QI E01 Recording Review

*This is episode E02 in the Autumn transmission order.

The first recording in a new series is always an exciting experience, even if the cast and crew are a little anxious about the performance. Last night's recording was no exception, but everyone had a brilliant time.

My suspicions have been confirmed. People are queuing even earlier this series. I arrived at five to five (an hour and fifty minutes before doors open) and the queue was already from the gates to the front of the building. Stephen Grant announced that more than 300 people had to be turned away. Applause store really are overbooking these shows. Applause store received more than 23,000 applications for that single recording of QI. It is their most popular show by a long way. Obviously demand is far outstripping supply.

New arrangements for entering the studio appear to have been introduced. The audience entered the studio through the back door instead of the side door. This may have been something to do with the HIGNFY recording that was taking place at the same time. It is something to take into consideration if you're planning to meet someone in the queue as this may not be possible when they have been moved in through the gates. There was one small benefit. You can find your seat before you go to the toilets!

Stephen Grant did a brilliant warm up as per usual. He was aided by the presence of Sarah (aka Minerva Moon, who writes the transcripts for the show) since the fact that she is American gave him plenty of material to work with. Another member of the audience (known as Mandibles to forum members) was given the opportunity to show off the QI logo tattooed on her left arm. This included a trip onto the stage to show Stephen Fry!

Alan Davies (as so many of you want to know), now has shorter hair compared to the last series. It is reminiscent of his Jonathan Creek days. We also learnt before the recording started that he has an intolerance of almonds. However, he has no problem with marzipan!

For these reviews, I am going to be including some "spoilers". However, they are going to be "whited out" so as not to spoil the TV show for readers. In order to read this part (should you wish to) you need to highlight the text. The following includes details of the guests and the subjects discussed.

The guests were Sean Lock, Jo Brand and Rich Hall. This is (to my knowledge) the first time that the same three guests from a previous show have all appeared together. Sean Lock, Jo Brand and Rich Hall all appeared together in C05.

Electricity was the theme for the episode. The subjects discussed included: Lightning, Monks, a Bed, an Inventor, Eels, a Strange Picture, Termites, Elections ships and Russian Names. I wont elaborate any more than that. You'll have to wait until the series airs to find out more.

The Elephant In The Room Card is going to be a recurring feature in the whole series. In every episode there will be an answer that involves an elephant. Whoever plays their card at the correct time will earn themselves 10 points.

Overall the recording stood out as a good mix of QI and comedy. There was an ample volume of extremely funny jokes but also some intensely interesting facts and discussions. One that probably won't make the edit was Fry's comparison between Pascal's Wager and global warming but it was certainly an interesting and engaging debate.

Tonight is the second recording. I wont be there but Andrew will be so look forward to his review when he's around.

Daily Telegraph QI Column - Week 14

It's the start of the E series recordings this week, so it probably wasn't an accident that this week's column is about all things E. Read up on Estonia, Eggs, Earwigs, Etymology, Etna, Errors, Exhibitions, the Eiffel Tower and Executions right here.

The second interactive QI DVD

Hi everyone. Those of you who read the QI forums (and if you don’t, why ever not?) will know who I am, so I sha’n’t elaborate.

QI Fanatic asked me here to say a little about the forthcoming interactive DVD game. I’ve been somewhat preoccupied with the joys of exam marking for the last couple of weeks, so it’s taken me a bit longer than I wanted to get around to it, but that’s Real Life for you.

Now then, that DVD. Well, it’s out later in the year, and of course everyone who reads this blog will want to have one.

I don’t want to give too much away about just exactly what’s going to be on there, but I can give you a few clues. There will be an option to play against someone else – but don’t panic if you prefer testing your knowledge or lack thereof to be a solitary pursuit, that will be possible too. And of course there are plenty of klaxons lurking. As for what the questions are about, that would be telling – but when we came up with them we tried fairly hard to make sure that all the subject areas you’d expect in a quiz were covered. Therefore, there may or may not be questions about quetzals, qvints, Qatar, quoits, and just perhaps even some things that don’t start with the letter Q.

The fully accredited elves – that’s people like eggshaped, who had something to say right here a few weeks back – are rather busy in the spring preparing for the recordings of the TV series (they start today, as you probably hadn’t failed to notice). As a result QI took on a bit of extra help to come up with the material for the DVD, and roped in three of the more established contributors to the forums as Peredhil (some prefer the title proto-elves). That was really a very exciting moment – receiving a message from Close To The Top asking me if I’d be up for supplying some multiple choice questions. It’s not as easy as it looks, specially since every answer has to be supported by reference to reputable sources – the last thing we want is for someone playing the game to know that we’ve got it wrong, so verification of everything included is essential. But it was fun, and I’m sure you’ll all have fun too when you get to play the game in a few months time!

Coming Soon!!!

First of all, apologies for the relative lack of posts on the blog in the last couple of weeks. I've been busy sorting out some treats for you all.

Tomorrow is the first recording of the E series of QI at the London Studios. To celebrate the blog will host an exclusive look at the work on the new Interactive DVD that will be released this autumn. All of it will be brought to you by one of QI's newest recruits.

Also, me and Andrew will be writing reviews of all the recordings. As things stand, I will be reviewing tomorrow's recording and Andrew will be reviewing Friday's show (Bill Bailey is confirmed as a guest for that one). Next week I'll be able to make both recordings. I am very excited about next Friday since I will be going as a production guest (so the review will include my experiences in the green room).

Meanwhile, watch out for QI's daily telegraph column (as always I'll post a link as soon as it is added to the website).

All in all, it's going to be a pretty exciting month as far as QI goes.

Daily Telegraph QI Column - Week 13

This week's QI Telegraph column takes a close look at May. Take a look here.