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Who’s Getting Sent to Room 101?
This week I’m going to introduce my fellow American’s to a new British panel or comedy show everyday.
Room 101, another show that originated on radio, lets celebrities send people and things to “a fate worse than death.” Since that is the premise of the show, celebrities pick things they don’t like or things they think would make for a funny exchange and good television.
Not every object mentions goes into Room 101 because the host has to be persuaded that the object deserves to go into Room 101, which is named for the room in George Orwell’s 1984. Some things that celebrities have chosen to send to Room 101 are American Football, The Beatles, and even the show itself.
There have been three hosts of Room 101: Nick Hancock, Paul Merton, and Frank Skinner. The following clip is from the last show ever with Paul Merton and has Ian Hislop trying to send Piers Morgan into Room 101. However, it doesn’t quite work the way as planned.
Stephen Fry and Alan Davies are Quite Interesting
This week I’m going to introduce my fellow American’s to a new British panel or comedy show everyday.
Today’s show is QI or Quite Interesting. Each series (or seasons for Americans) has a different letter of the alphabet determining the topics. For example, series A had shows based around the topics: Aquatic Animals, Advertising, and Antidotes.
The incomparable Stephen Fry hosts QI. While the adorable Alan Davies is the show’s only permanent panelist, who typically loses by what appears to be a random amount because of QI‘s crazy point system that only a guy named Colin knows the formula for.
The following clip has Stephen explain that the grammar rule “I before E except after C” is not as accurate as one would expect. The panel of Graham Norton, Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Mack, and Alan Davies have hard time comprehending what Stephen is saying. Lee Mack has a tougher time than everyone else. Enjoy!
After the jump, you will find the QI‘s unbroadcast pilot. As the first episode ever made, it takes place before the set was changed and the current points system was put in place. Alan Davies, Bill Bailey, Eddie Izzard and Kit Hesketh-Harvey are the featured panelists. For American (and possibly some Brits), it will be odd seeing a red-haired Eddie Izzard.
Wait! What's A Dial? 