The first episode of the 9th season of 'QI' aired last Friday. The sad thing about that statement is to figure out what season it was, I used my fingers to count the letters of the alphabet. If you don't know why that is relevant, I can give you a bit of background. QI stands for "Quite Interesting" and is a game-show/comedy panel series hosted by the impeccable Stephen Fry. Every week, the man with the beautiful voice asks four panelists obscure trivia questions. It is not really all that important to be right, rather points are awarded for banter, hilarity and chat. In other words, a panelist will win if they are 'quite interesting', a concept which proves that comedians really are the most intelligent conversationalists. Alan Davies stars weekly and plays the lovable idiot to Stephen Fry's equally lovable intelligence.
The panelists for the first 'I' themed episode of the series were:
Mr Alan Davies (this is not recent. He has longer, greasier hair this season. I disapprove. It is as if he has progressed from 'boyish charm' to 'sullen teenager'.)
Sandi Toksvig (Wiki tells me she is a "Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television". I think of her as the British version of the Topp Twins except without there being two of them.)
Jimmy Carr (probably the most recognisable but usually the least funny. His name sounds like Jamaica with an accent. Thats probably the only joke of his I like and its not even that amusing.)
Lee Mack (also known as the anglicized Big Mac. From 'le mac'. Geddit? Because his name is Lee Mack? And it sounds like someone from Geordie Shore asking for a burger? Again, no idea who he actually is because I'm in New Zealand not Britain. If you want to know more, you can google him yourself.)
Readers, I have to confess that although I was quite interested by Alan, Jimmy and Sandi, by the end of the episode I was mostly indifferent. it just didn't have that spark and quick-wittedness that I had come to expect from this series. Who should we blame for this? As you might have picked up, I j'adore Stevie Fry so whenever an episode is a dud, it will always be the fault of the panelists. This week it seemed that Mr Alan Davies' louty hair absorbed all his usual laddish quips; he contributed sweet fuck all and when he did, the answers were a bit sad. The best laugh came from Mr Alan Davies jumping on Big Mac's bandwagon with a kind-of-funny joke about a picture of a lobster. Even I could have done that. Once again, Jimmy Carr was dull. He said some shit, I cannot remember what in particular but I do think that he should be banned from this show. While he doesn't ever really bomb, he is a beige-variety comic and I suspect only does enough to get a few grins without saying something completely unfunny. Beige has no place near my Stevie.
The shining star of the episode was Sandi. I love that she is posh AND funny (quite like our Stevie) and it certainly helped that she knew the majority of the answers to the questions. Big Mac lived up to his moniker - he was enjoyable but not very dignified and seemed like he was the poor cousin of the other panelists.
Despite Stevie's gay-tastic tie and the pretty lights reflecting off Mr Alan Davies' hair, I would have to describe this premiere episode as decidedly lackluster. To round this puppy up then:
STEVIE'S TIE:
Purple with vivid blue, pink and yellow flowers. While it was more interesting than anything that came out of Beige/Carr's mouth, it looked a tad like some of the ties I see op-shopping. And would most likely be worth more than any one item in my wardrobe. At least he's letting that flag fly!
NOTABLE QUOTES:
"There is a whole science called gaze detection" (Stevie to everybody. Lawl)
"I've got slightly too used to you saying stupid things" (Stevie to Big Mac after Big Mac gets his first question right)
"In a really nice way Lee, I don't think you have fully understood it" (Sandi to Big Mac when Big Mac tries to explain how Mona Lisa's eyes follow you.)
JOKE OF THE NIGHT:
"You know how they separate the men from the boys in the navy? With crowbars" (Stevie to everyone. Not his most witty work but given that this was probably the only joke of the night, it had to take the win.)
FACT OF THE NIGHT:
When a lobster detaches itself from its entire shell, it has to pull out the lining of its throat, stomach and anus. All to stay young forever. Fuck that.
STEVEISM OF THE NIGHT:
A 'steveism' is a phrase or word which is only incredible because Mr Fry has said it with his perfect diction and posh-yet-approachable voice. For example, I says 'sloths' as if it rhymes with 'cloths'. Stevie (and Sandi too) on the other hand pronounces it 'slowth'. Say it out loud. The latter just sounds superior. Only Stephen Fry could improve the laziest animals in the world merely by saying their name like a snob. Because Stevie pretty much carried the entire episode this week, there was plenty of steveisms to choose from. My favourite though was when he said
"They do that in the streets of New York with 'your mamma' don't they."
Yes. That delicious man just talked about yo mamma jokes as if they were an amusing mannerism of a people long gone from this earth. I love him so much.
Hugs and Kisses,
Enid
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