QI - "They say of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is..."

[MichaelJacksonLuvva]

'fake crying' MOVING ON

[qeviguvi]

Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey in the same room? My life is complete.

[STUFFandNONSENSEness]

Why are people talking about such fatuous gibberish in the comment section for such a funny clip. Back to the point...they say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is...poor Stephen.

[SashaTheBrit]

i just saw this the other night.

qi, not this episode.

it's awesome.

[ChasePiat]

HAHAHAHA that was awesome

[foreigncharacter1315]

Man, I was laughing at this almost as hard as Stephen was.

[nayee9]

Definately my favourite ways of spelling

definitely and favorite.

[Kousaburo]

Who cares? Go away.

[nayee9]

Learn to spell. Then you can come back.

[Kousaburo]

Learn to kiss my arse you prick.

[nayee9]

You're butchering the language you SPEAK!

Judging from your use of "arse" I'm going to assume you're a brit.

I'm smart and u is dome !!

[Kousaburo]

Don't you mean "You are dumb"?

Goodbye.

[nayee9]

whooooooooooosh.

[RUTHYYY69]

this quote made it into my exam today on Archaeology of the Greek and Roman World for Cardiff University (and yes it was relevent!)

[dark0fday]

Hehe I was dying at the end when Alan says "Wha'eva" xD

[medea1990]

Oh, thank you. Now I understand it! What does it mean? Thank you!

[zeeslag123]

I love how Stephen is sort of crying and laughing at the same time :P

[kisbie]

Given the way last night's Xmas episode has been slagged off just because of the -admittedly too long - 'retarded Osmond brother' bit, I wonder if this episode would have been similarly criticised if this moment hadn't been edited out. Remember, this was only ever shown in isolation, as an 'outtake', and contributes nothing fact-wise.

(Although it is funnier.)

[Vorticistick]

@kisbie I thought the Osmond bit was funny, although I couldn't understand some of what was said :-). Glad to see the edits - they are often funnier because you know that they aren't scripted.

Where does that 'what do they say, what do they say' and 'he's going to say, he's going to say' come from? They sound familiar. It's a US film isn't it, Disney or something?

[kisbie]

A quick glance around the Internet - yes, I know but anyway - would suggest that those of us who thought the recent Xmas episode was alright - not brilliant but not terrible - are in the minority. All the criticisms seem to be about the Osmond routine, which I will admit did go on a bit. Several other people though were saying it was the sign that QI had dumbed down.

I was just wondering whether people might have said the same about this episode had this now-classic bit stayed in.

[kisbie]

Interestingly, the latest episode has had good reviews, despite a similar extended bit where they were going on about celebrity lookalikes in paintings. Even if that was funnier than the Osmond stuff, I don't understand the manner of the criticism about the Xmas episode, which was all about how the show was no longer for clever people.

I've never regarded the show as 'intellectual' TV. I'm fine with it being a trivia quiz. The clue's in the name - Quite Interesting, not Elitist Lecturing.

[Vorticistick]

I've always thought the point of it was to smuggle in some interesting knowledge by pretending it is a comedy panel show :-) Stephen Fry *does* try to encourage you to go out and learn something. His slightly schoolmasterish tone is balanced by the panelists who help you identify with the show whatever your level of education.

[kisbie]

You're right, QI is a comedy panel show in the form of a classroom. And that's my point really. It's always been like that - and it's the key ingredient behind its success. In any classroom, you'll get a mix of bookish nerds and silly clowns. The difference in QI is that the panellists constantly switch from one to the other - or are supposed to anyway.

Contrary to what the critics are saying, there's never been a point where it was excedingly mature and witty all the way through.

[johny344]

here here, well said

[kisbie]

I should add that I strongly feel that great comedy always has a good mix between mature and immature, 'clever' and 'stupid' humour.

Eddie Izzard summed it up perfectly when asked to define his school of comedy, a style which is also very evident in the likes of Python, Simpsons, Blackadder, Fry & Laurie, Bailey, Merton, Lock, Hill, et al;

"Talk about highbrow stuff in a lowbrow way and lowbrow stuff in a highbrow way."

[BowieQueenSnape]

@Vorticistick If you watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you will see a scene where a bridegroom is going to sing his tory about how he survived falling out of a tower, but he never actually sings, because all the wedding guests sing: "he is going to tell, he is going to tell..."

[holyafromonkey]

It's when Bill Bailey starts chuckling that I lose it.

[athull08]

definitley not, it was his first and only QI appearance.

[xopenheartx]

whatevaaaaww!

[athull08]

no, that was his only appearance

[athull08]

lol 1:25 - 1:35

What do they saaaaaaaaaaaay

About the acropoliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

Where the parthenon iiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

[coruscantplanet]

I almost cried laughing, watching this. Fantastic stuff!

[RandomPersonOnTheWeb]

I actually laughed so hard I started to cry!

[RifleboytheLPfan]

at 0:34 I like the way Bill Bailey adds a little tune to it xD

[anttiok]

"Bloody hell Stephen, this better be good." :DDD

[gsnoop]

omg, fry almost had an orgasm laughing.. lol.

[longbluefingers]

*W*hatever :)

[simstephen]

This is one of my favorite videos! Thank you for posting.

[athull08]

It's very rarely that you get the chance to take the mick out of Stephen Fry, and these 4 certainly siezed it with both hands!

[ELuhn]

That is one epic amount of stick.

[GUAlliance]

Oh Stephen is soooo adorable

[ntroup]

comedy GENIUS. ahaha. hilarious.

[iRobb94ii]

2minutes of pure comedy GENIUS from such a small sentance.  i LOVE IT! =)

[gimli1995]

are they make fun of the Parthenon ?

[tomhank9]

no they are not,

[HotPotNoodle1]

Love it when Steven says 'My tummy hurts!' at 1:25 :) He sounds so sweet :P

[OlympiaOverdrive]

AHAHAHAHHAHHHHA!

[leecirtcele]

"This had better be good"

[itbevee]

No, he means what he says: there are no straight lines, as far as the floor is concerned. It is actually arched the tiniest bit, with the corners being the lowest points of the floor. No one knows why they did this. Also, the columns are not straight, but curve inward. And no I don't mean their sides merely slant, they actually curve as it goes up, ever so slightly. This may have been to create an optical illusion.

[hattenkofer]

I don't think he's talking about that. Why? Because "they say about the ACROPOLIS ...", not the Parthenon itself. The Acropolis is the hill, not the building

[binaway]

I've read it's because if the lines were straight they would appear to bend as they got further from the eye, distorting the image. By curving them in a certain way they appear straight and make the image more pleasing to a human observer.

[LtGenAile]

I love it when they all gang up on stephen

[youngfreak32]

Funny as hell.

[LtGenAile]

Phill Jupitus, Jimmy Carr and Rob Brydon would be the perfect panel

[anttiok]

Nope, that would be Sean Lock, Bill Bailey and David Mitchell.

[Aoifs90]

"Bloody hell Stephen...this better be good!!"

LOL!!

[Blacknarcissa]

Best bit I've ever seen on QI. Still hilarious now.

[alreadywoundpie]

The funniest part is that he says is perfectly the second time but gets interrupted, and he can't say it again.

[mjufpn]

no strait lines?

[misterHEEB]

No STRAIGHT lines?

[Prophaniti666]

Stephen's not quite right on that one, but I know what he's referring to: we studied it in Classics. Basically, the angles are slightly off to compensate for the effect of visual foreshortening, and the end result is it -looks- like all 90 degree angles, more than it would if it actually was.

[Prophaniti666]

Stephen's not quite right on that one, but I know what he's referring to: we studied it in Classics. Basically, the angles are slightly off to compensate for the effect of visual foreshortening, and the end result is it -looks- like all 90 degree angles, more than it would if it actually was.

[MrBandshell]

Fucking hilarious, I love QI. : )

[TrimTOODLE]

lol its bill that sets everyone off laughin.. he laughs at stephen... then EVERYONE does !!

[laa2009]

Hahaha this is so funny!

[BODYGCB]

This wasnt shown in the episode

[sophiemichele]

Never fails to make me smile.

[nofxgr]

hahahaha very funny...they also say of the british that they have a terrible taste of black humour!!!

[zombiepopesinc]

I love bill bailey!

Fight fight fight fight!

[binini1]

fight fight fight fight!!

[Shizenvi]

Oh this made my eyes water from laughing

[MariannasSister]

What Alan says at the end, just makes it perfect!!

[MGMagic21]

i can't stand it no more i can't evenn stand this is absolutely hilarious. particularly bill bailey!!

[GreenHairedGoony]

"My tummy hurts!"

xD

[mujnk]

haha! check the video responce guys, tempz goin huuge!

[Guest1001]

Lol, fantastic. Why was this not shown?

[catinamac]

Yes it was!

I was crying of laughter when they showed this originally.

[statueofwind]

It was. On the compilation show edition of season 5.

[Suprahampton]

My cheeks are hurting from laughing so much

[iluvmuse]

Hilarious ;D It amazes me that it was all ad-lib, pure genius =D

[GinnyCullenSparrow]

ha ha ha.

literally pml XD

[uzukishikala]

OMG. The first time I saw this I almost peed. Jimmy Carr is such an ass, and so funny.

[NewAgeEagles]

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

[RachieRAINBOWS]

I think im about to have a laugh related heart attack!

I absolutely Love Stephen Fry <3

[alison0arr]

what is it he's trying to say lol?

its hilarious haha

[livbiv]

Hahaha, pure brilliance.

Stephen Fry is a living legend.

[ILuvDepp]

My cheeks hurt so badly XD

Alan - ''what do they say, what do they say!''

Stephen -'' ahhahhh can i write it down''

Alan - ''Wah-evaaa''

=' D

[PureZOOKS]

it's "my tummy hurts" but the best part is the hole barbershop quartet thing, hilarious, get stephen knited

[forevergeek]

I think that might be my new favourite Stephen Fry clip.

[RivaJane]

that there are.....NO STRAIGHT LINES!

[antarcticdirtclod]

lmao so anticlimactic

[smoothandbold]

we desperately need this show in the states. no lame imitation, either, the real thing. honestly, I refuse to believe the myth that the majority of Americans are incapable of appreciating British humor, that just can't be true...I think we're just not exposed to enough of it.

[HSxoxoHS]

i agreeee

im american

and im laughingg soo hardd LOL

[princesskyrie]

I wholeheartedly agree. There just aren't any American celebrities/comedians that can handle this kind of show.

Please BBC/BBC America, bring us QI!

[Isanion]

Rich Hall can and frequently does, and Reginald D. Hunter.

But otherwise i'd tend to agree.

[princesskyrie]

Forgot about Rich Hall (you'd think that would be hard, considering how often he's on QI, but whatever), and I don't know Reginald D. Hunter. I was thinking more along the lines of the comedians seen most of the time on American TV.

This is one case in which I would be most happy to be proven wrong, because I would not want the current Comedy Central crew on "my" QI.

[athull08]

Reg D Hunter was only on QI once, and it didn't go very well for him. He tried to criticise British food to Stephen, but he didn't know what was about to hit him!

[eipylOh]

Both are Awesome!

[Vennificus]

@princesskyrie It's the accent, every joke sounds better with a british Accent, kinda like how an old jewish man sounds like he's telling the story better, or like the finnish are having more fun at the party

[ForeverDelayed1]

i laughed so much my face hurts

[TWDW234]

classic QI cock-up. Love it when Stephen looses the plot!!! HA!! :)

[roseynick]

What do they say! What do they say! xD Classic! xD

[sigrun87]

oh i love love love this show

have watched this part like 10 times and still laugh:D

xxx

[borkursteingrimsson]

haha. yes. that is a good one. Just love Jimmy Carr myself :)

[callpolice999]

Bill Bailey,

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

[tonitakitty]

Oh my god... That hurt so good.

Hilarious.

[SatoTM3]

lol i love the end xD where they al go pff okay..be that way...whatevaaaa XD

[joannas01]

''''''bloody hell stephen!

this betta be good'''''-

i love alan!!!!

[lyinglolita]

Ouch! I can't stop laughing. I love Stephen Fry.

[shockingelderly]

I cry with laughter every time i see that clip! Hilarious!

[Nonalir]

Lol my chest hurts from laughing so hard! Such a funny clip. Probabaly the only time Stephen Fry has entirely lost control of the show, and it's all the funnier for it!

[TheDragonRider13]

This never fails to make me laugh :D

[Pieter345]

whaevaaaa xD

[Akfilm92]

I can't stop laughing ^^

[Tropicaliak]

I watch this at least once a day.

[doctorcropcircles]

I hope he does get knighted, for his contribution to making my life funnier.

[TwilightGamage]

And more knowledgeabible...of course...

[Cheerfullysadistic69]

it actually sounds like Stephen is dying!!!

[TheGuyWithTheLego]

Jimmy Carr is so funny.. he started everything off lol!

[ddthatcher]

Bill Bailey is so bloody funny

[Mirabu]

Oh man to funny

[Ronniewins]

best Qi momnet

[poben123]

They're horrible. But hilarious. Hehehe. 'Wo ist mein handy?'.

[Milesy09]

PMSL! HAHA xD

[mauerbluemchen0]

That certainly was an anticlimax!

You just have to love him.

[spazzumgurl]

I'm with Stephen . . . crying and unable to breathe. :)

[squishy3000]

"Bloody hell Stephen, this better be good!" XD

[SirHawkeyeWho]

lool at stephen's crying at 0:54 bless =P

[lucelli1chivas]

Who's the guy with the black, curly hair?

[poben123]

-_-

Alan Davies

[lucelli1chivas]

Thank you.

[lucelli1chivas]

"Do they?"

"What-eva!"

[nelsynoo]

This is my favourite QI moment of all time

[lucelli1chivas]

I haven't laughed this hard since I saw Stephen playing Michael Jackson!!

[otocan]

I love this bit :) was it an outake? I remember watching it on tv but can't remember what show it was. How could they take it out!

[EleanARGH]

yeah it was on a compilation edition at the end of a series :) can't remember which one though...

[Rombuzz]

this is great lol....5/5

[neeerv]

1:25

"no please, my tummy hurts!"

i love this video xD <3

[JapeUK]

Oh, god bless Mr. Fry

[mynameisannieleigh]

I didn't know about the petition, otherwise I would have signed it.

Double damn.

[srw9]

splendid

[Tropicaliak]

my CHEEKS hurt from smiling/laughing SO MUCH at that video!!!! adores!!!!

[xoxbethersxox]

I've been ill all day and that clip has just made me feel whole lot better!!! Thank you!

[pedro27mumble]

stephen fry is a brilliant host

[schnauzer65]

It's from Series E Episode 1, but that part's not actually in the episode. IT's one of the funiest episodes I've seen though, and I've seen them all

[pedro27mumble]

thank you

i wanted to know because it was just so funny

[henrycrumm]

is it in the outtakes bit on the dvd?

[schnauzer65]

I'm not sure, I've only seen it here on YouTube, but I imagine it would be, yeah.

[DKLabRat]

It may not be in the actual episode, but it' s in the end of Series E compilation episode of outtakes, moments which didn't make it etc. I saw it originally on TV, long before I saw it on You Tube.

[menadeb2us]

Can you please upload the whole episode? I can't find it anywhere.

[tiche38]

*rolling on the floor crying*

Stephen... is... love...

This is almost illegal to be THAT adorable. Will show this moment to my office mates tomorrow, just to make their tummies hurt too.:))

Ouch. I love him so.*hug*

[banneradders]

many people do. lets just hope he reads these and sees how much :)

[angryenglishgirl]

i think every stephen fry fan should get a hug off him (just because that includes me)

[schnauzer65]

I totally agree, but he'd have massively sore arms, especially since I'd just go to the back of the line after every hug =P

God, he's fantastic.

[pedro27mumble]

what series is this please

[pedro27mumble]

the best qiiz show around

[aroundthefur77]

Thanks for putting this up.

QI's easy one of the best programmes on TV. Legendary moment.

[xShakespearex]

Whatevaaaaar

[ROCKLOVER1234]

lol one of the greatest clips ever. with some classic lines

"bloody hell Stephen this better be good"

"What do they say what do they say?!?!"

"my tummy hurts"

lol my favourite lines of the whole thing lol

[xShakespearex]

I was just about to put the tummy thing :P Bless him <3

[ROCKLOVER1234]

lol yeah. he does say some of the most innocent things lol

the way he says it cracks me up lol

[annbretagne]

By the way, writing on 17 January.

[annbretagne]

Looks like lerjse's been nabbed again. I'll swear the culprit is Alan Davies. Any news of a second reincarnation?

[htershane]

Uh oh,idiot alert! Theres another one around who doesn't get it, (curiously enough they're Greece too) sweet Jesus.

[StitchV2]

They say of the Acropolis, where the Parthonon is..FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

[spencerant88]

Its very rare Stephen loses his composure so completely. He could even get his lines straight out, of his mouth. Lol.

[minestrone3]

seriously though, WHEN WILL FRY BE KNITED??? stupid queen, she knighted freaking maccartney! i mean, out of all people!

[htershane]

Not up to her. Its the government of the day that decides an dsome of them really are stupid! Actors and such like are eusually a bit older before they get K'd.

[minestrone3]

uuuuuuuuuuuuuh! i see!

[TEZKesquire]

i like it where he says, rather quietly, 'i can't breathe....'!

[VinceRocksMySocks]

hahahah! ow my mouth hurts where i've been laughing so much!

[FilmPoems]

This is the only QI episode I ever saw, in the lobby of my hostel while I was on vacation in London. I laughed so hard I almost fell over.