QI C Series DVD - A Review

The third series of QI is now available on DVD. Here's a review of what you'll find on it.

• 2 Disks
• All episodes from the C series, as broadcast.
  Deleted scenes including questions cut from the show and bloopers.
• Commentary on all episodes. 
• A compilation of all of the buzzers from the series.
• Peter Cushing featurette including QI's remix with Alan Davies and the original version by the Jellybottys and a new remix by the band. Plus a short audio feature about the discovery of the band which Alan mentions in the show.

The first thing that presents itself as you start the DVD menu is a backdrop of cumulus clouds in a late evening sky. I was almost expecting some Monty Pythonesque animation to emerge onto the screen when floating into the foreground comes a cuckoo clock where the dial has been replaced with the backdrop to the QI set with 5 little puppets sat around a QI style desk infront. Meanwhile some fairly pleasant music performed by a brass band plays. The menu doesn't really present itself as a theme that I would associate with the show but it's all very safe and won't offend anyone like the A series menus did.

Now if you're buying this DVD or reading this blog there is little point in me insulting your intelligence by telling you what a great show QI is. Therefore I'll skip straight to discussing the extras. Most striking about these are the several hours of audio 'commentary'. Use of the word commentary here is quite loose since it does not accompany the programme as it does on many other DVDs. Instead the commentary is restricted to briefer discussions (approx 15 minutes) focussed around several topics discussed in each show. I am pleased to say that this really cuts down on the faff that people associate with DVD commentaries. You really mustn't be embarrassed to listen to all of them since you'll learn plenty from the experience.

A key topic for each show is a discussion of the "retractions" where the elves got something wrong in their research. If you are a member of the QI forums then you should be aware that there are several name checks associated with the retractions. Most of the other topics discussed are the questions that failed to make it past the cut into the shows. If you watch QI for the interestingness then these discussions should prove of great value to you. As is explained in the commentaries, not everything can illicit a comedic response and it ends up on the cutting room floor.

One of the key extras that most people buy DVDs for are the outtakes. You'll certainly find a good measure of them here on disk 2. It is slightly irritating that the bloopers have been intermixed with the additional material (usually whole questions that were cut from the show for time). However, you'll still find some very cheeky laughs (in more sense than one) in all of the additional scenes.

Perhaps the strangest aspect to the DVD is the Peter Cushing extra. The QI remix that is advertised on the front of the DVD (and which you can view online from the link in the last post) is a little bit of fun. Still, I'm not sure I can agree with the assessment that Alan's rendition of the song was the funniest moment in the series. However, I'm sure that plenty of people will have been curious about the band that performed the song from Whitstable and the inclusion of the original is rather entertaining.

The C series DVD is well worth buying if you haven't already. There are some classic moments in this series and the extras, especially the commentaries, are great. I hope you enjoy it as I have.