QI E05 Review - Europe

Episode E05, the 6th episode to be recorded, was a real gem of an episode. This was the episode when Dara and Phill mentioned this very blog. As I expected it wasn't included in the show, mainly since it was mentioned whilst a technical difficulty prevented the show from being recorded.

The real genius in this episode was the 'Call My Euro Bluff' round. For those that don't understand this reference (because they are too young or such) should click here. This part of the episode lasted surprisingly long and took up a large chunk of the recording. Stephen also had a question, which was also a Bloff. Unfortunately the researchers (one of whom was supposedly working up until the last moment) couldn't find a wacky European law that was actually true.

The audiences' klaxon really does deserve an apology from the BBC (given the current climate). The audience didn't know the words and those who did sing it the first time couldn't be heard. Hence the version that you can actually hear in the show was recorded afterwards in the pick-ups.

This was also the episode in which Alan began filming the audience. You can view his videos on youtube or by clicking the videos in the sidebar. Before the recording started Phill Jupitus' flag was upside down. It was only 10 minutes before the warm-up (Gordon Southern on this occassion) that a member of our party pointed it out and the problem was solved.

The elephant in the room question was a surprise to everyone. The audience and the panellists had all been far too preoccupied with the flags on their desks to notice the change in notebooks.

All in all this was an episode that maintained the high quality of this current series. Even before the half-way point it is clear that this series has exceeded all of those before it. If you haven't seen it on BBC4 already, watch out for the Everything episode next week.

And finally, don't forget to watch the QI Vodcast for the Europe episode, currently available here. It includes the largest thing you can rent in Europe for £170k/day, more about Belgium and composting!