Qi

Prophet_of_Doom

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Am shocked and stunned to read that one of the regular panelists insists on seeing the questions before the show. Have done a little googling but have come up blank. Anyone know any more about this? Any guesses?

From the BBC website:

Talking about the forthcoming series of QI, Fry said unlike other panel shows the celebrity contestants were not in on the answers - apart from one panellist.

"There's only one regular guest who always insists on seeing the questions beforehand and prepares for them. I won't tell you his or her name," he said.

"It really annoys me. In fact, one day, I'll make sure that person is given a list from another programme because they don't need them."
 
Sort of ruins the idea of the show does that, a bit pathetic as it's only meant to be a laugh.

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I have a feeling it's this bloke.
 
That would be more of a reason to see the questions before hand when you think about it. He has a bit of a reputation to uphold as somebody who has graduated from Cambridge and going on a T.V show with the slight possibility of being beaten by Alan Davies would be quite embarrassing.
 
Mick1991 said:
That would be more of a reason to see the questions before hand when you think about it. He has a bit of a reputation to uphold as somebody who has graduated from Cambridge and going on a T.V show with the slight possibility of being beaten by Alan Davies would be quite embarrassing.
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Especially as the premise behind the show tends to be "everything you know is wrong". Theoretically, the smarter you are, the more likely you are to give incorrect answers.
 
Exactly P.O.D, the guesses to the questions is the humour, most of the time when a contestant gets one right it is a guess.
 
Might not just be to get the answers, might be to think of anecdotes to appear funnier.

I thought Clive Anderson too. Massive fail for him if it is.
 
Absolutely love QI. The first name to pop into my head on reading this was Clive Anderson as well.
 
after seeing the making of buzzcocks , i thought all shows were scripted

this is brilliant news . QI is my favorite .. finding out it isnt all planned makes it a bit better :D
 
There's definitely been a few episodes of QI where Fry has been uncharacteristically grumpy and short with the panelists. I think I'll be paying extra attention to Dave to see if there's any correlation between Fry's demeanour and which guests are on ... and then we might have our man!
 
Prophet_of_Doom said:
Am shocked and stunned to read that one of the regular panelists insists on seeing the questions before the show. Have done a little googling but have come up blank. Anyone know any more about this? Any guesses?

From the BBC website:

Talking about the forthcoming series of QI, Fry said unlike other panel shows the celebrity contestants were not in on the answers - apart from one panellist.

"There's only one regular guest who always insists on seeing the questions beforehand and prepares for them. I won't tell you his or her name," he said.

"It really annoys me. In fact, one day, I'll make sure that person is given a list from another programme because they don't need them."
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No!

This is a travesty. There's nothing wrong with being beaten by Alan Davies - on QI if you can't get a positive score you've been well and truly beaten by the questions anyway.
 
BAMSOLA said:
The smart money is on Mark Steel.

Always seems a bit too up his own arse to actually allow himself to go onto a show unscripted.
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I'm not so sure, he's not exactly a big name so if it annoyed them it wouldn't be difficult to just not invite him back.

Prophet_of_Doom said:
There's definitely been a few episodes of QI where Fry has been uncharacteristically grumpy and short with the panelists. I think I'll be paying extra attention to Dave to see if there's any correlation between Fry's demeanour and which guests are on ... and then we might have our man!
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There was an episode where Rob Brydon actually asks why Fry is being short with him compared to the other guests.

Still it's definitely Clarkson.
 
I've forgotten his name now, but there's often that guy on who seems to know a lot of random stuff like birth/death dates. Once did an impression of Alan Rickman.

He would be my guess.

John Sessions...is that his name?
 
GiggsysGirl said:
I've forgotten his name now, but there's often that guy on who seems to know a lot of random stuff like birth/death dates. Once did an impression of Alan Rickman.

He would be my guess.

John Sessions...is that his name?
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He definitely fits the profile, but he and Fry are best mates so I'd be surprised.

That said, in my twisted logic I almost find it more likely that a best friend would ask you to slip them the answers and it would be one of those things that simmers under the surface for years!
 
Doesn't letting contestants in on the answers beforehand kind of defeat the point of panel shows anyhow? It's one of the reasons I don't like Mock the Week, as it's horribly scripted and rehearsed. But I would be gutted if Have I Got News For You was the same
 
probably jimmy carr ..
i like carr , but he does annoy fry a lot
it could just be his constant interruptions tho
 
I think most of these shows are scripted to some degree. It's what makes QI (if it's true that only one guest gets info beforehand) all the more impressive.

What really gets my goat is the comedians who shoe-horn in a joke or scripted piece from a stand-up routine in one show (ie Mock the Week) and then use exactly the same joke on another panel show. Russell Howard hardly ever opens his mouth without it being very obvious that he's just dissected a part of his act.
 
SmashedHombre said:
Doesn't letting contestants in on the answers beforehand kind of defeat the point of panel shows anyhow? It's one of the reasons I don't like Mock the Week, as it's horribly scripted and rehearsed. But I would be gutted if Have I Got News For You was the same
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Have I Got News For You is also scripted, yes, but there's an incredibly long list of guests and guest presenters who come out of the show and testify that Merton and Hislop don't stick to it and are genuinely hilarious/intelligent.
 
I've been in the audience for a few of these type of things (HIGNFY, Buzzcocks, They Think Its All Over) and they all have a script but there is still plenty of improv going on. Also a lot of the best stuff never makes it on screen due to bad language etc
 
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