QI / int_62259825 | comment |
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. As Phill Jupitus put it after falling victim to yet another trick question: | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_62259825 | |
QI / int_623d69e0 | type |
The Power of Acting | |
QI / int_623d69e0 | comment |
Also a bonus for Alan, who was able to put his aforementioned "experience" as a magician's assistant to good use. | |
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QI / int_63b02752 | type |
Hair-Trigger Temper | |
QI / int_63b02752 | comment |
David Mitchell is a man of many berserk buttons. Stephen tread on one with a double-bluff question about "The Man with Two Brains" — leading to an increase in double bluffs and other provocations whenever David is on the panel. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_63b02752 | |
QI / int_646407bd | type |
We Named the Monkey "Jack" | |
QI / int_646407bd | comment |
We Named the Monkey "Jack": Alan the QI Goldfish, introduced in "L-Animals". | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_646407bd | |
QI / int_6566a884 | type |
My God, You Are Serious! | |
QI / int_6566a884 | comment |
My God, You Are Serious!: In "Location, Location, Location" Johnny Vegas asks if the sun is the center of the universe, something known to scientists to be untrue for over two hundred years. Stephen laughs at the question until he realizes that Johnny meant it. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6566a884 | |
QI / int_66a4e100 | type |
Parody Names | |
QI / int_66a4e100 | comment |
Parody Names: While discussing a question about defamation, Stephen brought up a hypothetical novel about a quiz show called KI, hosted by "Simon Dry", with a curly-haired regular on the show called "Andrew Devons", and in it, the latter had a small penis. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_66a4e100 | |
QI / int_67cecb5b | type |
Time-Freeze Trolling Spree | |
QI / int_67cecb5b | comment |
Time-Freeze Trolling Spree: Discussed and played for laughs. Sean Lock suggested using time manipulation to cheat at casino games. He then added that while time was stopped, he'd take the opportunity to adjust the undergarments of the other casino patrons, purely for his own amusement. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_67cecb5b | |
QI / int_6891554e | type |
Parlor Games | |
QI / int_6891554e | comment |
Parlor Games: "Noel" involves the panel playing several parlor games, such as Taboo (where they have to answer questions without using the letter "N") and "Are you there, Moriarty?" (where two people are blindfolded and one has to hit the other with a rolled-up newspaper). They're a British Christmas tradition. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6891554e | |
QI / int_6b35bdff | type |
Serious Business | |
QI / int_6b35bdff | comment |
Serious Business: In the episode on "Hoaxes", the panel was informed that they had to guess which question was a hoax and, in fact, not true by playing their "Joker cards". In the end, it turned out that the idea of a hoax fact was itself a hoax, and everything had been true. This prompted Sean Lock and Alan to throw their Joker cards across the room in anger, and Danny Baker to say "This is an outrage, this is like the end of Lost!" When Sean was then announced as the winner, one of the other panellists claimed it was now a "discredited" show anyway. | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6b35bdff | |
QI / int_6b5a92dc | type |
Uncanny Valley | |
QI / int_6b5a92dc | comment |
Uncanny Valley: After meeting the android Asimo, the contestants discussed how the creepiest thing about it (aside from the distinct feeling that it was probably heavily weaponised and might go on a rampage) was the "attempt to be human", such as talking in a humanoid voice rather than Robo Speak. invoked | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6b5a92dc | |
QI / int_6da90c4d | type |
Full-Name Ultimatum | |
QI / int_6da90c4d | comment |
Full-Name Ultimatum: In "Invertebrates", Stephen admonishes Jimmy Carr by calling him "James Carr!" | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6da90c4d | |
QI / int_6ec4232f | type |
Casting Gag | |
QI / int_6ec4232f | comment |
Casting Gag: The producers often hire people associated with one of the questions, or is at least knowledgeable at the theme of the episode, such as Clare Balding in Series H's "Horses and Hunting", a well known figure in horse commentary (her family is even associated with the sport!), while Professor Brian Cox (a well known physicist) was on Series I's "Incomprehensible" where one of the questions was planet-related. Seems to be a way to keep the conversations on the right track in the episode. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6ec4232f | |
QI / int_6ef9d3fe | type |
Christmas Episode | |
QI / int_6ef9d3fe | comment |
Christmas Episode: Once every series, except for Series C where they purposely omitted a Christmas episode to avoid the klaxon. Since the G series the Christmas show will usually include a Special Guest: G Series was David Tennant (Doctor Who), H Series was Daniel Radcliffe (the Harry Potter Saga), I Series was BRIAN BLESSED, K Series was Brendan O'Carroll (Mrs. Brown's Boys) and to the delight of everyone L Series featured Carrie Fisher (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).note Carrie was filming in London for the aforementioned film. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6ef9d3fe | |
QI / int_6f064059 | type |
The Points Mean Nothing | |
QI / int_6f064059 | comment |
The Points Mean Nothing: Even the show's creators don't know how the scoring for the questions works — they apparently hire a man to sit in a room and work it out, and no-one knows how he decides it. The placings can actually be quite important, especially if you're a fan of Alan. Stephen also awards points himself for things that are "quite interesting". There is, supposedly, an actual formula or line-of-thought he uses to do so, but no one has managed to figure out how exactly it works. A lot of this is due to things being cut in the edit, but the points still affecting the end result. It explains why in some episodes people have apparently done well but still lost — they left a number of forfeits on the editing-room floor. And, of course, they can't re-record the ending to only include points scored in the edited version. In the 'International' episode of Series I, Bill Bailey used his 'Nobody knows' sign after a discussion of the points. The point-scorer agreed and awarded him 3 points for it. Parodied on "Inequality"; the points were (unfairly) assigned before the game started (where Stephen said Sandi had won despite having a lower score than Clive Anderson), and even more unfairly not announced at the end. At the end of "Jumble", Stephen awarded himself a monstrously large number of pointsnote specifically 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000 pertaining to the probability against shuffling a pack of cards the same way twice (as he had demonstrated) and proceeded to declare himself the winner. All in all, it is extremely telling that the episode with the record for the lowest 'winning' score, "Fingers and Fumbs" with -24, is widely regarded as the funniest episode so far. | |
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QI / int_6f064059 | |
QI / int_6fba77ef | type |
Moon-Landing Hoax | |
QI / int_6fba77ef | comment |
Moon-Landing Hoax: Discussed at one point in "Hoaxes". The panel debunks various arguments of the conspiracy, such as the movement of the flag and the "muddy" footprints on the lunar surface. However, Stephen thinks the strongest argument against the hoax is that the Russians never thought to discredit the moon landings despite being the Americans' arch-rivals in the space race. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6fba77ef | |
QI / int_6ff7c60e | type |
Queer People Are Funny | |
QI / int_6ff7c60e | comment |
Queer People Are Funny: Stephen Fry's sexuality gets joked about frequently. Usually by himself. With Sandi Toksvig as host, she gets some of these in for herself when the opportunity arises. Sometimes this shows up at the expense of Graham Norton, Sandi Toksvig, or Sue Perkins, but not usually. Incidentally, all made their first appearances in the "G" series. Averted with the Rev. Richard Coles, whose sexuality has not been brought up once, and Russell Tovey, who was on the 24-hour special version. | |
QI / int_6ff7c60e | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_6ff7c60e | |
QI / int_70e642a9 | type |
Luvvies | |
QI / int_70e642a9 | comment |
Luvvies: A special "Luvvie Alarm" was set up alongside the usual klaxon when John Sessions was on the panel, to go off whenever he namedropped all the absolutely delightful chaps he's worked with. Stephen has set it off a few times himself. Emma Thompson was delighted to inform Stephen on-camera that the OED's earliest citation for the word "luvvie" is a quote from him. In "Groovy", following an appearance by Buttercup, a Pantomime cow: | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_70e642a9 | |
QI / int_714342fb | type |
Erotic Eating | |
QI / int_714342fb | comment |
Erotic Eating: Perhaps not intended when Aisling Bea was given an oyster to eat, but the implication wasn't lost on the panel (although the question was on aphrodisiacs). | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_714342fb | |
QI / int_71e514b5 | type |
Don't Try This at Home | |
QI / int_71e514b5 | comment |
Don't Try This at Home: In Series G, this warning accompanied a demonstration of the correct pronunciation of "van Gogh". In "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. In "Jeopardy", the following exchange preceded a demonstration of how to produce hydrogen gas by pouring hydrochloric acid on galvanised nails: Inverted in "Keys". Stephen asserts that bodily reflex will protect one from damage if one attempts to walk at high speed into a wall. On being invited to demonstrate this, he declines, but suggests that the audience try it at home. In "Origins and Openings", Sandi asks Susan Calman if she has ever set fire to Angel Delight. The ensuing conversation establishes both how wonderful it is to see and how no one should do it at home. In "Bills" Stephen asks viewers not to try throwing cats out the window, not because it's bad but "because of the mad letters I get from f*cking cat people" | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_71e514b5 | |
QI / int_720e28a4 | type |
Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs | |
QI / int_720e28a4 | comment |
Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: In the episode "Infantile", Stephen asks what was the longest-running attraction at Coney Island. In the "Film" episode, Stephen asks, "What's the good thing about having a British accent in Hollywood?" When the "Gardens" episode derails into a debate on what to do with a dying honeybee, the three options proposed are giving it honey, killing it, and killing it with honey. In the Series J Christmas episode, "Jingle Bells", after Alan says "Dave" for the umpteenth time, Stephen comments, "One day the answer may be 'Dave', one day it may be 'Blue whale'. I look forward to the day when we have a blue whale named Dave and you don't get it." Rob Brydon on what could conceivably make snails fly: | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_720e28a4 | |
QI / int_722b3319 | type |
Camp Gay | |
QI / int_722b3319 | comment |
Camp Gay: Wo ist mein Handy? The "Camp Horror" genre. | |
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QI / int_722b3319 | |
QI / int_7286e96d | type |
Idiot Ball | |
QI / int_7286e96d | comment |
Played with on one occasion when Stephen asked the panel what a Bongo was while avoiding "the obvious answer". Dave Gorman replied that, since the obvious answer would be a kind of antelope, Stephen was referring to a percussive instrument. Stephen, surprised, remarked that they'd thought the obvious answer would be the percussive instrument. Dave then pointed out that his answer was made the obvious answer since Stephen had introduced the round with "This round is all about antelopes." | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7286e96d | |
QI / int_72d30083 | type |
Cheaters Never Prosper | |
QI / int_72d30083 | comment |
Cheaters Never Prosper: Averted in "Noel", when the panel plays "Are you there, Moriarty?", a parlor game involving attempting to hit another person whilst blindfolded. Alan cheats outrageously by taking his blindfold off, and mercilessly thrashes poor Josh Widdicombe, but Sandi still declares him the winner after the game. However, in "Ologies" the crew took Alan's cheating into account: the panelists were blindfolded and given wines to identify which had been tampered with in some way (such as being at an unconventional temperature). Alan's was a white wine dyed red because they expected him to peek. | |
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-1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_72d30083 | |
QI / int_73f79f91 | type |
Released to Elsewhere | |
QI / int_73f79f91 | comment |
Released to Elsewhere: Phill Jupitus gets off an extended riff on this theme in the context of a discussion of Russian dogs carrying bombs which were trained to destroy tanks. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_73f79f91 | |
QI / int_745a43fc | type |
Fun T-Shirt | |
QI / int_745a43fc | comment |
Fun T-Shirt: After taking the reigns, Sandi appeared in a variety of jumpers, some of which were festooned with such odd phrases as "Scotland Yard", "Oh! Yeah", and "BLONDES". | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_745a43fc | |
QI / int_74b5724e | type |
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties | |
QI / int_74b5724e | comment |
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Used in the "Justice" episode where Stephen and the entire panel ask the audience to join them in dropping their trousers to stare at each other's crotches. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_74b5724e | |
QI / int_74e2ef76 | type |
Orphaned Punchline | |
QI / int_74e2ef76 | comment |
Orphaned Punchline: The panel's Christmas crackers in "Jingle Bells" had these, and the panel were asked to make the joke for it. In "Gifts", Stephen describes an ancient joke to which the punchline has been lost. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_74e2ef76 | |
QI / int_74ef476c | type |
Kneel Before Zod | |
QI / int_74ef476c | comment |
Kneel Before Zod: Stephen Fry actually says this in a D series episode. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_74ef476c | |
QI / int_75196a1d | type |
Translation by Volume | |
QI / int_75196a1d | comment |
Translation by Volume: Done jokingly when discussing the differences between British and American cuisine: | |
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1.0 | |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_75196a1d | |
QI / int_754df088 | type |
Put on a Bus | |
QI / int_754df088 | comment |
Put on a Bus: Sean Lock was a regular panellist from Series A until Series J when he decided to retire from panel shows. Rich Hall (another of the few guests to have appeared on every series until that point) also stopped appearing on the show that year, although in his case The Bus Came Back for one appearance in Series O. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_754df088 | |
QI / int_75979171 | type |
The Cuckoolander Was Right | |
QI / int_75979171 | comment |
The Cuckoolander Was Right: There have been a few people on the show who, in making a purposely surreal response to a question, accidentally included the right answer: Johnny Vegas, that cornflakes were originally conceived as an anti-masturbatory agent.note The monk who invented them believed that urges to masturbate were a symptom of general poor health, and that by eating healthily one would thus avoid them. Phill Jupitus, that Iceland is Europe's biggest producer of bananas. Ross Noble, that a round triangle that makes a square hole is called a Reuleaux triangle. (Pronounced "rolo"—Ross proposed a "Toblerone-Rolo combo.") Sandi Toksvig, suggesting that Japanese War Tubas were precision hearing aids. Nina Conti, that a wooden sticklike device she found in her desk was a suppository. Jack Dee in "Illumination": Jo Brand saying the animal that dreams the most was the platypus. Sandi Toksvig, again, that chainsaws were invented as childbirth aids.note As a bonesaw for the pubic symphysis. Alan saying that the Gilbert's Atomic Children's Chemistry set contained Uranium. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_75979171 | |
QI / int_7815ba15 | type |
N-Word Privileges | |
QI / int_7815ba15 | comment |
N-Word Privileges: Stephen manages to "reclaim" the word 'charioteer' about 2 minutes after the panel suggest it should be a euphemism for 'gay'. That's got to be some kind of record. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7815ba15 | |
QI / int_786bf97f | type |
Real Life Writes the Plot | |
QI / int_786bf97f | comment |
Real Life Writes the Plot: The R series was only 11 episodes long due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the final two episodes, recorded immediately before the UK went into lockdown, had no studio audience. The series was also brought forward from its usual autumn start date to the summer due to the dearth of new shows the BBC had ready to air. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_786bf97f | |
QI / int_79b16b48 | type |
Japanese Ranguage | |
QI / int_79b16b48 | comment |
Japanese Ranguage: Richard Osman responding to Alan's imitation of a Korean accent: "That's just razy lacism and you know it." | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_79b16b48 | |
QI / int_7a265daa | type |
Eagleland | |
QI / int_7a265daa | comment |
Eagleland: As usual, 80% of Rich Hall's gimmick. | |
QI / int_7a265daa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7a265daa | |
QI / int_7aa989ea | type |
Token Evil Teammate | |
QI / int_7aa989ea | comment |
Token Evil Teammate: Sean Lock tends to play this up. | |
QI / int_7aa989ea | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7aa989ea | |
QI / int_7bc90010 | type |
Hearing Voices | |
QI / int_7bc90010 | comment |
Hearing Voices: Sean Lock claims he suffers from this, "but I carry on killing." | |
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1.0 | |
QI / int_7bc90010 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7bc90010 | |
QI / int_7ce3bb6d | type |
Breathless Non Sequitur | |
QI / int_7ce3bb6d | comment |
Breathless Non Sequitur: Stephen will do this after questions, occasionally too fast for the panellists to react. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7ce3bb6d | |
QI / int_7e07f634 | type |
Paranoia Fuel | |
QI / int_7e07f634 | comment |
Paranoia Fuel: Invoked several times as the panellists become more and more savvy about "obvious but wrong" answers; David Mitchell noted how worried the panel was to give an answer they were certain of for fear of the klaxon sounding, and after Jack Dee had finished a very long, rambling answer Ross Noble brought up the idea that the klaxon would go off and the screens would display everything Jack had just said, word for word. | |
QI / int_7e07f634 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7e07f634 | |
QI / int_7e499910 | type |
Obligatory Joke | |
QI / int_7e499910 | comment |
Obligatory Joke: Giving a particularly obvious joke answer usually gets the player the klaxon. (Often for them to shrug it off as Worth It.) Jimmy Carr lost points for answering "Piers Morgan" to a question about the world's most poisonous snake. Sue Perkins got it for answering "Russell Brand" to the question "What would die if it went a year without sex?" At least one example was tailored to a particular contestant with an overly predictable shtick; Jo Brand answered a question about the Great Disappointment with "have you been talking to my husband?", only for that exact phrase to flash up on the board. For the question "What was the greatest joke to come out of Alaska?", Sarah Palin was considered too obvious to even forfeit. When asked to name the deadliest creature in Australia, Julia Zemiro answered "Rupert Murdoch". Oddly she escaped the klaxon. | |
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1.0 | |
QI / int_7e499910 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_7e499910 | |
QI / int_801415e6 | type |
Hand of Glory | |
QI / int_801415e6 | comment |
Hand of Glory: The 12th episode of Series O, "The Occult" had hand of glories (made with gloves rather then dead men's hands). They were not supposed to be burned for OH&S reasons, Noel Fielding took it upon himself to lite his from the many candles around the set. | |
QI / int_801415e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_801415e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_801415e6 | |
QI / int_808cbaeb | type |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking | |
QI / int_808cbaeb | comment |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: | |
QI / int_808cbaeb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_808cbaeb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_808cbaeb | |
QI / int_814a49df | type |
Subliminal Advertising | |
QI / int_814a49df | comment |
Subliminal Advertising: Debunked in the H series episode on "Hypnosis, Hallucinations and Hysteria". STEPHEN FRY FOR POPE | |
QI / int_814a49df | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_814a49df | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_814a49df | |
QI / int_816a4e80 | type |
Star Wars (Franchise) | |
QI / int_816a4e80 | comment |
Of course there would be references to Star Wars during Carrie Fisher's appearance in "No-L". Funnily enough, the cast was obviously trying very hard not to reference Star Wars for a while, until one inevitably slipped through and Jimmy Carr quipped "And how is Chewbacca these days?" | |
QI / int_816a4e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_816a4e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_816a4e80 | |
QI / int_823c6e3e | type |
Large Ham | |
QI / int_823c6e3e | comment |
Large Ham: Well, BRIAN BLESSED was involved. Whereas everyone else's buzzers were little Christmas bells (with the obvious exception of Alan), his was big massive church bells. And everyone cheered! | |
QI / int_823c6e3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_823c6e3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_823c6e3e | |
QI / int_826ffcc8 | type |
Demonic Dummy | |
QI / int_826ffcc8 | comment |
Demonic Dummy: In "Inventive", when ventriloquist Nina Conti starts talking about "Doll Heaven", the Vent Haven Museum in Kentucky, the screens display part of its collection. Sean Lock panics, and later wonders which one murdered the most people. | |
QI / int_826ffcc8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_826ffcc8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_826ffcc8 | |
QI / int_83997339 | type |
Accent Interest | |
QI / int_83997339 | comment |
Accent Interest: The host and panelists sometimes show interest in the accents of other panelists. When Ross Noble made a remark about rounded triangles and proposed a "Toblerone-Rolo combo", Phill Jupitus commented that "Toblerone-Rolo combo" spoken in a Geordie accent is his new favorite sound. When there is an American on the panel (usually Rich Hall), sometimes their Eagleland qualities will be pointed out or played up, including their accents. | |
QI / int_83997339 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_83997339 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_83997339 | |
QI / int_83b44e80 | type |
Straight Gay | |
QI / int_83b44e80 | comment |
Also, Stephen once found himself admiring Jo Brand's breasts: | |
QI / int_83b44e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_83b44e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_83b44e80 | |
QI / int_83cef301 | type |
Right for the Wrong Reasons | |
QI / int_83cef301 | comment |
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Johnny Vegas correctly guesses that cornflakes were originally conceived as an anti-masturbatory agent, supposing that it was for stuffing in mattresses, and the crunching would alert the monks. The real reason is that Kellogg believed that masturbation caused moral corruption among other things and that by eating healthily, one would avoid the urge to masturbate. | |
QI / int_83cef301 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_83cef301 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_83cef301 | |
QI / int_83ea0763 | type |
Rouge Angles of Satin | |
QI / int_83ea0763 | comment |
Rouge Angles of Satin: The buzzers for "Non-Sequiturs" made the sound of scissors because according to Sandi, a researcher misspelled the episode's theme as "non-secateurs". | |
QI / int_83ea0763 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_83ea0763 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_83ea0763 | |
QI / int_8414865 | type |
Aroused by Their Voice | |
QI / int_8414865 | comment |
Aroused by Their Voice: Stephen gets a case of this after hearing Trevor Noah engaging in some Xhosa tongue-clicks. | |
QI / int_8414865 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8414865 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8414865 | |
QI / int_8426d2ac | type |
Inherently Funny Words | |
QI / int_8426d2ac | comment |
In "Knees and Knockers", Alan is impatient to discuss the end-bulbs of Krause, which he has been mispronouncing as "the bell-ends". | |
QI / int_8426d2ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8426d2ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8426d2ac | |
QI / int_84764598 | type |
Dramatic Thunder | |
QI / int_84764598 | comment |
Dramatic Thunder: Near the beginning of an episode in Series D, as Stephen announces the theme of the night — Death. | |
QI / int_84764598 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_84764598 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_84764598 | |
QI / int_86000262 | type |
WilhelmScream | |
QI / int_86000262 | comment |
Wilhelm Scream: Sue Perkins's buzzer in episode G13, "Goths". It gets discussed in full in the "Film and Fame" episode. | |
QI / int_86000262 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_86000262 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_86000262 | |
QI / int_860ca0d9 | type |
Losing Horns | |
QI / int_860ca0d9 | comment |
Losing Horns: Technically the klaxon is this. | |
QI / int_860ca0d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_860ca0d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_860ca0d9 | |
QI / int_87a18d19 | type |
Gonna Need More X | |
QI / int_87a18d19 | comment |
Gonna Need More X: In "Kings", when Bill Bailey's crown falls over his head and gets stuck on his neck, Alan remarks that "We're gonna need a bigger king." | |
QI / int_87a18d19 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_87a18d19 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_87a18d19 | |
QI / int_87bf0789 | type |
Teacher's Pet | |
QI / int_87bf0789 | comment |
Teacher's Pet: Occasionally guests suck up to Stephen, often facetiously, invoking this. David Mitchell received a special "Teacher's Pet" fanfare in "Food", for giving a correct answer verbatim, and commented that it didn't make him "feel that cool." He received another for his answer to the next question, too. Jack Whitehall gave Stephen an apple in "Joints", to the latter's glee. | |
QI / int_87bf0789 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_87bf0789 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_87bf0789 | |
QI / int_87ee897 | type |
Crazy Cultural Comparison | |
QI / int_87ee897 | comment |
Crazy Cultural Comparison: Occasionally when 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 & Ben, The Flowerpot Men; the "Crazy Frog" ringtone; Newcastle accents; and 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." Exaggerated in series B when Stephen asks Rich to explain the American concept of biscuits and gravy. | |
QI / int_87ee897 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_87ee897 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_87ee897 | |
QI / int_884c48a6 | type |
Non-Answer | |
QI / int_884c48a6 | comment |
Non-Answer: A sometime tactic of avoiding the klaxon. | |
QI / int_884c48a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_884c48a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_884c48a6 | |
QI / int_89ed9b94 | type |
Gentleman Snarker | |
QI / int_89ed9b94 | comment |
Gentleman Snarker: Mr. Fry himself, of course. | |
QI / int_89ed9b94 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_89ed9b94 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_89ed9b94 | |
QI / int_8bfaffd7 | type |
Rat King | |
QI / int_8bfaffd7 | comment |
Rat King: Discussed, along with Squirrel Kings, in "Kings". | |
QI / int_8bfaffd7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8bfaffd7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8bfaffd7 | |
QI / int_8c995bfc | type |
Zero-G Spot | |
QI / int_8c995bfc | comment |
Zero-G Spot: Stephen discusses the drawbacks to this. Alan and Bill are undeterred and go on to describe a Pizza Boy Special Delivery scene. | |
QI / int_8c995bfc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8c995bfc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8c995bfc | |
QI / int_8ce4a244 | type |
AllGaysArePaedophiles | |
QI / int_8ce4a244 | comment |
All Gays Are Paedophiles: Guests poking fun at Stephen's homosexuality will often do so on the premise that he seduces pubescent boys, in true Ancient Greek fashion. Stephen has even made such jokes himself. | |
QI / int_8ce4a244 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8ce4a244 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8ce4a244 | |
QI / int_8e5c6752 | type |
Contractual Genre Blindness | |
QI / int_8e5c6752 | comment |
Contractual Genre Blindness: It's often Alan's job to deliberately give the obvious-but-wrong answer, just to get it out of the way. There have been some occasions where another panellist fell into this by deliberately giving forfeit answers — sometimes because they've already racked up a high negative score, and sometimes (as with Robert Webb) just for the heck of it. Sue Perkins seems to revel in getting the klaxon. | |
QI / int_8e5c6752 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8e5c6752 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8e5c6752 | |
QI / int_8e9cf84e | type |
||
QI / int_8e9cf84e | comment |
Bill Bailey claimed that once he went into an enclosure with a jaguar after the handler advised: "Always approach from the front." When he was almost within striking distance the handler suddenly corrected himself: "Oh no, sorry, 'Never.'" | |
QI / int_8e9cf84e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8e9cf84e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8e9cf84e | |
QI / int_8f4a4aad | type |
Tongue on the Flagpole | |
QI / int_8f4a4aad | comment |
Tongue on the Flagpole: During "Birth," Phil Jupitus proposes that a worker may have tried to do this with the two-ton bar of metal that borders on Absolute Zero in Baton Rouge. | |
QI / int_8f4a4aad | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8f4a4aad | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8f4a4aad | |
QI / int_8f6ca47 | type |
Shaving Is Science | |
QI / int_8f6ca47 | comment |
Shaving Is Science: Stephen and Sean discussed the marketing of skin products for men. | |
QI / int_8f6ca47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8f6ca47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8f6ca47 | |
QI / int_8fd7af48 | type |
Sir Swears-a-Lot | |
QI / int_8fd7af48 | comment |
Sir Swears-a-Lot: A running gag in series J is Alan's impression of a very tense and beleaguered Health and Safety guy barking in Stephen's ear as he sets up the "Jolly Jape" of the week. | |
QI / int_8fd7af48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_8fd7af48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_8fd7af48 | |
QI / int_91cab736 | type |
Major Injury Underreaction | |
QI / int_91cab736 | comment |
Major Injury Underreaction: In "Killers", the panel discusses the idea of reducing injury fatality by being drunk, leading Alan to present the concept in this way. | |
QI / int_91cab736 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_91cab736 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_91cab736 | |
QI / int_9350a0b9 | type |
The Tape Knew You Would Say That | |
QI / int_9350a0b9 | comment |
The Tape Knew You Would Say That: The klaxon often gets used if a joke is too obvious, or in some cases, really specific, much to many panellists' paranoia: In "Greats", Stephen asks the panellists about the Great Disappointment. Jo Brand quips "Have you been talking to my husband?" The klaxon sounds and the screen displays that exact sentence, word for word. In "Illness", Jo Brand makes a Running Gag out of insulting Michael Winner. Eventually one of the questions is about what you would call a man who eats everything in sight, to which she answers "Winner"... which happens to be the forfeit (Winner having suffered near-fatal food poisoning in 2007). In "Oddballs", after getting two klaxons in rapid succession, Jimmy Carr asks, "Does someone get paid when that sound effect goes off?" Cue another klaxon and the screen flashing "YES". | |
QI / int_9350a0b9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9350a0b9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9350a0b9 | |
QI / int_95ef5b0d | type |
Symbol Swearing | |
QI / int_95ef5b0d | comment |
Symbol Swearing: In an L series episode, Sue Perkins gets the klaxon for an answer which is bleeped out, and appears on the forfeit card as "*%$#". | |
QI / int_95ef5b0d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_95ef5b0d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_95ef5b0d | |
QI / int_9600368d | type |
Behind the Black | |
QI / int_9600368d | comment |
Behind the Black: Used in the "Killers" episode to introduce a "Knick Knack" that was enclosed in a sizeable box. The camera closed in on Stephen as he announced that it was time for the Knick Knack, then cut out to show that the box was now in place beside him, and he reacted as if it had suddenly appeared. | |
QI / int_9600368d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9600368d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9600368d | |
QI / int_964ea66c | type |
A-Team Firing | |
QI / int_964ea66c | comment |
A-Team Firing: Discussed in "Military", with Jeremy Clarkson claiming that AK-47s are so horrendously inaccurate that two groups firing at each other would never hit anything they were aiming at. | |
QI / int_964ea66c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_964ea66c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_964ea66c | |
QI / int_96b89043 | type |
Not So Above It All | |
QI / int_96b89043 | comment |
Not So Above It All: Stephen Fry, whose main role is to rein in the panel when they go too far. When he loses his composure, it's often the funniest moment of the show. A spectacular example occurred in Series E, where he deftly disarmed Rob Brydon (who had been repeating the last few words of everything he said) and then bungled his very next line, which was of course "They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is..." | |
QI / int_96b89043 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_96b89043 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_96b89043 | |
QI / int_970ccfec | type |
Big "YES!" | |
QI / int_970ccfec | comment |
Big "YES!": Stephen often does this when a panelist gives the right answer to a tricky question immediately. | |
QI / int_970ccfec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_970ccfec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_970ccfec | |
QI / int_978937d6 | type |
Brand X | |
QI / int_978937d6 | comment |
Brand X: "As you can see, here we have some ordinary green washing-up liquid. We're not allowed to mention it's Fairy... uh, its name." Stephen gives a home recipe for waterproof sand which mentions applying "a very well known spray which you're recommended to apply to suede shoes, and which might be named something like GotchScard..." He also manages to entirely avoid mentioning Magic Sand, which is a trademark itself. Since Sandi Toksvig became the new host, she asked the guests to bring her a Danish gift. She received a QI "Danish interlocking children's building set." | |
QI / int_978937d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_978937d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_978937d6 | |
QI / int_98576799 | type |
Throw the Dog a Bone | |
QI / int_98576799 | comment |
Throw the Dog a Bone: The rare occasions when Alan wins or comes second. Series G in particular, where Alan took first or second place more times than anyone else, including winning three episodes in a row. In "France," Stephen finally asks Alan a question to which the answer is "blue whale": "Name a marine mammal that couldn't swallow anything larger than a grapefruit." However, an utterly confused Alan misses his chance to answer correctly, because the question is asked in French. The blue whale finally pays off in “Quizmas,� in response to a question about what the ancient Chinese originally made candles from (whales in general, but it still counts). | |
QI / int_98576799 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_98576799 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_98576799 | |
QI / int_9ad6ea63 | type |
Depth Deception | |
QI / int_9ad6ea63 | comment |
Depth Deception: David Mitchell's bungled "giant tortoise" joke was a play on this. Probably funnier watching him screw it up than it would've been if he'd just said it. | |
QI / int_9ad6ea63 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9ad6ea63 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9ad6ea63 | |
QI / int_9bcd82c0 | type |
Took a Level in Badass | |
QI / int_9bcd82c0 | comment |
Took a Level in Badass: Alan in series D. In series A-C, he had a grand total of one win and one second-place finish. In series D alone, he had two wins, one sole second-place finish, and one shared second-place finish. Alan's overall performance has stayed around this level since then, though it has fluctuated a bit (series G was his best ever, while series H was his worst since series C). | |
QI / int_9bcd82c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9bcd82c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9bcd82c0 | |
QI / int_9c8701b5 | type |
A Day in the Limelight | |
QI / int_9c8701b5 | comment |
A Day in the Limelight: In "Birth", the Christmas episode of its series, Stephen allowed Alan to ask the General Ignorance questions while he attempted to answer them. Prior to "Holidays", three of the panelists took a trip to an H-named place at Stephen's expense. For the first part of the episode, they presented quite interesting facts about their destinations while Stephen commented passively. Alan didn't go anywhere; he was in detention.note He did actually do a presentation at the recording, but it was cut for time. | |
QI / int_9c8701b5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9c8701b5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9c8701b5 | |
QI / int_9dab0a6e | type |
Continuity Nod | |
QI / int_9dab0a6e | comment |
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. In one of his early appearances on the show, Dara Ó Briain impresses Stephen by quoting a fact about the triple-point of water (strictly speaking, the temperature at which there exists a pressure - about 612 Pa - at which water can exist as solid, liquid, or gas at both that temperature and pressure - but Dara puts it as "the lowest temperature at which water can exist in all three states," which would be true of most substances, but is false of water, since high pressures at low temperatures can cause ice to become liquid, although this he isn't called on). One series later, Stephen asks Dara to repeat the fact, but this time it earns him a forfeit; members of the audience had written in because the Kelvin scale (which is defined by the distance between the triple point of water and absolute zero, so the number is exact) had been revised since Dara had studied physics at school, so that the triple point was no longer 0°C, but 0.01°C. Actually brought back twice when, in series H, Dara says that fish surely don't really have tongues and is brushed off by Stephen. Come to find out, fish actually don't have tongues, but Dara did not get the points for saying this until series I, which sparks off an explanation to Sandi about the triple-point-of-water thing. | |
QI / int_9dab0a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9dab0a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9dab0a6e | |
QI / int_9e0c3153 | type |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis! | |
QI / int_9e0c3153 | comment |
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: At the end of the infamous "They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is" incident, Stephen eventually manages to spit out "That there are... No! Straight! Lines!" After a long argument with Rich Hall about the existence of a second moon, when Rich asked why there are no songs about the second moon yet, an exasperated Stephen replies "Because it was discovered in nineteen! Ninety! Fucking! FOUR!" | |
QI / int_9e0c3153 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9e0c3153 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9e0c3153 | |
QI / int_9e8760ab | type |
Tongue Twister | |
QI / int_9e8760ab | comment |
Tongue Twister: Stephen occasionally spouts one of these, his favourite being "Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie." In "Naming Names", Sandi's first episode as host, she reads the full version of "She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore", to a somewhat dismissive response from the audience, which Alan promptly calls out. | |
QI / int_9e8760ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9e8760ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9e8760ab | |
QI / int_9edfdf1f | type |
Studio Audience | |
QI / int_9edfdf1f | comment |
Studio Audience: Notably, the audience is capable of winning and losing points (and have occasionally actually been declared the winners) by individual members shouting out the answers. This arose in a case of Throw It In! the first time it happened and the elves decided to mark it on Fry's scoreboard. Two episodes of series R had to be filmed without a studio audience as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. | |
QI / int_9edfdf1f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9edfdf1f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9edfdf1f | |
QI / int_9f541b68 | type |
Brand Name Takeover | |
QI / int_9f541b68 | comment |
Brand Name Takeover: In "Knees and Knockers", Stephen discusses a couple of examples, namely the Klaxon brand of car horns (an error this show has made often) and Velcro, which is referred to as a "hook and loop fastener" by the company. That said, as far as he's concerned, it's velcro. | |
QI / int_9f541b68 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9f541b68 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9f541b68 | |
QI / int_9f80e1da | type |
Sarcasm Mode | |
QI / int_9f80e1da | comment |
In the "Gardens" episode when Stephen asks about the best place to find a new species, which somehow led to an "interesting, fierce, and, I think, productive" debate on what to do with a starving honeybee. | |
QI / int_9f80e1da | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_9f80e1da | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_9f80e1da | |
QI / int_a0797fb3 | type |
Stunned Silence | |
QI / int_a0797fb3 | comment |
Stunned Silence: In "Indecision", after a game of "find the lady" with fake money, an (apparent) audience member runs by and grabs the bills out of Stephen's hand, leaving the entire panel stunned for a few seconds. It turns out to be a set-up for a segment about the unreliability of identity parades. | |
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Overly Long Gag | |
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Overly Long Gag: During Series E, there was an episode centered around "endings". The buzzers for the first three included the sound of a church gong signifying death, the sound of a guillotine sliding down, and the final strums of a banjo tune. Alan's is what seems to be the last frantic chords of a piano... which then keep continuing on for another 30 seconds before stopping. During this, Stephen keeps trying to continue with the show, before the piano starts up again. He does this about three times. It was taken from a Dudley Moore sketch, incidentally. A similar buzzer trick occurs in "Landmarks", when the guests have cartoony noises for their buzzers, while Alan's is just the sound of sawing wood for twenty seconds. In Series 9, David Mitchell guesses when World War I was named as such. The klaxon hit him every time. | |
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Confusing Multiple Negatives | |
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Confusing Multiple Negatives: Many times in "Not Nearly". | |
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For Inconvenience, Press "1" | |
QI / int_a4328a91 | comment |
For Inconvenience, Press "1": Alan's buzzer in "Infantile": | |
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Mood Whiplash | |
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Mood Whiplash: There's been more than a few instances where the topic turns a bit grim and sombre. Of course, the panellists always point this out and make up for it right afterwards. A heavily invoked example occurs in "Military Matters" when Stephen gives a long and dreary lecture on the horrific nature of war and the harm it's done to human civilization, only to lead into the question: "Why did Hitler have such a silly moustache?" | |
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Preemptive "Shut Up" | |
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Preemptive "Shut Up": Stephen doesn't care for cheap shots. | |
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Rule of Funny | |
QI / int_a60e3252 | comment |
Stephen can't stand willful or apathetic ignorance. Naturally, Alan pushes this button whenever he thinks it might be funny. Lee Mack not only found it in Series H but practically danced on it, exasperating Stephen with his insistence on giving an incorrect answer. | |
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Status Quo Is God | |
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Johnny Vegas went on record in the QI Genesis special that he was attempting to be dumber than Alan on the show. He STILL has a better win percentage than Alan. | |
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Parallel Porn Titles | |
QI / int_a7189582 | comment |
Parallel Porn Titles: Discussed in "France". The porn version of Mary Poppins would be "Mary Popshot" or "Mary Pops-In". | |
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Obfuscating Stupidity | |
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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 fulfills his role of The Fool on a consistent basis. When he wised up to his situation in series D, he started playing seriously, getting second or better three times in the first six episodes. But as his buffoonery is a cornerstone of the show's popularity, he was soon set straight. (He still performs better than he did in the first three series, though.) | |
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Piranha Problem | |
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Piranha Problem: In the "Killers" episode of the 'K' season, Stephen discusses the Pacu fish. From Papua New Guinea and a relative to the piranha, it eats seeds and nuts. It also goes for a different kind of nut, hence its nickname of the "Ball-cutter fish", which goes for the gonads if you are swimming naked near it. There are two recorded deaths by castration from this fish. | |
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Totally Radical | |
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Totally Radical: The Series G episode "Groovy" is naturally full of this. But being QI, it includes a lot of discussion on what era various slang words actually hail from, a lot of them being Older Than They Think. | |
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Worth It | |
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Worth It: Often expressed when a joke answer gets the klaxon, such as when Bill Bailey suggested "Janet Street-Porter" for the question "What has large teeth and only one facial expression?", or Sue Perkins said "Iceberg" for "What type of lettuce was served on the Titanic?" Sue in particular has been known to take a bow after setting off the klaxon in this manner. | |
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I Can't Believe I'm Saying This | |
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I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Also a common response to his many That Came Out Wrongs. | |
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The Blind Leading the Blind | |
QI / int_ae1c0901 | comment |
The Blind Leading the Blind: In "Just the Job", Sandi Toksvig points out how ridiculous it is that she and Stephen Fry are discussing the mechanics of heterosexual sex. | |
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Deadpan Snarker | |
QI / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Deadpan Snarker: Rich Hall, most notably. And: Oddly enough, he was in the right area as the answer turned out to be Congress. Graeme Garden, of The Goodies and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue fame. David Mitchell snarks a lot, too. Jack Dee keeps (or tries to keep) a scowl on his face at all times. | |
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Viewers Are Morons | |
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Viewers Are Morons: Phill Jupitus derides the fact that when discussing Cpt. Flint, the parrot in Treasure Island, the picture of him on Long John Silver's shoulder had the parrot circled. Lampshaded repeatedly whenever a picture of a common object is shown when Stephen goes, "There's a picture of a _____, in case you wanted to know what one looked like." | |
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Die Laughing | |
QI / int_aed29b5c | comment |
Die Laughing: Discussed in the XL version of "Happiness"; the only person they could come up with who'd died laughing was the man who laughed for 25 minutes and had a heart attack at an episode of The Goodies. | |
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Creepy Children Singing | |
QI / int_aee8ec77 | comment |
Creepy Children Singing: For unknown reasons, all the buzzers in "Middle Muddle" are of children solemnly singing children's songs. On hearing his, Jimmy Carr promptly points out that it sounds like the soundtrack of a horror film. | |
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Accidental Misnaming | |
QI / int_af616e40 | comment |
Accidental Misnaming: Stephen accidentally called Sue Perkins "Mel" in the Gothic episode, leading to much embarrassment and the panellists giving him grief about it the rest of the episode. In "Kaleidoscope", Stephen refers to Alan's most famed other role, Jonathan Creek, as Jonathan Ross, leading to the other guests joking that Jonathan Ross regenerates and Alan was hired to play him. | |
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Dreaming of Things to Come | |
QI / int_af7d483f | comment |
Dreaming of Things to Come: Victoria Coren Mitchell, in her first appearance, admitted that she had an anxiety dream the night before taping where she was on the show and Stephen Fry asked her, "Why was the March Hare so important to the Aztecs?" Flustered, she answered, "Did they worship it?" which gave her the forfeit of "Worship It". Later in the show, as the final question, Stephen gets to ask her the very question after the QI Elves did some digging, and discovered that the Aztecs worshipped rabbits and specifically jackrabbits which are a type of hare. | |
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Catchphrase | |
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Catchphrase: Series F looked at some famous catchphrases, including "Has your mother sold her mangle?" Stephen noted that they themselves didn't have a catchphrase, and gave the panellists the task of coming up with one, eventually landing on "My bottom is a treasure house." 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!" (KLAXON) Every now and again there are Shout Outs to Stephen's character's Verbal Tic catchphrase on Blackadder, "Baaaa!" Phill Jupitus is usually the one to instigate these. Alan's demanding cry of "Points!" combined with arms thrown in the air whenever he gets something right. Alan guessing "Dave" for any person's name, regardless of gender. Although it's never actually pointed out, both Bill Bailey and Alan have a habit of saying "Shut the front door" when they have trouble believing something, as a PG version of saying, "Shut the fuck up". In series M Stephen started saying "Oh my actual, oh my actual" when he was about to announce the scores. Stephen occasionally says "It's good that you're trying" in a rather patronising tone whenever a panelist gives a particularly stupid (or just downright weird) answer to a question. Sandi, in her tenure as host, has begun to loudly proclaim, "Moving on!" when the banter goes far off in one direction. "A wild stab in the dark!" Said by Stephen in response to a particularly off-the-wall response. Bill Bailey has a habit of saying, 'who's funding this research?' in an exasperated tone, whenever unusual experiments and studies in animal behaviour are brought up. | |
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Loophole Abuse | |
QI / int_b1dde8fd | comment |
Loophole Abuse: Several Real Life examples are discussed on "Inequality", including a cricketer who noticed that there Aint No Rule you can't use a bat that's wider than the wicket (there is now), and a baseball team that fielded a dwarf to exploit the rules regarding strike zones. | |
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Toilet Humour | |
QI / int_b41c411e | comment |
Toilet Humour: Often supplied by Sean Lock. | |
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Squick | |
QI / int_b486877f | comment |
Squick: In-Universe. In "Idleness", Stephen describes how a man can fake tuberculosis, and the panellists and audience react with disgust. Do not watch any of the "Horrible" episode if you have a weak stomach. In 'Imbroglio': Jo Brand managed to squick the entire studio (audience + guests) several times in the episode 'Jumble'. The story involving a medical school prank was stopped midway through by Alan. He wasn't savvy enough for Jo Brand. In "Films and Fames" Emma Thompson mentions one of her hobbies at university was terrifying Stephen Fry by locking the doors and descending his stairs naked and shaking her breasts. Later, when he asks if she shaves her pubic hair, she asks if he wants to see, causing him to recoil in horror. | |
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Everyone Has Standards | |
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Everyone Has Standards: Jeremy Clarkson found the idea of squirrel "kings", stuck together by matted tail fur so they can't move and ultimately starve to death, to be "the funniest thing I've ever heard", while the audience "aww"ed in sympathy. When he found out it usually happened to baby squirrels, that touched a nerve. | |
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Epic Fail | |
QI / int_b4eff8a8 | comment |
Epic Fail: Sean Lock's final score of -76 in the 'Germany' episode was singled out by Stephen as "possibly a record". It still stands as the lowest score achieved by a guest panellist. The actual record is the "Children in Need" special in Series D, where Stephen Fry multiples all the scores by a million as a gesture of generosity to mark the occasion. The upshot of this is that Alan finishes the show with -29,000,000 points. Alan also got -84 in Series C, in the episode Cleve Crudgington. Not to mention -144 in the Differences episode, after a -150 point penalty for suggesting "Randy" as Gandhi's first name. Assuming Alan's above score of -29,000,000 was actually just -29, for the entire series, Alan is currently on a score of -2180. Occasionally guests have epic fails relating to their props. In "Just the Job", Alan was consistently unable to make a slinky walk down some steps. In "Kinetic", Danny Baker defied Stephen's assertion that two hands brought together while holding a broom would always meet at its center of gravity; his broom kept falling over. | |
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QI / int_b53077b3 | type |
Take That! | |
QI / int_b53077b3 | comment |
Take That!: Oftentimes people buzz in to take a potshot at various people (and very often get a Klaxon). The official channel compiled a bunch of instances here, but there are many more: On the question "Name a poisonous snake", Jimmy Carr buzzed in with "Piers Morgan" which was the forfeit answer. In "Atoms", Stephen asks the panelists what the most boring location in the UK is. The actual answer has to do within an incredibly barren stretch of land in the countryside, but Jo Brand has a different idea... She keeps the insults going by refuting Stephen's claim that one of the housemates brought a copy of his book into the house, saying "they can't read!" When asked to name the commonest material in the world, Clive Anderson suggested "Jim Davidson's". When discussing game theory in "Games", Stephen brings up John Nash, who won a Nobel Prize for his work in that field before suffering the terrible tragedy of being played by Russell Crowe. Alan's buzzer in the "Horrible" episode: "Hello, I'm Piers Morgan." When asked "what is the biggest load of rubbish in the world?", an audience member yells, "France!" In "Invertebrates", the question "name a spineless vertebrate", Jimmy answered Nick Clegg, to great applause. In "Incomprehensible", Stephen tells the panel about a woman who deliberately put herself through the most debasing and degrading experiences she could think of. Alan says, "But did she go on Mock the Week?" Jo's Running Gag in "Illness" of insulting Michael Winner. In "J-Places", when the subject turns to Juneau, Alaska, Stephen mentions that there are no roads leading to the city; you can only get there by air or water. In "Jeopardy", Julia Zemiro's answer to the "Australia's deadliest creature": Rupert Murdoch. In "Kings", when asked what has twenty legs, five heads and can't reach its nutsAnswer a Squirrel King, five baby squirrels attached together by the tail with especially sticky tree sap, Jeremy Clarkson suggests Westlife. When Stephen admits how close he was to a forfeit, Jimmy Carr obliges with One Direction. In "Nonsense", when Sandi asks the panel to produce something nonsensical yet seemingly profound, a picture of Russell Brand appears. When asked what the collective noun for a group of baboons is, Rich Hall replied, "The Pentagon". What is the biggest joke to come out of Alaska? Sarah Palin was the forefeit answer. In "Rude", Sandi asked what creature likes going up to women and shouting at them. John Barrowman answered, "The entire Republican Party". | |
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Too Dumb to Fool | |
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Too Dumb to Fool: As the panellists get more savvy and double bluffs become more common, Alan 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. | |
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Too Dumb to Live | |
QI / int_b58b4e3c | comment |
Too Dumb to Live: In "Kings," regarding a hypothetical airport in the shape of a spoked wheel: | |
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The Ace | |
QI / int_b5b4b077 | comment |
The Ace: Sandi Toksvig, who wins virtually every time she's on the show and still manages to be very interesting and humorous. Perhaps that's why she was the choice to take over as host of the the show. | |
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Westminster Chimes | |
QI / int_b64ea263 | comment |
Westminster Chimes: Used for the buzzer sounds in a first-series episode — Dave Gorman's buzzer chimed mi, Jeremy Hardy's chimed do, Jo Brand's chimed re, and Alan's made a noise like a pneumatic drill. Again in a second-series episode — each of the first three contestants had a four-note chime, and Alan had a cuckoo clock. | |
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Political Overcorrectness | |
QI / int_b6db5695 | comment |
Political Overcorrectness: "You can't even mutilate a tortoise anymore!" | |
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Hypocritical Humor | |
QI / int_b707726f | comment |
Hypocritical Humor: "We never use euphemisms, and we think that people who do are complete front-bottoms." In the episode "Ologies", Claudia Winkleman pauses before attempting to answer a question to request that she be spared the klaxon even if she forfeits, because she finds the sound nerve-wracking. The producers agree to the request — by sounding the klaxon and displaying their answer on the screen where the forfeit answer usually appears. | |
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Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! | |
QI / int_b7bc7d28 | comment |
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!" | |
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Meat Versus Veggies | |
QI / int_b8a13baa | comment |
Meat Versus Veggies: When Stephen Fry asked why people who do not eat meat are called vegetarians, Jeremy Clarkson's response was "So they can be identified as fools and madmen!". For the Veggies side, we have Alan himself. It doesn't get brought up very often, and he occasionally pokes fun at it too, but on one memorable occasion in the B series, whilst on a tirade about religion, he recalls a time when "someone who should remain nameless" became zealous and evangelizing to him about meat-eating. | |
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A Good Name for a Rock Band | |
QI / int_b9561236 | comment |
A Good Name for a Rock Band: Getting to the level of a Running Gag; "Toblerone-Rolo Combo" [to be said in a Geordie accent]. 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. "Anal Wind Expulsion"; "They were on at Download, actually..." When Stephen described The Da Vinci Code as "loose stool water", Alan suggested that Loose Stool Water sounded like a blues guitarist. Bill Bailey says this about "Crunchy Hummus" in Series L. In "Non Sequiturs", they got "Divine Catheter" and "The Horny Menopausal Women" out of a discussion of nuns. In a variant on this concept the panel decides that "wet bottom on the night bus" would make a good title for Sue Perkins' autobiography. | |
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Jive Turkey | |
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Jive Turkey: Occasionally for comic effect, as when Stephen described cheese as "the celebration of what happens when milk goes off big-time stylee." | |
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Aerith and Bob | |
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Aerith and Bob: | |
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It Makes Sense in Context | |
QI / int_ba236071 | comment |
Actually brought back twice when, in series H, Dara says that fish surely don't really have tongues and is brushed off by Stephen. Come to find out, fish actually don't have tongues, but Dara did not get the points for saying this until series I, which sparks off an explanation to Sandi about the triple-point-of-water thing. | |
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QI / int_bad20f4e | type |
Whammy | |
QI / int_bad20f4e | comment |
Whammy: The forfeits are a downplayed example, but still valid, given how difficult it is to score positive points — it's more common to finish with a negative score than a positive score, and some panellists have won with a negative score. Most forfeits subtract 10 points from the score, but some (for particularly stupid answers) subtract even more, like giving "carbon dioxide" as the main component of Earth's atmosphere (which would have resulted in a 3,000-point deduction); on one occasion, Alan earned the usual 10-point deduction for guessing that Gandhi's first name was Mahatmanote It was Mohandas, and then a 150-point penalty for jokingly suggesting that Gandhi had a brother named Randy. | |
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QI / int_bc00493f | type |
Precision F-Strike | |
QI / int_bc00493f | comment |
Precision F-Strike: Unfortunately bleeped out, but Phill Jupitus loves using these. Also Fry himself, as part of his Sophisticated as Hell humor. Not to mention: In the episode "Fingers and Fumbs", there was a special forfeit revolving around the use of the word "fuck" where whoever said it had to play Rock/Paper/Scissors with Stephen to decide if they would lose points. It was a double bluff, as Stephen said, the contestants were expected to think that "fuck" was such an obvious word to choose as a forbidden word, they would think that the makers would never pick it as such. It came up no fewer than six times (three of them Phill's), and Stephen didn't win any games. (He kept playing scissors, having claimed it was the best opening move; see Kansas City Shuffle.) In Series A, Stephen cut off a discussion on why there aren't any romantic songs that mention the "second moon" (technically a resonant body) Cruithne. In one of the outtakes from Series 1, Stephen turns a fluffed line into a Funny Moment: In the "Jeopardy" episode, Stephen attempts to make hydrogen by pouring hydrochloric acid onto nails. Just before starting, he makes a mistake, resulting in this: Gets a Call-Back in the episode "Jobs", where Stephen's popping balloons with a laser pen. For "Noisy Noses" with Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Sandi asks the question "What is the loudest thing anyone has ever shouted?" | |
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QI / int_bc74ef27 | type |
Berserk Button | |
QI / int_bc74ef27 | comment |
John Sessions was so frequent an offender that he was given a buzzer that consisted of an over-eager child saying "Sir, Sir! I know Sir!" in a series B episode—his third or fourth taping.note And given the statements by both Stephen and Dara under Berserk Button and the fact that Sessions died in 2020, he's a very good candidate for being the one that kept asking for the questions beforehand. In the F Series episode "Films and Fame", after he got the first question right immediately, Emma Thompson asked him, "Are you going to be like this all night?" | |
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Beam Me Up, Scotty! | |
QI / int_bcb2cfe1 | comment |
Beam Me Up, Scotty!: In-Universe use of this trope Questions are set up so that reciting one of these is the obvious answer is a common means of tripping up the panelists in the "General Ignorance" round. It happens in the actual series as well: Alan quotes the song about Peter Cushing (namely "Peter Cushing Lives in Whitstable" by The Jellybottys) as "Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable, I have seen him on his bicycle, I have seen him buying vegetables, Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable", when it's actually "Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable, he goes shopping on his bicycle, you can meet him buying vegetables". After the popularity of the song grew, thanks to its mention in the series, the Jellybottys released a synth remake with Alan's lyrics. | |
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QI / int_bd6d90d9 | type |
Eye Remember | |
QI / int_bd6d90d9 | comment |
Eye Remember: Discussed in "Opposites" particularly the historical origins of the trope. | |
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QI / int_bd6d90d9 | |
QI / int_be6f7ae7 | type |
Brief Accent Imitation | |
QI / int_be6f7ae7 | comment |
Brief Accent Imitation: Stephen does this frequently (and utterly uncannily) with a multitude of accents and regional dialects from all over the world. Some of the other panellists dip into this as well, and examples of both are below: Alan does a Mexican Spanish accent... badly. The cartoonish manner is hilarious and deliberate though, and he does pretty much the same accent for his German, this being his Stock Foreign Accent. Panelists sometimes try Scottish. "I've got to say, Stephen, it's been a bewildering array of Scottish accents!" A very Camp German accent by Stephen Fry for the ridiculousness "Mein Handy!" Stephen briefly does a Russian accent when he talks about the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union. "And not once did [the Soviet Union] make the suggestion that they thought America hadn't done it. They never said, 'No, we know this was hoax.' " In "Landmarks", Stephen does an "appalling Nigerian accent", and Alan tries to. Phill Jupitus does a rather uncanny Eddie Izzard. Dara Ó Briain calls Stephen out on his attempt at an Irish accent while discussing the proper way to serve a pint of Guinness. "The town I was in wasn't actually set in a movie from the 1950s." In "Film and Fame", John Sessions did an uncanny impression of Alan Rickman from Die Hard: "Mister Takagi will not be joining us for the rest of his life." Stephen Fry once did an impressive Vincent Price impression as well. Alan's Australian accent is surprisingly good. Stephen's isn't too shabby either. In "Middle Muddle", Stephen discusses the narrow pavements of Knutsford and adopts an upper-class brogue to mock the reasoning behind them, but: | |
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QI / int_be94b160 | type |
SmiteMeOhMightySmiter | |
QI / int_be94b160 | comment |
Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter: After David Mitchell's long and futile argument with the klaxon (yes, the klaxon), in which he inevitably loses: | |
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QI / int_bedd799b | type |
Blunt "Yes" | |
QI / int_bedd799b | comment |
Blunt "Yes": Prone to happen when a panelist guesses the right answer in a flippant or joking manner. | |
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QI / int_bef696dd | type |
Mind Screw | |
QI / int_bef696dd | comment |
Mind Screw: Jimmy Carr's mind was blown by this optical illusion. | |
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QI / int_c2299d6e | type |
Cutting the Knot | |
QI / int_c2299d6e | comment |
Cutting the Knot: Done by Alan to the interlaced telephone directories in the 2011 Christmas special: having been told that the friction between the pages cannot be overcome by any force a human can produce, Alan simply thrashes about with the books until they fall apart. When Stephen brings up a hypothetical situation of being lost in Epping Forest, as a lead-in to a discussion on pathfinding in the wilderness, Alan insists that you can just listen for nearby traffic. | |
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QI / int_c25c7890 | type |
Fun with Acronyms | |
QI / int_c25c7890 | comment |
Fun with Acronyms: In her first show as presenter, Toksvig told the panellists that the first question she asked would be 'very simple', and proceeded to ask: "WHO is offended by what?". Cue panellists making it harder for themselves by failing to spot that the 'WHO' was an acronym, specifically for the World Health Organisation. note The answer to the question "WHO is offended by what?" was that the World Health Organisation felt certain decades-old disease names may be insensitive or may give a wrong impression nowadays, such as the notion that Spanish Flu could only be caught by going to Spain. | |
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QI / int_c2e2a445 | type |
Jade-Colored Glasses | |
QI / int_c2e2a445 | comment |
Jade-Colored Glasses: A few panellists, such as Jack Dee and David Mitchell, can get laughs from fairly cynical observations. | |
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QI / int_c2e2a445 | |
QI / int_c309f9d1 | type |
Science Marches On | |
QI / int_c309f9d1 | comment |
invokedScience Marches On: The K series episode "Knowledge" is based on this concept. After the panel is asked the infamous question "How many moons does the Earth have?", they discuss the issue that what we believe to be true at this point in time can be proven false by new data in several years time. Stephen then revealed that the scores would be adjusted for this episode to make up for the theoretically now correct answers the panelists had given in prior years. Jimmy Carr gets 43.58 points, Jo Brand gets 84.73, the Audience gets 23.24, while Alan is awarded 737.66 points. Graham Lineham, who made his first appearance in the show that episode, doesn't get any points, at which he feigns offense. Predictably, Alan wins that day...with a score of 689.66.note Without the score adjustments, Jo would have won that day with a score of +1 point, while Alan would have floundered at -48. In the L series episode "Little and Large", as Felix Baumgartner's world record skydiving attempt is being discussed by the panel, a note from the show's editors appears on screen explaining that Alan Eustace had broken Baumgartner's height record in the time between the episode's taping and its air date. | |
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QI / int_c309f9d1 | |
QI / int_c335b9ec | type |
Irony | |
QI / int_c335b9ec | comment |
Irony: Alan is a master of Socratic irony, though Stephen tries to play it down as mere stupidity when he can. | |
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QI / int_c335b9ec | |
QI / int_c3ae786a | type |
Recut | |
QI / int_c3ae786a | comment |
Recut: ...that being QI XL, a 40-minute version of the show broadcasts the following day. Something of an inversion of Edited for Syndication, as some point discrepancies are ironed out in some episodes, such as massive forfeits and/or correct answers which were dropped in the edit down to a half-hour. The repeats on Dave only show QI XL and not the normal version as it allows them to stretch it to a full hour with three internal ad breaks to fit a more traditional scheduling pattern. Other BBC shows Dave broadcasts, such as Room 101 or Have I Got News for You normally remain unedited (save for a straight cut in the middle for one ad break), but as such take up a forty-minute slot. | |
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QI / int_c3ae786a | |
QI / int_c4286511 | type |
For Doom the Bell Tolls | |
QI / int_c4286511 | comment |
For Doom the Bell Tolls: An ominous tolling bell was added to the opening music of the "Gothic" episode. | |
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QI / int_c5f0119c | type |
Insane Troll Logic | |
QI / int_c5f0119c | comment |
Insane Troll Logic: David Mitchell's specialty is pointing these out. Other panelists also occasionally take a turn at it. | |
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QI / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
QI / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: "Indecision", with Never Mind the Buzzcocks regular Phill Jupitus as one of the panelists, borrows the Buzzcocks "Identity Parade" round as one of the questions. After a particularly foreseeable forfeit, Sue puts out her wrists and screams "FOR YOOOOOOOOU!" At the beginning of the "Germany" episode, Stephen Fry warns everyone "Don't mention the war". This turns into a Running Gag where anyone who mentions World War II gets the klaxon. On the "Literature" episode, which featured Victoria Coren-Mitchell, one round is based on her quiz show Only Connect. "No L", featuring Carrie Fisher, naturally was replete with Star Wars references, though probably not as many as she expected. In "Military Matters", one of the questions involves the best way to obtain a medical discharge from the trenches of World War I; one of the panelists immediately offers the method described in Blackadder Goes Forth, and gets the klaxon. When Sandi Toksvig took over hosting duties in 2016, many references were made to her then concurrent hosting duties on The Great British Bake Off. | |
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QI / int_c85cb635 | type |
WhyDontYaJustShootHim | |
QI / int_c85cb635 | comment |
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?: | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_c8999d19 | type |
Dub Text | |
QI / int_c8999d19 | comment |
Dubtext: In "France", a picture of a French man was edited to remove his cigarette. This made it look like he was flicking the V sign at the camera for no reason. | |
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QI / int_c9597a03 | type |
Self-Deprecation | |
QI / int_c9597a03 | comment |
Self-Deprecation: They're British, so lots of this. In one of the early episodes, Stephen awarded points to a panelist giving a specifically bad example "for being British". | |
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QI / int_ca3a6dbd | type |
Informed Ability | |
QI / int_ca3a6dbd | comment |
Informed Ability: One episode brought up "Little Tich", a music-hall performer who inspired Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and whom Stephen Fry proclaimed a comic genius whose name would be remembered when every other comedian on the show would be long forgotten. The panel were unimpressed, pointing out that his name had already been forgotten — neither they nor the audience had ever heard of him — and when a surviving clip of his act was shown, they didn't even think it was all that funny. | |
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QI / int_caa28b82 | type |
Cloudcuckoolander | |
QI / int_caa28b82 | comment |
Cloudcuckoolander: Jo Brand. Nearly all the smart-ass answers to the question get buzzed, except hers, which no one could have thought of. More recently, however, she has been getting the klaxon. When the panel was asked, "What was the Great Disappointment?", Jo answered, "Have you been talking to my husband?" This was the forfeit answer, word for word. Similarly, Rich Hall has won a lot of games by barely saying anything except to crack the occasional joke, which earns him a couple of bonus points while everyone else wallows in huge negative numbers accumulated in earnest attempts to answer the questions. Johnny Vegas regularly gives complete non-sequitur answers. Of course, on this show, he is sometimes pretty close to the right answer anyway. As evidenced by the time he suggested that Kellogg's invented cornflakes to prevent masturbation - and was astonished to discover he was right. | |
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QI / int_caa28b82 | |
QI / int_cabd513c | type |
Jedi Mind Trick | |
QI / int_cabd513c | comment |
Jedi Mind Trick: Discussed briefly in "Hypnotism, Hallucinations and Hysteria" with a dog that's supposedly able to hypnotize people. | |
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QI / int_cb0743c0 | type |
Lame Pun Reaction | |
QI / int_cb0743c0 | comment |
Lame Pun Reaction: In "Lumped Together", Ronni Ancona's attempts to make a pun about the inventor of the lava lamp drew pained reactions from everyone on the panel including herself. In the "Holiday" episode, Rob Brydon's joke about stamp collecting earned pained reactions from the panel and an expression of abject shame from Brydon himself. Episode 10 of the 'F' series had a pun so bad it was a forfeit answer. This also happened in "Gravity". In a question about using water displacement to accurately determine someone's BMI, the forfeit was "whale weigh station". In "Groovy", pointing out that a joke was bad was enough to earn a forfeit. "'T' Animals": | |
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QI / int_cce399 | type |
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman | |
QI / int_cce399 | comment |
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: In a tangent in "Kings", Alan brings up Valiant comic superhero Janus Stark and his ability to fit into any small gaps, and notes that there was always a situation where that became useful. | |
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QI / int_cce399 | |
QI / int_cd8c578c | type |
My Eyes Are Up Here | |
QI / int_cd8c578c | comment |
My Eyes Are Up Here: In "Inventive", Nina Conti's puppet Gran draws attention to Conti's exposed cleavage, asking her if it's meant to draw people's eyes away from watching her lips. | |
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QI / int_cdd835ce | type |
Dude, Not Funny! | |
QI / int_cdd835ce | comment |
Dude, Not Funny!: In "Landmarks", Alan joked that the reason Nigerian email scams use bad spelling and grammar is to con Australians. Colin reacted by throwing things at Alan. Irish Aisling Bea pretends to get upset when Stephen mentions the Potato Famine. | |
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QI / int_cdd835ce | |
QI / int_ce0b2b21 | type |
Monochrome Casting | |
QI / int_ce0b2b21 | comment |
Monochrome Casting: In the first twelve series, all but four guests (Meera Syal, Reg D. Hunter, Shappi Khorsandi, Trevor Noah) were white, and all but Reg had a single appearance to their name. The panellists have slightly diversified since then, with Series M through Q introducing Sami Shah, Danny Bhoy, Romesh Ranganathan, Lolly Adefope, Nish Kumar, Stephen K Amos, Desiree Burch, Paul Sinha, Sindhu Vee, Phil Wang, Daliso Chaponda and Anuvab Pal. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_ce0b2b21 | |
QI / int_ce104b8e | type |
Serial Escalation | |
QI / int_ce104b8e | comment |
Serial Escalation: In the episode "Kris Kringle", Stephen describes what punishments the Krampus has in store for naughty children. | |
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QI / int_ce1d78bc | type |
Foreign Queasine | |
QI / int_ce1d78bc | comment |
Foreign Queasine: In "Invertebrates", Stephen presents the panel with a variety of insect-based candies, including a lollipop with ants in it, scorpion brittle, and chocolate-covered ants. In an attempt to show the panel that they are the way forward, he tries a chocolate-covered ant, but soon has cause to regret it. Played with in the Series I Christmas episode "Ice": After eating some ice cream, 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. | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_cf6ce348 | type |
Porn Names | |
QI / int_cf6ce348 | comment |
Porn Names: "Grant Wood?" | |
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1.0 | |
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QI / int_cf6ce348 | |
QI / int_cffd35ee | type |
Crop Circles | |
QI / int_cffd35ee | comment |
The three men responsible for creating a QI-shaped Crop Circle for the "Hoaxes" episode were credited as 'cerealogical motif wranglers'. | |
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QI / int_d01625a1 | type |
History Marches On | |
QI / int_d01625a1 | comment |
History Marches On: Just a few months after Stephen declared that there was no evidence at all Richard III had a hunchback, his body was discovered and, indeed, he had multiple scoliosis. Likewise, the revisionist view that Richard III was a complete innocent usurped by the evil Henry VII and besmirched by Tudor propaganda that Fry goes onto declare the truth is generally considered just as inaccurate and unnuanced as the Shakespearian version. | |
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QI / int_d01625a1 | |
QI / int_d080f396 | type |
The Napoleon | |
QI / int_d080f396 | comment |
The Napoleon: Set up and then debunked in one General Ignorance round: political leaders tend to be above average height at the very least, and some are much taller. | |
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QI / int_d080f396 | |
QI / int_d0c8e54 | type |
Monkeys on a Typewriter | |
QI / int_d0c8e54 | comment |
Monkeys on a Typewriter: In the 17th season episode "Quills", Sandy Toksvig played the sound of someone typing and asked the panelists if they could recite what was being written by the sound of the typing. Lou Sanders' answer: "We don't know any Shakespeare, we're only monkeys!" | |
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QI / int_d148b019 | type |
Mundane Made Awesome | |
QI / int_d148b019 | comment |
Mundane Made Awesome: The great debate in "Garden" on how to kill a honeybee. | |
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QI / int_d1affec1 | type |
That Came Out Wrong | |
QI / int_d1affec1 | comment |
That Came Out Wrong: Most of the innuendo is deliberate, but even so... In the first episode of Series C, Stephen describes an interesting feature of custard (it's a dilatant fluid, which means it becomes more solid the harder or more suddenly you press on it): And in one episode, Stephen explains that you can't get margarine as a substitute for butter anymore. One of the outtakes from C series has Stephen discussing the unpleasantness of kissing stubbly men unless they've recently shaved, which is why if you ever kiss boys its best if they're 15 or younger... Oh I didn't just say that! In "Geography", Stephen discusses the fact that Ireland has had 20 different periods of glaciation: From "Highs and Lows": From "Incomprehensible", talking about a picture of a ground squirrel: In "Inventiveness", during a discussion of smelling salts: In "Jargon", when discussing the use of the word "ejaculate" (meaning "exclaim") in the Sherlock Holmes novels: Averted in the same episode, when Victoria Coren discusses betting on Hangman: In "Knees and Knockers", Alan is impatient to discuss the end-bulbs of Krause, which he has been mispronouncing as "the bell-ends". | |
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QI / int_d28d210a | type |
Daydream Believer | |
QI / int_d28d210a | comment |
Daydream Believer: Bill Bailey, during David Tennant's guest appearance, jokingly insisted Doctor Who was a documentary when Stephen called it a work of fiction. Tennant played along and confirmed that it was all real. "Don't listen to the bad man." And then (at Stephen's prompting) he started waving his pen around like a sonic screwdriver. | |
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1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d28d210a | |
QI / int_d2c0e2ed | type |
Schmuck Bait | |
QI / int_d2c0e2ed | comment |
Schmuck Bait: The obvious answers. Since the A series, the show has evolved from heading full throttle into these types of questions to warily circling the answers to find where the obvious answer is correct. Stephen too at the beginning of Series B, when Alan deliberately pressed his Berserk Button. Subverted by the occasional double bluff though, such as "How many brains did The Man with Two Brains have?" Two, duh. David Mitchell was not pleased by this: And in the XL version of Series F episode "Fingers and Fumbs"... Or this one: They even did one in the first episode. Specifically, why does Edward Woodward have four 'D's in his name? Because that's his name. Also in "Dogs": "What is Rattus rattus?" a rat. Followed by several similar examples in a row (Gorilla gorilla, Iguana iguana). Then they show "Puffinus puffinus", which is not the scientific name for a puffin (it's a Manx shearwater). | |
QI / int_d2c0e2ed | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
QI / int_d2c0e2ed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d2c0e2ed | |
QI / int_d32b4ca3 | type |
Pantomime Animal | |
QI / int_d32b4ca3 | comment |
In "Groovy", following an appearance by Buttercup, a Pantomime cow: | |
QI / int_d32b4ca3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d32b4ca3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d32b4ca3 | |
QI / int_d397657d | type |
Hoist by His Own Petard | |
QI / int_d397657d | comment |
Hoist by His Own Petard: Said word-for-word by Stephen in "Jack and Jill" when asking how many pieces a box of Jenga contains. Alan says ninety, for which Stephen scolds him, because it has to be divisible by three. Erm.... One of the Christmas episodes ended with a segment where Stephen offered Host duties to Alan, who accepted and produced from his pocket his own list of obscure, carefully-phrased questions, all of which were asked specifically of Stephen. | |
QI / int_d397657d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d397657d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d397657d | |
QI / int_d39e327f | type |
What the Hell, Hero? | |
QI / int_d39e327f | comment |
In "Naming Names", Sandi's first episode as host, she reads the full version of "She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore", to a somewhat dismissive response from the audience, which Alan promptly calls out. | |
QI / int_d39e327f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d39e327f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d39e327f | |
QI / int_d3e99054 | type |
Hair Flip | |
QI / int_d3e99054 | comment |
Hair Flip: Ross Noble after taking his hard hat off in Series H (Health & Safety). Alan tried to imitate, but since his hair is all in short curls... | |
QI / int_d3e99054 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d3e99054 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d3e99054 | |
QI / int_d6707631 | type |
Waxing Lyrical | |
QI / int_d6707631 | comment |
Waxing Lyrical: In the L Series Christmas episode, Jimmy Carr proclaims his doubts about the plausibility of the Virgin Birth, and Stephen retorts, "I believe in miracles, you sexy thing! ...you may remember is a line from Hot Chocolate." In "Levity", when Stephen opened a discussion about lightning, Sue Perkins commented, "I do know that thunderbolt and lightning is very very frightening." | |
QI / int_d6707631 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d6707631 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d6707631 | |
QI / int_d7fc9fd0 | type |
Vitriolic Best Buds | |
QI / int_d7fc9fd0 | comment |
Vitriolic Best Buds: Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry. Emma once mentioned how she locked all the doors in her house and appeared at the top of her stairs, naked and shaking her breasts as she descended the stairs going "They're all yours, big boy!" to Stephen, who almost died of terror. She later mentions, rather bluntly, that the definition of "Luvvie" in the O.E.D (Oxford English Dictionary) was Stephen himself, which horrifies Stephen. However, she later mentions that, when her computer died and utterly destroyed her script for Sense and Sensibility, she flung herself at Stephen and cried "FIND MY SCRIPT!", which he did when he managed to repair the broken computer and get it back; he jokes that, technically, he wrote the script - Emma comments in a jesting tone that she'll send him the award in the mail. | |
QI / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d7fc9fd0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d7fc9fd0 | |
QI / int_d848560f | type |
Unusual Euphemism | |
QI / int_d848560f | comment |
Unusual Euphemism: At every opportunity, including in the F series with naval semaphore flags. Alan describing a stale chocolate bar as tasting like "old ladies' cupboards" was not a euphemism, although everyone tried to make it one. | |
QI / int_d848560f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d848560f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d848560f | |
QI / int_d8cad890 | type |
*Cough* Snark *Cough* | |
QI / int_d8cad890 | comment |
*Cough* Snark *Cough*: Stephen is very fond of this. In Series B, Josie Lawrence talks about how St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things and guarantees he'll help you. And on David Tennant's appearance, after answering a historical question right: | |
QI / int_d8cad890 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d8cad890 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d8cad890 | |
QI / int_d9cf40fa | type |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here | |
QI / int_d9cf40fa | comment |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In "Quests Part II", Holly Walsh and Susan Calman sing "Any Dream Will Do". Once the audience members join in, Sandi, Alan, and Joe leave the stage. | |
QI / int_d9cf40fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_d9cf40fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_d9cf40fa | |
QI / int_db212ca9 | type |
Did I Just Say That Out Loud? | |
QI / int_db212ca9 | comment |
Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: After Sean Lock's suggestion that you could put cheese in your pants when entering a sauna and "re-shape" it when you leave... Sarah Millican, after enthusiastically remarking that a whale having a penis-like organ in its mouth "sounds great!" | |
QI / int_db212ca9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_db212ca9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_db212ca9 | |
QI / int_dc93d08b | type |
Blind Shoulder Toss | |
QI / int_dc93d08b | comment |
Blind Shoulder Toss: Alan occasionally does this when the guests are given cards to interact with. In particular, he threw away his diagram of a tongue map after learning that its theory is now discredited and did the same with a silhouette of an elephant after incorrectly labeling its knees (the joints of an elephant's front legs are considered elbows). | |
QI / int_dc93d08b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_dc93d08b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_dc93d08b | |
QI / int_dd9fba61 | type |
A Rare Sentence | |
QI / int_dd9fba61 | comment |
A Rare Sentence: When discussing how the Biblioteca Joanina at the University of Comibra and the Palace Library at the Palace of Mafra have resident bats to eat bugs that would eat the rare books, Bill Bailey remarks that it isn't worth the effort of having to clean up after them. Sandi responds with "These are very, very rare books that cannot be eaten. Wow, there's a weird sentence." | |
QI / int_dd9fba61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_dd9fba61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_dd9fba61 | |
QI / int_de4d1d28 | type |
Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering? | |
QI / int_de4d1d28 | comment |
Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: Non-sequitur answers and strange associations abound. Alan is usually good for these, e.g. observing that sperm can survive for several hours outside the body — "so you should leave the telly on if you're going out." And, of course, there have been several accidental subversions, in which the insane non-sequitur has been the right answer, or very close to it. | |
QI / int_de4d1d28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_de4d1d28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_de4d1d28 | |
QI / int_df1cb219 | type |
Unsportsmanlike Gloating | |
QI / int_df1cb219 | comment |
Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Australian Colin Lane celebrates grandiosely when he wins, prompting Stephen to comment, "Every stereotype proven." | |
QI / int_df1cb219 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_df1cb219 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_df1cb219 | |
QI / int_e18a3c59 | type |
Hilarious Outtakes | |
QI / int_e18a3c59 | comment |
In one of the outtakes from Series 1, Stephen turns a fluffed line into a Funny Moment: | |
QI / int_e18a3c59 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e18a3c59 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e18a3c59 | |
QI / int_e2a41c3b | type |
Literal-Minded | |
QI / int_e2a41c3b | comment |
Literal-Minded: Then and again, for laughs. Including this gem: | |
QI / int_e2a41c3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e2a41c3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e2a41c3b | |
QI / int_e2d457 | type |
The Ditz | |
QI / int_e2d457 | comment |
The Ditz: Alan Davies, dear God, Alan Davies! This is likely at least partly an act, as he has noted on his Twitter that the producers like it when he plays the idiot, though he also notes this isn't difficult to do. This is especially true in the first three series; in series D Alan wised up a bit and started performing better (though still below the "expected" average). Alan reached a peak in Series G, when he won three shows in a row (Episodes 4-6), tied for first place in a further two (Episodes 12-13), and to finish up won Episode 16 with the highest score (21) all series, and indeed the highest score since Series D. All of them play at it sometimes, though, just for laughs. Or at the very least throw out completely nonsensical answers that are still somehow related. Johnny Vegas went on record in the QI Genesis special that he was attempting to be dumber than Alan on the show. He STILL has a better win percentage than Alan. | |
QI / int_e2d457 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e2d457 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e2d457 | |
QI / int_e42e91b4 | type |
Godwin's Law | |
QI / int_e42e91b4 | comment |
Godwin's Law: Itself discussed in the episode on Germany. Stephen describes the law as stating that as every internet discussion or argument continues, the probability of somebody comparing something or someone to Hitler or the Nazis will reach 1, after which the argument is over. Rob Brydon asked whether this law applied to threads where Hitler himself was the topic. | |
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1.0 | |
QI / int_e42e91b4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e42e91b4 | |
QI / int_e4f48a7f | type |
The "Fun" in "Funeral" | |
QI / int_e4f48a7f | comment |
The "Fun" in "Funeral": In "Journalism" Ross Noble regales the tale of his father's epically failed Viking Funeral. | |
QI / int_e4f48a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e4f48a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e4f48a7f | |
QI / int_e54227fc | type |
Gasp! | |
QI / int_e54227fc | comment |
Gasp!: Alan actually says "Gasp!" on learning that the age of consent in Vatican City is twelve. As well he might. | |
QI / int_e54227fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e54227fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e54227fc | |
QI / int_e5b75009 | type |
"Psycho" Strings | |
QI / int_e5b75009 | comment |
"Psycho" Strings: The "F*#@" forfeit in "Fingers and Fumbs" was accompanied by its own sound effect featuring these, rather than the usual klaxon. | |
QI / int_e5b75009 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e5b75009 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e5b75009 | |
QI / int_e6382176 | type |
Ignore the Disability | |
QI / int_e6382176 | comment |
Ignore the Disability: In one episode of Series F, the guests were penalized for saying a swear word beginning with F, and in the Series G episode on Germany a similar ban was placed on mentioning "the War" (although the Franco-Prussian War was still fair game). However, Sean Lock was chastised for mentioning Evelyn Waugh. | |
QI / int_e6382176 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e6382176 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e6382176 | |
QI / int_e83f211c | type |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business | |
QI / int_e83f211c | comment |
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Occasionally Alan is knowledgeable about a question (usually because he's seen a documentary on it). Stephen is always completely astonished by this. | |
QI / int_e83f211c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e83f211c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e83f211c | |
QI / int_e8e56799 | type |
Blue-and-Orange Morality | |
QI / int_e8e56799 | comment |
Blue-and-Orange Morality: When Stephen concludes the story of "the durable Mike Malloy", Jimmy Carr notes that the audience expressed sympathy when Mike Malloy was ultimately killed by sticking a gas hose down his throat, but all the other murder attempts were apparently fine. He concludes that the audience members have an "interesting morality". | |
QI / int_e8e56799 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e8e56799 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e8e56799 | |
QI / int_e9e35e8f | type |
Exact Words | |
QI / int_e9e35e8f | comment |
Exact Words: Rich Hall tries to use this to score points in one of his first appearances. At the end of one episode, Stephen says, "I'll leave you with this quite interesting thought. [sits quietly for a moment, smiling to himself] ...Good night." In the episode "Quiet", Sandi Toksvig said that the buzzers were 'appropriately quiet.' Except for Alan's, all the buzzers played recordings of someone shouting "QUIET!" | |
QI / int_e9e35e8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_e9e35e8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_e9e35e8f | |
QI / int_eb69d64 | type |
Edited for Syndication | |
QI / int_eb69d64 | comment |
Edited for Syndication: QI XL is a long edit that still drops points, however, and at least once dropped a forfeit (in "Health & Safety," when Alan says "you big gorilla, you," the klaxon can be heard coming in, but is not shown). One presumes that even more than this is normally cut. | |
QI / int_eb69d64 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_eb69d64 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_eb69d64 | |
QI / int_eb7c34cf | type |
Crossover | |
QI / int_eb7c34cf | comment |
Crossover: The show's eagerness to correct past mistakes apparently reaches to other shows. In an episode in Series F, helpless David Mitchell can only sit and listen as Stephen debunks several of his facts from The Unbelievable Truth. Stephen, Alan and the producer John Lloyd later participated in a New Year special of TUT. In "Literature", they did a round of Only Connect while its host, Victoria Coren-Mitchell, was on the panel. | |
QI / int_eb7c34cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_eb7c34cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_eb7c34cf | |
QI / int_eb9e6184 | type |
Stupid Sexy Flanders | |
QI / int_eb9e6184 | comment |
Stupid Sexy Flanders: The horse from the "electricity" episode. Also the giraffes from the "Ganimals" episode. Also, Stephen once found himself admiring Jo Brand's breasts: | |
QI / int_eb9e6184 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_eb9e6184 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_eb9e6184 | |
QI / int_ebd01bc5 | type |
Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me | |
QI / int_ebd01bc5 | comment |
Bathe Him And Bring Him To Me: Joked with when Alan tries on the scold's bridle: | |
QI / int_ebd01bc5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_ebd01bc5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_ebd01bc5 | |
QI / int_ee919707 | type |
Improbably Predictable | |
QI / int_ee919707 | comment |
Improbably Predictable: Many of the forfeits come across this way. | |
QI / int_ee919707 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_ee919707 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_ee919707 | |
QI / int_eeaee38c | type |
Geeky Turn-On | |
QI / int_eeaee38c | comment |
Geeky Turn-On: When Jan Ravens gives "Diogenes the Cynic" as an answer... Stephen is accused of this a few times as well. After David Mitchell shows detailed knowledge of a French chef, he gets a teacher's pet fanfare: And after Rory and Stephen's discussion about Latin bird names: Professor Brian Cox's extensive knowledge of the Large Hadron Collider. Phill Jupitus gets a moment that might count in the "Europe" episode. Trevor Noah's fluency in the Xhosa language and his rendition of Miriam Makeba's "Qongqothwane" ("The Click Song") in "Killers" manages to get this reaction from both Stephen and Sandi. | |
QI / int_eeaee38c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_eeaee38c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_eeaee38c | |
QI / int_eef85d73 | type |
People's Republic of Tyranny | |
QI / int_eef85d73 | comment |
People's Republic of Tyranny: Invoked by Jimmy Carr in a discussion about the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If they called themselves 'The Fascist Junta' we might at least respect their honesty. | |
QI / int_eef85d73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_eef85d73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_eef85d73 | |
QI / int_ef56c5be | type |
Exotic Entree | |
QI / int_ef56c5be | comment |
Exotic Entree: The giant tortoise, which is currently endangered (and therefore a protected species) largely because it's so delicious. | |
QI / int_ef56c5be | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_ef56c5be | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_ef56c5be | |
QI / int_f165cf2c | type |
Last-Second Word Swap | |
QI / int_f165cf2c | comment |
Early in the J-series the panellists are discussing "minced oaths", with Bill Bailey giving the example of "Shut the front door!". Later in the series, he exclaims this in disbelief at Stephen's claim to be able to produce a square bubble. | |
QI / int_f165cf2c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f165cf2c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f165cf2c | |
QI / int_f16f631d | type |
Crowd Song | |
QI / int_f16f631d | comment |
Crowd Song: They say of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is... Stephen told the audience to sing the German national anthem. They sang the opening bars of the German national anthem as Deutschland Ãœber Alles, but since the contemporary German anthem's lyrics are only the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied, this got them a penalty of -100 points. Although at the original recording, the audience genuinely didn't know the incorrect version (or the correct version, come to that), and those who did were too shy to speak up, but the forfeit flashed up anyway and they recorded the audience singing the song in the retakes. David Tennant leading "Auld Lang Syne". From "Journalism", the panel sings Gold by Spandau Ballet, to a very confused Stephen. From "Quests II", Holly Lloyd and Susan Calman led the audience in a chorus of "Any Dream Will Do". | |
QI / int_f16f631d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f16f631d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f16f631d | |
QI / int_f19ccfee | type |
Uranus Is Showing | |
QI / int_f19ccfee | comment |
Uranus Is Showing: An episode in Series D has a question about the discovery of the rings around Uranus. The panel avoids making any of the obvious jokes — not that they need to, since the audience laughs every time the word is said anyway — until Stephen deliberately provokes them by innocently remarking that he's just noticed the word might be misunderstood. | |
QI / int_f19ccfee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f19ccfee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f19ccfee | |
QI / int_f247d841 | type |
Intoxication Ensues | |
QI / int_f247d841 | comment |
Intoxication Ensues: Parodied in "Noel": after Sandi shares out a round of Humpty Dumpty, a traditional drink of ale and brandy, everyone immediately pretends to be drunk. | |
QI / int_f247d841 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f247d841 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f247d841 | |
QI / int_f2a5f7f2 | type |
Expospeak Gag | |
QI / int_f2a5f7f2 | comment |
Expospeak Gag: But of course... The three men responsible for creating a QI-shaped Crop Circle for the "Hoaxes" episode were credited as 'cerealogical motif wranglers'. In "Imbroglio", after a discussion of Frank Skinner's song "Three Lions" and the fact that in heraldry lions are referred to as leopards, Stephen concluded that the song was named "based on a lamentable terminological inexactitude, or lie." | |
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1.0 | |
QI / int_f2a5f7f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f2a5f7f2 | |
QI / int_f2a6d76d | type |
Rage Against the Author | |
QI / int_f2a6d76d | comment |
Rage Against the Author: David Mitchell in the "International" episode, leaving Stephen and the audience in stitches: | |
QI / int_f2a6d76d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f2a6d76d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f2a6d76d | |
QI / int_f2d29e14 | type |
Evil Brit | |
QI / int_f2d29e14 | comment |
Emma Thompson mentioned the stereotype of the British having bad teeth in "Films and Fame" while discussing the Evil Brit trope, while Stephen Fry recalled the Book of British Smiles from The Simpsons. | |
QI / int_f2d29e14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f2d29e14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f2d29e14 | |
QI / int_f332d990 | type |
Too Much Information | |
QI / int_f332d990 | comment |
Too Much Information: In a segment of "Highs and Lows": | |
QI / int_f332d990 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f332d990 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f332d990 | |
QI / int_f511ea9b | type |
Product Placement | |
QI / int_f511ea9b | comment |
Product Placement: Not allowed on the BBC, of course (to the point of it being a network-wide Running Gag to offer a disclaimer every time a trademark brand is so much as mentioned), but a discussion of Ear Worm advertising jingles veered perilously close to it, as lampshaded by Stephen. | |
QI / int_f511ea9b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f511ea9b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f511ea9b | |
QI / int_f5b7b990 | type |
Verbal Backspace | |
QI / int_f5b7b990 | comment |
Verbal Backspace: | |
QI / int_f5b7b990 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f5b7b990 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f5b7b990 | |
QI / int_f77cc0c9 | type |
Psmith Psyndrome | |
QI / int_f77cc0c9 | comment |
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 "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. | |
QI / int_f77cc0c9 | featureApplicability |
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QI / int_f77cc0c9 | featureConfidence |
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QI | hasFeature |
QI / int_f77cc0c9 | |
QI / int_f8a82c75 | type |
I Always Wanted to Say That | |
QI / int_f8a82c75 | comment |
I Always Wanted to Say That: "We had a Jimmy Glascock at school..." | |
QI / int_f8a82c75 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
QI / int_f8a82c75 | featureConfidence |
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Borrowed Catchphrase | |
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Borrowed Catch Phrase: In "Lucky Losers", after explaining that this week the winner will be the person with the lowest score, Stephen borrows and mangles a catchphrase from I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, noting that answering correctly means points, and "points mean bad surprises". | |
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FacePalm | |
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In the "Holiday" episode, Rob Brydon's joke about stamp collecting earned pained reactions from the panel and an expression of abject shame from Brydon himself. | |
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Mile-High Club | |
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Mile-High Club: Discussed and proved to be Older Than Radio when Stephen related the following entry from an eighteenth-century wager book: | |
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Running Gag | |
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In "France," Stephen finally asks Alan a question to which the answer is "blue whale": "Name a marine mammal that couldn't swallow anything larger than a grapefruit." However, an utterly confused Alan misses his chance to answer correctly, because the question is asked in French. | |
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Have a Gay Old Time | |
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In "Jargon", when discussing the use of the word "ejaculate" (meaning "exclaim") in the Sherlock Holmes novels: Averted in the same episode, when Victoria Coren discusses betting on Hangman: | |
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Don't Explain the Joke | |
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In "Jolly", the panel are presented with a variety of joke shop items to play with; Alan goes on an extended tangent with a fake dog turd (including putting it into his mouth and slowly revealing it) before Rob Brydon says (pretending to have an earpiece) "Actually, Alan, I'm just getting a... just getting a message, there's been a bit of a mix-up, apparently." After the audience reaction, Alan then exclaims "This is a real one!" | |
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Comically Missing the Point | |
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Comically Missing the Point: Often, usually in the service of the Rule of Funny. On the episode "Killers", Stephen attempts to explain the concept of measuring risk in "micromorts" - ie, a one-in-a-million chance of dying suddenly. The given examples of things that increase your risk of death by one micromort are smoking slightly more than one cigarette, drinking half a litre of wine, living in New York City for two days, and eating a thousand bananas (because bananas are very slightly radioactive). Sandi Toksvig uncharacteristically struggles with this concept. Stephen once mentioned that eating a diet of only rabbit will kill you. The rest of the panel proceeds to constantly misinterpret this as "if you eat rabbit, you will die", despite Stephen's many attempts to correct them that it's only if you eat nothing but rabbit. | |
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Department of Redundancy Department | |
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Department of Redundancy Department: The buzzers in "Idleness", which all used the same sound effect. Even Alan's, but his (unlike the others') didn't actually sound until it was released. | |
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Special Edition Title | |
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Special Edition Title: Almost all the Christmas specials have "Jingle Bells" playing over the QI theme song, and snow is added to the title sequence. Series U's "Upside Down" flips the title sequence to be upside down, with almost all of the images being shown as such (with the exception of one, amusingly saying "This way up"). The start of the show is also filmed upside down for a few minutes, and everyone acts as if they're hanging upside down too. | |
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Stuck on Band-Aid Brand | |
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Stuck on Band-Aid Brand: Discussed in the K series with specific regard to Velcro and the notorious Klaxon, which is not technically a Klaxon at all! | |
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Beware the Nice Ones | |
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Beware the Nice Ones: Stephen is generally a Gentleman Snarker, who only gently ribs on panellists when they miss the point, then repeats the answer and explains patiently. Unless you go too over-the-top in Epic Point Missing, and he pulls out the big guns. See: explaining the 'i before e' rule to Lee Mack in "Hocus Pocus": | |
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Skyward Scream | |
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Skyward Scream: Phill Jupitus in "Hodge Podge". "EVOLUTIOOON!" | |
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Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe | |
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Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: Repeatedly invoked by Bill Bailey, who uses his biro as a pipe whenever he's impersonating an upper-class type. note This came naturally to Bill, as he was a pipe smoker for most of his twenties. Ditto for Stephen too. And many panellists (including, eventually, Bill Bailey himself) have produced real pipes from under the table, using them much the same way. | |
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Fun with Subtitles | |
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Fun with Subtitles: A world record discussed in "Little and Large" was broken by somebody else between recording and broadcast. A subtitle was added to point out the new information, adding "Don't you hate it when that happens?" | |
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Brick Joke | |
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Brick Joke: Happens very often. Fry or the panellists will discuss a topic, then move on, and later, someone will mention it again. "Cashier number four, please." And the Call-Back in a later episode, with "Cashier number one, please." "Cashier number two, please." "Cashier number three, please." "I am very sorry for the severe delay to the 8:17 service (rest inaudible due to laughter)" In series F, we hear part of "My Old Man's a Dustman" in the episode about Families, and then in the episode about fashion, we hear it continue from where it left off. In the France episode, when the designs of a large elephant-shaped building originally meant for the site of the Arc de Triomphe, Alan somehow pulls out the "Elephant in the Room" joker from the prior E-shaped series, much to the surprise of Stephen. Rich is in such disbelief at hearing the earth has two moons that in every appearance he has made since, when a question about THE moon comes up, he automatically asks "Which moon we talkin' about here?" And then he shows up again for the I Series A two-way brick, depending on whether one goes by order of recording or order of airing. In the series E episode "England", immediately after introductions, Alan swaps the English flag in front of him for a Welsh flag, to Stephen's dismay. In the "Europe" episode (which was recorded later but ended up airing before the England episode), Alan reveals that he has no actual Welsh roots, and he and David Mitchell trade flags (swapping Alan's Welsh flag for David's English flag—David actually is Welsh on his mother's side, and as his father was born to Scottish parents in Liverpool, he has repeatedly said he prefers to be called "British" over "English" or anything else). A shorter one-episode one: In "Gravity", Stephen mentioned people betting to be the first to have sexual intercourse on a balloon. Later when he discussed shooting bullets vertically to the air, Alan imagined one of them hitting a couple suspended in the air. In "Intelligence", Stephen mentions that job interviewers would ask odd questions, like, "How many piano tuners are there in Britain?" Near the end of the episode, he asks the question to the panellists. In the "Jargon" episode, Victoria Coren reveals she had an anxiety dream about appearing on the show, in which Stephen asked her the question, "Why was the March Hare so important to the Aztecs?" Stephen laughs it off but then asks it as the final question. And even more hilariously, he gives her an answer that makes some sense and accuses Victoria of being a witch. In the Series seven episode "Germany" Rob Brydon goes on at length about his fondness for wearing long socks. In the eighth series episode "History", when the panel discusses The Bayeux Tapestry, Rob points out one figure on the tapestry, supposedly King Harold, and says, "May I just give the seal of approval to his wonderfully long socks?" | |
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Buffy Speak | |
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Buffy Speak: On occasion. Notably from the Season F episode "Fingers and Fumbs": | |
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Once a Season | |
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Once a Season: At least one episode in every series will have an episode that is not about any subject in particular, but an assortment of subjects beginning with that series' letter. Examples include "Flotsam & Jetsam", "Gifts", "Hodge Podge", "Imbroglio", "Jumble", "Kit and Kaboodle", "Lumped Together", "Miscellany", "Non Sequiturs", "Omnishambles" and "Potpourri". | |
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