Press clippings Page 39
If you're still laughing at the memory of Rob Brydon and Nick Hewer sharing an orange cuddle jumper last week, tune in tonight for some more fibbing fun.
David Mitchell's mate Robert Webb joins the panel tonight and would have us believe he once had so many imaginary friends they formed a gang.
Also on David's team is Sir Terry Wogan, with totally absurd stories that might or might not be true. Either way, he enjoys himself telling them.
It's almost impossible NOT to grin like an idiot all the way through as everyone is having such a good time. But it's in the cross-examination where this show really takes off.
It seems that inside every panellist is a barrister dying to get out and if the comedy thing ever dries up, somewhere out there is a horsehair wig with Lee Mack's name on it.
Katy Wix, Kevin Bridges and host Rob Brydon join in tonight's gleeful grilling.
Jane Simon, The Mirror, 16th September 2011Sir Terry Wogan joins the panel this week for the comedy game show in which celebrities tell supposedly true tales for the consideration of a rival team. Wogan claims that he begins Christmas Day by firing a loaded pistol. Plus, comedian Kevin Bridges has to explain what happened when he found a suitcase of bananas. Team captain Lee Mack is also joined by his Not Going Out co-star Katy Wix, and David Mitchell welcomes his comedy partner Robert Webb].
Rachel Ward, The Telegraph, 15th September 2011Last night QI returned to BBC2 for another series of the incredibly intelligent quiz show hosted by the extremely knowledgeable Stephen Fry. Last night Mr Fry was joined by Lee Mack, Jimmy Carr, Sandi Toksvig and the ever-present Alan Davies. The subject was I-Spy.
To list the amount of interesting facts would take longer than watching the show itself and to list the amount of jokes, gags or hints of amusement would take almost as long. A few key points on last night's episode that ticked both boxes were the plastic mould of Einstein's face that tricks the mind and making the Queen happy or sad on a five pound note. Without giving it away I think you definitely have to watch the show in order to get the point of each.
QI is a very unique programme on the old telebox these days as it educates whilst entertaining. Maintaining the balance and keeping an audience who have flicked on for either is a tricky thing to master, but QI has mastered it with flying colours I do believe. I did learn a few things that I did not know before watching and I although most of it may be useless I do feel more confident going into next week's pub quiz.
Star of the show last night would have to go Lee Mack who isn't the cleverest of men, but is damn funny. Catch it on the iPlayer and expand your intelligence whilst having a chuckle.
D.J. Haza, What Culture!, 10th September 2011The versatile Lee Mack pops up again here to bolster the return of QI - giving Alan Davies a run for his money in the dunderhead stakes, opposite the other team of Sandi Toksvig, Jimmy Carr and his very strange giggle.
Thanks to Stephen Fry, it's possible to learn more in a single episode of QI than in an entire year at school and tonight you'll come away with your head stuffed with generally useless but quite interesting facts about lobsters, insect matter, Ye Olde Pie Shoppes and one very unlucky chap nicknamed the Durable Mike Malloy.
There are some very cool optical illusions too, much semi-intelligent banter and a bizarre moment that inspires Sandi to gasp: "I never thought I'd see Einstein in that position."
Jane Simon, The Mirror, 9th September 2011I really don't know what they're giving panellists before they go on this show.
The start of series five dissolves into a puddle of infectious hysteria that has more than one of the cast absolutely weeping with laughter.
I blame The Apprentice's Nick Hewer, who kicks off proceedings with a wonderfully straight-faced tale of how he and Lord Sugar like to relax after a tough day's filming in the boardroom.
He's a very welcome addition to the line-up, proving that you don't have to be a professional stand-up to get big laughs on this show.
Team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell are also joined this week by Jack Whitehall and Rebecca Front as well as Miranda Hart.
The latter is reduced to helpless tears of mirth by her own very unlikely sounding tale about trying out for QPR's women's football team. But it's host Rob Brydon's own demonstration of a cuddle jumper that really brings the house down.
While much of Would I Lie To You? would work almost as well on radio, the cuddle jumper is an item of clothing which absolutely must be seen to be fully enjoyed.
A perfect blend of innocent silliness and razor-sharp wit, Would I Lie To You? is still the perfect way to wind down for the weekend.
And this might just be the funniest episode ever.
Jane Simon, The Mirror, 9th September 2011After a flirtation with BBC1, QI is back for its 9th series and in its old slot. Expect the same blend of surrealism, wit and satire, thrilling and baffling in equal measure.
Stephen Fry hosts as the panellists aim to score as many points as possible by going off the beaten track to comic effect.
Sandi Toksvig, Lee Mack and Jimmy Carr star tonight.
The Daily Express, 9th September 2011The first Comedy Lab pilot is this sketch show starring Anna Crilly and Katy Wix, which also featured guest appearances from Lee Mack and Eamonn Holmes. While I wanted to avoid using the cliché of sketch shows being 'hit and miss', I though that this show was... well, you can guess.
One problem I have with this show is that the ideas appear to be limited. They had a bunch of sketches in the first half, and the characters and situations were just repeated in the second half. I certainly don't mind recurring characters in sketch shows over the course of a series, but, to me, repeating them in the same episode is rather lazy.
Sketches include a pair of women living in a flat owned by a goat, a German hospital soap opera with lots of fake slapping, and day time show Congratulation! in which the two women give a 'Congratulation' to people over the trivial things, and give the biggest congratulation by displaying their censored vaginas.
However, there were bits I liked. One of the characters was a nervous woman giving out awards at a village fete. While she, on the whole, was one of the weaker characters, the preposterous sight of a cake in the shape of a swastika did make laugh. Also there was Holmes's game show Pointer, a Weakest Link parody in which people hold out very stiff arms and point out who they want eliminating. Then there were the women who were obsessed with measuring anything, including the distance their uncle had to be from a primary school.
This show does have potential. All they need to do is sort out the wheat from the chaff and utilise the best sketches to their advantage.
Ian Wolf, Giggle Beats, 5th September 2011The Comedy Lab has been the springboard for shows like Modern Toss, as well as showing original material by everyone from Ricky Gervais to Peter Kay. Tonight, Anna & Katy (Anna Crilly and Katy Wix) present a one-off sketch show, ploughing such wilfully peculiar furrows as a German hospital soap opera, featuring a cameo from primetime comedy type Lee Mack; a deeply awkward village prize-giving event; and a pair of Liverpudlian teenagers obsessed with measuring things. Like most oddball comedy, that all sounds rubbish on paper, but it's actually been very nicely observed and deftly executed.
Ben Arnold, The Guardian, 2nd September 2011Lee Mack interview
Funnyman Lee Mack tells TV Choice about his return as a team captain for the new series of the comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?...
David Collins, TV Choice, 30th August 2011JLS's Aston Merrygold in drag for Lee Mack
JLS singer Aston Merrygold looks uncomfortable on Lee Mack's telly show - in a blonde beehive wig.
The Sun, 23rd July 2011