Tomb
TV’s funniest and most educational quiz show
It is perhaps a sign of the times that I have never seen my current favourite television show as a conventional TV broadcast but that’s also because it’s impossible. QI (Quite Interesting) hasn’t been shown on North American television and might never be. Thank goodness for YouTube.
QI is part of a long-standing tradition of British quiz shows that offer no prizes. The panel is made up of witty celebrities who spend more time bantering and cracking wise than answering the questions and nobody seems too concerned about how the points add up in the end. What makes QI unique is the fact that the questions are so difficult that nobody actually expects the panel to get them right at all. Instead points are awarded to players who give the most interesting answers right or wrong — hence the title. The show is also dedicated to eradicating widely held misconceptions and so players lose points for giving “obvious but wrong” answers (such as “Thomas Edison invented the light bulb”) while bells and sirens blast a humiliating AWOOOGA at the crestfallen panelist.
This must all sound rather dry but since the panel is usually made up of standup comedians and the host is none other than the witty and urbane Stephen Fry the show is one of the funniest things on television. The scoring system encourages the panelists to go off on tangents with the hilarious result that things hardly ever stay on topic. Instead of a question leading to a simple right or wrong answer viewers are treated to several minutes of surreal debate insults celebrity impressions physical comedy and panelists nearly falling out of their seats laughing.
The “quite interesting” facts explored by the show are frequently startling. Did you know for example that babies don’t have kneecaps? Or that kangaroos have three vaginas and two wombs? Or that the Rolls Royce company tests the durability of its aircraft engines by shooting chickens at them from a cannon? No wonder so many of the revealed answers cause the panel to shout “What?!” before drifting into five minutes of funny observations and wisecracks.
The panel changes every week with only actor-comedian Alan Davies appearing in every show as QI’s official permanent panelist and insult monkey. Davies intentionally plays dumb usually coming in dead last as he’s often the one to give the obvious-but-wrong answer throwing himself on the grenade of ignorance for the good of the show. His cheerful demeanour and skill at physical comedy make him a delightful presence and even though his faux “ignorance” is roundly mocked viewers rarely feel sorry for him because he’s obviously enjoying himself. Other semi-regular panelists include an array of funny Brits who aren’t very well-known in Canada but should be: Dara O’Briain David Mitchell Bill Bailey Phill Jupitus and many others. Occasionally we’ll see a familiar face such as American comedian Rich Hall Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson or Withnail himself Richard E. Grant. Once you start watching QI regularly you’ll likely start to squeak with glee when you see your favourite panelists get introduced.
It might take awhile to get used to the wacky rhythms of the show but it’s extremely addictive once the taste has been acquired. Currently in its seventh season the show is phenomenally successful in its native England and a cult phenomenon elsewhere thanks to the Internet. The first three seasons are on DVD but only as Region 2 releases. Sadly various copyright issues around the slideshow images projected behind the panelists are keeping the series from being broadcast in North America and these issues are likely to make the show unavailable here.
