Entertainment For Lively Minds
How rubbish are the QI Opening Titles?
Posted by Dr Volume on 23 October 2010 - 2:49am.
QI is alright isn't it, except when the execrable Lee Mack is one of the guests, but I've often marvelled at just how bobbins the opening credits and theme tune are.
A bland plinky-plonky tune which sounds like Simon "Howards Way" May trying to interpret his take on Reggae using a Korg M1 Synth borrowed from Glen Ponder. This accompanies a montage of stock photos that came free on the cover mounted CD-Rom of a late 90s 'Make Your Own Homepage' magazine, while a poor graphic of a magnifying glass zooms around a bit over some words and stuff.
If The Massive can think of a more underwhelming title sequence for a quite good TV programme I'd like to see it.
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Agree with your assessment
of Lee Mack. He's a bit old school, isn't he?
Also somewhat pointless is Rich Hall, playing himself as the confused, grumpy American who has waded out far beyond his intellectual depth.
"Why, that's the stoopidest thing I ever heard!" is his tediously unfunny catch phrase when presented with yet another nugget of strange yet fascinating information from Stephen Fry.
As for the titles, now that you mention it...
Disagree with your assessment
of Lee Mack. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of old school, although I do agree that QI probably isn't the best place for him. He's just right for a trad sit-com like Not Going Out though.
My gripe with QI is Phil Jupitus. Big man, big personality - is it me, or is there a frostiness in the air when he's on?
Actually, having googled Jupitus and QI to see if this is a recognised phenomena I came across this top trolling:
( My italics )
Yes I've thought this for
Yes I've thought this for many years about Juptus. Recently heard more or less incontrovertible rumors that the big flat bloke liked to "play away from home" on a fairly regular basis. Creepy guy, with an atmosphere of profound guilt or something hanging about him. Further chin scratching and amateur psychology available on request.
At least they can
always slide him under the door after a night on the lash.
What with him being a "big flat bloke" like. Ho ho.
er, isn't all this sailing a bit close to the wind, legally speaking?
"Ever heard of an 'open marriage' Darlin?"
Not really, since as far as I'm aware, and hope I'm not wrong on this, that the above is fairly common knowledge. Whether alcohol or coke is involved or not, frankly if you do something so clearly out in the open, you are probably unconsciously looking for exposure. And wondering how on earth you've got away with it for so long. Its surprising how a certain 'type' with the right friends seems to be immune from the usual scrutiny.
Sadly chum
As a jobbing hack, I can tell this is entirely libellous. Less you can prove it, natch. And 'oh, a mate told me' just don't cut it with Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Super-Injuction. Dunno if any Word staff are around?
Good job
Marky can't spell.
my speeling.
Gulp. Yep Dave Juptus, renowned Pie Squasher and Legal Entrepreneur. Who are you guys talking about?
'that plonker with the glasses'
- who are they squawking about? Sort of agree about Jupitus - I like the Perfect Ten podcast though.
Good grief
Taking a piece of vitriol from another forum and using it to support your dislike is pretty low.
What's he ever done to you?
Anyone
who was invited to play guitar with the (re-formed) Bonzos can't be all bad.
Well...
I was really posting it because of the funny comment about 'that plonker with the glasses who used to edit Word magazine'. Hence the italics, and the fact I called it trolling.
Cheap but cheerful
The theme is by Howard Goodall, one of John Lloyd's old colleagues from way back. It was probably cheap or a favour. More TV should be as cheap and cheerful as this is. It probably costs very little to do, and yet is about as entertaining a 30 minutes as you can get.
I don't even remember Lee Mack being on it. He clearly didn't make an impression on me.
There's a small hole...
...in the part of my brain that is specifically responsible for processing Lee Mack-based information. I know I keep seeing him on't telly and posters and stuff, but I couldn't tell you a single thing about him. For a long time, I would've sworn blind I'd never heard of the man, despite manifestly having done.
I don't think that's a good portent of his likeability or talent, myself.
And I don't mind the QI titles, and I still love the show even after all this time. I suspect it was an incredibly low-budget punt when it started, tucked away on BBC2 with the expectation of eight viewers, two asleep. I doubt anyone's more surprised by its success than the producers.
Not BBC2
QI was originally on BBC4 so it's been promoted quite a lot since then. I don't have a problem with the credits either - surely these days most people fast forward through them anyway so why put any cash into improving them?
Here's proof
that you didn't dream it
Love the show..
..but the theme sounds like someone trying to play "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" on a Casiotone.
I like Lee Mack
I just watched the two series of Not Going Out on DVD and laughed a lot. Never seen him on QI, don't watch it much as I can only take smug tv (and radio) in small doses these days.
The theme tune
All seems to be 'one louder' than the rest of TV.
I love QI
But it's not the same show as when it started. I seem to remember that, when it first started, it tried to live up to its title and encouraged guests to be "quite interesting" by adding information of their own to the various topics while still being funny. It seems to have morphed into a standard comedy panel show, albeit one of the best, with panellists just trying to top each others gags. Nothing wrong with comedy, of course. It's just that this show started out differently and I think I preferred it then. Perhaps if they cut down on the number of out-and-out comedians and got in people with other knowledge - for example, veteran music journalists such as Mr Ellen.
100% agree
You're absolutely right, I find it annoying too. Phill Jupitus is undoubtedly a quick-thinking funny man but I have never heard him utter an interesting thing on the show, and he's on it all. The. Time.
By contrast John Sessions is the perfect QI guest but I haven't seen him on it in a long while. Giles Branreth was on recently and I never thought I'd be glad to see him on the telly, but he has the arcane knowledge to make QI quite interesting.
For what it's worth I've been to 2 QI tapings and it's a great night out. The shows are edited down from two hours long and on both occasions Mr Fry made fun of the theme tune.
Spare a thought for the editor
I once attended a taping of Never Mind The Buzzcocks and while it was a splendid night out, it's a testament to the skill of the tape editor that he managed to get 30 mins of broadcast-able material out of what was essentially two hours of shouting, peppered with incessant swearing, the like of which was enough to make Derek and Clive blush (Mr. Jupitus, I'm looking at you!).
I'm with DrJ on this, too.
The whole point of QI originally was exactly that; arcane knowledge. It was the aside, the adjunct, the tangentially fascinating anecdote you heard from a mate in the pub which might, just, staggeringly, have been true, but might also have been a colossal and outrageous bluff of the sort that props up Bond plots. Plus the gags along the way as the narrator either chose to blow their own cover as the conceit collapsed in the telling, or as the others around the metaphorical bar brought down the house of cards with a witty prod. It's been somewhat diluted, and I think I preferred it when you had to have somehow discovered that it was being broadcast at all before you could watch it.
Perfect QI lineup
Fry & Davies with ...
Ben Miller (was doing a fairly obscure physics PhD which he abandoned for showbiz; as a student he used to go out with Rachel Weisz apparently)
Boris Johnson (comedy gold with a background in the classics, politics and media)
Janeane Garofalo (non UK perspective, political balance for Boris, pithy, clever)
I just love
the good Doctor's late-night musings on the way of the world. Who wants an endless debate on Wayne Flippin' Rooney...
About time Qi got a revamp and new theme tune. Something along the lines of these perhaps...
Going For Gold
Sale Of The Century
Winner Takes All
Thanks, YouTube
Here's the first ever QI which I recall being hilarious at the time. The guest list is perfect: Danny Baker, John Sessions, Hugh Laurie (!) and Alan Davies...
No way can the QI opening titles aspire to these, er, heights.
The man who mistook his knitting needle for a mic
Don't know much about history...
I believe that the original plan for QI had been to use "Wonderful World" by Herman's Hermits but they producers couldn't get permission from the copyright holders.
I heard John Lloyd mention this on an interview on Radio Scotland, and it's also on the QI wikipedia page.
Anyway, that suggests to me that Howard Goodall might have been asked at the last minute to quickly come up with something for them, and you can sort of hear a "Wonderful World" reference in the tune.
I like it
The theme tune says "here's a gentle and funny quiz show from the BBC".
Wish list
Some software companies have "wish list" message boards for users to list things they'd like to see added or fixed in the next version of the software. Here's mine for QI:
- New title music.
- New title sequence (and I suggest avoiding CGI and stock photos).
- New set.
- Ban the banal buzzer.
- Hire a stylist for Mr. Fry.
- Retire the following guests: Rich Hall, Sean Lock, Phil Jupitus, Jo Brand.
- Bring back Ben Miller, Peter Serafinowicz, Liza Tarbuck and Meera Syal more often.
- More female guests, please.
- Limit each series to six episodes only, twice a year.
Otherwise, keep up the good work Mr. Lloyd!
You can't please all of the people etc etc.
I think Sean Lock is consistently one of the best QI guests. I would be happy never to see Meera Syal ever again.
Surely in the old tradition of BBC2 panel shows, there shouldn't be a new set until we get colour television! (see Face the Music and Call My Bluff for details).
The buzzer can stay if they use it for it's original purpose and not to indicate that one of the panel has thought of something funny that someone else thought of first!
Don't mind the theme tune
but my gripe is the apparent dumbing down since it crossed over to big tellyland.
As has been alluded to on this thread it is now another run of the mill panel show with comedians trying to outdo eachother.
There are plenty of outlets for this and QI was much better when it was 80% quiz 20% banter.
My remedy is get rid of Alan Davies all together, I know he is there to be the fall guy but when he does try humour his success rate is very low and when he knows he's 'done a funny' he milks it to death.
The best guests have been Ben Miller, Danny Baker and Rory McGrath, people who can show off intelligence without being smug.
What's next? Celebrity Only Connect with Johnny Vegas and Frankie Boyle as team captains?
Surely QI crossed over because it was popular, why change it at all?