I chose Mock the Week, mainly because of Dara O’Briain. When I first watched QI it seemed too twee, but it’s grown on me; HIGNFY has been a lot less funny since the election, and Hislop a lot less likeable; Buzzcocks just isn’t funny any more at all; Would I Lie To You is probably going to be the next really popular panel show; I hadn’t realised Shooting Stars was back.
Another one that can be brilliant is Argumental. It’s not as widely-known because it’s cable - Would I Lie to You is too (or is it?)
Argumental is a Dave show that has been repeated on BBC Two. Would I Lie to You? is a BBC One show and has been repeated on Dave.
You know what would be brill telly? Having David Mitchell and Lee Mack just arguing for 30 minutes.
Another good show not in the poll is Charlie Brooker’s You Have Been Watching. He also does So Wrong It’s Right on the radio, my favourite episode being the one where Lee Mack went on this rant about Twitter and Brooker’s use of it.
That makes sense that WILTY is originally BBC - it has David Mitchell, after all. Dave is cable though isn’t it? Or is it Freeview? In any case, it’s not one of the original terrestrial channels.
NOOTC looks kinda funny, but I can’t watch it due to Jimmy Carr. He’s funny on QI, but vile without someone like Stephen Fry to temper his nastiness.
QI is the show that got me in to British panel shows, but I find Would I Lie To You to be much more gut-busting now.
Seems like QI keeps having new panelists show up and they just don’t seem to get it, and the show drags on. I still love it to pieces but dare I say it’s not as good as it once was?
WILTY seems to do just fine with one-off panelists, something funny always happens regardless of who’s on. Kevin Bridges’ story about accidentally renting a horse or whatever from a few weeks ago was astounding!
I’m enjoying 8 Out Of 10 Cats more now. I like Jason Manford, and I’ve always enjoyed Sean Locke. Johnny Vegas does better on this show than QI - I think because of Locke.
ZipperJJ reminded me of another reason why I like WILTY - When the person telling the lie (or sometimes it turns out to be a truth!) starts to fail to make the story seem convincing, and it gets funnier and funnier as the opposing team starts to poke bigger and bigger holes in the story. David Mitchell is particularly good at hole-poking.
I love it because it’s not just a group of people being funny in a standard way. It’s like a party game but with funny people. When you take funny people out of their comfort zone they seem to get funnier.
I’ve got to say QI - because I love Stephen Fry and Alan Davies to bits - but it’s not the funniest, at least not since series four or so. I don’t know why, but it kind of seems that it’s become too formulaic and since Alan Davies has achieved great stuff on his own, the Fry/Alan relationship hasn’t really evolved along with that.
I can usually tell how funny the episodes will be by who turns up. If it’s Jimmy Carr or David Mitchell, it’s going to be hilarious, but if it’s Johnny Vegas, Jo Brand or Bill Bailey it’s just going to get either hung up or downright annoying. And Fry is starting to look bored as a host, or something. I don’t know, he doesn’t really go off on tangents the way he used to. Though it’d be great to see some sort of “uncensored” edition of the show, like Mock The Week’s “Too Hot For TV” (which is on Youtube and very much good for a laugh).
(FTR, I love Bill Bailey, but he really doesn’t work in the game show format)
I always look forward to The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, two hours of Jimmy Carr hosting a pseudo-pub quiz on the events of the year, for Channel 4 I think. Regular panelists include Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross, David Mitchell, Claudia Winkleman, and Rob Brydon.
It may not be as good anymore, but in it’s day Buzzcocks could have me creased up laughing. The most I normally get with QI is an amused smirk and a “huh, I didn’t know that” reaction, so I voted for Buzzcocks.
I love The Unbelievable Truth, though (pretty much love anything with David Mitchell in it, except Peep Show, though, because that makes me cringe too much), and of course, the old classic, “Just a Minute”.
The problem with this poll, is that do I judge it on the show as a whole, or on when each show was at its peak?
Because amusing as QI is, at its best Never mind the buzzcocks was absolute genius. There has never been a good guest presenter on it, but when Mark Lamar was at his nastiest, and when Simon Amstel setteld in, it was comedy gold.
Same for Shooting Stars. This show was massive at its peak, and rightly so. To many it was very fresh, very different, and very, very funny. Time has moved on now and it isnt as fresh, but its hard to forget those glory days.
I vote NMTB, due to Preston walking off and that old man dressed as a pirate in the “guess the singer” round.
Non-UK person here, but I’ve seen all but 8 Out of 10 Cats and Shooting Stars through various means, ahem. I’m positively addicted to QI, so that’s the one I picked. Just reading that quote (“They say of the Acropolis…”) makes me giggle. Stephen Fry = love. Alan Davies is also terrific, particularly in the early- to mid-seasons when he began departing from the Designated Idiot role. Favorite panelists are Sean Locke, Bill Bailey, Rob Bryden, and especially lovely David Mitchell.
I also loved the one where David Mitchell’s lie was that he’d fainted during Kill Bill. Lee Mack’s team decided it was a lie because Mitchell would never ever go see a movie that was so violent and nasty. They got the point, but David launched into an hilarious rant about how, yes, he did go see Kill Bill in the theater, but he had just somehow managed to retain enough manhood to stay fully conscious through the whole film. Great stuff.
Voted for QI - I’ll never tire of watching this clip.
As for the others, HIGNFY and Mock the Week are both excellent but not quite as brilliant as QI. 8 out of 10 Cats is passable. WILTY and Never Mind the Buzzcocks just don’t appeal to me, and Shooting Stars is too bizarre for my tastes.
In its day Never Mind the Buzzcocks. I’m talking the Amstell years. I remember laughing through the whole show. He is so abusive in the most innocent seeming way. In particular I loved the episodes with Amy Winehouse and John Barrowman.
Over the years Have I Got News for You went from unmissable to a bit meh. It all depends on the guest host. If Dara O’Briain or Alexander Armstrong are hosting I’ll usually watch. But Paul has been phoning it in for a long time.
QI, I find very hit and miss. I like it but dont’ love it, and would only really watch it if I stumble across it.