QI | Which TV Format Did Charlemagne's Father Invent?

[@GuanoLad]

As a New Zealander I find Rhys Darby hilarious, even though it's hard to pin down exactly why he's funny.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

His looks for one are quite entertaining.

[@Tuppence1966]

He's the cleverest

[@chriscoulson7684]

Leggy blonde goodbye, goodbye.

[@Shakes-Off-Fear]

He’s gotten a few roles in Hollywood now like in Yes Man and the new Jumanji but he always uses his natural accent, probably just because he’s funnier that way than trying to imitate an American one.

[@MrBonham]

I'm also a New Zealander and honestly I have got quite sick of him.

[@mattdickie4696]

Rhys Darby competed for a stand up award (named after the late, great Billy T James), and his piece was brilliant. My friends and I still quote it, over a decade later. He came second and went on to do Flight of the Conchords, Jumanji, Yes Man, world tours, and be an author. I can't even remember the name of the lady who won. I guess he was just more willing to put the time and effort in.

[@TheHutchy01]

Pepin the Short really did badly when it came to nicknames, he was the son of Charles the Hammer and the father of Charles the Great.

[@illyrian9976]

Charlemagne is called Karl der Grosse in german, with Gross meaning great but also tall (Charlemagne was supposed to be 6'2)

[@metallsnubben]

Illyrian Imagine it getting mistranslated somewhere and now he’s just Charles the Disgusting

[@bakersmileyface]

Wasn't there a Pepin the hunchback later down the line too?

[@TheHutchy01]

@@bakersmileyface he was Charlemagne's son. I'm not sure he was ever King though.

[@Sabrowsky]

I think he is the most unfortunately named king when his name is translated to portuguese. Because it translates to "Pepino" which literally means "cucumber".

[@TheTjoconnor]

Rhys Darby is a gem

[@DaftPunkVision]

I thought Rhys was David Mitchell impersonating Austin Powers at first

[@MrGustaphe]

He gets that all the time.

[@CommanderSuberox]

I thought he was a gay Hugh Jackman

[@RavixFourhorn]

@@CommanderSuberox He gets that SOME of the time.

[@nunyanunya4147]

OH! took this comment for me to realize it wasnt cosplay :P the problem with famous people is there are so many ov them it hard to remember them all

[@lewismaddock1654]

Rhys is just a fantastic comedian. He's really a master.

[@michaelritchie2968]

"Chap or lady?" Just really taps into the British sense of humour that haha.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

Well Dale can be either sex. Dale Arden was Flash Gordons lady

[@TheHadesShade]

I never got that joke. Captain?

[@zetetick395]

I think Kiwis say 'chap' too, the Aussies as well.

[@michaelcolbourn6719]

@@TheHadesShade Dale Winton is very camp. So they were laughing suggesting he could be classed as a woman because of this. Obviously noone thinks a camp man is actually a woman, but that was the joke.

[@makinoahcelloduo9008]

Rhys is a New Zealander, of course, not a Brit. Watch him on Flight of the Conchords.

[@Innovativemagi]

Ordeal or no ordeal

[@TooCooFoYou]

Good to see Austin Powers joining the crew in QI.

[@Markus_Andrew]

Where it says "TV Format" in the title I was thinking of aspect ratios of TV screens, and that maybe Charlemagne's dad commissioned a portrait of himself or something using those proportions. Now, had it said "TV SHOW Format", I wouldn't have been led astray...

[@ChristopherNFP]

Glad someone else had the same thought. It is almost clickbait.

[@JagoffCitizen]

It's the only reason I clicked on it.

[@Fuzy2K]

He invented 1080p in a dream, but forgot about it when he woke up.

[@michaelharrison1093]

PAL or NTSC

[@carltonleboss]

​@@michaelharrison1093Considering he was French, probably PAL

[@GevinShaw]

S.R. Bindler's documentary Hands on a Hard Body is a great film that follows one of these contests in Texas in 1995. The thoughts of the contestants and their different motivations make for a fascinating human drama far beyond just standing by a pickup for three days.

[@TheHutchy01]

To the late Dale Winton.

[@neptunestardust]

TheHutchy01 ☹️🙏

[@Dim4323]

I remember the show touch the truck on channel 5

[@1989Chrisc]

He's dead????

[@ScoopMeisterGeneral]

@@1989Chrisc He passed away in April 2018.

[@zetetick395]

@@ScoopMeisterGeneral No way! Aww, he was a charming (if orange) fella!

[@Matt-cz6ti]

The best Dark Age ordeal has to be Ordeal by Cake. A cheesecake was made weighing about an ounce, and the accused had to eat it whole. If they coughed, choked etc. they were guilty. The bread was made of unraised barley and the cheese was made of sheep milk

[@bretthess6376]

Ordeal by cake! Are you sure Terry Pratchett didn't invent this one? Only it would be Ordeal by Mrs. Cake!

[@TheZapan99]

This clip features one of the last public appearances of Bush-Man, before his strange disparition, in a remote area of New-Zealand.

[@patrickwells3653]

Psycho Sam!!

[@Mia_Thirtle]

Holy shit I didn’t realise

[@t_1234-b6q]

Also, trial by ordeal continued well into the central middle ages and wasn't even effecively stamped out by the fourth lateran council in the thirteenth century... but other than that, all quite interesting.

[@ihaka70377]

As a New Zealander, I find Rhys Darby's accent odd. It's like he's doing the accent that non-kiwis expect Kiwis to sound like.

[@pembertr0n]

myUserName “He maybe did!” “Did what?” “He maybe DID.” “Okay, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t... what did he maybe do?” “Not alive... you know, DID.”

[@SohamBhattacharya3105]

@@pembertr0n 😂😂😂

[@Septimus_ii]

I imagine Henning Wehn sounds similarly odd to Germans

[@myahcross4592]

Exactly. As a New Zealander I’ve never heard anyone sound like him in my life. He actually sounds a bit Aussie to me

[@julianshepherd2038]

Do you think he is an actor?

[@TheBT]

A show where you touch a car sounds weird, but not half as weird as Jason finishing 2nd in a singing contest ahead of the lead singers of The Darkness, Scissor Sisters & Skunk Anansi as well as Ceelo Green, Kelis and Katherine Jenkins all whilst dressed as a hedgehog

[@witherblaze]

The masked singer?

[@BoonMcNougat]

That's astounding 😂

[@matthewschneider6725]

4:22 "It's been seven hours now, still touching it" must be a hell of a thing to tune into without catching the context at the beginning of the game show.

[@pointlessopinion611]

The touch a car prize was and is a very popular radio thing for in the US. It's been done since the 70s but is parodied a lot more on comedy shows.

[@Dim4323]

I remember smtv did a spoof of touch the truck

[@larryalexander900]

Dark ages endurance test? My dad used to play a dark ages endurance test on me all the time, basically hold the something-or-other while I try to fix shit very casually.

[@DanDownunda8888]

Rhys was hilarious in The X Files episode "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster". His character was called Guy Mann (a.k.a. The Were-Monster).

[@madeleine6866]

Why is David Mitchell dressed as Austin Powers?

[@timmason7430]

I watch these clips because I think they're quite interesting

[@CheffyFatleg]

RIP Dale Whinton

[@treebrightflame]

Surbiton my home town... Was mentioned on qi My life is complete

[@DanielMasmanian]

You're not a Good Life fan, then

[@EleanorPeterson]

Stephen: "Audience! Behave!" :-)

[@adam4757]

Love that pause after "chap or lady?"

[@Mochrie99]

"Audience, behave!"

[@SkidMcmarxx]

I don't get the joke?

[@DrZaius3141]

@@SkidMcmarxx Apparently he was gay, so some less than creative people might construct a homophobic joke out of that question.

[@jamesg6660]

@@DrZaius3141 There's nothing "homophobic" about it. Dale was an incredibly effeminate man. Notice how Stephan is gay, but he didn't give a toss. Shove off with this "protection" we didn't ask for.

[@lesserwhovian6175]

1:42 Brian and Alan :)

[@makinoahcelloduo9008]

Rhys is so charming.

[@edwardcamp3376]

Longview, Texas had an annual "Hands on a Hardbody" contest at one of the local car dealerships. It was made into an indy documentary and a a musical.

[@Kaiso54]

So, did Pepin le bref hold contests where peasants had to touch an oxcart, last one touching it wins it ?

[@notreallydavid]

I'm laughing more than I ought to be.

[@epiendless1128]

It's really not that surprising to have heard of Pepin. He's mentioned in a pretty famous play. "King Pepin, which deposèd Childeric, Did, as heir general, being descended Of Blithild, which was daughter to King Clothair, Make claim and title to the crown of France." Henry V (I checked, it is the same chap - pursuaded Pope Zachary to depose Childeric III in 751.)

[@malahammer]

He also wrote the musical "Pippin" :)

[@jasonpatterson8091]

Definitely a radio show contest in the US as well.

[@TheKabukimann]

imagine the truck standing outside in the sun on a summer day that would be a show i would watch xD

[@SceneArtisan]

2:44 I know the blonde with the curly hair toward the left. Hi Sophie. ;)

[@beemail6983]

Ryhs Darby is a genius

[@alexeverett308]

Is that Murray?

[@AutomaticDuck300]

Alex Everett-last no, it's Mooray

[@LaGuerre19]

yes, and it's pronounced "Mary"

[@dabildor6129]

Alex Everett-last mlmlol m ml

[@LunaVee3435]

present

[@mikeydaniel9478]

i first seen that guy in yes man with jim carey omg he so funny

[@aycoded7840]

He also played a big part in KZbin then.

[@rachelcookie321]

I never questioned the “touch the car for the longest” radio competitions before. No one does that in the UK? It just seems like a regular radio competition. I also remember the one where the hosts would lock themselves in a jail in a mall for a couple days for some reason.

[@londonlady1966]

If anyone was born to wear the wig and silk, it's Stephen.

[@DavidmyGrylls]

It's crazy to think that 'Touch the Truck' as a concept failed lasting only 5 episodes. And then along came Mr Beast who dominated KZbin nearly entirely using the same format.

[@nathanglover8437]

I was hoping someone would mention the importance of the name change to "Dale's Touch the Truck" for the UK version.. avoiding the trap of "Dale's hands on a hard body" :')

[@BandanaDrummer95]

There also happens to be a musical

[@ketjuariittaa]

He played himself on Yesman.😗

[@simonwest9450]

Wasn’t there a case where someone lost the game (not at the show itself but that type of endurance game somewhere else?) promptly went outside and shot himself?

[@ShortMan_123]

Someone should tell Stephen about Mr Beast

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

I knew it was Pepin the Short. I've played Crusader King 2!

[@t_1234-b6q]

Pre-mediaeval? The 'dark ages' are well within the mediaeval period. They are, in fact, the early mediaeval. All medieaeval means, is middle age. As in the age between the two classicising periods of the Antique/Classical period and the Renaissance.

[@andrewtucker94]

Yes I thought this

[@jackmcgee6827]

Why is he wearing ramen on his head?

[@poilboiler]

It's a British thing.

[@sarahgibbs1432]

mcgeej18 judges where wigs

[@AutomaticDuck300]

mcgeej18 It's a judge's wig

[@omarkhan5223]

In an alternative universe, it is the ramen with a Stephen Fry up its arse.

[@StreetfighterU]

Omar Khan what 😂

[@doesyomamaknowtho1468]

An hour?! 81 hours! *I'll sky plus it*

[@OldNew45]

I recall people doing these in shopping malls, when I was a kid

[@Thisisace]

Not sure why Dale didn't go with this title: "The documentary Hands on a Hardbody tells the story of a nearly identical 1995 endurance contest in Longview, Texas."

[@BandanaDrummer95]

Isn't that a musical?

[@beatrix-persephone]

BandanaDrummer95 it was adapted into a musical

[@Delly16]

Rhys Darby is what you get if Harry Connick Jr and Hugh Jackman had a baby.

[@SuicidalLemonade]

Was thinking hole in the wall, kinda works for the cross thing.

[@alriz7066]

Singapore has this competitions using SUBARU cars.

[@JagoffCitizen]

Why didn't anyone straighten Stephen's wig? It's driving me crazy.

[@kilroy987]

So if you couldn't say you were right by physical prowess, you choose a more capable person to do it for you. And this was how arguments of significance were settled in the presence of a king? Hmm. How does that translate to how things work today? It's who you know, and people outside the law consider that to be how things work?

[@zwiadowca13]

So... Pepin the Short is just the medieval MrBeast?

[@zetetick395]

Gawd! What was that Japanese endurance gameshow called? I remember watching that waaaay back in the day.

[@octowuss1118]

Americans might know Dale Winton as the game show host from Trainspotting

[@noncompliant4316]

I've heard of lots of ordeals ... but they can't hold a light to an hors d'oeuvre!

[@ultimateninjaboi]

"Dale Winton." dear lord, tell me it's not Human Tetris/Hole-in-the-wall...

[@ultimateninjaboi]

"stand like this" "based on a Japanese game show..." I was SO terrified that it was actually gonna be Hole-in-the-wall

[@Dim4323]

BRING ON THE WALL

[@shakesfirst2443]

They wee doing this touch the car shit back in the 50s in America.

[@NuncNuncNuncNunc]

On the plus side, no one lost their head over it.

[@RevolutionMan]

Wonder if they did a role call at the start...

[@6luealreadydead]

4:00 shity morning radio shows give away cars that way all the fucking time here in America

[@Aaaaaaaaaaaaa558]

I like the kiwi version of john oliver

[@michaelstrunk6058]

Did not King Pepin give the Donation to Rome? The medieval donation of lands to Rome that last for next 1100 yrs or so until Italy was unified in 1870 and 71 with Rome?

[@janavanrossum6174]

There is no way Pepin the Short invented trial by ordeal. It's already a method of judging guilt 200 years before he lived.

[@billyandrew]

Trial by ordeal...loss of a hand was the price paid by the loser in one ordeal and death in another, I was taught in history class, in the early 60s. Many of we eight year old boys made a fire on some derelict land, after school, to do our trial by fire. Lots of blister, screams and tears. The stuff that goes on in boys' heads is incredible and dangerous. 😜😂😂😂

[@blackbird5634]

What? Dale Winton must be pitching if Fry calls him 'well turned out.'

[@frankhooper7871]

I thought it was common knowledge that Pepin the Short was Charlemagne's father.

[@niallharrington3636]

Yes did people not watch lotr

[@qwertyTRiG]

@@niallharrington3636 Pippin's son was called Faramir.

[@niallharrington3636]

@@qwertyTRiG it was a joke

[@qwertyTRiG]

@@niallharrington3636 That I knew.

[@ChrisLawton66]

You've an odd concept of "common knowledge", then.

[@cyanmanta]

3:52 Luckily those 54 voters were all from Wyoming, so he won the election.

[@kleptrep94]

That reminds me of when an American Radio Station caused quite a few pee-related injuries when they did a Wee For A Wii competition back when the Wii first came out, essentially the last person to wee got a new Nintendo Wii, it caused quite a few major injuries because peeing is natural.

[@PatrickHaeslerMusic]

MrBeast the new champion of this format

[@n1nj4l1nk]

Just a little tip for anyone wanting to win a car, put a magnet in your glove.

[@popazz1]

I have serious doubts that whom-so-ever came up with the idea for Touch The Truck did so as a result of some medieval argument solving process. Researcher, " Guess what guys, I was reading about old Charlemagne's dad, you remember Charlemagne, and his dad created a format for .........so how about this for a game show? " Yeah right,lol.

[@chinaman1]

Didn't know Austin powers took part in QI.

[@Kriae]

I was thinking of a physical format...

[@RuthlessDutchman]

So, t-posing for dominance?

[@splinky99]

I have, no shit, heard a BOWLING match broadcast on the radio!

[@photobackflip]

This is assuming the person that came up with the game knew of "ordeals".

[@olivertunnah3987]

Never knew Austin Powers was on QI.

[@theZbanana]

why did they laugh when the guy asked if he was a chap or a lady?

[@Krontok]

Dale Winton is a very camp gay man

[@AutomaticDuck300]

Krontok because Rhys is not from the UK so he'll be unlikely to know who he is.

[@paullombard00]

Wig and/or hat party

[@hymanocohann2698]

Dang, I thought it was Pepin the bald.

[@raffaelepiccini3405]

MrBeast be like 3:05

[@bretthess6376]

What the heck is this? It seems potentially amusing but I don't get the premise. Besides, the judge didn't have anyone clapped in irons.

[@Killem-all-batesy]

wondered where mr beast got his ideas from lol

[@fionnualac4632]

Killem-all-batesy Was looking for this comment 😂

[@chinaman1]

He got it from Ralph's.

[@Killem-all-batesy]

@@fionnualac4632 cannot even remember commenting lol

[@him050]

Allowing a break?! Bunch of casuals

[@thetessellater9163]

What's he on about - they didn't have cars in the Dark Ages?

[@Myne1001]

Ordeals by t-posing

[@birth0fserpents]

is he a lady or a man?

[@notreallydavid]

probably

[@SunnyIntervalsORG]

I demand a trial by Toyota Hilux!

[@MattChez]

T posing to assert dominance.

[@kekistanihelpdesk8508]

So they claim it's from dark age Europe but then say based on a Japanese original game show.

[@lewishendo9328]

So this is where mr beast got it from

[@olivermcwalters5045]

*Mr Beast just entered the chat*

[@Killerspiderpig]

They have those car touching contest all of the time in NZ.

[@andyjay9346]

Usually the FIRST one touching it wins it. ;-)

[@danochy5522]

We do?