Qi: Best Of - Accents & Voices [Part 1]

A collection of the best accents of Qi, including Alan Davies famous Mexican accent and his superb Australian. Includes a couple bonus Bill Bailey anecdotes also.

[@thesteveus]

As an Australian, the bit when Alan says "Give us a call when you've run your first race" is probably the most Aussie thing I've heard. He nails it. The accent, the dry tone when he says it, just perfect.

[@woopimagpie]

"An absolute fleet of berties" is now a sentence I'm going to file away.

[@jakk1hundo553]

Alan’s Australian accent is so authentic, he doesn’t overplay it like so many other comedians, it’s just the right amount of bogan without sounding ridiculous.

[@stennostenno1346]

1:35 I like how bill and sean lighten up at the exact same moment where both realized 'this will be a goldmine'

[@thesteveus]

That look on Bills face when Stephen mentions prep school tailors..........

[@philward6582]

Ken

[@philward6582]

000

[@juliestone9371]

Still makes me laugh so hard. I thought I was going to die laughing when I first saw it.

[@N.I.R.A.T.I.A.S.]

Phill's Groucho impression is wonderful.

[@zapkvr]

Its not. Its rubbish

[@cogboy302]

This is ruthless. Steven Fry does his best to try to contain the guests, who are intent on ripping the piss out of him, themselves and each other. Hitler wouldn't have stood a chance in a debate with this mob.

[@frenchy16785]

God I miss Sean Lock. "You had a tailor for a suit you wore when you were five?"

[@hensonlaura]

Love how embarrassed Stephen gets over the good natured teasing; it's so endearing. None of us has a choice to whom we're born, of course.

[@RuhollahNakhaee]

Alan's Mexican accent gave me a whole new appreciation for Tarantino's Australian accent.

[@cogboy302]

Phil Jupitus' impression of Stephen Fry as Godzilla made me chuckle.

[@SCQT]

Alan's aussie gets me every time

[@zapkvr]

Its rubbish. Sounds more NZ than Aussie

[@jackspry9736]

RIP John Sessions (January 11, 1953 - November 2, 2020), aged 67 And RIP Sean Lock (April 22, 1963 - August 16, 2021), aged 58 You both will be remembered as legends.

[@zapkvr]

Ya think?

[@jeffrey44]

I bet you feel pretty silly now that no one remembers this Sean Lock fella. Yes, pretty silly indeed. Please don't delete your comment.

[@imranali52]

@@jeffrey44 hey dude, are you replying to the original comment? What did he say wrong?

[@bethdwyer6328]

@@jeffrey44 We all love Sean Lock is was a legend. What does your comment even mean?

[@waynemarvin5661]

RIP And Long live? How does one manage that?

[@Sbiper]

The Edward Fox impression is hilarious

[@vladimirlovato4192]

I miss Sean Lock

[@Astallder]

As an Aussie, I have to say Alan's and Stephen's Australian accents are so good. It's very rare to see someone do it justice.

[@zapkvr]

As an Aussie, you're way off. And Alan sounded like Cal Wilson from New Zealand. Its,like he never heard an Australian before.

[@petrluckhoff9186]

As an aussie: ǝʇɐɯ pǝʞɔnɟ ʇǝ⅁

[@EnoVarma]

Neither of YOU sound Aussies.

[@BumMcFluff]

Maybe in country Australia, but not so much around the eastern cities, I would suggest.

[@lillired857]

@@zapkvr he talks about visiting both in his standup

[@thisisrenren3657]

Wowza this sure was a different time

[@barryhumphriesinc.broughto3098]

In the 1970's I worked for "Bodsham, Waters and Gorringe" . Fruiterers and green grocers. What a name!

[@malahammer]

Which side were the plums worn my good sir?

[@Ubique2927]

I have seen all of them and still could not stop laughing.

[@zapkvr]

I keep coming back to this for John Sessions. He is a delight. His impression later of Alan Rickman was wonderful.

[@jacquelinekalich7463]

They have entirely too much fun!!

[@smokeandkippers]

“Jazz Nazis” 😂😂😂

[@shelbynamels973]

If Clarkson had done that Mexican accent , the embassy would have lodged an official protest.

[@richardjamesss438]

Rip legends Sean locke and John sessions

[@wopfrog007]

“Zees new uniforms are cool!” “Join zee Nazi Party; they’re cool, daddio!” “I burned down zee Reichstag! Cool 😎”

[@andemaiar]

Alan's Aussie accent is pretty good!

[@CoolCoyote]

ahaha love allans mexican accent spot on also whtshisname doing steve fox

[@timewyrmrevelations7700]

Thanks for this you’ve made a bad day a lot better.

[@richardpaxford5792]

"I'm gonna play this fucking harp over here!" 😅

[@zetetick395]

"I burned down the Reichstag.... _Cool"_ 12:42 🤣

[@atlanticsender]

His Oz accent sounds like Stan Zemanek..Bill Bailey😄😄 ..how did this get past the yt algorythm? More Nazis than a south American ski resort...love it😀

[@Oooo-bi7bi]

My school outfitter was called C&A.

[@jonathangoliath91]

thank you, just what i was looking for

[@-Gorbi-]

No one can replace Stephen Fry, he was PERFECT for this show

[@jeffrey44]

Sandi Toksvig replaced him.

[@Drchainsaw77]

@@jeffrey44 Poorly.

[@MGoose66]

@@Drchainsaw77 but she is hardly a nobody…

[@zapkvr]

Well he was shit at the beginning. Go watch series A through D.

[@Drchainsaw77]

@@zapkvr No he wasn't. The entire show, cast, and writers were finding their feet for the first two series.

[@brucekaraus7330]

Rich's face at 5:40. Bloody hell

[@hesky10]

Practising his moe the bartender look

[@wopfrog007]

“Ya got your woodcraft… and your killin’ gooks…” 😂😂😂

[@neilgerace355]

2:14 That sounds like a ripping yarn!

[@alisonperry1786]

Brilliant

[@alfredpiper5715]

Alan is actually so funny and so incredibly smart, I love that although Steven takes the piss out of him for being less well read, he still has these brilliant moments where it’s so obvious he talented as hell. Such a god

[@danwic]

Alan is actually rather intelligent even if he is less well educated. Usually, carachter roles kind of wear thin with the general public but Alan's adorable personality and comedically dim responses are a science he has mastered, and the way they both play off each other makes the show even more enjoyable :)

[@katesendegeya864]

@@danwic how educated must he be to be considered "well educated"? He has an MA.

[@formulafish1536]

Alan just making everything Mexican is priceless 😂

[@luminousfractal420]

In England, I had to mute it here before I got lynched 🤦

[@hensonlaura]

I live in Mexico and it is SO BAD, SO WRONG, that it's insulting.

[@lukeet331]

@@hensonlaura Spiffing

[@ewanhopper4275]

@@hensonlaura yes I’m glad that after the Mexican week on the great British bake off there has been backlash against the consistent use of mexican stereotypes on British tv that has been going on for years. I live in occupied Mexico and this has always made me cringe though I appreciate that Stephen tries to shut it down in his polite ineffective British way

[@roberto8650]

@@ewanhopper4275 Occupied Mexico? Texas?

[@rosemorris7912]

Wonderful! When can we expect part 2?

[@KingRabbitCPH]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iV6nlGuMlthgh9E

[@romulusnr]

Honestly when I was a kid at Catholic school we had a tailoring company that measured us and we ordered uniform shirts and pants from. Gannett or something. It wasn't even a nice Catholic school, it was like Maddy in Suite Life

[@wiltner]

Phill Jupitus is an underrated comedian and impressionist.

[@zapkvr]

I think you mean overrated funny as piles

[@rooty]

Loud =\= funny

[@oxcart4172]

Anybody would think that Alan didn't go to public school...

[@handlesarefeckinstupid]

He didn't.

[@oxcart4172]

@@handlesarefeckinstupid he did! Unless you're an American! (Public schools are private schools in Britain)

[@zapkvr]

​@@oxcart4172 so what do you call schools which aren't private?

[@oxcart4172]

@@zapkvr State schools

[@synthonaplinth5980]

Interesting to note that John Sessions looked more and more like Des O'Connor as he got older....

[@patriciaobrien2219]

Jazz nazis thanks Bill & all the rest . RIP Sean Lock. Happy Easter all

[@petergaskin1811]

Or even the Mexican invasion of Northern Italy.

[@gaelendeklerk5602]

Alan 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂😂😍

[@NickOwens]

Still waiting on part 2 over a decade later

[@Maya_Pinion]

Viewing this again. Alan seemed so much more energetic,happy,in to it way back then. 😊

[@BFHGokias]

Every job breaks your spirit eventually.

[@cyclpiancitydweller9517]

"This pink polenta I love it."

[@katesendegeya864]

I feel sure he wouldn't do that riff now.

[@AngelLife1234]

It's priceless how Stephen Fry brings him down a peg. And his blank stare at being completely outwitted (which was not difficult).

[@TangoDelta8111]

That Phil guy? I think his name is, he is Brilliant😂😂😂

[@damionyates4946]

@StrawberryYobert please fix the aspect ratio

[@zapkvr]

Arte Johnon used to do that "incredible - but very stupid" on Laugh in during the sixties

[@douglasdickerson5184]

😂

[@robertpavey5615]

"So you think this happened after the Spanish colonization of Mexico?"😂

[@calmarsden8692]

“Sir I suggest a cummerbund for geography!”

[@Momo-wk8wh]

Jazz nazziis

[@hellish88]

What does John Sessions say in the homosexual-quote?

[@susanhd]

"a fleet of Berties" I think it's rhyming slang, Bertie Wooster.... (It doesn't rhyme very well and I don't feel like writing it here but a bit of imagination should get the rest of the way.)

[@jeffrey44]

@@susanhd Poofta!

[@hellish88]

@@susanhd Thank you! What about the bit before that? After «the other lot»?

[@susanhd]

@@hellish88 "the other lot in the Antony and Cleopatra play were an absolute fleet of Berties"

[@ems7623]

@@susanhd Susan, if someone doesn't know what rhyming slang is, they probably aren't British, in which case they won't know the epithet "poofter" either (unless they are Aussie where I think it is also still heard.) Best to write it out for an internet audience. I understand your hesitancy in using it. (I have the similar feeling about the word 'nigger' in the USA which is now perhaps the most taboo word in American English by far. I wouldn't be caught dead using it.) But no one would think any less of you for explaining it to someone who clearly isn't British. ;)

[@jessicalee333]

Weren't there Jazz Nazis? Or I guess they weren't Nazis, since the Nazis banned a lot of entertainment. Before them, Weimar Germany was a golden age for entertainment and jazz was huge, but the Nazis hated it because it was foreign and was "created by an inferior race". But there was underground jazz, including in concentration camps. If I remember correctly, the Kaiser wasn't a fan of early jazz in the WW1 era. But I admit when I started writing this comment, I was thinking of Soviet Russia, not Nazi Germany. There was an underground jazz subculture in Soviet Russia that copied jazz music onto records pressed on used X-ray film (because it was a firm enough plastic I guess), and because of the pictures on the X-rays, they called it "bone music" (roentgenizdat), "ribs" (ryobra), or "jazz on bones" (dzhaz na kostyakh).

[@48917032]

You mean the Swingjugend? Yeah, those were most definitely not Nazis. Many were viciously persecuted for their love of jazz and swing.

[@hensonlaura]

Very interesting!

[@ems7623]

I can't imagine that there was jazz in concentration camps. It is true that in some instances, musical instruments were given to prisoners for limited use. Films have played this up on a couple occasions. But jazz in the prisoner housing blocks? I'm very doubtful. In the Soviet Union ... Yes. Absolutely. It wasn't officially sanctioned, but many things weren't and still were commonplace.

[@slake9727]

Check out the movie "Swing Kids".

[@JetsonDrums]

Jazzis.

[@Mordantine]

Jazz Nazis, I almost died laughing!

[@BenjaminGoose]

You can tell a yank uploaded this because they wrote "a couple bonus" instead of "a couple of bonus" in the description.

[@zapkvr]

There was six Marx brothers two of em were never in the movies. Gummo and Manny

[@pamelaspooner8335]

Zeppo

[@waynemarvin5661]

Manny died as an infant.

[@zapkvr]

@@pamelaspooner8335 Zeppo was in the movies

[@zapkvr]

@@waynemarvin5661 Correct

[@probablygraham]

For me this clip demonstrates exactly why QI was never as funny after Stephen left. Sandi is without any doubt the best person to have taken over the show, but there was something about Stephen that made it impossible for him to be replaced without something special being lost.

[@OB1canblowme]

Agreed, i believe a lot of that just is Stephen having a slightly higher frequency of unpredicted jokes and gags that makes the laughs seem more natural

[@zapkvr]

Crap. Its INFINITELY better without him

[@probablygraham]

@@zapkvr - excuse me for having an opinion.

[@mrbad69]

Stephen, is it you?

[@jonbateman3245]

@@zapkvr pure popplecock silly boy, what planet are you on?

[@chrisk475]

Binge watching the early ones like these some years ago I maybe unfortunately skipped any of them with Rich Hall. Attitude disguised as comedy with barely discernible wit. I couldn't figure out what QI thought he brought to the party.

[@fins59]

Opinions are like arseholes eh Chris?

[@lmm2103]

just say you don't get his sense of humour

[@hensonlaura]

Aways wondered what Britain saw in him; I never cottoned to his humor.

[@waynemarvin5661]

He manages to support Briton's attitudes toward Americans. Ignorant, boorish, and full of themselves.

[@justincronkright5025]

@@fins59 I've only got 1... oh wait hang on.

[@wikiwikiwa]

I like when it's studying language and accents, and not just Alan making racist voices 20 years ago when that sort of thing was already in the way out. Oof.

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

Oh Christ! Just don't laugh, if you don't find it funny.

[@wikiwikiwa]

@@tooleyheadbang4239 I am entitled to my opinion and to share it with the uploaders. Toss off.

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

As long as you aren't entitled to stop the rest of us laughing, then that's fine by me.@@wikiwikiwa

[@zapkvr]

Elvis Parsley hasn't done any singing since Aloha from Hawaii

[@pdxyyz4327]

how wonderfully politically incorrect.

[@MrMakeDo]

Ooo, some of these accents haven’t aged very well. 😬

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

They haven't aged at all.

[@DaRuler66]

old fry hates being put on the spot

[@pabojoe]

Is that what British people think Mexicans sound like?

[@branthomas1621]

Not really, it's more of a reference to Speedy Gonzales the Warner bro's cartoon character.

[@lmm2103]

no, it's just Alan being silly. As the comment above states, it's more of a reference to the Mexican and Spanish accents etc depicted in cartoons or old movies which we already know are exaggerated and inaccurate

[@hensonlaura]

The WORST!

[@ems7623]

No. It is called a joke. Did you really not pick up on the obvious Speedy Gonzales reference - or at least the sheer silliness in which Alan does that ridiculous accent?

[@warrenwills3251]

I hope Alan doesn't bring that act to America. There could be problems.

[@glenndouglas8822]

What act?

[@Hexen_Wulf]

Well this was only like 15 years ago, so we're probably safe.

[@hensonlaura]

@@glenndouglas8822 the bad Mx accent. Imagine an American hitting the English stage with an act showcasing an incorrect & insulting Indian accent. Would go over like a lead balloon.

[@glenndouglas8822]

@@hensonlaura If it's funny then it's not a problem. UK comedians always use accents in their acts.

[@pandroidgaxie]

@@glenndouglas8822 And we all know that racism is so non-existent in England that they left the EU just to stop furriners from entering. /s A half-Indian friend of mine said that just his last name would get his resume shredded before he could get an interview. Americans are not the only racists in the world.

[@captainsensiblejr.]

Alan Davies leaps eagerly to give racist accents.

[@CJ-ft9yo]

Pleeeeese never go woke !

[@mycroftsanchez901]

Does anyone else find Alan Davis REALLY annoying?

[@zapkvr]

Not as annoying as Phil Stupidest

[@arnoldioio]

No

[@vonn4017]

no, just you....cretin

[@dant5349]

He is in these clips but I think he's a lot better in the seasons made in the 2010s

[@MagicSecretsandMysteries]

He was more openly racist back then

[@catlee8064]

Woke pppl will cancel this if they find it!

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

They are already in the comments. Get your DVD set now...

[@billberndtson]

I love QI and British comedians but, yeah. This particular video is just a compilation of casual stereotypes of which I'm sure many of the panelists would look back on and cringe.

[@VestigialHead]

Only smarmy doogoders have an issue with casual stereotypes. You do realise these harm no one right?

[@rooty]

Absolutely spot on (which is more than I can say for the impressions). If they'd tried to pull this crap with a bongo bongo african accent they'd have been rightfully run out of town. Racism against non-black ethnicities has been given carte blanche for far too long.

[@VestigialHead]

@@rooty Sorry but how is doing an accent racism? That is so narrow minded it is stunning. An accent makes no assumptions about anyones race. It is simple imitation.

[@rooty]

@@VestigialHead that's like saying how is it racist to do a black and white minstrel show, it's just an impression. There is a whole tradition and history of racism that you are apparently completely ignorant of. Maybe ask yourself why none of these impressions have good english with a foreign accent, instead always being monosyllabic, broken english baby talk. A coincidence? Maybe ask yourself where these caricatures come from, where you've seen them before, and what attitudes have they always gone hand in hand with.

[@VestigialHead]

@@rooty Oh I am ignorant of it am I? Sorry mate but I am most certainly not ignorant of the history of African Americans in the slightest or actual racism through human history. I am much more well read than the majority of people. I just think that racism is actual racism and not the petty bullshit that the extreme left think it is. Abusing someone because of their race - racism, segregation due to race - racism, excluding someone due to race - racism. Imitating them in a show - not racist in anyway. This is as ignorant as claiming that someone wearing an Indian headdress to a fancy dress party is cultural appropriation. It is a massive overreach and exaggeration to mark everything as racism even when it causes zero harm and does not degrade a race in the slightest. As you should well know the extreme left use racism as a weapon to try to shut down their opponents and they have manipulated people into thinking the most ridiculous things constitute racism.

[@evieb-s4728]

Lots of the terms used in this are really racist

[@jeffrey44]

Yet people say racist humour isn't funny. This video is proof that it can be.

[@anonUK]

Language police?

[@pandroidgaxie]

@@jeffrey44 It's funny when it's not about you ...

[@jeffrey44]

@@pandroidgaxie That's a bit of a poor attitude, either it's okay to talk about all races or none. I don't want your race, whatever that might be, to be treated differently from mine. It's called equality.

[@lukeet331]

Back when comedians were free to be funny

[@chrish3030]

Jupitus is just not funny

[@ems7623]

Eh. Sometimes he is. Sometimes not. Not my favorite either.

[@AllenKnutson]

He has his moments, e.g. suggesting that Fry's beer goggles would be "madeira pince-nez". Unlike my countryman Rich Hall who has contributed zero.

[@mavenfrankeus7287]

Stephen Fry could not pronounce the capital of Lithuania properly. Vilnius became Vilnus. I lost some respect from him then. And NO, I'm not Lithuanian.

[@tiermacgirl]

If you were I would have been interested in your comment.

[@stu6533]

Like you, I always lose respect for celebrities when they mispronounce Eastern European state capitals. It’s utterly career-ending.

[@laserpanda94]

How much respect do you think you've gained from this comment?

[@mavenfrankeus7287]

@@laserpanda94 I can tell you're a native English speaker. You don't care if you mispronounce foreign names but you go crazy if your own name is mispronounced.

[@laserpanda94]

@@mavenfrankeus7287 Do I?

[@anythingoldmechanical]

Sorry chaps, but this simply so boring.

[@markheyes287]

Meh...i've seen worse 🤷‍♂️

[@kenopsia9013]

there’s always some 45 year old geezer on every british comedy video who sits around all day watching corrie in a council house who thinks he’s the bastion of good opinions, the world is a worse place whenever you people open your mouth

[@hensonlaura]

Only boring people think so .

[@Deinonuchus]

Jazz Nazi's. 🤣🤣

[@larshans15]

When you could say 'gook' on tv x)

[@CrimsonKage]

I've been watching QI since probably the first 5 seasons and it never occurred to me when I heard it before. Not that I care now, jokes can't hurt anyone, but it's only now that I'm noticing it and I re-watch these a lot.

[@ems7623]

"Gook" was never really a commonly-heard racial epithet in British English. It is very much an American thing. In Britain, it would be known mostly through American movies and television shows. In this clip, it was said while doing a parody of a dated accent which IS out of American movies. They are making fun of that. In this context, there's nothing really offensive about it, is there.

[@CrimsonKage]

@@ems7623 I should mention that I am American, even so, the only time I've ever heard the term was in Vietnam war films.

[@pandroidgaxie]

@@CrimsonKage If you are the brunt of "jokes" multiple times a day, every day, it starts to feel like the Death of a Thousand Cuts. You feel like you are being flayed alive, and/or begin to doubt that you are anything other than what these stereotypes say you are. Not only does it hurt ... it perpetuates the stereotype to others. Why would I think "jews are greedy"? I never even met a jewish petson until I was ten years old, but I was well-aware of the stereotype.

[@CrimsonKage]

@@pandroidgaxie I mean, I'm not here to offend anyone, but it seems that being called something before you are aware that it's an insult makes it lose all meaning. I don't wanna be that guy that just says 'just ignore them' or something, but there is something to say about kids parroting out slurs before they are told not to by someone else. I think it's people's reactions to them that form whether a word is 'bad' or not. I wasn't allowed to say 'stupid' when I was a child, yet I went to elementary school saying 'n-word pile' because that's the version of 'dog-pile' I was familiar with as a kid. No wonder my teachers looked at me funny.