# I love Q.I. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025 "2011-08-09T03:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/61 "2011-08-12T13:30:07Z")
Love QI, but like HIGNFY it really requires people with a very specific comic ability (spontaneous clever and relevant wit). Not all comedians can do all sorts of comedy. Ronni Ancona does funny impersonations but was dire on QI. Conversely Paul Merton is hilarious on HIGNFY but was on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and fell flat on his face. Horses for courses, as they say in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/62 "2011-08-12T18:39:57Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > Dunno if anyone has mentioned it yet, but “Would I Lie to You?” is definitely worth checking out too, also available on youtube. I’m watching one now. I love David Mitchell. Is he in every episode then? ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/63 "2011-08-12T18:46:11Z")
Yep, David mitchell is one of the regular team captains, and on every week. If you’re fan, he also has his own radio show, some of which is available on youtube… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnxc2Ro8Sks) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/64 "2011-08-12T18:49:09Z")
:slight hijack: Yes, you can hijack your own thread. Well, it’s related anyway. Was Jonathan Creek a good show? I like Alan Davies on QI, but I know literally nothing about Jonathan Creek except it is a mystery who. Mrs. Mahaloth and I rather don’t like mysteries, but there are exceptions. If the characters are great, we tend find it bearable. We’ve liked: Veronica Mars - one of the best shows we’ve seen Sherlock(the one with Benedict Cumberbatch) We’ve disliked: Psych(did like it for the most part, but was too contrived) CSI(horrible) Foyle’s War(boring for the most part) Nero Wolfe(boring for the most part) Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/65 "2011-08-12T19:04:42Z")
Good Lord, **Would I Lie To You** was quit funny. Glad it is on youtube. I hope its legal. I’m telling you, David Mitchell kills me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/66 "2011-08-12T19:12:57Z")
Maybe somebody from the UK can explain to me why Stephen is always picking on Alan Davies. Is his being kind of dumb part of his schtick or something? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/67 "2011-08-12T19:24:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Maybe somebody from the UK can explain to me why Stephen is always picking on Alan Davies. Is his being kind of dumb part of his schtick or something? Good question. I’ve just kind of come to accept the "in-joke’. Obviously, Alan is not dumb, but they pick on him quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/68 "2011-08-12T19:46:48Z")
It’s a classic comic routine - the smart guy with the dumb sidekick. He’s Chico to Fry’s Groucho, Pinky to his Brain. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/69 "2011-08-12T19:47:17Z")
The Alan and Stephen relationship is the basis the whole show is based on: Fry is incredibly clever and knows everything, Davies is Everyman and represents you and me, the TV audience giving the obvious answer that’s always wrong. Obviously Fry doesn’t know everything - though he is pretty damn bright - and Davies is smart than most. Instant link to Jonathan Creek: Alan Davies plays the brains behind a magic act - the guy that invents the tricks while a bumptious, arrogant “star” takes the credit. Alan Davies’ character is always quiet and unassuming but always sees through the baddies complex plots. Personally I enjoyed the earlier programmes - haven’t watched it for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/70 "2011-08-12T19:47:50Z")
Yes, Alan Davies, as the only permanent “bantermeister” on the QI panel, seems to have a sort of semi-official role as the class clown and/or dunce. He’s the one who perennially gets put down, takes the fall on obviously wrong answers, usually (though not always) winds up with the lowest score, and so on, to keep the show moving along and help show off the other panelists. Naturally, it takes a pretty brilliant comic actor to seem that dumb while being that effective, and Davies is an absolute genius in the role. _Ars est celare artem_, as Fry would say and Davies wouldn’t, and it’s a tribute to Davies’ skill that so many QI viewers honestly think of him as a lovable but slightly dimwitted naif. (Alan’s own very forgivable irritation about that confusion is hilariously showcased in [this YouTube clip of a conversation between him and Bill Bailey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7qw7Shd12c).) Following up the OP’s hijack: I personally liked Davies’ charmingly flaky mystery TV series _Jonathan Creek_ quite a bit, but primarily the first two series when he played opposite Caroline Quentin. I dutifully watched the episodes after Quentin left, but wasn’t anywhere near as captivated by them, though Davies was still very good. To hijack the hijack further, I have seen one episode of Davies’ filmed-but-never-broadcast first season of the comedy series _Whites_, which started screening on Hulu a few weeks ago: [Whites](http://www.hulu.com/whites). Davies plays a dysfunctional restaurant chef trying to get his career re-started, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/71 "2011-08-12T20:01:17Z")
Whites is quite good, though not unforgettable. I watched a couple of episodes of Jonathan Creek, but it wasn’t my thing. If you like TV detective-type shows, you might like it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/72 "2011-08-12T20:14:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m telling you, David Mitchell kills me. You will love his three-minute video/podcast [Soapbox rants](http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/davidmitchell+commentisfree/series/david-mitchell-soap-box), if you don’t already. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/73 "2011-08-12T20:18:48Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Whites is quite good, though not unforgettable. I watched a couple of episodes of Jonathan Creek, but it wasn’t my thing. If you like TV detective-type shows, you might like it. Which we don’t, so it doesn’t look like its going to be something we’re into. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/74 "2011-08-12T22:57:38Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > The Alan and Stephen relationship is the basis the whole show is based on: Fry is incredibly clever and knows everything, Davies is Everyman and represents you and me, the TV audience giving the obvious answer that’s always wrong. Obviously Fry doesn’t know everything - though he is pretty damn bright - and Davies is smart than most. [Plus he managed to saw up the set.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXKoBpG19bI) ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/75 "2011-08-13T12:59:48Z")
> **[QI, if there was an American Version who would host?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555966)** > > I love this show. Stephen Fry is host, Alan Davies is the non-changing “contestant” and they have great recurring guest contestants, mostly british celebrities. They talk about trivia and joke around about the trivia and common misconceptions. So... from my thread last year. I suggest that: Neil DeGrasse Tyson (Nova ScienceNow Host) would be an okay host. I like hearing him speak and he’s intelligent and kinda humourous. However he is highly intellectual and would perhaps need someone of high intellect to be his Alan Davies counterpart. Colin Mochrie is good with word play, but I don’t know if i could believe him to be too funny a lot of the time. Improv comedians would be awesome. Conan O’brien could probably be in the mix too. Harvard educated. Have him as host and Andy Richter as Alan Davies. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/76 "2011-08-13T18:01:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Conversely Paul Merton is hilarious on HIGNFY but was on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and fell flat on his face. Horses for courses, as they say in Britain. I guess this a YMMV thing, but it was _Whose Line Is It Anyway?_ that made Merton a star, long before he was on HIGNFY. Personally, I think his schtick on HIGNFY has got pretty tired, but he is still funny when he is on _Just a Minute_ on the radio. Personally, I think NPR’s Wait, _Wait Don’t Tell Me_ now does the news panel show genre better than any of the British originals on which it is modeled. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/77 "2011-08-13T18:18:21Z")
Other things I’ve learned from QI: [Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdTLxyS2bdU) [QUOTE=Robot Arm] No love for Sue Perkins? Contrary to what she might think, she totally rocks the coquettish goth librarian look. [/Quote] She’s not unattractive, but she doesn’t make me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/78 "2011-08-14T01:15:03Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Personally, I think NPR’s Wait, _Wait Don’t Tell Me_ now does the news panel show genre better than any of the British originals on which it is modeled. Is it modeled on British panel shows? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/79 "2011-08-14T02:44:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Which we don’t, so it doesn’t look like its going to be something we’re into. It wasn’t much my thing either, and I _really_ tried, given how much I love Alan Davis on QI and in stand up. My main problem with Jonathan Creek was how far they reached for their “locked room” mystery solutions - it’s been a while, so I don’t recall details, but the one from series one involving a gorilla was _especially_ ridiculous. QI, however, I love to the center of my bones. The fact that they keep a show this hilarious, this clever, and this, well, interesting from American tv and dvd is baffling. With a little marketing and word of mouth, surely they could sell it. My favorite panelists are Sean Lock, David Mitchel, Bill Baily, Jo Brand, and Rich Hall. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/80 "2011-08-14T05:42:36Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > … > Fry and Davis have done a good job in the past but are getting a little tired now, time for a change. Never!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025.md?page=5)