“When you vote for that team you are voting for the basic principles of the Third Reich,” says an irate Jack Whitehall during an opposition to the statement that Helen Mirren should replace the Queen. If such a comment makes very little sense it’s pretty the foundation of Argumental, a Dave original programme and one of the few that have been any good, where a even debate about cheese can turn into childish accusations of sexism in order to win.
Unsurprisingly the studio audience, who have the deciding vote on who is awarded the points, backed Whitehall’s vitriol despite a balanced viewpoint from regular Marcus Brigstocke. That’s democracy in action, people died for that outburst.
Argumental Presented by John Sergeant
Rather than a general quiz based on a subject (Have I Got News For You, Have I Got Pop Music For You, Have I Got Stephen Fry For You, etc) Argumental has two different teams who just, well, argue contradictory points about things for the sake of it. Especially entertaining is if they don’t actually agree with the opinion they are forced to defend – there’s no way Rufus Hound really believes Jeremy Clarkson deserves a knighthood, although the reasoning based on him getting an honour for punching Piers Morgan is valid enough.
Presenter John Sergeant – possibly known by most slack-jawed gogglebox watchers for his involvement in the Strictly Come Dancing “I paid a pound!” scandal – does have a tentative background in comedy but decides, rightly, to sit out of discussions and instead churns out some admittedly poor jokes in between rounds. He's good at his job, so he just about gets away with it.
Debates on Dave panel show
What is most appealing about Argumental, now in its third series, is because of the random subjects and images there’s very little scope for the guests to simply regurgitate lines from their stand-up routines, meaning there is room for real improvisation. It’s the same thing that makes QI continually impressive.
The strength of a panel show rests mainly on the calibre of guest it attracts; the gimmick/topic/game or whatever doesn’t matter due to the varying nature of comedic ability. Thankfully Argumental boasts an impressive array of panel show veterans such as Dara Ó Briain, Sean Lock and Jimmy Carr adding their own worldly observations, and at no point does anyone taking centre stage by just being the loudest or most outspoken.
Strangely though is that so far David Mitchell, currently in a dead heat with Charlie Brooker and Mark Kermode as greatest modern ranter in broadcasting, hasn’t been a guest. Maybe he’s just busy or refused appear – which would be rich given that he agreed to be on Lily Allen and Friends – but surely this is a set-up that suits his quick witted talents to a tee.
Flip-flop Round on Argumental
The flip-flop round is a shining example of what makes Argumental one of the better comedies of the digital age (on closer inspection that’s not an impressive statement given the muck that’s spewed out on BBC Three) and how panel shows can be clunky at times as the debater has to switch sides instantly on the sound of a buzzer. It’s not always gold but it’s nice to see the sleek transitions mid sentence.
Argumental is proudly displayed on Dave as a cornerstone of its schedules, and it’s easy to see why given how the show proven to be so popular. It is a positive step forward for a channel that relies heavily on Top Gear repeats and in a bizarre twist of procedure BBC Two has even started airing repeats on late night TV. Not even Red Dwarf: Back To Earth managed that. Although that was rubbish, mind.
Argumental is on Dave every Tuesday at 10.20pm.
Steven Cookson - Steven Cookson is a writer and attempted journalist based in Howden. Originally from Chester, that Hollyoaks place in North-West of ...
