The thing I love about Bill Bailey is that he’s very much a collaborator. He joins in and engaged the other guests rather than just taking over and trying to be the funniest
@holidaysinsweden4 жыл бұрын
Yes! True that!
@linusdn27773 жыл бұрын
Unlike Jimmy Carr. I know few will agree but i don't think he's funny. He strikes me as someone who finds himself hilarious, but he's not half as funny as he thinks he is.
@Valisk3 жыл бұрын
True, but Carr does come across as a mean spirited twat though.
@davecrupel28173 жыл бұрын
@@Valisk No. he doesnt. But his spiritedness are not the subject of discussion here.
@danielvandam3 жыл бұрын
Like Jimmy Carr...
@HandmadeDarcy3 жыл бұрын
What’s so lovely about Bill’s best moments is how often they include the whole panel riffing off each other. There’s a generosity and communal spirit that is wonderful to watch. Susan Calman is similar.
@Adrianovaz20075 жыл бұрын
You know Bill is one of the top guests when even a ten minute best bits doesn't start to cover his best moments.
@lukeyami5 жыл бұрын
I am torn between Bill Bailey, David Mitchell and Sean Lock being the best guests on that show.
@jimbosayer15 жыл бұрын
For me it’s Bill Bailey followed by Phil Jupitus.
@stgm5 жыл бұрын
It's more "10 Random Great Bill Bailey Moments"
@robertburton8025 жыл бұрын
@@jimbosayer1 Bailey, Jupitus, Carr - definitely.
@robertburton8025 жыл бұрын
Not enough Pipe-based directions for my liking!
@loodlebop4 жыл бұрын
Bill's rendition of "put the wine away and shut the fuck up" had me in hysterics
@coeusdarksoul28553 жыл бұрын
Tied up nicely at the end with "You've been whining for two hours!"
@mariacarter69543 жыл бұрын
Every single time I watch 😄 Thought I was on my own with this one...Cheers 😚😚😎
@hynjus0013 жыл бұрын
"put your wine away and shut the fuck up" might just be my best QI moment.
@sarahbowen77213 жыл бұрын
@@hynjus001 …it competes with ‘what they say about the acropolis where the Parthenon is’ for my favourite QI moment
@jde90953 жыл бұрын
What show is this from?
@4231jerome5 жыл бұрын
Bill bailey and Alan Davies doing the French poet/lobster bit is some of the funniest shit I have ever seen 😅
@alexandriahunter21253 жыл бұрын
"The Dalai Farmer" Sean Lock is an absolute treasure.
@2bobaf3 жыл бұрын
Was
@EGGNBEENZ3 жыл бұрын
is
@stormchasingk93 жыл бұрын
@@EGGNBEENZ Was, he died. RIP
@EGGNBEENZ3 жыл бұрын
@@stormchasingk9 i know
@clockworkkirlia74753 жыл бұрын
Is indeed. A man is not dead while his name is still spoken. GNU Sean Lock GNU Terry Pratchett
@DeinosDinos5 жыл бұрын
My favourite bit involving Bill Bailey wasn't in this video :( It's thanks to him that I'll always remember what they did say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is!
@YvonneWilson3125 жыл бұрын
What do they say what do they say what do they say? ;)
@@TykusBalrog What do they say? About the acropolis? Where the parthenon is?
@OlOleander5 жыл бұрын
@@larurentius FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
@jatticusfinch90155 жыл бұрын
Bloody hell Stephen, this had better be good.
@KeppyKep5 жыл бұрын
Bill and Alan are such an incredible combo. They feed off each other so well.
@raqueldobson15 жыл бұрын
KeppyKep - best mates apparently & where best man at each other’s weddings so makes sense - always fun watching those two...
@garethtudor8365 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey and Alan Davies: the greatest double act in recent comedy history. I haven't laughed so hard in ages
@thomasm1955 жыл бұрын
Gareth Tudor cccccccc
@RS149885 жыл бұрын
They're both really good mates, if I recall correctly, I think Alan was best man at Bill's wedding
@TheShamansQuestion5 жыл бұрын
@@RS14988 no wooooonder. they're so good, it's a shame we don't see them doing acts together elsewhere or something. I think Alan Davies is still underrated and I'm always dying to see more of them
@wetkneehouston62935 жыл бұрын
Sean lock and miles jupp never fail to force me into a fitb of laughter
@pseudonayme77175 жыл бұрын
"Oi! Put your wine away and shut the f*#k up!" 😆🤣😂
@RS149884 жыл бұрын
When Stephen asked about the largest thing a blue whale can swallow: "Is it a conceptual question? A blue whale's a very vain animal. Perhaps the largest thing it can swallow is its pride." I believe it was during the Dalai Farmer episode lol
@davecrupel28174 жыл бұрын
Lmfao
@2bobaf3 жыл бұрын
The Dalai Farmer reads the Daily Lama.
@ArtyMars2 жыл бұрын
That’s so adorable 🥰
@danowahmusic32124 жыл бұрын
The Dalai Farmer will be one of the greatest one liners in comedic history. Absolute genius 😂😂😂
@Joker-sy4xr3 жыл бұрын
Yep. RIP Sean Lock
@thanossnap41703 жыл бұрын
Sean Lock always had the best bits. I will miss him sorely. RIP.
@petersenior54325 жыл бұрын
I cannot get enough of french Bill Bailey saying "Monsieur Clicky"
@permotrip62665 жыл бұрын
Peter Senior it’s just the best xD I love Bill so much he’s so funny and a humanitarian too but never talks about it. Legend
@ted56105 жыл бұрын
that bit had me weezing and crying when my boyfriend was asleep in the next room, I felt like I was dying
@TheShamansQuestion5 жыл бұрын
his French accent was really good hahah
@dl43504 жыл бұрын
alors, l'Artichoke de Jersualem ahahhahhaha
@Maeve_Rose4 жыл бұрын
should have named him Lenoardo de pinchi
@CynBH5 жыл бұрын
I don't know if Bill Bailey will ever see this, but I actually found "The Little Book of Calm" recently at a local bookstore (in St. Louis, MO) and nobody understood why I was giggling. I loved that show. 😊
@scottishross915 жыл бұрын
I actually own that book. It was gifted to me as a teen and then I saw him talking about it a while after aha
@Adrianovaz20075 жыл бұрын
Dylan Moran is the only person of the Black Books trio that hasn't been on QI yet, we need to get him there!
@scottiethegreat745 жыл бұрын
Black books, episode one!! What a fantastic show!! Him and Dylan Moran together were just brilliant!!
@chrisstar9695 жыл бұрын
An aunty gave me The Little Book of Calm years ago during one of her New Age stages. I felt the way one does when you’re angry & someone tell you to “calm down”, which just redoubles the rage.
@BrutalBarracuda5 жыл бұрын
I also have the little book of calm lol
@Adrianovaz20075 жыл бұрын
'Tis the wisdom of the Rural Buddha!
@guidoferri86835 жыл бұрын
"The Dalai Farmer"
@TheSkullface955 жыл бұрын
The Dalai Farmer
@matthewdowner30575 жыл бұрын
Filthy T'au
@dancole57955 жыл бұрын
Wisdom & cheap cider.
@jatticusfinch90155 жыл бұрын
Depak Shropshire.
@ofmanynicknames5 жыл бұрын
Also underrated: the Phill-Bill interaction. The way they riff off of each other, it's like Never Mind the Buzzcocks never ended.
@LTDPotential Жыл бұрын
They didn't riff as much on buzzcocks, but lamarr and Bailey used to just go for broke with eachother and it was excellent.
@trumsolon5 жыл бұрын
Funniest Bill-moment is during the International-episode where they are discussing pilot meals and Stephen is going "Now why do I say lunches?", to which Bill replies... "Because there's MORE THAN ONE?!"
@Swupperdupper5 жыл бұрын
That episode begins with one of the best Bill Bailey parts as well! BB gets three points for raising his "Nobody Knows" card in regards to the infamous Qi scoring system. David Mitchell asks "Why three?!" to which BB replies (while pointing to the other panelists) "Three! Better than you, better than you, better than you". Absolute gold. :)
@mountainmolerat5 жыл бұрын
Agreed! HILARIOUS!!
@davebrokenshire10864 жыл бұрын
trumsolon, I've not seen that, but just reading your account had me laughing out loud.
@arranmacdonald68974 жыл бұрын
This was my absolute favourite Bill-moment! The delivery is perfect
@eleSDSU3 жыл бұрын
@@davebrokenshire1086 here you go, enjoy kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHynm2aArt-kqKc
@iainjames035 жыл бұрын
10:09 shows the true comic genius of Bill Bailey - nanoseconds after saying it's like being at school he realises the absurdity of what he said and points it out before anyone has even noticed. Cue side-splitting hilarity!
@3345-p9g3 жыл бұрын
Personally this is my favorite moment ever.. just spontaneous and not planned 😂 always catches me off guard.
@alliem87003 жыл бұрын
Bill nibbling the holly on David Tennant's jacket always gets me.
@jcortese33002 жыл бұрын
I love Tennant's face during that bit, like he's thinking to himself, "I was not sufficiently warned."
@BudFieldsPPTS5 жыл бұрын
On a more serious note: these clips show more than comedic genius of the five persons stage front. To wit: can you just simply imagine the trust each must have in the other to come forth with this level of improv without damaging the relationships involved? These folks KNOW each other, and it is a marvel to witness.
@302Diane5 жыл бұрын
I agree, but I think it also shows the professionalism of the booking agents to get the right mix of people on the panel.
@victorgrobler55185 жыл бұрын
Beautifully said.
@lindajosmith93865 жыл бұрын
@@302Diane
@302Diane5 жыл бұрын
@@lindajosmith9386 Present.
@andybeans57905 жыл бұрын
These guys are often on the same bill or have the same talent management and often become personal friends.
@ellenkennedy88095 жыл бұрын
Dalai Farmer really got me 😂😂
@Dannysince19854 жыл бұрын
Sean and bill used to do comedy together in their very early days.
@zetetick3954 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey: One of the few comedians where ALL of his specials, over a span of 25+ years, are uniformly great to watch and consistently funny! One of the best!
@oskahuxley63223 жыл бұрын
I love how it seems to me that Bill is as shocked and amused at his own jokes as anyone else.
@narmale2 жыл бұрын
thats the mark of true genius xD
@dingopisscreek Жыл бұрын
bill bailey is so talented. comedian, multi-instrumentalist - a real talent
@decodolly15355 жыл бұрын
Who was it that once described Bill Bailey as "the bald man with the long hair"?
@RiverSlant5 жыл бұрын
Wasn't it on the Graham Norton show when Graham recounted that he had told his mother of the people coming on, and she said of Bill, "oh isn't that the bald man with the long hair?"
@luxgracetail45995 жыл бұрын
I think it was Graham Norton's grandmother or nan or something, interview with Bill and Stephen (Fry).
@decodolly15355 жыл бұрын
@@RiverSlant & Lux Gracetail - That sounds right. Thanks both!
@HD-pe8lv5 жыл бұрын
Well the best one was Gandalf by Dylan Moran in Black Books
@TheZapan995 жыл бұрын
Bill also complained about being described by the local press as some kind of exotic ape, when he was on tour.
@conors44303 жыл бұрын
The lobster bit is one of the best bits of improv I’ve ever seen
@Szaam5 жыл бұрын
"The French don't really have a word for custard, they don't believe it exists." "What happens if you say 'I want custard on it'? 'I'm afraid, sir, it does not exist'."
@johnnunn86885 жыл бұрын
Szaam, I thought ze frogs called it, ‘creme anglaise’, I am likely mistaken.
@tomwithey7114 жыл бұрын
"you have placed meee, in an existential quandary."
@michaelcollins89224 жыл бұрын
@@johnnunn8688 - you would be right
@helgebrekke3 жыл бұрын
@@johnnunn8688 "But I don't want creme anglaise on it, I want Custard!" "I'm afraid, sir, it does not exist."
@jgg755 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey makes every QI episode he is in hilarious... Mr. Klikkee kills me every time I see it.
@joogiewatkins15195 жыл бұрын
Just like the way you've spelt Clicky. Marvellous!
@PROPAROXITONO2 жыл бұрын
"you should always aproach the jaguar to the front" "oh no, I mean never" As a Brazilian, I really belive in that history. seems like a thing we would do. probably on purpose. just for the laught.
@eli.hnamte5 жыл бұрын
I love Bill and Alan's craziness....😂😂
@palmeristo5 жыл бұрын
Alan is just not funny imo
@MrSaerrock5 жыл бұрын
I believe they were each others Best Men at their respective weddings
@LynxSouth5 жыл бұрын
@@MrSaerrock That's what I've read.
@jonnyspeed89742 жыл бұрын
I've seen Bill every opportunity there are tickets in London. Exceptional night out every time. RIP Sean. We love you so much.
@bradleybaum90005 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey and Alan Davis separately are really funny, together are absolutely sheer brilliance!
@DaveWraptastic5 жыл бұрын
Awww, missing is Bill's flawless Dutch accent when he was stopped with a guitar on Schiphol airport.
@Efreeti5 жыл бұрын
I never thought I'd see the day when Bill Bailey force fed Gérard de Nerval's lobster with jerusalem artichokes.
@jameshoyle89503 жыл бұрын
Hang on wasn't it about Rimbaud and Verlaine?
@Efreeti3 жыл бұрын
@@jameshoyle8950 Yes, the question Stephen posed was about Rimbaud and Verlaine, this was just a tangent based on Bill's erroneous guess of Gérard de Nerval (who died when Rimbaud was 1) being Rimbaud's lover.
@jameshoyle89503 жыл бұрын
@@Efreeti ah sorry yes ok! 😊 I was a bit confused. My bad
@bumbaaclaaat28663 жыл бұрын
@@jameshoyle8950 what a foolish mistake !
@jameshoyle89503 жыл бұрын
@@bumbaaclaaat2866 *curtseys*
@nybbleme Жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey is on my top five list of people I want to see on taskmaster. The other four are Rachel riley, Stephen fry, Susie dent, and Sandi toksvig. Imagine all five in the same lineup!
@Kynan293 жыл бұрын
0:30 Imagine: Claudia Winkleman is a panellist with Bill Bailey on QI. I bet she never imagined that she would be listening to a future winner on “Strictly Come Dancing”
@colinmaynard28793 жыл бұрын
I waiting for the episode of 8 out of 10 cats does countdown with Bill and Rachel opposite end of the strictly spectrum
@nayrecitsuj74263 жыл бұрын
Wait a minute. I'm an American, but I do know who all these people are and I get the reference. But are you telling me that Bill Bailey actually won a series of Strictly?
@Kynan293 жыл бұрын
@@nayrecitsuj7426 Yeah. It was the latest series
@davidyoung51142 ай бұрын
If (if?) there is ever a 'final' episode of Q.I., I hope one of the final panelists will be Bill Bailey, because he has brought so much to the show over the decades!
@CiceroLounge5 жыл бұрын
Love the surreal world of Bill Bailey (Hon. Dr). Great comedian, songwriter and performer. I fall to bits when he grabs the tobacco pipe he used in the show when mocking Stephen over class. Highly clever guy who is a ecologist and conservationist. He like Alan has supported animal rights and is a lepidopterist.
@ladydixon96514 жыл бұрын
10:33 is my favourite part of the video - absolutely hysterical!
@Sammy2006552945 жыл бұрын
"add a dab of lavender to milk, leave town with an orange and pretend you're laughing at it" - the rural buddha
@leosakame99475 жыл бұрын
"You've been whining for two hours, now sit down!" I love how Sandi just always seems like she's a school teacher just barely holding the class together
@MaiaMirabell5 жыл бұрын
Sandi's amaaaazing.
@funbergrundberg84945 жыл бұрын
The shoe's on the other foot now, Sandi got kicked out of three schools for insubordination.
@Ozymandias835 жыл бұрын
Put your wine away and stfu
@SuperSpatman5 жыл бұрын
That was the same for Stephen, too.
@APinchOfWeird5 жыл бұрын
@@SuperSpatman One of the reasons why I think nobody but her could have filled the chair after Stephen Fry left it.
@thechumpsbeendumped.77975 жыл бұрын
I needed cheering up. Bill Bailey is brilliant.
@AENEAS.AENEAS4 жыл бұрын
bill and phil 'limbering up' to go again kills me every time.
@NewMessage5 жыл бұрын
What I wouldn't do for an uncle like Bill.
@manusk405 жыл бұрын
@r385671 sex
@overthehill20235 жыл бұрын
Manus_k40 unless...
@Myouchan884 жыл бұрын
Stephen Fry is like the teacher who has lost control of the class 😂😂
@carenmontgomery23842 жыл бұрын
❤️ bill...wow amazingly diverse in so many areas...comedian, story telling, phenomenal musician and conductor...watching "midsummer murders" recently and there he was...on my list of people I'd love to spend a day with...I am not aware of anyone else who plays that many musical instruments. ☆ may have to cross the pond to see him in person...
@bookwoman534 жыл бұрын
I wish that he would do more Qi episodes. Also it’s great when Alan and Bill sit together.
@franlovelsimic84215 жыл бұрын
Not only is Bill Bailey hillarious but he listens to good music. Love his Mastodon The Hunter t-shirt!
@Gooberty_P5 жыл бұрын
A panel for qi with Bill, Alan and Robin Williams would have been incredible
@annalieff-saxby5684 жыл бұрын
I saw Stephen Fry and Robin Williams on the same chat show, a while ago. Stephen couldn't get a word in edgeways!
@tygrkhat40874 жыл бұрын
@@annalieff-saxby568 I saw Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Dudley Moore and John Larroquette on Oprah plugging Comic Relief. Robin and Billy took over the show and allowed Dudley to play a few songs. Between howls of laughter, Oprah asked John if he wanted to say anything. He politely declined, saying he couldn't keep up with the others.
@TheWildheartmuse5 жыл бұрын
How can anyone 'thumbs down' this? This is pure gold! Sandy and Bill ...........I was weeping!
@stevesomeone4863 жыл бұрын
My all time favourite is the yacht segment , all of the panel make it memorable ,just hilarious 😂
@cyanmanta5 жыл бұрын
"You be the March Hare, I'll be the Aztecs."
@pivinne55365 жыл бұрын
cyanmanta WORSHIP IT WORSHIP IT
@Ngamotu835 жыл бұрын
The greatest compilation video since David Mitchell's angry logic.
@codyhannahmary835 жыл бұрын
Bill and Alan comicly feeding off each other is genius.
@ronanallison77955 жыл бұрын
6:20 “An excellent buzzer” - chef excellence
@eldritchstories14612 ай бұрын
The one place I was not expecting to find an ashens reference lol
@huntonpeck5 жыл бұрын
Some of my favourite moments on QI are when it devolves into near anarchy. It reminds me of a classroom if each student was a class clown.
@50pence59Ай бұрын
I’m seeing Bill again next month. Never miss him when he’s in town. This time on the Gold Coast, Australia. Even when he’s crap it’s always a great night of entertainment. 👍
@oscargill423 Жыл бұрын
"Pull yourselves together at once" might be my favourite Fry quote. The deadpan, twenty-years-strong professor delivery just makes it.
@idontwanttopickone2 жыл бұрын
I'd watch a program that is just Allan and Bill being characters throughout history while Stephen describes them.
@CricketEngland3 жыл бұрын
Ah the late great Sean Lock RIP
@sharona19813 жыл бұрын
5:53 F'ing hell it's Chef Excellence! I adore Bill's silly, surreal sense of humour. He's just brilliant.
@RIXRADvidz5 жыл бұрын
David Mitchell brought me to QI a long time ago and introduced me to Bill Bailey, I became an INSTANT FAN. and binged everything Youtey had to offer. the Bill Bailey Show was awesome, all his appearances on the various panel shows, his time on the Buzzcocks, now you see him on Cats does Countdown.Quality Entertainment EveryTime
@lukastargazer30895 жыл бұрын
Don't forget Black Books! ^^
@Alakaizer Жыл бұрын
He also played twins in Hot Fuzz
@lpsp4425 жыл бұрын
Mastodon t-shirt - massive props
@sea2side5 жыл бұрын
Tears to my eyes every time, love them all.
@brydon57215 жыл бұрын
Best bits of Bill Bailey? That's easy: all of them!
@johndean49985 жыл бұрын
One of my favourite series of clips on YT.
@tonyshaw74205 жыл бұрын
Such a fantastic show! Love from Canada!
@ingeborg-anne5 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey and Alan Davis is the best duo on television.
@fortheloveofmusic8604 жыл бұрын
Bill and Phil are by far the best guests on QI.
@rsa4205 жыл бұрын
Bloody legend. We need more of him
@karatebuff4 жыл бұрын
Love the way Bill's wipe the tears from his eyes after Sean's really bad pun!!
@SirCumference312 жыл бұрын
Bill always seems to have a pipe when he's on QI 😂
It's these clips, the clips that do not focus on Sean Lock and then, there he is... Sean, doing his thing.... We will miss you so much, Sean, rest in peace
@beageler4 жыл бұрын
It's fascinating. QI was my entry to british panel shows. Sean Lock seemed pretty nice. And then I saw 8 out of 10 cats and cats does countdown... :-)
@xaiano7944 жыл бұрын
Saw him live one time, really great and crazy talented with instruments.
@johnforensicman61793 жыл бұрын
Bloody hell. My head hurts from laughing. That was easily the funniest one yet! Sandi was on fire, 'Bill, you've been whining for 2 hours'!
@sabinrawr5 жыл бұрын
Best compilation so far. Thank you!
@SthamerAMVs3 жыл бұрын
“Wisdom and cheap ciderrr” - best quote ever😂😂
@judithmariabradley56033 жыл бұрын
The best bunch of people in one place together. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@backedup393 жыл бұрын
Congrats to 2020 Strictly Come Dancing winner Bill Bailey!!!
@diabl2master3 жыл бұрын
All the best episodes have Bill Bailey in them.
@Sam-bz2zy5 жыл бұрын
2:40 *Inhales* DAVID TENNANT
@laszlokaestner57663 жыл бұрын
Had to come back to this video. For me one of the greatest gags and the one I always think of when Bill is mentioned wasn't by him at all, it is Sean Lock's "Dalai Farmer". For me Bill will now forever be the Dalai Farmer thanks to Sean. RIP Sean.
@romanxxxxyoutube4 жыл бұрын
I've never belly-laughed this much at QI before!😂😂
@bennylloyd-willner96673 жыл бұрын
He's a brilliant entertainer. I've seen his show in Australia and if just this Covid hell can end I'll catch him next time he is in Sweden.
@deadwinglullaby5 жыл бұрын
Always nice as a Mastodon fan to see what Bill's wearing @4:35
@RIXRADvidz5 жыл бұрын
the mouth opens and closes as he leans forward and back, it's an awesome T
@UnkleRiceYo5 жыл бұрын
Bill used Dalai farmer in dandelion mind! Nice to know where he got it from!
@zetetick3954 жыл бұрын
@St Chives Yeah, Sean and Bill toured together for a good while in the early 90s There's a bunch of 90s Edinburgh Fringe shows where they were a double act.
@Monkey80llx3 жыл бұрын
‘The Dalai Farmer’ will never be bettered in my opinion!! 😂😂
@angemaidment56403 жыл бұрын
So now I walk around with pictures in my head of “Bill Bailey: Hummus Smuggler” 🤣🤣🤣
@normalguycap Жыл бұрын
I love that final scene. The lads don't even communicate and all get up and leave, what comradery!
@dakotareeves39392 жыл бұрын
These are the best bits of Bill Baley from 2003 to 2010 on the British TV panel show "QI - Quite Interesting". 🇬🇧 🇬🇧
@TheMelbournelad3 жыл бұрын
You have to imagine the wrap parties for these shows at end of the season
@kimberlyparrish75225 жыл бұрын
Bill always wears the best t-shirts.
@Onio_Saiyan5 жыл бұрын
Best one so far! Love it!
@rbdriftin4 жыл бұрын
I couldn't breathe through that whole lobster bit, I was laughing so hard
@beyondreception66813 жыл бұрын
"Bill, shut the fuck up." Best quote ever😂
@Casterborous3 жыл бұрын
'it's like being at school!' "Put your wine away..."
@iWhacko5 жыл бұрын
wow that ending was the best I actually laughed out loud xD
@HKirby975 жыл бұрын
'ere, Bailey, put your wine away and shut the fuck up
@slightlypickled4 жыл бұрын
Bill Bailey, Sean Lock and Rich Hall in the same episode! How did I miss this one!
@peterclarke72403 жыл бұрын
I'm realising I may be the only QI fan who gets this particular, and peculiar KZbin reference, but my first thought when watching the ventriloquist bit was "an excellent improv."