Stephen Fry leaving QI

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meesham

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#182423 15-Oct-2015 10:28

The upcoming 'M' series starting this weekend in the UK will be his last:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/stephen-fry-qi

While it's disappointing I can understand him having enough, and IMO Sandi Toksvig is a good choice to replace him - she's the got headmaster style about her to keep the guests in line but still has a sense of humour (much like Fry).

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#1407102 15-Oct-2015 10:33

It will be a bit like when Angus Deayton left Have I Got News For You (which NZ's 7 Days is based on) - good, but never quite the same again.

Handsomedan

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#1407132 15-Oct-2015 11:40

Or when Mark Lamar left Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Or TV3 started 7 days of Sport...

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lxsw20

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#1407133 15-Oct-2015 11:44

Handsomedan: Or when Mark Lamar left Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Or TV3 started 7 days of Sport...

I really liked Simon Amstell on NMTB but it's gone down hill since then.

meesham

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#1407134 15-Oct-2015 11:47

lxsw20:
Handsomedan: Or when Mark Lamar left Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Or TV3 started 7 days of Sport...

I really liked Simon Amstell on NMTB but it's gone down hill since then.

I thought he was a bit harsh with the guests and it stopped a lot of people appearing on the show. I was actually a fan of Rhod Gilbert's version of the show and thought it was a shame it got cancelled.

Mark, Phil & Bill was my favourite combination though.

sidefx

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#1407170 15-Oct-2015 11:55

that is sad, indeed it will never be quite the same - replacing Stephen really is an impossible job. Interesting to read in that story that Michael Palin was originally cast as the host, with Stephen as a team captain and agreed to stand in as host for the pilot at the last moment, as the show seems tailor-made for him :)

Sandi does seem like a decent choice... and thankfully Alan is staying. I also hope they keep the same frequent guests, as they often make the show too. Bill Bailey and Jimmy Carr would have to be my favourites - I would suggest one of them as a better replacement, though I think both offer more as the occasional guest and they both have many other commitments that I guess would prevent it.

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sidefx

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#1407173 15-Oct-2015 11:59

meesham:
lxsw20:
Handsomedan: Or when Mark Lamar left Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Or TV3 started 7 days of Sport...

I really liked Simon Amstell on NMTB but it's gone down hill since then.

I thought he was a bit harsh with the guests and it stopped a lot of people appearing on the show. I was actually a fan of Rhod Gilbert's version of the show and thought it was a shame it got cancelled.

Mark, Phil & Bill was my favourite combination though.

Simon too harsh?? No way, not compared to Mark Lamar IMO. :) I think Simon just ended up with some more "sensitive, special snow-flake" guests who didn't really get the humour - he was probably my favourite NMTB host though.

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meesham

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#1407181 15-Oct-2015 12:07

sidefx:
Simon too harsh?? No way, not compared to Mark Lamar IMO. :) I think Simon just ended up with some more "sensitive, special snow-flake" guests who didn't really get the humour - he was probably my favourite NMTB host though.

You could be right, it's probably because I've been rewatching the Amstell episodes recently :) Apparently Noel Fielding hated Amstell which would have made things quite interesting behind the scenes.

drunkmonk

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#1407182 15-Oct-2015 12:11

Fry's personality is what makes the show worth while to me. But ill give the new host a try, never know it could be good.

But I will miss Fry.

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#1407188 15-Oct-2015 12:20

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#1407195 15-Oct-2015 12:25

sidefx: that is sad, indeed it will never be quite the same - replacing Stephen really is an impossible job. Interesting to read in that story that Michael Palin was originally cast as the host, with Stephen as a team captain and agreed to stand in as host for the pilot at the last moment, as the show seems tailor-made for him :)

Sandi does seem like a decent choice... and thankfully Alan is staying. I also hope they keep the same frequent guests, as they often make the show too. Bill Bailey and Jimmy Carr would have to be my favourites - I would suggest one of them as a better replacement, though I think both offer more as the occasional guest and they both have many other commitments that I guess would prevent it.

I saw Bill Bailey live in Wellington. Hilarious.

sidefx

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#1407223 15-Oct-2015 12:38

Geektastic:
I saw Bill Bailey live in Wellington. Hilarious.

Agreed; I saw him at the Civic in Auckland in Nov. Was reminded of it the other night when he was on Graham Norton promoting the same show - he told the goose story. Gold!

Also saw Dylan Moran when he visited a couple of years(ish?) ago. Also brilliant - he'd make a good QI guest IMO.

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Fred99

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#1407264 15-Oct-2015 13:37

sidefx:
Geektastic:
I saw Bill Bailey live in Wellington. Hilarious.

Agreed; I saw him at the Civic in Auckland in Nov. Was reminded of it the other night when he was on Graham Norton promoting the same show - he told the goose story. Gold!

Also saw Dylan Moran when he visited a couple of years(ish?) ago. Also brilliant - he'd make a good QI guest IMO.

I went to see Dylan Moran in Chch recently. Still brilliant, but it struck me as remarkably expensive for what you got. IIRC ticket price was about $100. It wasn't as if overheads would have been high, no support act, no jumbo-jet load of stage sets and sound gear, just him, a chair, a microphone, and a glass of water. The Horncastle arena a spectacularly hopeless venue in which to put on such a show, the seating arranged to view on-court action, probably only the third of the audience lucky enough to be facing the stage directly would have been comfortable, it wasn't nice sitting in a seat facing where I presume the goalposts should have been, tilting your head at a 30 deg angle to look at the stage, then trying to listen to Dylan and his echo from the back wall simultaneously competing for attention.
Chch short of suitable venues for obvious reasons, but I expect probably two performances at the Theatre Royal would have catered to the same numbers, and would have been much better.

floydbloke

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#1407397 15-Oct-2015 18:44

meesham: The upcoming 'M' series starting this weekend in the UK will be his last:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/stephen-fry-qi

While it's disappointing I can understand him having enough, and IMO Sandi Toksvig is a good choice to replace him - she's the got headmaster style about her to keep the guests in line but still has a sense of humour (much like Fry).

Explains why Sandi left as host of The News Quiz, which isn't quite the same now. QI will be a bit different from now as well I guess, but agree that she's a good replacement for Fry. (Incidentally, I've only recently discovered the joys of QI and am recording it from UKTV. I'm only up to watching the E series so will get to enjoy him as host for a while yet.)

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jfanning

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#1407429 15-Oct-2015 19:47

Geektastic:
I saw Bill Bailey live in Wellington. Hilarious.

I saw him in Dublin, it was the second worst comedy show I have been too (Jimmy Carr was the worst)

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#1407518 15-Oct-2015 22:01

Fred99:
sidefx:
Geektastic:
I saw Bill Bailey live in Wellington. Hilarious.

Agreed; I saw him at the Civic in Auckland in Nov. Was reminded of it the other night when he was on Graham Norton promoting the same show - he told the goose story. Gold!

Also saw Dylan Moran when he visited a couple of years(ish?) ago. Also brilliant - he'd make a good QI guest IMO.

I went to see Dylan Moran in Chch recently. Still brilliant, but it struck me as remarkably expensive for what you got. IIRC ticket price was about $100. It wasn't as if overheads would have been high, no support act, no jumbo-jet load of stage sets and sound gear, just him, a chair, a microphone, and a glass of water. The Horncastle arena a spectacularly hopeless venue in which to put on such a show, the seating arranged to view on-court action, probably only the third of the audience lucky enough to be facing the stage directly would have been comfortable, it wasn't nice sitting in a seat facing where I presume the goalposts should have been, tilting your head at a 30 deg angle to look at the stage, then trying to listen to Dylan and his echo from the back wall simultaneously competing for attention.
Chch short of suitable venues for obvious reasons, but I expect probably two performances at the Theatre Royal would have catered to the same numbers, and would have been much better.

Michael McIntyre is just causing ructions extending his NZ$15 million London house - so I guess that these guys must make money when they get to the top of the pile.