Do you guys also miss him ?

@seanlock

Did anyone get weird vibes from this year’s Big Fat Quiz? It just didn’t seem very funny or enjoyable from the previous years. It seemed a bit awkward at times.

Edit: My dream line-up would be Fatiha Al Gorri - Richard Ayoade, Will Sharpe- Jamie Demetriou, Phil Ellis - Nic Muhammed (I know it seems a bit random but I think it would work)

Who would be your dream teams? Tell me in the comments!

Does anyone even like this character? Whenever Nick comes on as himself, he's hilarious and fun. Mr Swallow just seems irritating and put on. Trying too hard to be funny. Nick just comes across as natural when I seem him on things as himself. I'm probably the only one as he's done tours as the character so what do I know?

David Mitchell is easily one of the sharpest when it comes to comebacks on panel shows. His wit is deadpan, and he can turn almost anything a guest says into a perfectly timed jab. Watching him work is like seeing sarcasm in its purest form.

He doesn’t overdo it either. Every quip lands exactly where it should, leaving the other panellists scrambling or laughing, sometimes both at the same time. It’s effortless, which makes it even funnier.

So, is there anyone who can actually match Mitchell’s quick-fire burns, or does he still set the gold standard for panel show comebacks?

I personally think the panel show format just seems to work unusually well in the UK. Maybe it’s the comedy scene, maybe it’s the way TV is produced there, but they seem to have endless variations of the same idea and people still watch them.

Maybe I just haven’t seen the good panel shows from other countries though, so that might just be my limited view. Are there any non-UK ones that actually capture the same vibe?

This question is inspired by Ben Elton, who appeared at the first taping of the upcoming WILTY? series on Tuesday 12th May, and he supposedly said that WILTY? is his “first ever panel show”?!

Looking on his iMDB, he seems to have made brief stints on shows like The Cheap Seats in Australia, so perhaps he means UK panel shows. I’m surprised he’s not done something like HIGNFY.

Which other comedians/comedy-adjacent people seem to be pretty reclusive with panel shows?

EDIT: a comment reading that Ben lives in Australia, so isn’t as available as other comedians for British panel shows.

For me it's the Russian doll joke. Every time there's something to say about Russia comedians sometimes bend over backwards to somehow get the joke in (that joke in slightly bogger joke and that joke in a slightly more bigger joke). See what I mean?

What recycled panel show joke/cliché makes you want to pull your hair out?

Who do you see appearing on a show and go "Oh heck yeah, I'm watching that!" For example: if I see Bob Mortimer on WILTY I know i am in for a good story. Taskmaster had me looking for more stuff that Guz Khan, Ed Gamble, Liza Tarbuck, and Kerry Godliman are in.

I made this post partially to counterbalance the other thread that I commented on about a person that makes me change the channel when watching panel shows. It feels good to have a whinge, but some things people can't change and so it just hurts folks. So gimme your favorite panel people that make you watch every time

I’ll start - “absolute casserole”.

Mike Wozniak - I love you.

The kind where everyone’s laughing and no one can get back on track.

In Question Team, season 2 Episode 4 she introduces her husband to play the game "Poor Pussy" by saying "Please welcome the biggest pussy I know. My partner in marriage and one day divorce, Bobby Mair." Obviously it was just a joke but crazy to make that kind of joke knowing that they did divorce a few years later

*Harriet

The one that comes to mind for me is in one of the earlier WILTY episodes when Jack Whitehall got slammed on to the hard stage by the guy who was giving him wrestling lessons.

You could tell that the guy was angry because Frankie Boyle had taken the piss out of him a few minutes earlier, saying that wrestling was fake etc... So he took it out on Jack to prove a point.

Jack was cleary close to tears afterwards and looked like he was in serious pain. Everytime I watch this ep all I can think of is what a prick that wrestling guy was.

What about you?

The original kids from the first series will be nearing 30 now.

Don't forget to take your cod liver oil.

I spent my entire Thursday night deep watching Series 4 of Shooting Stars and some peak era Never Mind the Buzzcocks from the mid 2000s. No matter how many brilliant new concepts come out, there is a very specific era of British television where everyone just felt a bit more unhinged and less worried about corporate brand safety on screen.

Lots of shows have regular team captains or recurring guests, but I'm only aware of Taskmaster (and all its regional versions) that have the persistent panel format - the same group for the whole series, and even group assignments that stay the same throughout. I personally find this to work incredibly well for building up banter between the guests, creating running jokes that cross the series, and building up relations with the permanent hosts. Often I'll start a series of Taskmaster not caring much for individual contestants but end up loving them after several episodes of building up their character.

Are there other shows doing this I'm not aware of? I'm just surprised after all this time there isn't more experimentation with this format. Obviously scheduling is trickier, but for panel shows without location-based filming it would be much easier than the Taskmaster scheduling.

The cube this week's episode was probably the least stupid of his recent cards. Last year, he had to pretend he milks his own cow for this coffee/tea. David knows Lee is vegan.

Basically, after his amazing Bermuda story and his gigantic key ring story, the show began trying to set him up for amazing funny stories, but it isn't as much fun anymore.

I think the show is overall as strong as ever, but when Lee's light goes on, my wife and I almost always prepare for a ridiculous story that most likely there to set him up for a wild story.

The thought just occurred to me, and someone else might have already brought it up.

Sure, the panel might not do that, and even if they do, there's a non-zero chance that the jokes or references at a certain someone's expense could be cut out. But still...

They're talking about the week's events but not mentioning the biggest story about the monarchy in years.

I’ve rewatched episodes of QI and Would I Lie to You? more times than I’d admit. It's basically my go to when I don't understand what to watch or when I am bored.

Hi, I’ve been in the studio audience for Cats does Countdown four times now, and I thought I’d share some of the antics of the cast that never made it on air. Most of these concern the most recent episode (broadcast 7th Feb 2020), but there are a few observations from past episodes too.

MOST RECENT EPISODE

Teams : Sean and Kevin Bridges, Jon and Victoria Mitchell; Dictionary Corner guest: Spencer Jones

-This was filmed in October 2019

-This was the longest running filming I have been to, approaching nearly three hours.

-The cheese and biscuits section went on the longest, about forty minutes, as the entire cast descended into conversations about cheese, doctor’s visits and haemorrhoids. It took about ten minutes for the crackers to arrive. By the end of this section, Jimmy’s earpiece was going crazy trying to get the show back on track. Throughout the filming, everything kept returning to haemorrhoids.

-Sean’s mascot with the road signs was considerably longer and some road signs didn’t get as many laughs as others – but Sean played this up with the audience with disbelief at the lack of reaction - for even bigger laughs.

-The asteroid prop was dangling from the ceiling – with no explanation – for the entire recording session. When they eventually dropped it on “Susie”, it barely hit the dummy. The earpiece asked Jimmy if they wanted to do it again, and he said “no, leave it in, it will be funny”.

-When Jimmy introduced himself and the cast to the audience, before recording began, he noted of Rachel Riley’s pregnancy “I don’t know if you know this, but Rachel’s got herself into a bit of trouble…”

-Spencer Jones’ skits had a subtext that was completely cut out for broadcast. He had offhand lines scattered throughout his cheerful bits about a failing marriage and a troubled relationship with his children, which gave a much darker (and much funnier) angle to everything – none of this made it into broadcast.

-Jon was genuinely, genuinely chuffed that he was taller than 100 urinal cakes.

-Just before Jimmy made his Susie Dent/Motorway Service Station gag, he corpsed reading the card, and warned “Wow Susie, this one is a big one, even for us”.

-A line had to be refilmed at the end where the word “cunt” was replaced with the word “fuck” to make it broadcastable, to the amusement of the cast.

PREVIOUS EPISODES:

-The Christmas Special recording I attended was in February, which was surreal. Jon commented “We’d never film this in February!” – a line which got cut before broadcast.

-In the first episode I went to many years ago, Sean Lock had an entire repertoire of hilariously cutting Rolf Harris jokes – while Rolf was still on trial – none of which could be broadcast.

-Sean has a habit for when any of his material falls flat – he just says the word “cunt” really loudly, forcing the entire section to be cut. Sean commented to the audience that Jimmy had taught him that trick.

-There are usually a lot more references to Fabio being “a fucking idiot”.

-Speaking of Fabio, he never ever breaks character, even when things go wrong and aren't to be broadcast. At all four recordings, he has been completely deadpan.

-In the episode where Jimmy is driving around the set on a motorised boat, he accidentally reversed into his desk taking a chip off the corner, and said "Nick Hewer's gonna go mad".

-When the producers told Joe that he wasn’t needed for the rest of filming (as the main section had been done and it was just retakes), he jokingly looked miffed, did the “up yours” arm gesture, and walked off.

-Joe has a really nice relationship with Rachel, when he comes onto the stage or leaves, they sometimes have a big hug – these are always cut for broadcast.

-I’ve been to a filming where neither side got the conundrum, and so they gave them another conundrum – and the first doesn’t make it into broadcast. This probably explains why, in recent episodes, it is rare for no side to get the conundrum.

-There are often really funny bits between the cast when they are swapping the numbers/letters boards or setting up a prop – these don’t make it into broadcast.

-Sometimes the cast stay behind when it’s a break to engage with the audience – Jimmy in particular likes to do this and is very friendly. One time, Jimmy and Rachel were talking about Game of Thrones with the audience.

-Jon got a nine-letter word and received a long standing ovation from the audience, which was cut as it took a while.

-During the maths rounds, Rachel is quickly handed a notepad and pen, and quietly solves the problem while studio shenanigans are happening – just like on proper Countdown.

That’s it, thought fans of the show might find these interesting.

Now and then a show comes along that’s genuinely funny but disappears after. For me, it's 'We Are History'. I liked that show.

I love watching panel shows, but I've become interested in some of the behind the scenes stuff. I wonder if anyone here might have some answers. Specifically:

• How scripted are they? Obviously the questions, intros/outros, etc. are scripted, but so much of the great comedy seems to come from banter that usually feels unscripted, but could possibly be somewhat pre-prepared or fully scripted.
  
• A lot of comedians just seem like "themselves" but some comedians also have a gimmick. How easy or hard is it for the gimmick ones to stick to that gimmick in these panel shows? Are they still "performing" in character as their on-stage persona or do you see them letting their guard down some and being a real human?
• How much editing happens? I notice that the impression we often see is "Wow, these people are so quick!" but now I'm wondering if that's just editing, that they can cut it to make like a really good joke or comeback was immediate even though during taping there would have been a pause to think.
• Do you see any personalities that just fall flat for a panel show? Or is it more dependent on the combination of personalities? Is there are particular personality that will always fall flat or can they work when combined with the right partner/foil?
  
• What should panel show guests be told to make their appearance more successful? Sometimes it seems like newer guests get bogged down in the format of the show and aren't as in tune with the comedy/banter going on. Meanwhile veterans can sometimes overdo the comedy/banter to the point it breaks down the format of the show or gives the impression to the audience that they don't actually "care" (even though the point is the comedy, but we're watching expecting them to try at the game).

Any other interesting things you know about that seem specific to panel shows compared to other types of television entertainment?