Why The Impractical Jokers Can Never Shave Q's Beard As Punishment
After 10-and-counting seasons on the air, several spin-off series, and a feature film, you would think that the stars of "Impractical Jokers" have experienced the gamut of pranks and punishments. That the three pranksters — formerly four, following the departure of Joe Gatto in 2022 — can still keep things fresh is a testament to the show's popularity, as well as their unwavering commitment to making each other miserable.
The "Impractical Jokers" punishments range from humiliating to traumatizing. For Brian "Q" Quinn, the tattoo punishment was the scariest, given its permanence. While rolling around in a pile of kittens might seem like a dream come true, for the cat-phobic Sal Vulcano, it was torture.
With "Impractical Jokers" being a linchpin of the TruTV lineup, the network is pretty lenient when it comes to the guys' hilarious brand of sadism. One punishment that's off the table, however, is shaving Q's beard.
Restyling Q would result in continuity errors
The "Impractical Jokers" stars have been covered in tarantulas and forced to skydive, but they draw the line at switching up their facial hair. According to Brian "Q" Quinn, it would result in continuity errors. "That will never happen, and I'll tell you why," he explained in an After Party Web Chat. "It's called continuity. We don't air the episodes in order when we shoot them. Sometimes something we shoot in the summer will air in the winter, or something we shot after that will air before it. It's a whole TV scheduling thing that I don't understand."
Indeed, scheduling is key to pulling off major punishments. When Murr married Sal's sister, they had to keep the plan under wraps for months. That foresight extends to something as basic as the jokers' appearance. "Basically, we have to decide on a look for the season before the season starts," Q continued. "Otherwise you would have to maintain that look for most of the season. Or else you'd get a lot of continuity errors."
One savvy fan noticed that those continuity errors crop up in earlier seasons. "In earlier seasons, in certain episodes, you'd have Q with longer hair like he's got here, and then in the next challenge on the same episode, he'd have much shorter hair," commented YouTuber @GLITZandGLOOM. "And it's like whaaaa?!" Clearly the jokers learned from their mistakes.