# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/81 "2011-08-14T10:55:39Z")
My fave episodes of QI are those where they have someone on who is actually intelligent and knowledgeable. I remember an episode from way back in season C where Rory McGrath racked up about a jillion poinst while being, indeed, quite interesting throughout. These days it seems like they’re afraid to go four seconds without a cheap dick joke. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/82 "2011-08-14T12:33:41Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > My fave episodes of QI are those where they have someone on who is actually intelligent and knowledgeable. I remember an episode from way back in season C where Rory McGrath racked up about a jillion poinst while being, indeed, quite interesting throughout. These days it seems like they’re afraid to go four seconds without a cheap dick joke. I just happened to catch that one. It’s the third episode, “Common Knowledge.” I liked it, too. What was really freaky though was the day before whan I was watching, and all of the sudden, I noticed that no one seemed to have an accent to me. It started with the announcer, who sounded American to me. They still sounded the same, but it didn’t sound like an accent. I thought maybe I would start talking with Fry’s accent, but no such luck. But I did for the first time get an idea of what my accent would sound like to foreigners. ---
**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, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/83 "2011-08-14T13:32:30Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > My fave episodes of QI are those where they have someone on who is actually intelligent and knowledgeable. I remember an episode from way back in season C where Rory McGrath racked up about a jillion poinst while being, indeed, quite interesting throughout. These days it seems like they’re afraid to go four seconds without a cheap dick joke. I don’t think it has gotten too bad, but that episode(which I also just saw) was kind of an anomaly. I think he ended up with 78 points(am I right)? I’ve seen other episodes where it is clear that the person prepared facts for the show in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/84 "2011-08-14T14:07:28Z")
Fun trivia fact for David Mitchell and Phineas and Ferb fans: he did the voice of Meep’s nemesis. Just noticed it in the credits today when watching that episode with the lil one. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/85 "2011-08-14T22:45:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve seen other episodes where it is clear that the person prepared facts for the show in advance. They’re actually encouraged to do so, they get given the list of questions (though not the answers) before every episode, but most of them choose not to take advantage of that and wing it. ---
**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 15, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/86 "2011-08-15T00:29:19Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > They’re actually encouraged to do so, they get given the list of questions (though not the answers) before every episode, but most of them choose not to take advantage of that and wing it. Cool. Is there a behind the scenes video or book that explains stuff like this? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/87 "2011-08-15T02:43:19Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Cool. Is there a behind the scenes video or book that explains stuff like this? I listened to an interview with John Mitchinson once that covered it. [Here’s a different interview](http://www.videosurf.com/videos/John+Mitchinson?providers=55) (I assume) that may have some juicy facts. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/88 "2011-08-15T14:34:23Z")
Love, love, love QI. Hate, hate, hate BBCAmerica for not playing it on there, meaning that all we Yanks have to head to YouTube. Which isn’t that bad, I guess, but I’d like to see it properly and all. There was a petition circling round; I signed it but am not sure whatever happened to it. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/89 "2011-08-15T14:56:52Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > They require people who are both (a) famous and (b) capable of spontaneous wit. The intersection of those two sets, for whatever reason, is far smaller in the US than the UK. Maybe so, but there is a healthy pool of smart comedians with a background in improv that would make a US QI show work. The first candidate who comes to mind is Stephen Colbert – he’s got a head full of nerd trivia and a very quick wit. Conan O’Brien’s been mentioned…his friend Andy Richter proved on Jeopardy that he’s great at trivia games and is funny off-the-cuff. Throw in another improv comedian like, say, Amy Poehler and you’ve got a panel. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/90 "2011-08-15T16:30:57Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Love, love, love QI. Hate, hate, hate BBCAmerica for not playing it on there, meaning that all we Yanks have to head to YouTube. Which isn’t that bad, I guess, but I’d like to see it properly and all. > > There was a petition circling round; I signed it but am not sure whatever happened to it. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard that the reason BBC America doesn’t show Q.I. is copyright problems with the images behind the panelists. (Explanation: there are two large screens behind the panelists, which are usually showing a still image or a video. Sometimes these are part of the question, sometimes they’re a red herring, sometimes they’re just for illustration purposes.) The BBC paid for permission to show these in Europe, but not the rest of the world. Buying the North American rights would be complicated and expensive, and the Beeb has so far chosen to skip it. ---
**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 15, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/91 "2011-08-15T18:14:28Z")
My suggestion for an American version would be: Host - Craig Ferguson Panelists - Greg Proops, Colin Mochrie, Brian Regan, and perhaps Dmetri Martin ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/92 "2011-08-15T18:25:37Z")
Craig Ferguson would be stellar. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/93 "2011-08-15T18:28:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > My suggestion for an American version would be: > > Host - Craig Ferguson > > Panelists - Greg Proops, Colin Mochrie, Brian Regan, and perhaps Dmetri Martin So the American version would have a Scottish host and a Scottish-Canadian panelist? I think that’s more Scottitude than is even on the British version. (Not to mention that you need more than four panelists. I can understand having one regular, but the rest should rotate.) No comments on my suggested host, Bonnie Hunt? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/94 "2011-08-15T19:11:58Z")
Paula Poundstone, although I would have to stipulate that she continues to work on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_. Her wrong answers make WWDTM. She could be our Alan, even. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/95 "2011-08-16T02:02:04Z")
John Hodgman was a mooted US host at one point, hence his guest appearance in one recent episode. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/96 "2011-08-16T05:50:55Z")
Personally, my favourite show in the genre is Sandi Toksvig’s _News Quiz_. Random trivia isn’t as fun as current events, and the impromptu quips in that show can be just stunningly hilarious. I’m also not as enthused about Stephen Fry as a host —I’m not sure I could choose a favourite between Toksvig and Peter Sagal (from _Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!_) but both of them are brilliant. Sagal is great at making things run smoothly, and Sandi has the right rapport (and seems really sharp). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/97 "2011-08-16T07:34:10Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > For what it’s worth, I’ve heard that the reason BBC America doesn’t show Q.I. is copyright problems with the images behind the panelists. Do they think Rodney Bewes would object? ---
**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 16, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/98 "2011-08-16T08:02:12Z")
That could be a problem. After all, he is the Highlander. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/99 "2011-08-16T10:53:58Z")
> [@straight\_man](#): > > Personally, my favourite show in the genre is Sandi Toksvig’s _News Quiz_. Random trivia isn’t as fun as current events, and the impromptu quips in that show can be just stunningly hilarious. I’m also not as enthused about Stephen Fry as a host —I’m not sure I could choose a favourite between Toksvig and Peter Sagal (from _Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!_) but both of them are brilliant. Sagal is great at making things run smoothly, and Sandi has the right rapport (and seems really sharp). I love the News Quiz! I wish it ran for longer, I’m always so disappointed when I go to listen to it on BBC iPlayer and it’s replaced by The Now Show. If you’re a fan of Sandi, you might like to get your hands on What the Dickens, a quiz show on Sky Arts. I only discovered it the other day when I was channel surfing. [http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/What\_the\_Dickens%3F](http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/What_the_Dickens%3F) ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025/100 "2011-08-16T18:24:13Z")
Thanks! I will certainly take a look. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-q-i/592025.md?page=6)