Tonight's QI

[FaresPlease]

So, so i had just watched an Ancient episode of mock the week with my husband, with one token female who I didn't find very funny. BUT I have just recently been awakened to the issue of feminism. And am viewing everything through new eyes. And THEN I watched a QI with 3 amazing women, Liza Tarbuck, Sandy Toksvig and another very funny lady whose name I didn't catch, and I just completely LOVED it. They were smart, and funny, and beautiful and I wished they were all my best friends! And even my very old-school, sexist, smug-cos-he-asked-my-dad-if-he-could-marry-me, husband found it very funny and undeniably witty/intelligent. I am just beginning to flex my little feminist muscles. But tonight's QI motivated and inspired me.

ps I have 2 dds, 6 and 8 years, plus a 4 year old ds.

Anyone else see it/have any thoughts??

I didn't see this particular episode tonight but I did notice from last year that QI seemed to be making a real effort to include more women

Season 1: 4/12 episodes (33%) were all-male
Season 2: 5/12 episodes (42%) were all-male
Season 3: 8/12 episodes (67%) were all-male
Season 4: 7/12 episodes (58%) were all-male
Season 5: 7/12 episodes (58%) were all-male
Season 6: 6/12 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 7: 8/16 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 8: 8/16 episodes (50%) were all-male
Season 9: 6/16 episodes (38%) were all-male
Season 10: 3/16 episodes (19%) were all-male
Season 11: 2/16 episodes (12.5%) were all-male
Season 12: NO EPISODES AT ALL (0%) were/are all-male

In season 10 there was one episode including three women and three episodes including two women, which was more than in all of the previous nine series put together, and in season 11 there were two episodes with two women and one with three (Susan Calman / Liza Tarbuck / Sandi Toksvig, so may have been the one you saw).

Sadly in season 12 I don't think there are any episodes with more than one woman -- but still, there is one woman in each episode which would have been unthinkable just nine or ten years ago.

I haven't watched QI for a long time but it sounds like a step in the right direction. The BBC has banned all-male panels for these sorts of shows

I did get a thrill a few months ago when both Sarah Montagu and Mishal Hussein were presenting the Today programme together for the first time

You saw a female? Female what? Horse?

Mock The Week tries to have more female panellists. But the style of the show means it's essentially recruiting from a narrow range of stand-up comedians and/or impressionists, and there simply are not many women among them.

Which I suppose begs the question, why are there not more female impressionists and stand-ups?

Actually I think the important word there AuntStella, is "narrow".

Yes, they're recruiting from a narrow range of mostly male, mostly white stand-up comedians.

But there are hundreds of stand-ups round the country. Just because they're only recruiting from a narrow base, doesn't mean there's not many, it just means lazy BBC execs can't be arsed -or to be more charitable, don't have the time - to go and find them.

Hence the establishment of "establishment" comedians, the usual boring white male faces. It's easier to get someone you know for sure will perform, will make the crowds laugh, than it is to try a bunch of new people.

I wish they'd make more of an effort not just to get more female and BME comedians, but to get more unknowns. I don't see why everyone on the panel needs to be establishment. 2 or 3 of them are plenty.

Had anyone heard of Russell Howard before he was on Mock the Week though?

There's a comedy club that runs once a month near me. They always have a female comedian and normally also have a non-white comedian.

Are there any good sites which list all live comedy?

And who are the acts of the hundreds that currently should be getting their break?

I love Sandi Toksvig. I also like that she is immensely more authoritative than Stephen Fry.

I think the dynamic when all the guests are women is really interesting, and I enjoyed seeing it.