History Series / TheyThinkItsAllOver

*** In a Series 3 episode with Nick Owen and Phill Jupitus in which David's team had to explain how a police dog named Ginger had prevented Torquay United's Jim [=McNicol=] from playing.[[note]] Ginger bit [=McNicol=] during Torquay's final match of the 1986-87 season against Crewe Alexandra, from which they needed a point to avoid being relegated to the Conference; the time added on for the incident was enough for them to score an equaliser, leading Lincoln City to be relegated instead.[[/note]] David suggested Ginger had given [=McNicol=] fleas, and looked a bit sheepish as he explained that this was what is known in the business as a "flea transfer". An unimpressed Nick Hancock said there would be sighs of relief nationwide when ''Series/OhDoctorBeeching'' took over their time slot the following week.

** In a Series 19 episode with Martin Offiah and Darren Gough, Boris' team's guest for "Claim to Fame" was "Tommy from Motherwell".[[note]] Tommy Gemmell, retired Celtic and Scotland left back whose claims to fame included scoring the first of Celtic's goals in their 2-1 European Cup final triumph against Inter Milan in 1967.[[/note]] After Boris, Jonathan, and Martin established that Tommy's sport involved a round ball, Jonathan asked a very long-winded question revolving around how much more lucrative professional football was in 2005 than it was when Tommy was an active player thanks to proportionally higher wages and more sponsorship deals, eventually leading a fed up Lee Mack to double {{Facepalm}} while groaning, "Oh, ''shut the [[[SoundEffectBleep bleep]]] up!''"

** Few sporting figures came under fire as often as David Gower and Gary Lineker themselves. Gower would be mocked for his posh background and unfortunate tendency to get bowled or caught or run out at inconvenient moments (often exaggerated to imply that he was regularly out for a duck[[note]] Though at least one episode did acknowledge that he was second only to Graham Gooch in his career total number of Test runs scored for England; he has since fallen to fourth behind Alistair Cook, Gooch, and Alec Stewart. He also holds the record for consecutive innings in Test cricket without a duck, with 119 between August 1982 and December 1990; the West Indies' Richie Richardson is second with 96.[[/note]]), while Lineker would be teased for his "good guy" image and his prolific goalscoring frequently being the result of being just in front of goal after a midfielder had done all the hard work getting the ball into the box.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: In the "Excuses" round of a Series 19 episode with Helen Chamberlain and Frankie Boyle, Boris' team were asked why Andy Murray had been sick during his first round match at the 2005 US Open... accompanied by a photo of Murray in the middle of throwing up.

The TV series was initially presented by comedian and ''Series/Room101'' presenter Nick Hancock, and featured two teams of three panellists captained by former England cricketer David Gower (who made several appearances on the radio version) and former England footballer Gary Lineker, with regular spots taken by comedians Lee Hurst on Gower's team and Rory [=McGrath=] on Lineker's. The third members of each team were generally either athletes, commentators, or comedians, although occasionally politicians (such as Creator/AlastairCampbell or Jeffrey Archer) or broadcasters in other areas (such as [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] or [[Series/TopGear Richard Hammond]]) would appear. Hurst left the series in 1998 to concentrate on running his comedy club in Bethnal Green, and after two series of rotating guest comedians, his place was permanently taken by presenter Jonathan Ross.

Gower and Lineker both left after fifteen series in May 2003 to focus on their careers as commentators/pundits, and were replaced by cricketer Phil Tufnell and goalkeeper David Seaman. Seaman only stayed for two series before being replaced by his former Arsenal teammate Ian Wright, while Tufnell left after another series and was replaced by German tennis star Boris Becker. Hancock was replaced as presenter by Creator/LeeMack at the same time Tufnell left, and finally Ross left after another series and was replaced for two specials by comedian Sean Lock. This frantic revolving door of personnel and the gradual shift in tone of ''Series/AQuestionOfSport'' (of which ''They Think It's All Over'' was conceived as a more irreverent version) from serious game show to light-hearted comedy contributed to the series' cancellation in 2006.

The TV series was initially presented by Nick Hancock, and featured two teams of three panellists captained by former England cricketer David Gower (who made several appearances on the radio version) and former England footballer Gary Lineker, with regular spots taken by comedians Lee Hurst on Gower's team and Rory [=McGrath=] on Lineker's. The third members of each team were generally either athletes, commentators, or comedians, although occasionally politicians (such as Creator/AlastairCampbell or Jeffrey Archer) or broadcasters in other areas (such as [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire Chris Tarrant]] or [[Series/TopGear Richard Hammond]]) would appear. Hurst left the series in 1998 to concentrate on running his comedy club in Bethnal Green, and after two series of rotating guest comedians, his place was permanently taken by presenter Jonathan Ross.

** In the Series 10 opener with guest captain Steve Davis (replacing David), Matthew Pinsent, and Arthur Smith, Nick Hancock opened the episode by announcing that Creator/TheBBC had upheld a complaint about Rory [=McGrath=]'s mockery of David and Victoria Beckham by a viewer, who wrote, "He brings out the worst in the English football supporter with his yobbish humour. Not forgetting that he's a Scottish tub of lard." Rory's reaction? "''Irish'' tub of lard!"

* JustAStupidAccent: In the Series 17 opener with Barry [=McGuigan=] and Thomas Castaignède, Jonathan Ross welcomed Thomas to the show in English, but affecting a bad French accent, leading Nick Hancock to say he had learnt all his French from ''Series/AlloAllo'' and Rory [=McGrath=], who actually did speak French, to suggest to Thomas that Jonathan was an "enculé" ([[BilingualBonus an obscenity the English translation of which would be something like "arsefucker"]], the root being the French word "cul", meaning "arse").

** The more frequent guest captains were also held up to ridicule. Steve Davis made ten appearances on the series as a replacement captain (usually for David Gower) and was frequently teased for his perceived dullness and his poor performances in snooker tournaments from 1990 onwards, while Matthew Pinsent made two appearances (both times opposite Steve Davis) and was mocked for his posh background and for, as far as the panel were concerned, letting "''[[KnightFever Sir]]'' Steve Redgrave" do all the hard work when they won gold at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics together.

* SideBet: In a Series 3 episode with Chris Waddle and Jo Brand, the "Celebrations" round was de-railed by side bets among Gary's team members. When Nick Hancock tried to curb Jo's use of sexual terms, as his parents were in the audience, she went down a list of words to gauge their acceptability: "poo", "bum", and [[RuleOfThree "Mariella Frostrup"]]. When the audience laughed at the last of these, Jo revealed that she had bet Gary £10 that she could get a laugh just by mentioning Frostrup's name, and collected her money. After a second digression about whether or not Jo shaved her legs led to her allowing Gary to feel them, she asked if he had been sexually excited by the experience, and he said he had. As he had bet her £60 that he would claim to "have a hard-on" at some point during the episode, it was then his turn to collect.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In a Series 15 episode with guest captain Steve Davis (replacing David), Steve Rider, and Ronnie O'Sullivan, "Sporting Bluff" featured footage of Davis being interviewed by Janet Street-Porter in 1979. Nick Hancock lampshaded the fact that during the clip, Davis was rather obsessively running his hand up and down his snooker cue while talking to Street-Porter, leading to the inevitable question from the other panellists of whether it was the first conversation he'd had with a real woman.

** In a Series 19 episode with Martin Offiah and Darren Gough, Boris' team's guest for "Claim to Fame" was "Tommy from Motherwell".[[note]] Tommy Gemmell, retired Celtic and Scotland left back whose claims to fame included scoring the first of Celtic's goals in their 2-1 European Cup final triumph against Inter Milan in 1967.[[/note]] After Boris, Jonathan, and Martin established that Tommy's sport involved a round ball, Jonathan asked a very long-winded question revolving around how much more lucrative professional football was in 2005 than it was when Tommy was an active player thanks to proportionally higher wages and more sponsorship deals, eventually leading a fed up Lee Mack to double {{Facepalm}} while groaning, "Oh, ''shut the ([[SoundEffectBleep bleep]]) up!''"

* TokenMinority: Parodied in the 1999 Christmas special, in which David and Jonathan's teammate was Nick Hancock's former Cambridge Footlights castmate David Baddiel, who is Jewish and {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d the bizarre logic behind inviting him onto a ChristmasEpisode. In "Sing When You're Winning", after seeing a group of Nottingham Forest fans sing, "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed / The little lord Jesus looked up and He said...", Baddiel suggested the next line was "I'm not the Messiah, you know!"[[note]] The correct answer was half a dozen or so repetitions of "We hate Derby", followed by "We are the Derby haters! Sheep, sheep, sheep shaggers!"[[/note]]

*** Gary and Rory's career of dishonesty began in a Series 1 episode with Ally [=McCoist=] and Hugh Dennis, in which they poked holes in their blindfolds with needles to help them identify their "Feel the Sportsman Guest", snooker player Willie Thorne. In the 1995 ChristmasEpisode, Nick Hancock announced that, as a result, even though Gary's team had won three episodes while David's team had won two and one had finished as a draw, victory for the series was retroactively awarded to David's team.

** In the Series 2 opener with Neil Morrissey and Ian Wright, David Gower and Lee Hurst's "Feel the Sportsman" guest was infamous footballing hard man Vinnie Jones. When told their guest was Welsh "in the same way that Prince Charles is Welsh", Lee guessed that his name was Jones, and although they did not successfully guess that it was specifically ''Vinnie'' Jones, Lee and Neil appealed to the audience to cheer if they thought David's team should get points. The audience cheered... and an unimpressed Nick Hancock replied, "What the ''[bleep''[='=]s it got to do with you!?"

** In the Series 2 opener with Neil Morrissey and Ian Wright, David Gower and Lee Hurst's "Feel the Sportsman" guest was infamous footballing hard man Vinnie Jones. When told their guest was Welsh (although by heritage, not by birth), Lee guessed that his name was Jones, and although they did not successfully guess that it was specifically ''Vinnie'' Jones, Lee and Neil appealed to the audience to cheer if they thought David's team should get points. The audience cheered... and an unimpressed Nick Hancock replied, "What's it got to do with you!?"

** In each episode of Series 1, Nick Hancock included brief introductions of David Gower and Gary Lineker, then of Lee Hurst and Rory [=McGrath=], as well as of both guest panellists. By Series 2, he had scaled back to just introducing the guests, as the regulars had become established.

** A Series 1 episode with Hugh Dennis and Ally [=McCoist=] finished level after "The Name Game" and was declared a draw. Starting with Series 2, any episode that finished level after "The Name Game" would go to a SuddenDeath round.

*** Gary and Rory's career of dishonesty began in Series 1. During "Feel the Sportsman" in the 1995 Christmas special, they were revealed to have poked holes in their blindfolds with needles, as a result of which, even though Gary's team had won three episodes while David's team had won two and one had finished as a draw, victory for the series was retroactively awarded to David's team.

* GagDub: The "Half-time" round in Series 1 and 2 amounted to this, as the teams would talk over sporting footage with the soundtrack removed and provide new commentary. For example, in a Series 1 episode with John Motson and Alistair [=McGowan=], the producers took advantage of [=McGowan=]'s talent for impressions to have him provide a commentary track as both Alan Hansen and Trevor Brooking for the 1994 low-speed chase of O.J. Simpson's Ford Bronco through the streets of Los Angeles, with "Alan Hansen" criticising the LAPD for using a "flat back four" (four police cruisers driving exactly side-by-side).

** In the first two series, there was a "half-time" round in which the teams were tasked with providing a GagDub for a piece of sporting footage, such as David, Lee, and Steve Cram pretending that the reason John [=McEnroe=] threw a tantrum at Wimbledon was because the pizza he had ordered for lunch hadn't arrived, or Gary, Rory, and [[Series/RedDwarf Craig Charles]] pretending that a touchline fracas at the Republic of Ireland's 1994 FIFA World Cup match against Mexico involved an argument over the players not actually being Irish (with Charles voicing the Liverpool-born John Aldridge).[[note]] A poke at the fact that most of the Jack Charlton-era Republic of Ireland internationals were not born there, but qualified to play for the country through having at least one Irish grandparent.[[/note]]

*** Gary and Rory's career of dishonesty began in Series 1. During "Feel the Sportsman" in the 1995 Christmas special, they were revealed to have poked holes in their blindfolds with needles, as a result of which, even though Gary's team had won four episodes while David's team had won three and one had finished as a draw, victory for the series was retroactively awarded to David's team.

*** Gary and Rory's career of dishonesty began in Series 1. During "Feel the Sportsman" in the 1995 Christmas special, they were revealed to have poked holes in their blindfolds with needles, as a result of which, even though Gary's team had won four episodes while David's team had won two and one had finished as a draw, victory for the series was awarded to David's team.

* GratuitousGerman: For Boris Becker's debut as team captain in the Series 19 opener, Rory decided to welcome him by reciting the first line of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' in German: "Sein oder nicht sein, das ist die Frage." To which Boris responded, "Jawol."

* InsultToRocks: In the Series 11 finale with Allan Border and Sean Hughes, Nick Hancock recalled during "Handbags" that Vinnie Jones had once insulted Gary Lineker by claiming that he had as much backbone as a jellyfish. He added that Vinnie had then been sued by a group of jellyfish.

--->'''Nick Hancock:''' His name's ''Gary''. ''(audience laughter and applause as Gary looks relieved)'' That's- that's showbiz!

-->'''Nick Hancock:''' In case there are any sound problems, don't interfere with your set, it'll be Kriss laughing. ''(Kriss laughs)''

-->'''Nick:''' Up until a few years ago, it was thought that pigs couldn't sweat. That was until they saw Rory at the sty door with his overalls round his ankles. ''(audience laughter)'' Every pig grunt means a specific thing. ''(grunt)'' means "Bring food." ''(longer grunt)'' means "Rain approaching." And ''(squeal)'' means "Rory's at the sty door with his overalls round his ankles." ''(more audience laughter)'' A pig... a pig can run a mile in seven minutes. Unfortunately, Rory can run a mile in six minutes... [[RuleOfThree with his overalls round his ankles.]]

-->'''Gary Lineker:''' If you have to explain a joke, it's never a good one. ''(audience "ooh"s)''\\
'''Nick Hancock:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Thank you, Creator/BobMonkhouse!

-->''(from a "Sporting Bluff" round about how then-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri learned English)''\\
'''Alec Stewart:''' ''(reading card)'' Mr. Ranieri... well, he learned his English from watching ''Series/EastEnders''.\\
'''David Gower:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Ranieri learned English from Chelsea fans.\\
'''Jonathan Ross:''' ''(reading card)'' Claudio Waniewi learned English... ''(gets cut off by laughter from audience and Nick Hancock; looks around in mock confusion)'' Claudio Waniewi learned... ''(gets cut off again by more laughter)''\\

''({{Beat}})''\\
'''Gary Lineker:''' ... finish each other's sentences. ''(muted audience laughter)''\\

-->'''Gary Lineker:''' [[BestialityIsDepraved That's one of Rory's dreams, wasn't it?]] ''Cow''denbeath versus ''Udders''field! ''(audience cheers)''\\
'''Nick Hancock:''' It's Frisian out there! ''(mix of laughter and groans)'' I'm giving an example of the sort of stuff he would do, obviously I wouldn't ''choose'' to do that joke.\\

'''Nick:''' Well, at least I have the bottle! ''(thumps desk)'' That's enough!\\

'''Jonathan:''' You're joking, but that clip frightened the life out of me! That was like a frightening vision of the future where cows rule the world! Playing football with a giant ball made out of human skin! And watch a lovely light-hearted TV sports quiz like this one where everyone is a cow! Apart from me, because even in that world I could still get the cow ladies to lactate lovingly. ''(licks lips suggestively, then winks)''\\

--->'''Rory [=McGrath=]:''' The only question I'd quite like to ask you while there's a lull in the conversation, Geoffrey, is: did you ever leave a really expensive hat in the commentary box one day, and when you were out, did somebody else put it on the floor and jump up and down on it and said, "That bloody, pompous, arrogant, bigoted, Yorkshire wanker!" ''(Geoffrey shakes his head)'' And when you came back, you put it on, and walked out without realising it.\\

-->'''Jonathan Ross:''' I got blood comin' out me ''(bleep)''ing thumb, that's what I got!

** In a Series 7 episode with Jo Brand, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Phil Tufnell, David and Jo's "Feel the Sportsman" guest was former New Zealand cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee, who was wearing an ermine robe and carrying a cricket bat, leading David to think their guest was a member of the House of Lords. When he ran out of time and Nick Hancock told him to remove his blindfold, he saw Sir Richard and immediately said, "You're not a ''(bleep)''ing lord!" An amused Nick suggested that this must have been the suggested greeting for a knight of the realm according to Debrett's guides to social etiquette.

** In a Series 13 episode with guest captain Linford Christie (replacing Gary), Ulrika Jonsson, and Phil Tufnell, Rory [=McGrath=] mused on the fact that Linford's nickname was "the Horse" while Phil's nickname was "the Cat", then asked Ulrika if she had a nickname. Ulrika, not sure she liked where Rory was going with the idea, answered, "''(bleep)'' off!"

* ShoutOut: The series' title is a reference to Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary from the BBC broadcast of the final seconds of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup victory, which is played over the end of the opening titles: "And here comes Hurst! He's got- some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! ''(Hurst fires the ball into the back of the net)'' It is now!"[[note]] Wolstenholme was reportedly not flattered by the reference, finding the programme loutish, although he did accept payment to re-record his commentary, as the original audio was unusable.[[/note]] Nick Hancock regularly quoted the commentary in his closing spiel: "My name's Nick Hancock, they think it's all over, it is now."

--->''(after seeing footage of Michael Owen scoring a goal against Newcastle United and then rubbing his hands in celebration)''[[note]] A tribute to a friend of Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher's whom Owen met in a pub and who wouldn't stop rubbing his hands with delight at the experience of meeting Owen.[[/note]]\\

'''Lee:''' Oh, right. Is that why your bollocks look so big? ''(Gary makes "Sh! That's supposed to be a secret!" gesture)''\\
'''Nick Hancock:''' That's why you've never hit the ball with it, presumably. ''(audience laughter, which suddenly gets louder, while Gary headdesks)'' His ''head'', not his bollocks!

--->'''Jonathan Ross:''' Is that the sweet dream that Jonathan King has every night?[[note]] The pop singer had been convicted of several counts of indecent assault against underage boys a few months before this episode was recorded.[[/note]] ''(audience groans)'' Oh, ''(bleep)'' off, then! ''(groans change to laughter)'' What d'you expect? ''Question of Sport''[='=]s next door!

--->'''Rory [=McGrath=]:''' He's supposed to be the fastest swimmer in the world, I've seen Gary swim faster than that. Michael Barrymore's pool party, wasn't it?[[note]] The TV presenter had fallen from grace precipitously after a 31-year-old man named Stuart Lubbock was found dead in his swimming pool after a party the year before this episode was recorded; a post mortem revealed drugs in his system and evidence of sexual assault.[[/note]] ''(audience groans while Gary {{Facepalm}}s and Rory mouths "What!?" while shrugging in mock innocence; the groans slowly change to applause)''\\

'''David:''' I'm sure he did, but... ''(his next few words are obscured by audience laughter)''\\
'''Lee Hurst:''' Oh, NO! ''(Frankie points accusingly at him and pretends to hit him)'' I wasn't saying anything! I can't believe he got you!\\

'''Nick Hancock:''' ''(hammily)'' What's a Grecian urn? ''(rolls eyes)''\\

'''Nick:''' Thank you very much. ''({{Facepalm}}s)'' That was always gonna come out, wasn't it.\\

--->'''Nick Hancock:''' Being a professional footballer, Thierry Henry is obviously mates with pop star Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of Texas. The message was to congratulate her on the birth of her daughter, full name Misty Kyd Heath. David Seaman did a similar tribute in the World Cup to a child called Misty Cross. ''(grimaces, then {{Facepalm}}s)''\\