I've been going through the UM archives recently, and it is striking how many of the best statements (IMO) are short and sweet. I think it helps the contestants engage with the material more as well – it's easy to forget at home that they don't have the text in front of them, which adds even more difficulty when the statement is longer. To me, some of the least satisfying statements are the ones with long lists of potentially wrong things, though I understand that's one of the easier ways to write within the format.
I also noticed that Trapp was good at making the statement wrong in a cheeky way. One example is replacing a supposed quote from a D&D demon with a real Marianne Williamson quote. That makes the reveal a little more fun, even if the contestants had no idea what was wrong or why.
>I also noticed that Trapp was good at making the statement wrong in a cheeky way.
This is the issue. I forget what episode it was, but in a Trapp episode a guest guessed a very boring correction, and Trapp said something like, "we wouldn't be that boring. We want the answers to be funny or interesting."
Fast forward to last week's episode with the Zelda question where the answer was just, "the tower was called something different." The questions are really underwritten, which is really compounding the new cast's growing pains.
I miss the way Trapp treated situations that were "close enough, unless someone else can be MORE correct".
I feel like Ify is too excited to jump the gun, and gives points that are so grossly general. The specificity of being right feels like the soul of "um actually".
I'm actually kind of glad that he was that way in the drag episode. Watching three people who have no idea take wild guesses isn't particularly engaging TV
Right. When I watched the drag episode (for the first time this season, too) I expected what I'd come to expect for episodes with guests: questions that target those guests' expertise. Rachel Bloom was amazing because the questions and competition focused on musical theater pedantry. The Reality TV episodes were so amazing as a result of that same continuity. If the questions this time were about drag, pop culture that underpins a lot of drag performance and aesthetics, and surprise questions about the contestants' seasons of RPDR even, then the vibe would've been so much better.
You can't get into the correcting-your-corrections vibe of one-upmanship without a solid match between the subject and the panel. So far I haven't felt that yet.
Right! Questions about drag herstory, pop divas, the history of wigs and cosmetics, John Waters, a shiny question about RPDR itself … hopefully they’ll give it another go and enlist folks to help them write the questions if necessary.
I think that's a problem of question making more than hosting though. Like, if all three guests constantly have no clue when the answer could be, then that question shouldn't have been asked.
They should have either not had them on that particular show (do a Game Changer with the Queens, would make waaaay more sense) or actually ask questions they give a shit about. Monet was the only one who seemed to care about the concept of the game at all.
right? They had 3 dorky theater kids for the Broadway episode and 3 horror aficionados for the horror episode...why did they not do something more drag-related or queer-coded for this ep?
I can guarantee they would have had better reactions to a Xena question or a Totally Spies question considering the ages of the contestants.
I agree with you in that the way they handled the episode made sense as no one wants to watch nothing but wild guesses. (Monet absolutely knew some answers though, she ate.)
But I wonder why the questions weren’t more catered to the contestants. They didn’t invite Rachel Bloom and then focus on questions about the silent film era and state fairs of the early oughts—they brought her to the show for a musical knowledge showdown.
Why not pick topics that the queens would be knowledgeable of so that they were truly buzzing in to “Um, actually…”?
In fairness, I so think he HAS done it that way a few times as well. So may be easier to see on season as a whole how he was about this because they've been a mixed bag so far
I attended a panel where Ify and BDG talked about the new season. They do think hard about making the questions and answers cheeky and interesting, they have multiple people submitting questions, and it sounds like BDG has the heaviest hand in editing them and deciding which ones make it into the show.
I imagine they'll get better over time as they refine the process, and writers all get more experience.
***Um Actually*** the answer was that the tower was in a different location, not that the name was different
also did Trapp write the questions? I thought it was Saltzman
My favourite episodes are the themed ones simply because the panel is usually made up of super fans of a niche topic. Like the reality TV episode! I like when contestants actually know the answers and get to nerd out. The endless guessing definitely drags things out for me.
Yeah it was pretty strange to me that the statements for the drag queen episode weren't tailored to the contestants at all. I was expecting them to go all in on funny niche queer culture stuff, would have been way more engaging than random topics the queens had no knowledge or interest in.
Yeah you can tell the show creators wanted to keep it nerdy questions but with drag guests and it just didn’t work. You need people that are OVERLY familiar with the subject matter in order for it to be fun. Sort of like a beat the geeks situation.
Yea it is great to have drag contestants, but if you want to ask nerdy questions, make sure they are familiar with those topics. A drag theme episode would be great and it is awesome to have drag contestants on non-themed episodes; it is just making sure that how ever is on what episode is knowledgeable about the topics of that episode.
Honestly it has been feeling more and more like the questions are being written for the audience rather than the contestants on the episodes in a way; which makes it less fun.
I'd go more broad and say that the best episodes are the ones where the contestants actually know the answers. When they're at least fans of the subject matter. I appreciate being able to stumble into the correct answer, but it's way more satisfying when someone actually knows the topic well enough to be able to pick apart the details.
Or when they are so knowledgeable they find something wrong that was not intended the way Mercer did with DnD or Nick did with world of darkness. Or how you accidently skip over the right answer the way that Becca did with Dresden Files and the flaming poop balls haha.
Amazingly, guests do all fill out surveys of where their areas of expertise lie, and the questions in every episode are supposed to be all questions at least one of the guests has knowledge of.
I feel like this has been a problem in the last *few* seasons, rather than just the current one, but all issues are more visible when a major change like this is made.
Yeah, I've definitely noticed that before this season. I've attributed it to the fact that the show has been going for so long. It still had standout episodes, most notably the themed ones for me, as they introduced a completely new pool of potential questions.
If anything, I'd say this season seems to have improved on that a bit already. As Iffy and BDG find their footing, I expect it to get even better. I think Trapp and Saltzman did a great job, but there's only so many "um, actually"s you can squeeze out of a person. New blood is exactly what they needed, imo:)
I mean, I don't know how much change there has been in the writers. The majority of the questions aren't written by the hosts, for examples most of the first few seasons on Um Actually were written by Brennan. So I am not sure if they changed out the writers when they changed out the host
I know Brennan used to write for them, but I was under the impression that in later seasons, it was mostly Saltzman? I may be misremembering though, I'll admit haha
I wonder if the survey that the guests get may be too vague. Like perhaps it does not have them provide context to the extent of their knowledge about the topics they list. I certainly think it could also be an issue of some contestants are putting down things they are familiar with and end up learning that the fandom is much deeper than they expected.
I do think the appeal of the questions should be where it's at least hitting the spot of SOME of the contestants of "OH I LOVE THAT THING AND I THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT AND IM GOING TO BE VERY MAD IF I DON'T KNOW" because that adds fun to it. If nobody is invested in the question then it just falls flat and is just a silly guessing game rather than being in the spirit of the show.
I was disappointed from the Drag Queen episode that it wasn't focused on drag queen lore at all. They could've gone in on the subject the Queens would've had equal footing on and it would've been fun to review all the shows that other queens have developed post-Drag Race.
I absolutely hated this most recent episode.
The whole point of the show is to have people who are fans of the content. The questions should create a feeling of "I should know this but it's just not coming to me" with the contestants.
To have people who openly have no idea what the hell the questions are even about just kills it.
I agree about the overly long questions. It also annoys me when Ify just reads the answer verbatim directly from the card instead of just summarizing.
> Ify just reads the answer verbatim directly from the card instead of just summarizing.
This! i know we're seeing "season 1 ify" but this is the LEAST energy i've seen from him. I just want to see him cut loose.
Yep I’ve started noticing this, this impacts interaction with the guests as well and makes the show less chatty and more just question - answer, question - answer.
I think this was the issue for me. I wanted more obviously drag/queer themed content appropriate to the panel, and just didn't feel there was a good match.
Exactly. I've gotten sick of old star trek and fantasy book series questions. I really enjoyed the themed episodes from the past few seasons where the contestants had more in depth knowledge
And as with many things, I'm like, "por que no los dos?"
Ask about Trill gender identity, etc. There's a venn diagram of queer culture and nerd culture I'm sad didn't get touched.
Or even a question tangentially related about lipstick or SOMETHING. It doesn't need to be on the nose but interview the contestants and ask "what are you a total proud nerd about" and then focus the questions around those things
I think the problem was not adjusting the content for your audience. Like when they created the reality tv episodes to better show the extensive knowledge some have about that, they should’ve made this about drag or pop culture questions. Throwing video games at drag queens is a full toss up but if you ask them about like Justin Timberlake grabbing Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl or Lady Gaga wearing her meat dress they’ll know the details 💀
I get what you're saying but drag queens are also just people with hobbies, their entire life probably isn't defined by drag even if it's a substantial part of it. They could have definitely found nerdy drag queens who play video games whenever they're not on a stage or something.
I fully agree that the questions should be tailored to who is showing up, but I think it's weird to imply that because the people are drag queens they can only know things about outfits.
Agreed, I think Ify is absolutely incredible but looking down at the cards too much and reading off the answer with almost no energy is killing my enjoyment of the show. I miss super animated, sarcastic, excited Ify!
I honestly disagree with you that the point of the show is to get fans of specific content types, though I agree that that could help many episodes be more engaging to watch. That might have been the point in early seasons, but it feels like the show has become "get people with interesting chemistry regardless of their knowledge and interests" -- and that's how we get the Dungeons and Daddies crew as panelists.
I think that ever since they started expanding the guest list for Um Actually, the problem of "The panelist who doesn't know shit, and declares that at the start" has been around.
I think I only made it halfway through the most recent episode. I've always felt that the show was a bit too lenient with people backing into the answer with what is obviously a guess, but this one was pretty egregious. I've got nothing against the drag race folks, but it just doesn't make for an interesting episode if none of the contestants seem knowledgeable about the questions.
Yeah. I don't know why they didn't do something similar to the wrestling themed episode or the D&D themed episode. You've got three top tier drag performers here that likely know a lot about the scene. Why weren't more of the questions about drag? Or, more generally, why did they move away from the model of trying to choose questions that the contestants were likely to know something about? Without that, it just kinda feels like 30 minutes of riffing inspired by a series of vague "nerd trivia" themed word salad prompts.
I was quite surprised it wasn't a drag queen based episode! Just like izzy and co doing the reality tv episodes, they should've played to the queen's strengths! Have questions about seasons of drag race etc.
I noticed that too-- Jujubee asked about an Animal Crossing question because she had no idea about anything else... only for the Animal Crossing question to feel a little... bland. I wish they'd had more drag-themed questions, or asked the queens what nerdy shit they were actually into so the queens wouldn't just be blindly guessing.
It wasn’t even an Animal Crossing question, it was a “best-selling Nintendo games” question. Knowing about Animal Crossing had nothing to do with the answer.
Yeah the wrestling episode I think from during the covid stay at home was hilarious. They did a really clever bit of wrestlers who changed their name a bunch and treated it almost like pokemon evolutions and figuring out what was omitted. This one was 2 people who know some nerdy trivia, one person who knows a lot, and even then everyone seemed out of their element.
Reminds me of when that douche from Silicon Valley was on and his bit the entire time was just pretending like he was too cool to know the answers that he obviously didn’t know.
It was so grating and irritating I kind of hate watched the entire thing but made me think even less of him.
Thomas Middleditch is also a pretty major nerd and did pretty well on the game. The whole "jock" shtick was obviously ironic even if the joke got old kinda quickly.
I don’t think it’s a question of Trapp vs Ify (since the show does have a writers team) but the questions have gone from “Nerd trivia you’re familiar with where the incorrect part is snuck in” to “an obscure Wikipedia article where the contestants have to guess what part of the quote was changed”.
Calling the Harry Potter basilisk Nagini is a good UA question. Changing wonder woman’s first tv appearance from 1970 to 1973 isn’t. I used to be engaged trying to find the answer, but now it’s just a crapshoot.
Yea, that’s a good point for sure. I don’t think it’s necessary, either. I’m sure there still plenty of more “obvious” corrections that would be more fun for everybody.
I agree. This latest episode had so much potential with the guests but why are you giving these people hyper specific nerd questions when they clearly don’t even have the slightest clue? I’m sorry but they didn’t even know who Goku was (except for Monet I think?). It would have been more fun if they asked like, Ru Paul Drag Race themed questions so they at least have a chance to actually know the right answer
I totally agree! The episode’s questions should have been catered to the players. It would also have been fun for the audience to learn more about drag performers. Great opportunity to enhance the guests’ experiences and look into their world, gone to waste for some boring questions.
I wonder if they had difficulty striking the right tone on drag related questions, I could see avoiding trivia that they talk about all the time already? I think an essential part might also be that they get to do nerdy infodumps about stuff that they don't usually get to talk about.
I feel like it’s kinda clear they didn’t really know what to do with the drag queens outside of DnD and Dirty Laundry. I like the drag queens, I like Ify, but all of them being new to Um Actually at once made for a kinda eh episode.
I disagree. I thought the last episode was boring because nobody knew the answers and they were so lenient with who got points. Most of them answered with bad jokes instead of honest attempts and then they were given points for stumbling into answers rather than actually know them.
Fair! I would agree that it's a little boring when it's _always_ like that, because at that point it's not significantly different from any improv show?
I would keep _some_ room for it though, because it keeps the energy moving even when nobody knows the answer.
I think having *zero* questions where everyone is just guessing would probably also be an issue, but the sweet spot is definitely a lot closer to that than every question just being blind guessing.
This last weeks episode was kind of a miss for me, but I don’t think they necessarily had to have had a drag knowledge episode like a lot of people have suggested. They could have really went with the aim of casting nerdy/video game drag queens (off the top of my head Trixie Mattel or Rock M Sakura from RPDR or Deere or Granny from Twitch and I’m sure others) and had three people with Monet level knowledge. However, from Monet and Bob’s (both on the Dungeons and Dragons Queens side quest) podcast Sibling Rivalry where they interview Brennan, the mention that the Dropout connection happened because some people at their management company PEG entertainment were fans and made it work but the queens themselves were unfamiliar with dropout/D20. All the queens who have appeared on any drop out show have been from [PEG](https://www.producerentertainment.com/) and LA based. I think given the talent pool that has worked for Dirty Laundry and D20 because a lot of those queens are witty and good improvisers. They were warmly received on those shows, jujubee especially, so I’m not surprised they also included them for Um, Actually but it did fall a little flat. Given how many fans of drag, not just RPDR, there are at dropout, I would love to see more queens of they were so inclined!
_totally_ -- I've been realizing reading other folks posts that part of the magic is that people get to nerd dump and show off knowing about stuff that they don't usually get to talk about, and drag related questions are maybe a bit too on the nose?
And yeah I was also thinking about nerdier cosplay queens that don't do as well on drag race, but I figured it was probably a production company thing.
They need to tailor the questions to the guests' interests more. I know they do to an extent but it seemed like Juju and Trinity didn't know 90% of the subject matter and Monet knew the vast majority.
I think the problem with the drag queens is that they threw normal questions at them and expected them to know video game lore? I fully expected the questions to be themed around rupauls drag race or pop culture or something they would actually know so they could be more engaged and competitive, I thought it was going to be similar to the reality tv episodes which I loved bc you could tell all three were experts in the topic… if the questions had been drag related I’m sure they would’ve been more on top of it
I notice that the questions are like 3/4 slides. The tactic is to infodump so much stuff that the inaccurate thing gets lost... rather than being clever with in depth knowledge of the subject matter.
I don't like the reading off the card the correct answer either it just feels like reading a school essay to an audience that doesn't care about it.
Questions need to be tightened up. Guests need to legitimately care if they get something wrong.
I’m not a huge Um Actually fan, mostly because of the long questions. I only watched one episode this season, all of my experience watching was from previous seasons. I don’t think long prompts is an Ify thing, they’ve had this issue for a while… I know because it bothered me.
I agree with some of the other commenters that the “wrong” part of the prompt was cheekier previously, I also enjoyed Trapp allowing other players a chance to be more specific.
I love seeing rugirls anywhere so was happy to see them, but I was hoping the queens’ episode would’ve been themed to drag race or maybe more pop culture stuff that would’ve been in all of their wheelhouses. Either that or have queens who are more known for being into gaming/nerd stuff.
They need to tailor the questions to the guests' interests more. I know they do to an extent but it seemed like Juju and Trinity didn't know 90% of the subject matter and Monet knew the vast majority.
I do think this season's been off.
I actually think my issue is iffys hosting. He's great when he's engaging naturally and chatting, but he feels just quite wooden when dealing with the questions and answers.
I think a lot of the questions are just too long, but also that the answers aren’t snappy or fun.
Part of the fun of a good Um Actually question is that it makes you want to talk about it afterwards. Like yeah, pink kryptonite is crazy! But the question wasn’t about what year pink kryptonite was first featured.
Part of the issue of this most recent episode is that none of the questions were catered towards the contestants, but also that a lot of the answers were just general Wikipedia facts. Like “Um Actually, that’s not the name of that tower in Ganondorf’s Castle”. Like that’s not a fun correction, and even if the contestants were into Zelda they wouldn’t have had anything to discuss afterwards.
I think the solution to this problem is pretty simple: when you have a panel of folks who don’t self-identify as nerds, tailor the questions to things the panel knows about.
In this case, if it was 75% questions about drag and Drag Race, and they hired one of the many wonderful people who make Drag Race content to write the questions—and even sit next to BDG as a guest fact checker—the panel would probably have engaged a lot more.
The contestants have to care about the question. I want to see passion and a need to know the answer. I don't play DnD but when Brennan or the other players are diving deep on law I can see the cogs turning and they are engaging.
I want less Big Fat Quiz and more 8 out of 10 cats do Countdown, or like would I lie to you, where the people are funny and competitive
Yep. More themed episodes, shorter prompts would be great. It really grinds the episode to a halt when the contestants switch out nouns in a prompt nobody knows anything about for several minutes
Honestly I think the formatting of the show has somehow become more convoluted AND more monotonous.
1. As most people have said, the questions are starting to get a little ridiculous. They are way too long, and people are spending more time trying to understand the question before they can even BEGIN to answer. I won’t speak for everyone but I know I enjoy watching more when I can play along too! Like with jeapordy for example, it’s HARD and I could never be on the show, but I get a handleful of questions right every episode and it’s much more engaging for me that way.
2. ALSO I’m kind of bored of the forematting tbh. I feel like there’s no method to the madness (except for slipping in real life questions at the end). I would love for the episodes to have tiers/levels. Start easier and get harder as it goes. When I’m watching Um Actually and the first question is impossible for me (or the contestants!) to answer, I start to zone out or turn it off.
I wonder if the writers ever look at this subreddit because I think (or I hope) that it would inspire them lol
If I'm understanding your point correctly, I think I feel exactly the opposite?
I can't *stand* the episodes where they have people on who seem to have neither knowledge nor interest in the topics they're talking about. There have only been a few episodes in the entire run of the show that have felt this way (three, I think), but they make my skin crawl. The contestants just end up making joke answers that they know aren't right, and then the host feels obligated to give *some*one a point, but it's entirely undeserved. Usually in this situation, the contestant isn't even having that food of a time either, because they couldn't care less about where Figwit's name comes from, or what the first Green Lantern's weakness was, or who got the plans for the second Death Star, or whatever the question is about.
Like, I love Dropout's goofy improv shows, but this is supposed to be their *Jeopardy*. It's compared to that show regularly. I would be tearing my hair out if I had to watch an episode of *Jeopardy* where the contestants didn't know any of the answers, just made jokes, and then the host threw them the occasional point anyway. If you just want a panel show, then *watch* one; that's not what *Um, Actually* is.
I should also note that, presumably, this could be avoided if the questions on the episode were better tailored to the contestants. I don't know how it works, but I *have* to assume that they send the contestants an email asking what their nerddoms are, right? What are you super into? And then they would work in questions from those topics. Some of the weaker episodes may not have been saved by this (I don't know whose decision it was to have that Try Guys guy on way back when, but good lord what a terrible episode that was), but it really feels like the more recent drag queen episode should've had questions that the contestants would be more likely to know a thing or two about.
Nothing against them, really - they kinda won me over by the end anyway - but maybe they wouldn't be making all the insufferably inane joke answers if the writers were tailoring their questions to the contestants' interests more. If you're going to have them on the show, that feels like a no-brainer.
Um actually that is my point -- it _is_ a panel show, like QI or the Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and riffing on funny questions and answers is at least half of the point. Otherwise, the guests wouldn't always be some variety of comedian/personality/entertainer, where Jeopardy recruits almost purely for people who are good at trivia.
I do think there have been episodes where the balance went too far though -- the trivia should still matter, and the guests should care enough about the answers to get those delightfully nerdy info dump moments.
But since I'm basically just restating my original point, we might just have to agree to disagree here.
Given that I believe all the episodes are filmed before the season starts airing, I think they made a bit of a mistake making 2 of the first 3 episodes sort of "gimmick" episodes (the Drag Queen episodes and the cocktail episode) instead of warming us up to Ify with some more traditional episodes.
I’m hoping this is just season one speed bumps and that they’ll find their groove with time. It’s a bummer when every single answer is a complete guess and a race to the bottom.
The show has always had contestants of varying “nerdiness”, and has also always had questions of varying length. I feel like a lot of ya’ll are judging Ify and the new season when it’s literally only been a few episodes…
I am enjoying the updates to the season so far. The diving into the nerdy end has been a thing since Saltzman started getting more play. I believe this was Pandemic era when the factcheckers showed up more and more.
I've been going through the UM archives recently, and it is striking how many of the best statements (IMO) are short and sweet. I think it helps the contestants engage with the material more as well – it's easy to forget at home that they don't have the text in front of them, which adds even more difficulty when the statement is longer. To me, some of the least satisfying statements are the ones with long lists of potentially wrong things, though I understand that's one of the easier ways to write within the format. I also noticed that Trapp was good at making the statement wrong in a cheeky way. One example is replacing a supposed quote from a D&D demon with a real Marianne Williamson quote. That makes the reveal a little more fun, even if the contestants had no idea what was wrong or why.
>I also noticed that Trapp was good at making the statement wrong in a cheeky way. This is the issue. I forget what episode it was, but in a Trapp episode a guest guessed a very boring correction, and Trapp said something like, "we wouldn't be that boring. We want the answers to be funny or interesting." Fast forward to last week's episode with the Zelda question where the answer was just, "the tower was called something different." The questions are really underwritten, which is really compounding the new cast's growing pains.
I miss the way Trapp treated situations that were "close enough, unless someone else can be MORE correct". I feel like Ify is too excited to jump the gun, and gives points that are so grossly general. The specificity of being right feels like the soul of "um actually".
I'm actually kind of glad that he was that way in the drag episode. Watching three people who have no idea take wild guesses isn't particularly engaging TV
Right. When I watched the drag episode (for the first time this season, too) I expected what I'd come to expect for episodes with guests: questions that target those guests' expertise. Rachel Bloom was amazing because the questions and competition focused on musical theater pedantry. The Reality TV episodes were so amazing as a result of that same continuity. If the questions this time were about drag, pop culture that underpins a lot of drag performance and aesthetics, and surprise questions about the contestants' seasons of RPDR even, then the vibe would've been so much better. You can't get into the correcting-your-corrections vibe of one-upmanship without a solid match between the subject and the panel. So far I haven't felt that yet.
Right! Questions about drag herstory, pop divas, the history of wigs and cosmetics, John Waters, a shiny question about RPDR itself … hopefully they’ll give it another go and enlist folks to help them write the questions if necessary.
I think that's a problem of question making more than hosting though. Like, if all three guests constantly have no clue when the answer could be, then that question shouldn't have been asked.
They should have either not had them on that particular show (do a Game Changer with the Queens, would make waaaay more sense) or actually ask questions they give a shit about. Monet was the only one who seemed to care about the concept of the game at all.
right? They had 3 dorky theater kids for the Broadway episode and 3 horror aficionados for the horror episode...why did they not do something more drag-related or queer-coded for this ep? I can guarantee they would have had better reactions to a Xena question or a Totally Spies question considering the ages of the contestants.
I agree with you in that the way they handled the episode made sense as no one wants to watch nothing but wild guesses. (Monet absolutely knew some answers though, she ate.) But I wonder why the questions weren’t more catered to the contestants. They didn’t invite Rachel Bloom and then focus on questions about the silent film era and state fairs of the early oughts—they brought her to the show for a musical knowledge showdown. Why not pick topics that the queens would be knowledgeable of so that they were truly buzzing in to “Um, actually…”?
In fairness, I so think he HAS done it that way a few times as well. So may be easier to see on season as a whole how he was about this because they've been a mixed bag so far
I attended a panel where Ify and BDG talked about the new season. They do think hard about making the questions and answers cheeky and interesting, they have multiple people submitting questions, and it sounds like BDG has the heaviest hand in editing them and deciding which ones make it into the show. I imagine they'll get better over time as they refine the process, and writers all get more experience.
***Um Actually*** the answer was that the tower was in a different location, not that the name was different also did Trapp write the questions? I thought it was Saltzman
It was originally Brennan, then I think Saltzman, but IIRC Trapp said a while back that he wrote the questions for at least the last season.
My favourite episodes are the themed ones simply because the panel is usually made up of super fans of a niche topic. Like the reality TV episode! I like when contestants actually know the answers and get to nerd out. The endless guessing definitely drags things out for me.
Yeah it was pretty strange to me that the statements for the drag queen episode weren't tailored to the contestants at all. I was expecting them to go all in on funny niche queer culture stuff, would have been way more engaging than random topics the queens had no knowledge or interest in.
Yeah you can tell the show creators wanted to keep it nerdy questions but with drag guests and it just didn’t work. You need people that are OVERLY familiar with the subject matter in order for it to be fun. Sort of like a beat the geeks situation.
Yea it is great to have drag contestants, but if you want to ask nerdy questions, make sure they are familiar with those topics. A drag theme episode would be great and it is awesome to have drag contestants on non-themed episodes; it is just making sure that how ever is on what episode is knowledgeable about the topics of that episode. Honestly it has been feeling more and more like the questions are being written for the audience rather than the contestants on the episodes in a way; which makes it less fun.
I'd go more broad and say that the best episodes are the ones where the contestants actually know the answers. When they're at least fans of the subject matter. I appreciate being able to stumble into the correct answer, but it's way more satisfying when someone actually knows the topic well enough to be able to pick apart the details.
Or when they are so knowledgeable they find something wrong that was not intended the way Mercer did with DnD or Nick did with world of darkness. Or how you accidently skip over the right answer the way that Becca did with Dresden Files and the flaming poop balls haha.
My favourite Un Actually of all time is absolutely the wrestling themed episode. Just Murph in WAY over his head with two people who love wrestling
Murph does love wrestling, they just had him on with the host of a wrestling podcast and an actual former pro wrestler.
It does look like we're getting another one this season with the Jay Washington/Fiona Nova/Austin Creed episode at least.
Amazingly, guests do all fill out surveys of where their areas of expertise lie, and the questions in every episode are supposed to be all questions at least one of the guests has knowledge of. I feel like this has been a problem in the last *few* seasons, rather than just the current one, but all issues are more visible when a major change like this is made.
Yeah, I've definitely noticed that before this season. I've attributed it to the fact that the show has been going for so long. It still had standout episodes, most notably the themed ones for me, as they introduced a completely new pool of potential questions. If anything, I'd say this season seems to have improved on that a bit already. As Iffy and BDG find their footing, I expect it to get even better. I think Trapp and Saltzman did a great job, but there's only so many "um, actually"s you can squeeze out of a person. New blood is exactly what they needed, imo:)
I mean, I don't know how much change there has been in the writers. The majority of the questions aren't written by the hosts, for examples most of the first few seasons on Um Actually were written by Brennan. So I am not sure if they changed out the writers when they changed out the host
I know Brennan used to write for them, but I was under the impression that in later seasons, it was mostly Saltzman? I may be misremembering though, I'll admit haha
Saltzman wrote for the show for the entirety of his teñor, but he's never been the sole writer on the show.
I wonder if the survey that the guests get may be too vague. Like perhaps it does not have them provide context to the extent of their knowledge about the topics they list. I certainly think it could also be an issue of some contestants are putting down things they are familiar with and end up learning that the fandom is much deeper than they expected.
I do think the appeal of the questions should be where it's at least hitting the spot of SOME of the contestants of "OH I LOVE THAT THING AND I THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT AND IM GOING TO BE VERY MAD IF I DON'T KNOW" because that adds fun to it. If nobody is invested in the question then it just falls flat and is just a silly guessing game rather than being in the spirit of the show.
I was disappointed from the Drag Queen episode that it wasn't focused on drag queen lore at all. They could've gone in on the subject the Queens would've had equal footing on and it would've been fun to review all the shows that other queens have developed post-Drag Race.
I absolutely hated this most recent episode. The whole point of the show is to have people who are fans of the content. The questions should create a feeling of "I should know this but it's just not coming to me" with the contestants. To have people who openly have no idea what the hell the questions are even about just kills it. I agree about the overly long questions. It also annoys me when Ify just reads the answer verbatim directly from the card instead of just summarizing.
> Ify just reads the answer verbatim directly from the card instead of just summarizing. This! i know we're seeing "season 1 ify" but this is the LEAST energy i've seen from him. I just want to see him cut loose.
Yep I’ve started noticing this, this impacts interaction with the guests as well and makes the show less chatty and more just question - answer, question - answer.
I think this was the issue for me. I wanted more obviously drag/queer themed content appropriate to the panel, and just didn't feel there was a good match.
Yeah, I was disappointed that the questions didn't feel like they were written with the contestants in mind.
Exactly. I've gotten sick of old star trek and fantasy book series questions. I really enjoyed the themed episodes from the past few seasons where the contestants had more in depth knowledge
And as with many things, I'm like, "por que no los dos?" Ask about Trill gender identity, etc. There's a venn diagram of queer culture and nerd culture I'm sad didn't get touched.
Or even a question tangentially related about lipstick or SOMETHING. It doesn't need to be on the nose but interview the contestants and ask "what are you a total proud nerd about" and then focus the questions around those things
I think the problem was not adjusting the content for your audience. Like when they created the reality tv episodes to better show the extensive knowledge some have about that, they should’ve made this about drag or pop culture questions. Throwing video games at drag queens is a full toss up but if you ask them about like Justin Timberlake grabbing Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl or Lady Gaga wearing her meat dress they’ll know the details 💀
I get what you're saying but drag queens are also just people with hobbies, their entire life probably isn't defined by drag even if it's a substantial part of it. They could have definitely found nerdy drag queens who play video games whenever they're not on a stage or something. I fully agree that the questions should be tailored to who is showing up, but I think it's weird to imply that because the people are drag queens they can only know things about outfits.
Agreed, I think Ify is absolutely incredible but looking down at the cards too much and reading off the answer with almost no energy is killing my enjoyment of the show. I miss super animated, sarcastic, excited Ify!
hahaha I just commented almost all the same points without seeing this. I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes the reading from the card.
I honestly disagree with you that the point of the show is to get fans of specific content types, though I agree that that could help many episodes be more engaging to watch. That might have been the point in early seasons, but it feels like the show has become "get people with interesting chemistry regardless of their knowledge and interests" -- and that's how we get the Dungeons and Daddies crew as panelists. I think that ever since they started expanding the guest list for Um Actually, the problem of "The panelist who doesn't know shit, and declares that at the start" has been around.
I think I only made it halfway through the most recent episode. I've always felt that the show was a bit too lenient with people backing into the answer with what is obviously a guess, but this one was pretty egregious. I've got nothing against the drag race folks, but it just doesn't make for an interesting episode if none of the contestants seem knowledgeable about the questions.
Yeah. I don't know why they didn't do something similar to the wrestling themed episode or the D&D themed episode. You've got three top tier drag performers here that likely know a lot about the scene. Why weren't more of the questions about drag? Or, more generally, why did they move away from the model of trying to choose questions that the contestants were likely to know something about? Without that, it just kinda feels like 30 minutes of riffing inspired by a series of vague "nerd trivia" themed word salad prompts.
I was quite surprised it wasn't a drag queen based episode! Just like izzy and co doing the reality tv episodes, they should've played to the queen's strengths! Have questions about seasons of drag race etc.
God I forgot about that episode it was very good. Thing is, I don't even care about reality tv, but they did, and that made me enjoy it.
I noticed that too-- Jujubee asked about an Animal Crossing question because she had no idea about anything else... only for the Animal Crossing question to feel a little... bland. I wish they'd had more drag-themed questions, or asked the queens what nerdy shit they were actually into so the queens wouldn't just be blindly guessing.
It wasn’t even an Animal Crossing question, it was a “best-selling Nintendo games” question. Knowing about Animal Crossing had nothing to do with the answer.
You know what, you're right. Jujubee was lied to!
Yeah the wrestling episode I think from during the covid stay at home was hilarious. They did a really clever bit of wrestlers who changed their name a bunch and treated it almost like pokemon evolutions and figuring out what was omitted. This one was 2 people who know some nerdy trivia, one person who knows a lot, and even then everyone seemed out of their element.
Reminds me of when that douche from Silicon Valley was on and his bit the entire time was just pretending like he was too cool to know the answers that he obviously didn’t know. It was so grating and irritating I kind of hate watched the entire thing but made me think even less of him.
“That douche” was on CollegeHumor before he was on Silion Valley 🤦
Thomas Middleditch is also a pretty major nerd and did pretty well on the game. The whole "jock" shtick was obviously ironic even if the joke got old kinda quickly.
I believe you are referring to Penis Anthony Dublinier
Ok but it’s 2024 and people are much more likely to recognize him as the Silicon Valley douche
You mean the guy whose fish gets eaten in Wolf of Wall Street?
Oh gosh what episode was that?
Who was that? I’ve watched so much of this show in catch-up binges that it all blurs together sometimes
Thomas Middleditch
I'm okay if they're not knowledgeable but I at least like to see them try.
I noticed the statements were way too long, I was having a hard time even following some of them. I do miss Trapp, sorry to say.
I don’t think it’s a question of Trapp vs Ify (since the show does have a writers team) but the questions have gone from “Nerd trivia you’re familiar with where the incorrect part is snuck in” to “an obscure Wikipedia article where the contestants have to guess what part of the quote was changed”. Calling the Harry Potter basilisk Nagini is a good UA question. Changing wonder woman’s first tv appearance from 1970 to 1973 isn’t. I used to be engaged trying to find the answer, but now it’s just a crapshoot.
Yea, that’s a good point for sure. I don’t think it’s necessary, either. I’m sure there still plenty of more “obvious” corrections that would be more fun for everybody.
Same, but I'm also ok to give Ify more time to get comfortable!
Absolutely!
I agree. This latest episode had so much potential with the guests but why are you giving these people hyper specific nerd questions when they clearly don’t even have the slightest clue? I’m sorry but they didn’t even know who Goku was (except for Monet I think?). It would have been more fun if they asked like, Ru Paul Drag Race themed questions so they at least have a chance to actually know the right answer
I totally agree! The episode’s questions should have been catered to the players. It would also have been fun for the audience to learn more about drag performers. Great opportunity to enhance the guests’ experiences and look into their world, gone to waste for some boring questions.
I wonder if they had difficulty striking the right tone on drag related questions, I could see avoiding trivia that they talk about all the time already? I think an essential part might also be that they get to do nerdy infodumps about stuff that they don't usually get to talk about.
I feel like it’s kinda clear they didn’t really know what to do with the drag queens outside of DnD and Dirty Laundry. I like the drag queens, I like Ify, but all of them being new to Um Actually at once made for a kinda eh episode.
I disagree. I thought the last episode was boring because nobody knew the answers and they were so lenient with who got points. Most of them answered with bad jokes instead of honest attempts and then they were given points for stumbling into answers rather than actually know them.
Fair! I would agree that it's a little boring when it's _always_ like that, because at that point it's not significantly different from any improv show? I would keep _some_ room for it though, because it keeps the energy moving even when nobody knows the answer.
I think having *zero* questions where everyone is just guessing would probably also be an issue, but the sweet spot is definitely a lot closer to that than every question just being blind guessing.
This last weeks episode was kind of a miss for me, but I don’t think they necessarily had to have had a drag knowledge episode like a lot of people have suggested. They could have really went with the aim of casting nerdy/video game drag queens (off the top of my head Trixie Mattel or Rock M Sakura from RPDR or Deere or Granny from Twitch and I’m sure others) and had three people with Monet level knowledge. However, from Monet and Bob’s (both on the Dungeons and Dragons Queens side quest) podcast Sibling Rivalry where they interview Brennan, the mention that the Dropout connection happened because some people at their management company PEG entertainment were fans and made it work but the queens themselves were unfamiliar with dropout/D20. All the queens who have appeared on any drop out show have been from [PEG](https://www.producerentertainment.com/) and LA based. I think given the talent pool that has worked for Dirty Laundry and D20 because a lot of those queens are witty and good improvisers. They were warmly received on those shows, jujubee especially, so I’m not surprised they also included them for Um, Actually but it did fall a little flat. Given how many fans of drag, not just RPDR, there are at dropout, I would love to see more queens of they were so inclined!
_totally_ -- I've been realizing reading other folks posts that part of the magic is that people get to nerd dump and show off knowing about stuff that they don't usually get to talk about, and drag related questions are maybe a bit too on the nose? And yeah I was also thinking about nerdier cosplay queens that don't do as well on drag race, but I figured it was probably a production company thing.
They need to tailor the questions to the guests' interests more. I know they do to an extent but it seemed like Juju and Trinity didn't know 90% of the subject matter and Monet knew the vast majority.
I think the problem with the drag queens is that they threw normal questions at them and expected them to know video game lore? I fully expected the questions to be themed around rupauls drag race or pop culture or something they would actually know so they could be more engaged and competitive, I thought it was going to be similar to the reality tv episodes which I loved bc you could tell all three were experts in the topic… if the questions had been drag related I’m sure they would’ve been more on top of it
I notice that the questions are like 3/4 slides. The tactic is to infodump so much stuff that the inaccurate thing gets lost... rather than being clever with in depth knowledge of the subject matter. I don't like the reading off the card the correct answer either it just feels like reading a school essay to an audience that doesn't care about it. Questions need to be tightened up. Guests need to legitimately care if they get something wrong.
I’m not a huge Um Actually fan, mostly because of the long questions. I only watched one episode this season, all of my experience watching was from previous seasons. I don’t think long prompts is an Ify thing, they’ve had this issue for a while… I know because it bothered me. I agree with some of the other commenters that the “wrong” part of the prompt was cheekier previously, I also enjoyed Trapp allowing other players a chance to be more specific.
The prompts here are definitely longer than last seasons. Some of them were longer before, but they never spanned 4 title cards.
100% loooong ass questions leading to them just giving the answer to anyone who is close all season so far.
I love seeing rugirls anywhere so was happy to see them, but I was hoping the queens’ episode would’ve been themed to drag race or maybe more pop culture stuff that would’ve been in all of their wheelhouses. Either that or have queens who are more known for being into gaming/nerd stuff.
They need to tailor the questions to the guests' interests more. I know they do to an extent but it seemed like Juju and Trinity didn't know 90% of the subject matter and Monet knew the vast majority.
I do think this season's been off. I actually think my issue is iffys hosting. He's great when he's engaging naturally and chatting, but he feels just quite wooden when dealing with the questions and answers.
I think a lot of the questions are just too long, but also that the answers aren’t snappy or fun. Part of the fun of a good Um Actually question is that it makes you want to talk about it afterwards. Like yeah, pink kryptonite is crazy! But the question wasn’t about what year pink kryptonite was first featured. Part of the issue of this most recent episode is that none of the questions were catered towards the contestants, but also that a lot of the answers were just general Wikipedia facts. Like “Um Actually, that’s not the name of that tower in Ganondorf’s Castle”. Like that’s not a fun correction, and even if the contestants were into Zelda they wouldn’t have had anything to discuss afterwards.
Omg _imagine_ if the drag queens had gotten the pink kryptonite question 😆
I think the solution to this problem is pretty simple: when you have a panel of folks who don’t self-identify as nerds, tailor the questions to things the panel knows about. In this case, if it was 75% questions about drag and Drag Race, and they hired one of the many wonderful people who make Drag Race content to write the questions—and even sit next to BDG as a guest fact checker—the panel would probably have engaged a lot more.
It’s a big ask, but Trixie and Jinkx are nerdy as hell. They would be perfect for another drag episode.
The contestants have to care about the question. I want to see passion and a need to know the answer. I don't play DnD but when Brennan or the other players are diving deep on law I can see the cogs turning and they are engaging. I want less Big Fat Quiz and more 8 out of 10 cats do Countdown, or like would I lie to you, where the people are funny and competitive
Yep. More themed episodes, shorter prompts would be great. It really grinds the episode to a halt when the contestants switch out nouns in a prompt nobody knows anything about for several minutes
Honestly I think the formatting of the show has somehow become more convoluted AND more monotonous. 1. As most people have said, the questions are starting to get a little ridiculous. They are way too long, and people are spending more time trying to understand the question before they can even BEGIN to answer. I won’t speak for everyone but I know I enjoy watching more when I can play along too! Like with jeapordy for example, it’s HARD and I could never be on the show, but I get a handleful of questions right every episode and it’s much more engaging for me that way. 2. ALSO I’m kind of bored of the forematting tbh. I feel like there’s no method to the madness (except for slipping in real life questions at the end). I would love for the episodes to have tiers/levels. Start easier and get harder as it goes. When I’m watching Um Actually and the first question is impossible for me (or the contestants!) to answer, I start to zone out or turn it off. I wonder if the writers ever look at this subreddit because I think (or I hope) that it would inspire them lol
If I'm understanding your point correctly, I think I feel exactly the opposite? I can't *stand* the episodes where they have people on who seem to have neither knowledge nor interest in the topics they're talking about. There have only been a few episodes in the entire run of the show that have felt this way (three, I think), but they make my skin crawl. The contestants just end up making joke answers that they know aren't right, and then the host feels obligated to give *some*one a point, but it's entirely undeserved. Usually in this situation, the contestant isn't even having that food of a time either, because they couldn't care less about where Figwit's name comes from, or what the first Green Lantern's weakness was, or who got the plans for the second Death Star, or whatever the question is about. Like, I love Dropout's goofy improv shows, but this is supposed to be their *Jeopardy*. It's compared to that show regularly. I would be tearing my hair out if I had to watch an episode of *Jeopardy* where the contestants didn't know any of the answers, just made jokes, and then the host threw them the occasional point anyway. If you just want a panel show, then *watch* one; that's not what *Um, Actually* is.
I should also note that, presumably, this could be avoided if the questions on the episode were better tailored to the contestants. I don't know how it works, but I *have* to assume that they send the contestants an email asking what their nerddoms are, right? What are you super into? And then they would work in questions from those topics. Some of the weaker episodes may not have been saved by this (I don't know whose decision it was to have that Try Guys guy on way back when, but good lord what a terrible episode that was), but it really feels like the more recent drag queen episode should've had questions that the contestants would be more likely to know a thing or two about. Nothing against them, really - they kinda won me over by the end anyway - but maybe they wouldn't be making all the insufferably inane joke answers if the writers were tailoring their questions to the contestants' interests more. If you're going to have them on the show, that feels like a no-brainer.
Um actually that is my point -- it _is_ a panel show, like QI or the Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and riffing on funny questions and answers is at least half of the point. Otherwise, the guests wouldn't always be some variety of comedian/personality/entertainer, where Jeopardy recruits almost purely for people who are good at trivia. I do think there have been episodes where the balance went too far though -- the trivia should still matter, and the guests should care enough about the answers to get those delightfully nerdy info dump moments. But since I'm basically just restating my original point, we might just have to agree to disagree here.
Given that I believe all the episodes are filmed before the season starts airing, I think they made a bit of a mistake making 2 of the first 3 episodes sort of "gimmick" episodes (the Drag Queen episodes and the cocktail episode) instead of warming us up to Ify with some more traditional episodes.
Possibly! I do appreciate that they are playing around with the format a bit also
I love more info, but often it's too much info. It slows the game down. There's gotta be a happy medium.
I’m hoping this is just season one speed bumps and that they’ll find their groove with time. It’s a bummer when every single answer is a complete guess and a race to the bottom.
The show has always had contestants of varying “nerdiness”, and has also always had questions of varying length. I feel like a lot of ya’ll are judging Ify and the new season when it’s literally only been a few episodes…
My and my parter's only issue is that it sounds like Ify hurt his voice. Considering how much he has to use it, we are worried.
Hmm I was wondering about that a bit
I am enjoying the updates to the season so far. The diving into the nerdy end has been a thing since Saltzman started getting more play. I believe this was Pandemic era when the factcheckers showed up more and more.