QI REACTION Series S Episode 11 XL - Saints & Sinners (Johnny Vegas, Mark Watson, Bridget Christie) 

I love this episode for how cute Johnny gets about St. Helens! Thanks for the reaction!

Johnny exploding about Thatcher is actually pretty tame compared to what some Northerners, Welsh and Scots have done whenever Thatcher’s mentioned. These areas are predominantly post industrial with a coal mining history, Thatcher’s government did much to bring it to a close in the 80s and 90s. Ever since there’s been an unparalleled hatred against the former PM. Effigies were burnt upon her death, in South Yorkshire, scrawled on them were phrases like “The Iron Lady will rust in hell.”

Johnny is such a wholesome guy. Love that you're enjoying QI, it has been part of our lives for so long now :)

Johnny getting excited about his home town is the most Northern British thing ever. I can relate to it. Other than if a film or TV decides to shoot there, Northern towns especially don’t get much in the way of publicity or in general nothing too big ever happens in them anymore, so when something does happen we get rapidly patriotic. Recently, an archeological based TV show with Hugh Dennis in it came to my primary school and dug up the playing field, and found some of the oldest evidence of civilisation in the area ever. I remember watching it on TV in frank amazement because NOTHING big ever happens here, and yet there was the Dad from Outnumbered, digging up the school field I played on as a kid!

I so chuffed you said the word chuffed and in the correct context 😀👏👏👏

That enjoyment of watching other people have a strong positive is a big part of why reaction channels are a thing. My biggest example was a certain cameo at the end of season 2 of the mandalorian, which felt artificial and pandering when watching it myself but I teared up watching someone react to it because it meant so much to them.

CQD came about during the first telegraph standardisation, by Marconi International Marine Communications Company (try saying that 5 times quickly). CQ was meant as a general alert and comes from the French "Sécurité" (shortened to "Sécu"). To denote distress, a D was added to the end, internationally recognized as "All stations: Distress", but never adapted outside of Britain as "CQD" were often mistaken as just "CQ" during bad reception, leading to either full emergency response when none was needed or no emergency response during actual distress. Hence the much more recognizable (and faster to send) "SOS". This did not originally have any meaning, it was just a very distinct signal that was easy to pick up even in bad conditions (as distresses often are), so all different abbreviation translations are just made up as mnemonics for the sequence.

CQ is used at the start of all land and sea transmissions that are to be broadcast to all stations. So CQD means, all stations..distress. Not as some people think, come quick dammit.

Bridget Christie is on the Christmas one with James Acaster. Great banter.

According to a previous episode, sloths get down from the trees to poop.

Just to add to the dead and souls. I was once in hospital recovering from a near fatal hit and run. One of the elderly gents in our recovery ward of 4 died. The nurses came in and they pulled the privacy curtain around as they tried to revive him. After about 20 minutes they must have decided to stop trying and then one of the nurses came out from the curtain and opened the window. I asked her about it later that day and she said that she had done it so his soul wouldn't be trapped in the room. Now I don't believe in any of that but I will say that being in the presence of a person dying does leave the atmosphere not quite normal. Is it the feeling of death in the room or is it just a cold chill you feel because you're thinking of your own mortality. All I know is that it was quite surreal, dream like. Which I'm sure is just the brains way of rationalising the great unknown. My brain can't understand death so when I see it in real life the brain pairs it with the death we see on TV or Movies. And I probably felt a cold chill because it was m id december and a nurse had just opened a window...

QI is just my favourite TV show of all time. Not every show is the best, some are average, but for as long as it's been on, has overall been the most entertainment for me. Love these reactions, thank you.

Alan's intro music is the song 'Oh Fortuna' from the cantata 'Carmina Burana' set to music by Carl Orff in 1935. The lyrics come straight from a 13th C collection of poems (the original Carmina Burana). Oh Fortuna is a lament about how Fate will bring you down no matter how well you try to live your life. It makes a *fantastic* addition to any high energy playlist of techno, heavy metal, German Industrial, hard Indy, Drum and Bass, etc music. It can out-Prodigy The Prodigy, and out-Epic Faith No More. For a lament, the music of Oh Fortuna sure swells into an explosive burst of celebration to my ears.

Bridget is in the new season of Taskmaster, begins next Thursday

I love how at the end you explain the appeal of watching reactions to an audience that’s just sat and watched that very thing 🤣🤣 trust me, we get you 😅

You seem to like lots of random facts, history, and stuff lile that from what I've seen of your videos. Ever seen "History of the entire world I guess" by Bill Wurtz here on RU-vid? Otherwise a reaction to that would be awesome. Love from Denmark

Quite Interesting: In Canada, it is not against the law to be a witch. It IS against the law to pretend to be a witch.

Johnny Vegas is tragically loveable man... Not certain about his history, but I remember my dad telling me something about him being a brain damaged alcoholic (brain issues being alcohol induced), and he's often pissed during these performances... But he's a loveable fella, and very funny. Always entertaining. (Again haven't researched further, but I trust my father's words of warning, he's a very interesting man himself, and doesn't just chat shit)

Thanks for your coverage of these, my childhood loves, with care. It hits me in the feels to experience them with another (who has apparently picked-up 'chuffed', unless that's also prevalent in Canada)

Okay grim! I just Googled does facial hair grow after death. It doesn’t, but as the skin recedes it looks like it did. It’s not a silly notion - the first surgeons were often barbers because of their skills with a sharp blade. The “blood and bandages barbers’” pole.

Love Johnny aka Michael Pennington. St Helen’s is right on my doorstep and Rick Ashley was also born nearby.

The reason the Sloath unloads such a large poo, is because it’s the only reason they climb down the tree. They don’t just let it drop down from where they are, they climb down and make a little hole for the poo. Then climb back up. Since it takes so much energy, they don’t do it very often. The reason they move so slowly is to conserve energy.

Had a suggestion from my brother for a Reaction/Play Along from you. The Chase. It has been done in multiple countries including the UK and USA. After seeing your reactions to Only Connect and University Challenge I feel this would be right up your alley.

7 is a Holy number in Judeo-Christian mythology, that's why there's 7 sins. The week is seven days, the original commandments were 2 tablets of seven each. The sacred animals on the Ark cames in sevens, and the unsacred animals in twos.

Yeh I love Johnny Vegas,definitely worth looking at the clip of him on The Last Leg,absolute classic 👌😂😂💜 Oh,and CQD stands for "Come Quick Danger

I hate it when they say Carmina Burana / The Omen. It never appeared in any of the Omen scores for any of the Omen films. I bet this pissed off James Goldsmith, who created the Omen score greatly.

CQ on a radio frequency is an invitation for anyone to reply - isn't it? So what does the D mean?

Johnnys best episode.

Finnish air force stopped using that symbol in 2020... it was removed earlier from most places but the freaking traditionalists hung on it like their life dependent on it..

Bridget Christie really is my favorite panelist in recent years.

QI quite often gets things wrong. I have read an extensive tome on the Spanish Inquisition. If anything it was worse than what we imagine.

I've heard CQD standing for 'Come Quick Distress' but it might be something French

You’ve got the same facial har profile as me. Can only really grow a goatee. Interesting we’re about the same age (from Chernoblyl references), and we’ve still got a lot more head hair than most of our age.

CQD = Come Quick Danger

I happened to know that bit about the Finnish air force!

CQD = Cuantum Qhromodynamics

Just curious, why do you clap at the beginning of each post?

Is it me or does Sandi quite often tell people they're right when they're wrong? And vice versa?

18:45 Not every penis in the world has been cut. Please take that into consideration. Not ever penis in the world is an exact copy of your own. Bells are just decoration obviously ?

funny episode but never let Johnny mount St. Helen's.... he made a mess in 1980.

I really hope one day, you'll be able to react to Jonathan creek

whole S series was kinda ruined by this horrible sounding "virtual audience".

CQD = Come Quickly, Distress

I have no idea why this sort of thing exists. If I want QI I’ll watch QI. Goodbye