There have also been other variations on the scoring system, such as this episode, where the contestants got a a klaxon whenever they said a certain F-word, but were given the chance to get the points back by beating Stephen at a round of rock-paper-scissors.
Also largely a rip-off of an old BBC show, Call My Bluff.
QI is great… except the theme music. Eurgh.
QI is great… except the theme music. Eurgh.
Too repetitive?
Hee 
It’s so bad, I had to mention it twice!
Sounds like Just a Minute, on Radio 4 and apparently TV.
Going from the description at that link, it’s only partially similar. Says You does have bluffing rounds like that, but they make up a small portion of the show.
Yeah, people squawk about this with Never Mind The Buzzcocks. The final round - Next Lines - is scoring mayhem, and people who’ve seen it live say all sorts of stuff is cut out, so a team that appears to get nothing right jumps up 5 points. :dubious: And since Amstell was fired, if the guest presenter has an idea for a tie-breaker (Adam Buxton’s “Michael Stipes” puzzle, for instance) they seem to force a tie so they can use it.
Never heard of QI until now. I’m hooked.
I envy you, you have got the “Peter Cushing” moment ahead, and also Stephen’s reaction to what German people call mobile phones.
Fans of QI might want to see Stephen Fry as a team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Just don’t ask what they say about the acropolis where the Parthenon is…
Fantastic!
Perhaps my favorite moments on the show are when Stephen gets flustered like this–it’s just adorable.
Amstell was fired? As opposed to leaving? What’s the story there?
Supposedly he was super harsh on the guests and took a show that enjoyed the occasional ribbing and turned it into a minor roasting to the point where it seriously affected their ability to book guests.
Supposedly?! He was brutal - it was often entertaining (the ep with Donny Tourette is a classic), and some of the guests actually enjoyed his bitchiness and held their own (the ep with John Barrowman, also classic), but it was clear that a lot of guests regretted coming on the show. I’d lay odds that the Stephen Fry appearance was an all-hands-on-deck gay solidarity attempt to keep him in the chair, which failed because it didn’t correct the real issue - everyone else not wanting to do the show. Indeed, towards the end you see a lot of favors being called in.
In the years since he left, they’ve gotten some people that I strongly suspect avoided the show when Amstell was in the chair, specifically to sort of support the decision to oust him. I also suspect the reason there weren’t more walk-offs was that (understandably) no one wanted to be lumped in with Preston.
I also see part of the problem as Amstell wanting guests that were more current. Lamarr had something of a rat pack, rotating old friends thru the seats just to visit and/or give them a boost (why is Rich Hall on everything?), and stars on the decline like Meatloaf and Alice Cooper, or new artists he liked and wanted to provide some exposure to, so they had a broader pool to choose from. It still gives a bit of a twinge to see the young, pre-drugs Amy Winehouse ep, compared to her drunken turn during Amstell’s reign, though the second is notable because Winehouse seems to be one of the few guests he genuinely liked. Ironically, it’s pretty clear Winehouse liked him as well, yet found him somewhat trying, even medicated as she was.