[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/argumental_2009a_6731.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Red versus blue]]

->''Hello, I'm John Sergeant, and welcome to'' Argumental, ''the show where the hottest names in comedy debate the biggest issues facing mankind. Is air travel viable? Do we need a DNA database? [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And can I claim for "Busty Babes 12" on my expenses]]?"''
-->-- John Sergeant

''Argumental'' (2008-12) is a British [[PanelGame Panel Show]]. The show features two teams each of a permanent captain and a guest [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin arguing]] about current events, celebrities, culture, and anything else the host throws at them.

The show was hosted for three series by noted journalist and [[Series/StrictlyComeDancing dance legend]] Creator/JohnSergeant, with Creator/MarcusBrigstocke as the red team captain and Creator/RufusHound as the blue team captain. The fourth series was a short-lived ReTool of the show with Creator/SeanLock is the host, with captains Creator/SeannWalsh and Creator/RobertWebb.

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!!This show contains examples of:
* AudienceParticipation: They vote on the winners of each round, and are occasionally dragged individually or ''en masse'' into the argument by the panelists.
* BerserkButton: Rufus is not a fan of themed rounds of Slideshow. He once got several pictures of boats in a row, swore at the producers, and ran into the audience to continue his argument by [[ItMakesSenseInContext flirting with an audience member]].
* BriefAccentImitation: Mostly Marcus in his arguments: everything from French to American to UpperClassTwit.
* ButtMonkey: All of them, for each other.
* CloudcuckooLander: In his guest days, Sean Lock embodied this trope.
** He stated that the energy crisis can be solved with zoo animals running in giant hamster wheels.
** Part of his argument that December is better than July hinged on the fact that he can keep beer cold in his garden in December, whereas it would be hot in July. This led to him informing everyone that he keeps his beer in his garden [[InsaneTrollLogic because his fridge is full of blood plasma for children's operations]].
* DeadpanSnarker: How John Sergeant says half his autocue lines with a straight face is truly a miracle.
* DepthDeception: Rufus asserted that Creator/TomCruise is actually eleven feet tall and only appears short because he's such a good actor. He then used the Cruise cardboard cutout to demonstrate.
* DerailedForDetails: In an argument about tattoos and piercings, Marcus tried to tell a story about a tattooed man he once knew and made the mistake of saying he met the guy when he worked on an oil rig. Rufus, naturally, latched onto the unlikely detail about Marcus's former job.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Occasionally the panelists end up losing the support of the audience mid-argument, usually with a bad joke, and just keep making it worse, usually by calling the audience twats.
* HurricaneOfPuns: Often a panelist's only way out during the Slideshow round.
-->''[shown a photo of a lion]''
-->'''Marcus Brigstocke:''' Now, I'd be ''lion'' if I said that hell was better than heaven. But let me tell you, folks, it's a sense of ''pride'' that I stand here, with my ''mane'' argument...
* ImStandingRightHere: When Robert Webb is disproving that "Everybody looks awesome with a piercing", he surmises that the guest that's brought in has a FreudianExcuse for having gotten so many.
-->'''Webb''': I'm not going to ask "Prince Albert" what happened to him [[FreudianExcuse during his childhood]] that made him want to do... this thing that he's doing, because I've got a feeling that the answer might be a little bit... "[[{{Squick}} eeugh]]". A bit gritty. A little bit "[[OscarBait BAFTA-winningly hard-hitting]]."\\
'''Jimmy Carr''': Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-''ha''! He's standing right there!
** During Rufus Hound's argument against "bodybuilders look fabulous", he {{lampshade}}s this. Even better is that said bodybuilder was struggling valiantly to keep from laughing [[https://youtu.be/WSxojekG_PQ throughout the bit]].
--->'''Hound''': Now - you might think that I'm being rude, that I'm hurting his feelings, but don't worry! [[ItIsDehumanizing It doesn't understand me]]!
* MaleFrontalNudity: Rufus showed ''everything'' to the crowd in one second-series argument about naturism.
-->'''Frankie Boyle:''' Take hold of your dignity!
-->'''Rufus Hound:''' How dare you, I'm sat here in a tie!
* PartialNudity:
** To prove that women are more vain than men, Marcus tried to make his case by pulling his trousers down and sticking his finger up his nose. [[spoiler:It worked.]]
** Marcus also once unbuttoned most of his shirt to demonstrate to AndyParsons that, in fact, he [[CarpetofVirility does not lack the ability to grow body hair]].
** And there was Kieran the stripper in a fourth-series episode. Not only that, but he motivated JackWhitehall to drop trou as well.
** Rufus removed his shirt on one occasion to show his tattoos to everyone.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: The basis of some arguments, particularly ones the panelists are loath to support literally, such as the idea that bankers are doing a great job. Marcus argued that the actual day-to-day job of going to work, losing millions of pounds of other people's money, and then getting massive raises funded by other people's money, is in fact a great job, and bankers are doing that job.
** Also sometimes the basis for the audience's votes.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: John Sergeant, whose autocue remarks are often laced with double entendres and written to make him sound like a sexagenarian party animal with loose morals.
* ShowStopper: Marcus and Rufus performed a spontaneous musical version of ''Argumental'' during an argument about whether or not musicals are rubbish.
* TakeThat: Almost more the show's premise than arguing is. Politicians and celebrities tend to bear most of the load, with the other panelists and various cultural groups picking up the slack.
* TokenEvilTeamMate: Creator/FrankieBoyle, no matter what team he's on.
* UsefulNotes/ATouchOfClassEthnicityAndReligion: Often what the first round is based on, but also makes up 90% of Rufus's jokes about Marcus.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Marcus and Rufus, in ''spades''.