knock
Bluelighter
Aye most of the time it won't be off the top of their head but there's bound to be something witty comes to mind that they didn't plan to say. Mock the Week is the worst for coming across scripted, the platform of the show doesn't even make any sense. They have random 'rounds' where they just appear to be bantering amongst themselves then suddenly one team is awarded some points and proclaimed the winner but you aren't actually sure what for.
It's not the only programme where "panel game" is used as a thinly disguised vehicle for comedy. The archetype probably being "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue". QI's scoring is hardly relevant to anything, or 8 out of 10 cats, or Would I Lie to You, etc. (sometimes the scoring makes sense but no-one actually cares)
But yeah, the more I've watched Mock the Week, the less I'm able to enjoy it, because the scripting is so obvious.
