# Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463 "2011-12-16T23:20:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/1 "2011-12-16T23:20:10Z")
A special called “A Royal Pain in the News”, which from the [trailer](http://www.bbcamerica.com/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/videos/bbca-tv-special-trailer/) appears to be their regular stage show format on video, will air on BBC America a week from tonight. Peter Sagal has gotten more bald since I saw him in Berkeley. Carl Kasell never changes. I can’t wait! Roddy ---
**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:** [December 16, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/2 "2011-12-16T23:59:03Z")
I keep hoping BBC America is testing this as a possible QI kind of show for the US. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/3 "2011-12-17T00:00:24Z")
Our DVR is now set. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/4 "2011-12-17T00:01:32Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I keep hoping BBC America is testing this as a possible QI kind of show for the US. I wish that BBC America would just show QI. I like Peter Sagal, but he’s no Stephen Fry. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/5 "2011-12-17T01:32:26Z")
First off, hooray, but I do have a couple questions. 1. What the hell is this doing on BBC America? _Wait, Wait,…_ has no connection to the actual BBC that I know of. Is this the process of every cable TV channel abandoning its roots? 2. How did they have a clip in the trailer? The show has to be written and taped very shortly before it airs (the radio show records on the Thursday before broadcast). Unless it’s some sort of year-end recap type of show, which I don’t think would be at its best. 3. What do the callers win if they get correct answers? For the radio version, you get an audio recording for your voicemail. Now that they’re going to video, I assume you win some sort of Carl Kasell sex tape or something. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/6 "2011-12-17T03:14:25Z")
In case you’re looking for it on the TV schedule it’s on next Friday, Dec 23, during prime time. You have to find BBC America on your cable lineup on your own. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/7 "2011-12-17T03:35:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > First off, hooray, but I do have a couple questions. > > 1. What the hell is this doing on BBC America? _Wait, Wait,…_ has no connection to the actual BBC that I know of. Is this the process of every cable TV channel abandoning its roots? > > 2. How did they have a clip in the trailer? The show has to be written and taped very shortly before it airs (the radio show records on the Thursday before broadcast). Unless it’s some sort of year-end recap type of show, which I don’t think would be at its best. > > 3. What do the callers win if they get correct answers? For the radio version, you get an audio recording for your voicemail. Now that they’re going to video, I assume you win some sort of Carl Kasell sex tape or something. Re: #2, I believe the title, “A Royal Pain in the News” plus the promo material you can see at BBCA reveals this to be the case - it’s not a topical show, probably. 1. Don’t know. 2. Hope not! Roddy ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/8 "2011-12-17T05:00:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > _Wait, Wait,…_ has no connection to the actual BBC that I know of. Sure it has. _Wait, Wait,…_ is totally a rip-off of BBC Radio 4’s _The News Quiz_, and BBC TV’s _Have I Got News for You_. However, IMHO (and speaking as a Brit), _Wait, Wait_ is the superior show. I am not convinced it is going to work well on TV, though. It is not clear to me what people think _Wait, Wait_ has in common with _QI_, except for the fact that they are both panel games. It is true, though, that panel games are pretty rare on U.S. TV these days (whereas British TV is heavily infested with them). Perhaps American viewers are now so unfamiliar with thee genre that they now all look alike, or will look like something fresh and new. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/9 "2011-12-17T14:43:03Z")
I’d watch! I love “Wait Wait” and it is handily the best thing about living in Shitcago. I’ll see a taping one day, but nobody wants to go with me. ☹ Can’t wait for the Carl Kassel sex tapes! ---
**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:** [December 17, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/10 "2011-12-17T15:01:02Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I’d watch! I love “Wait Wait” and it is handily the best thing about living in Shitcago. I’ll see a taping one day, but nobody wants to go with me. ☹ I’ve been to a taping in Chicago and I don’t even live there. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/11 "2011-12-17T15:22:47Z")
Don’t rub it in! And don’t you worry your pretty little head, I have a highly persuasive method that I’m reserving for when all other methods fail. It consists of persistent whining that will eventually result in someone giving in just to shut me up. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/12 "2011-12-17T17:20:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 1. _Wait, Wait,…_ has no connection to the actual BBC that I know of. > [@njtt](#): > > Sure it has. _Wait, Wait,…_ is totally a rip-off of BBC Radio 4’s _The News Quiz_, and BBC TV’s _Have I Got News for You_. these contemporary radio shows copied earlier radio shows such as Information Please It Pays to Be Ignorant ---
**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:** [December 17, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/13 "2011-12-17T17:30:23Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Don’t rub it in! > > And don’t you worry your pretty little head, I have a highly persuasive method that I’m reserving for when all other methods fail. It consists of persistent whining that will eventually result in someone giving in just to shut me up. Go alone, I did. Or if I’m ever in Chicago again, I’ll meet you there. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/14 "2011-12-17T19:08:22Z")
Set up on my DVR. I assume they did the trailer as part of the pilot or test show. I saw them when they were in Monterey. Great - and I have the Wait Wait coffee mug holding my pencils. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/15 "2011-12-17T19:15:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I saw them when they were in Monterey. Great - and I have the Wait Wait coffee mug holding my pencils. I think I still have the “Carl Kasell, International Newsman of Mystery” car air freshener, but it’s packed away somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/16 "2011-12-24T15:07:16Z")
I watched this last night, and thought it was quite good. I had a bit of a mental disconnect seeing these voices I’m so familiar with (primarily Peter & Carl) coming out of actual people, but that went away quickly. I missed the call-in aspect of the show, but as long as I still get my weekly radio dose, I could be ok with a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/17 "2011-12-24T16:37:06Z")
For those of us without cable TV, any where we can view or buy this on the web? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/18 "2011-12-24T16:57:06Z")
^^^ Yes, please! I’m listening to the radio version of this right now, and is always, I love it, but I will totally look up this same show online to watch it later. I suppose I could try to find it myself, but if someone else can tell me here, that would make my life about 1% easier. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/19 "2011-12-24T17:36:10Z")
I found some [sneak previews and outtakes](http://www.bbcamerica.com/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/videos/) at the BBC America website, at least. ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-wait-dont-tell-me-on-tv/606463/20 "2011-12-24T19:11:14Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I found some [sneak previews and outtakes](http://www.bbcamerica.com/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/videos/) at the BBC America website, at least. Yeah saw that but not the real show anywhere that I can find at least. bummer. You’d think with the success of Louis CK’s recent online show that more folks would get on board with this! We’re out there and we want to spend money with you!