I was talking with Corin and Dylan last night about Stephen Fry. I don’t think Fry is thick, but I don’t think he’s as intelligent as people think he is.
He’s a good comic actor but I think he’s too much of a narcissist to really be smart. You’re never going to learn much when you always think that you are the most interesting person in the room.
Being fair, I admit don’t know the guy – this is all gut instinct. Maybe he really is clever but what I really don’t like is when the punters ascribe intelligence to him on the basis of a good script and a plummy voice. It’s the BBC effect, the Radio 4 effect.
Say something smart in a normal voice. Fine
Say something smart or otherwise, but in a plummy voice. Huge applause.
And by repetition of this meme, the British public buys into the idea that posh voice = clever person. Ordinary people think Boris Johnson is cleverer than they are because of his posh voice. It annoys me.
When you get surveys of the GB public asking “who would be in your dream pub quiz team”, people always mention Fry. But I bet he knows nowt about pop music and sport.
How about the opposite? The worst quiz team of all time? The votes for that would probably go something like this:
- Jade Goody
- Alan Shearer
- Apollo out of Gladiators (new)
- Trojan out of Gladiators (original)
- Liz Truss
Bloody hell. The public might actually be right on this list. So, if you can avoid bringing along any of that lot, we’ll see you at the quizzes tonight ::
Brass Monkey Grange 7pm (with me)
Free answer: PICTURE round: “BARNACLE GOOSE“
Jackpot: £50
Book: Phone 0131 667 2335
The Strathie 7pm (with Mr. E)
Free answer: PICTURE round: “WACKY RACES“
Jackpot: £60
Book: Call Strathie on 0131 554 8717 or send them a message on their Facebook.
The Newsroom 9pm (with me)
Free answer: In the MUSIC round: “LIMP BIZKIT“
Jackpot: £50
Book: Call Newsroom on 0131 557 5830 or use their online booking https://www.newsroomedinburgh.co.uk/book-now.html
With quiz and love,
Dr Paul
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