QI: The B Series [DVD] [2008]

Fortunately, you don’t have to be anywhere near as clever and quick-witted as Stephen Fry to enjoy the majesty of Q.I.’s second series. Brought together in its entirety in this DVD set, it’s that rarest of things: a timeless panel show that can be enjoyed over and over again.

What structure there is to Q.I. proves simply to be a platform for questions about obscure topics, and the equally obscure, and quite interesting, answers that follow. It’s a simple idea, majestically realised. With panelists who are genuinely funny and interesting--series regular Alan Davies is joined by the likes of Dara O’Briain, Sean Lock, Rich Hall and the late Linda Smith--each episode is a glorious slice of comedy that you could never accuse of dumbing down.

The theme for this series of Q.I., as you probably guessed from the DVD title, is the letter B, and that’s the glue that holds all the answers together. Yet guiding the show is the quite brilliant Stephen Fry, in a show he was simply made to host. Very funny, quick and--yes!--quite interesting too, he’s simply superb here.

A terrific antidote to the lazy panel show that too often infests our screens, Q.I. is priceless television, and this B series is simply not to be missed. --Jon Foster

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Behold QI's big-sized "B" bundle, benevolently blending bug-eyed bafflement and brilliant badinage by Britain's brightest babble-meisters. Bananas! Bamboo! Baguettes! Baldness! Bagpipes! Biscuits! Bernards! This beauteous boxset brims bountifully Brian could somebody please rewrite the copy from this point on? This idea is fantastically tedious and unfunny. Yes leave it with me no problem I'll have a go at it after lunch. Does the Pope eat beaver? Where did the Greeks put their blackberries? How big is a barnacle's boner? Discover answers to questions you never dreamt of asking and find that everything you think you know is wrong. This complete second series is devoted entirely to the letter beloved by Balzac, Bertolt Brecht and the Brontës you can take those out too. I've never heard of any of them and all 12 glorious episodes are included. Your beaming host, QI Master Stephen Fry, winner of the 'Golden Rose of Montreux' for best game-show host, quizzes the likes of Bill Bailey, Brand (Jo), Barry (Cryer) and Briain (Dara O') in a quite interesting and unquestionably hilarious trawl through the world of bugs, beetles, bangs, Bermuda shorts, Brownian motion, Bombay duck, Irving Berlin the list is OK but take out the word 'beaming' please and Birmingham. Starring Alan Davies and a lot of other people without a B in their name: Sean Lock, Rich Hall, Phil Kay, Clive Anderson, Mark Gatiss, Phill Jupitus, Jeremy Hardy, Jeremy Clarkson, Jimmy Carr, Anneka Rice, Arthur Smith, Linda Smith, Fred MacAulay, Josie Lawrence, John Sessions and Mark Steel. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...QI - The B Series - 2-DVD Set ( QI XL ) ( Quite Interesting )