Skepticism

Uri Geller vs Tim Minchin on 8 Out of 10 Cats

That’s right, the Channel 4 (UK) show hosted by Jimmy Carr just aired an episode in which Uri Geller was on one team and Tim Minchin was on the other. Delicious! The other panelists are skeptics, as well, which becomes more and more obvious as the show progresses and they pick poor Uri to pieces.

Those of you in the UK can watch the whole show for free here, and for the rest of you (I think) here is part 1 (click through for parts 2 & 3):

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

Related Articles

26 Comments

  1. “It’s actually really easy to tell if your house is haunted. It isn’t”
    Damn I love Jimmy Carr.

  2. There is a point, 3 minutes in where you can see the host’s face as he realises that Uri Geller is an idiot.

  3. BBC and Discovery Communications have their heads up their asses if they don’t realize the American market for awesome shows like this.

    Great stuff, though they really could have stuck it to Gellar a bit harder. I felt sorry for Sean and Holly. Jimmy was great as usual, but he could stand to be a bit more of a dick.

  4. Oh great, now I’m thinking about zombie clowns.

    Also, there should be a special prize awarded for the most misquotes of Albert Einstein in a single broadcast.

  5. @Steve D: Agreed. And that award shall be called the DeGroof. In fact, it can be a law of the Internet as well. DeGroof’s Law: An appeal to Einstein inwhich Einstein is misquoted or his theories deliberately misused in order to further a fallacious argument or point.

  6. It’s a funny show, to be sure, but I’ve got trouble following it. The majority of the show isn’t so much Uri vs. Tim, as it is them being in the same room together. Both of them pretty much phone it in.

    I think I could count on one hand the number of times Tim Minchin said anything. No wonder his act is so verbose, if he’s got as much trouble as I do getting a word in.

    It isn’t until part 3 that Uri really starts to get going, and by that time, I’d almost mistake it for self-parody, if I didn’t think he was taking himself seriously.

    Still pretty funny, though.

  7. Brilliant bloody Brits. You see the same comedians in 50 different game shows, each more clever and hilarious than the other. They should make all the television in the world.

    And Geller is *such* a clown. He hasn’t said a single thing that didn’t make me want to punch him in the head. Surely he knew what sort of show it was and who the other panelists were; why did he even agree to be on it? Doesn’t he get that everybody’s laughing at him, or is it just that he’s so used to it by now he doesn’t care anymore?

  8. Bahaha! “What do you believe in?” “WHISKYYYYY!”

    I knew I liked that Sean Lock fellow. Him and Jimmy Carr. It’s always fun to watch clever comedians piling onto the pompous dimwit in the room who only barely seems to realize he’s being made fun of.

    Honestly, though, I think the best part of this is when they kept asking the audience if they believe in ghosts and supernatural stuff and got zero response. Very encouraging.

  9. @“Other” Amanda: I love you for posting this. Thank goodness for the internet, or I wouldn’t get to see good shows.

    I agree. And even if you do want to “do the right thing” and buy the DVDs, the BBC is really stingy with what they put out. Only three seasons of QI so far, and none of Argumental. Argh!

  10. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Geller do this: he says something STARK STARING INSANE, which seems to be meant as a joke, but then he takes it too far…. and then he doesn’t seem to be able to let it go…. then he actually seems to start believing it himself. He does it in this episode when he starts claiming that sometimes the spoons attack him.

    He also seems to find it hard to tell when people are taking the piss out of him. Presumably because everybody is taking the piss out of him. All the time. Wherever he goes. I think he has convinced himself that every reaction he gets is adulation.

  11. Malachi:

    “[QI is] an endless source of skeptical entertainment”

    Although I love Stephen Fry, he’s often annoyingly credulous, particularly about sciencey things. Lots of stuff touted as fact on QI is blatent nonsense and I’m often surprised he doesn’t question it when he’s reading it out.

    Great show though.

  12. @“Other” Amanda: I watch a lot of things through Netflix, like Top Gear, Doctor Who, etc – but you can’t find everything.

    Good suggestion. Sadly, but understandably, Netflix U.S. only carries region 1 DVDs. I’m hoping one day soon they’ll stream the international content.

  13. Dear BBC Entertainment: please start airing this show internationally. Instead of Eastenders, perhaps. Does anyone outside the UK actually give a piss about the Eastenders anyway? I shouldn’t think so.

    Also, put QI back on.

  14. Of all the negative things you can say about Geller (and surely there are plenty), the man is seriously not funny. And the rest of the panel really was – I almost felt sorry for him, trying to be funny and being so obviously outclassed.

    Jimmy Carr, however, is incredible (and very thin). Also, I’m amazed he gets away with making jokes about murdering his girlfriend and her family.

  15. I almost felt a bit sorry for Uri Geller toward the end there. He’s just sitting there embarrassing himself – I was embarrassed on his behalf. I almost couldn’t watch it after he made the joke (?) about being attacked by spoons.

    And Sean Lock is brilliant. He’s also one of the funniest guests on Argumental.

  16. @Zoltan said:

    I’m amazed he gets away with making jokes about murdering his girlfriend and her family.

    Yes. How is that funny? I turned it off at that point.

    “Take my wife — please.”

    Har-dee har.

    /rolls eyes at very bad humour.

  17. @latsot:

    He also seems to find it hard to tell when people are taking the piss out of him. Presumably because everybody is taking the piss out of him. All the time. Wherever he goes. I think he has convinced himself that every reaction he gets is adulation.

    It’s like the old Albert Brooks routine about disk jockeys having something wrong in their ears that makes them hear everything as a compliment.

    Person: Boo!
    DJ: Thank you.
    Person: I said boo!
    DJ: And I said thank you.

  18. I love how after Uri’s done his “put your spoons on top of the telly”-bit and told Jimmy he’ll get tons of emails about spoons going flying, Jimmy mimes what too me looks like a serious death threat to anyone who sends him spoon-mails.

  19. For everyone US-ian wanting the BBC to show/ put out on DVD 8/10 Cats, it’s not exactly in their power because it’s a channel 4 show (different network). Although it’s pretty much their fault that they’re nearly 5 series-es behind in putting out QI DVDs. I’d almost be able to forgive them if when they finally do, they include the QI XL stuff. Either that or they’re waiting for the epic 26-series boxset.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button