No Such Thing as the News
| No Such Thing as the News | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Michael Matheson |
| Presented by | James Harkin Andrew Hunter Murray Anna Ptaszynski Dan Schreiber |
| Theme music composer | Emperor Yes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Producer | John Lloyd |
| Production locations | Up The Creek Comedy Club, Greenwich, London[1] |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | QITV |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 20 May 2016 – Present |
| Related | |
| No Such Thing As A Fish QI The Museum of Curiosity The Unbelievable Truth | |
No Such Thing as the News is a British television comedy series on BBC Two, which is a spin-off to the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish, produced and presented by the researchers behind the panel game QI, also on BBC Two. In it each of the researchers – James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber – collectively known as "The QI Elves", present their favourite facts related to the previous week's news.[2]
Format
In each episode the Elves present their favourite fact that week which is connected to that week's news, and discuss related news and facts about it. They also read out news stories sent to them by viewers and also highlight other stories they did not have time to examine in greater depth. The end of the show also features a small sketch in which Dan goes over to BBC newsreader Jane Hill.
Origin
No Such Thing as the News is a television spin-off to the No Such Thing as a Fish podcast, which sees the four QI elves discuss their favourite facts that they had learned that week. The show's title comes from one of the facts revealed in the QI TV series. In the third episode of eighth series, also known as "Series H", an episode on the theme of "Hoaxes" reported that, after a lifetime studying fish, the biologist Stephen Jay Gould concluded that there was no such thing as a fish. He reasoned that while there are many sea creatures, most of them are not closely related to each other. For example, a salmon is more closely related to a camel than it is to a hagfish.[3] The opening of early episodes of the podcast used to feature a recording of the elves mentioning this fact, which appears in the first paragraph of the Oxford Dictionary of Underwater Life.[4][5]
Production
The series was commissioned by James Harding, Director of BBC News. The show is recorded at the Up the Creek Comedy Club in Greenwich, London,[1] and is produced by John Lloyd, the creator of QI.[2] A pilot episode was made, which was not broadcast on TV but was released as Episode 114 of No Such Thing as a Fish.[6]
Reception
In a review for Chortle Steve Bennett wrote: "If you're a curious person too, your interest will definitely be piqued by the info imparted (now my internet search history includes 'didgeridoo in space' and 'sticky google car') and in a most entertaining way. Though quite what the weird handover to Jane Hill in the BBC newsroom just to call Schreiber 'Bernard' was all about defies explanation."[7]
On Episode 130 of No Such Thing as a Fish it was announced that Series 2 would begin on 12th October 2016 1t 11:15pm on BBC2.[8]
List of episodes
| # | Title | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | "Episode 1[9]" | 20 May 2016 | |
|
The House of Commons has a special security measure designed to stop the Gunpowder Plot from ever happening again. (Murray) The International Space Station has quadruple glazed windows. (Schreiber) According to the former head of the Russian Anti-Doping Laboratory male athletes take their drugs with whisky and female athletes take their drugs with Martini. (Ptaszynski) Scientists have turned water into wine. (Harkin) | |||
| 1.2 | "Episode 2[10]" | 27 May 2016 | |
|
On his trip to Vietnam, Barack Obama took with him his own personal blood bank, a fake Cadillac, and an exact replica of that fake Cadillac. (Ptaszynski) In Google's Paris offices, Friday meetings are accompanied with cheese and wine. (Harkin) Thomas Becket's elbow is currently on tour. (Schreiber) The world's largest solar power plant has just been set on fire, by itself. (Murray) | |||
| 1.3 | "Episode 3[11]" | 3 June 2016 | |
|
The reason Winston Churchill looks so grumpy on the new £5 note is because someone has taken away his cigar. (Schreiber) At its opening ceremony, the world's longest tunnel was ceremonially blessed by a priest and them ceremonially not blessed by an atheist. (Murray) The judge who has just ruled that all UK tobacco packets have to be green is called Mr. Green. (Ptaszynski) Cicadas that have lived underground in Ohio for 17 years have finally emerged, only to be immediately eaten as an ice cream topping. (Harkin) | |||
| 1.4 | "Episode 4[12]" | 10 June 2016 | |
|
The man after whom the UEFA Euro 2016 trophy is named after, Henri Delaunay, retired from refereeing after he swallowed his own whistle. (Harkin) In the Romanian local elections it is no longer permissible for candidates to give away free buckets as incentives to vote for them. (Murray) Muhammad Ali was a both a great magician and a terrible magician, because his faith frowned upon deception so he explained how all his tricks worked. (Schreiber) Archerfish can be trained to spit in people's faces. (Ptaszynski) | |||
| 1.5 | "Episode 5" | 17 June 2016 | |
|
Mongolia is changing all of its addresses. (Schreiber) The website addresses donaldtrumpsucks.com, iambeingsuedbythedonald.com and ihatetrumpvodka.com are all owned by Donald Trump. (Ptaszynski) Dishes you can eat at the world's best restaurant include "Memory of a mortadella sandwich", "The crunchy part of the lasagne" and "Oops! I dropped the lemon tarte". (Harkin) Britain's first robot office manager is called Betty and has a short-term contract in Milton Keynes. (Murray) | |||
| 2.1 | "Episode 1" | 12 October 2016 | |
|
To be transmitted | |||
References
- ^ a b "No Such Thing as a Fish, Episode 113: No Such Thing As A Flycycle". QI.com (Podcast). Soundcloud. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ a b "BBC Two orders No Such Thing As The News from QI team". British Comedy Guide. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "Hoaxes". QI. Episode 3. 1 October 2010. BBC. BBC One. QI Transcripts.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|city=ignored (|location=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|seriesno=ignored (|series-number=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Campbell, Andrew; Dawes, John, eds. (2005). "Fish, What is a?". Encyclopedia of Underwater Life: Aquatic Invertebrates and Fishes. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780192806741.001.0001. ISBN 9780192806741.
- ^ Dessau, Bruce (29 April 2014). "Podcast Review: No Such Thing as a Fish". Beyond the Joke. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "Episode 114: No Such Thing as a Tantrump". QI (Podcast). No Such Thing as a Fish. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (20 May 2016). "No Such Thing As The News". Chortle. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "QI : Quite Interesting". qi.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ "Episode One". No Such Thing as the News. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Episode Two". No Such Thing as the News. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Episode Three". No Such Thing as the News. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "Episode Four". No Such Thing as the News. Retrieved 11 June 2016.