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Panel game



 
 
A panel game is a game show
Game show

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrity, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems for money and/or prizes....
, particularly popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, in which a panel of celebrities compete — either in teams or individually. It is usually chaired by another celebrity. The genre has a lengthy history on both radio and television. Unlike most game shows, the panels will often have the same members (panelist
Panelist

A panelist is a member of a panel. The role a panelist plays depends upon the duties of the panel.A panelist can be a member of a committee or in legal arenas, a jury....
s) for every show. This can lead to the development of in-joke
In-joke

An in-joke is a joke whose humor is clear only to those people who are "inside" a social group or occupation; an esoteric joke. They may be colloquially referred to as "You had to be there" moments, as in "You had to have been there when it happened to think it's funny"....
s and running gag
Running gag

A running gag is a literary device which often takes the form of an amusing joke or a Comedy reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s.

Some games such as Just a Minute
Just a Minute

Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game which has been broadcast since 22 December 1967 and is Master of Ceremonies by Nicholas Parsons....
 are humorous, others such as Face the Music
Face The Music (TV series)

Face the Music was a BBC television series about classical music. It began in 1966 and continued until 1979, with revivals in 1983-4 and 2007....
 are more serious.






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Encyclopedia


A panel game is a game show
Game show

A game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrity, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems for money and/or prizes....
, particularly popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, in which a panel of celebrities compete — either in teams or individually. It is usually chaired by another celebrity. The genre has a lengthy history on both radio and television. Unlike most game shows, the panels will often have the same members (panelist
Panelist

A panelist is a member of a panel. The role a panelist plays depends upon the duties of the panel.A panelist can be a member of a committee or in legal arenas, a jury....
s) for every show. This can lead to the development of in-joke
In-joke

An in-joke is a joke whose humor is clear only to those people who are "inside" a social group or occupation; an esoteric joke. They may be colloquially referred to as "You had to be there" moments, as in "You had to have been there when it happened to think it's funny"....
s and running gag
Running gag

A running gag is a literary device which often takes the form of an amusing joke or a Comedy reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s.

Some games such as Just a Minute
Just a Minute

Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game which has been broadcast since 22 December 1967 and is Master of Ceremonies by Nicholas Parsons....
 are humorous, others such as Face the Music
Face The Music (TV series)

Face the Music was a BBC television series about classical music. It began in 1966 and continued until 1979, with revivals in 1983-4 and 2007....
 are more serious. It is often the case in panel shows that entertainment proves to be more important than points.

Most panel games often have a theme. Some are satirical
Satire

Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre; although, in practice, it is also found in the graphic arts and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improv...
 such as Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You

Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990....
 or The News Quiz
The News Quiz

The News Quiz is a topical comedy quiz broadcast on United Kingdom radio BBC Radio 4....
. 8 Out of 10 Cats
8 Out of 10 Cats

8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organisations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by company Harris Interactive....
 is based on statistics
Statistic

A statistic is the result of applying a function to a Data set.More formally, statistical theory defines a statistic as a function of a sample where the function itself is independent of the sample's distribution: the term is used both for the function and for the value of the function on a given sample....
. Quote... Unquote
Quote... Unquote

Quote... Unquote is a panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4 based on quotations. Every episode since the beginning of the series in 1976 has been chaired by its deviser, Nigel Rees....
 is about quotations
Quotation

A quotation is the repetition of one expression as part of another one, particularly when the quoted expression is well-known or explicitly attributed to its original source....
. A more bizarre panel game is QI
Qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qi is an active principle forming part of any living thing.It is frequently translated as "energy flow," and is often compared to Western notions of energeia or ?lan vital as well as the Yoga Pranayama of prana....
, where the questions are so hard, points are given for answers that are interesting, regardless of whether they are right or even relevant.

At one point the panel game was sufficiently common on British radio that the comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or simply Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game which has run since 11 April 1972....
 was created in response. Ironically, this is now one of the longest-running panel games broadcast. It satirises many common elements of game shows, not least the unimportance of scoring. Another example of a panel game parody is Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars is a United Kingdom television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two from 27 December 1993 to 22 December 1997 and then on BBC Choice from 13 January 2002 to 22 December 2002....
, which often had questions that were normally impossible to answer, for example the question "What is my favourite part of a horse?"

Many panel games are variants on classic parlour games, for example Give Us a Clue
Give Us A Clue

Give Us a Clue is a televised game show version of charades that was first broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. It was first hosted by Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983 then Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992, with two teams: one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una Stubbs....
 is based on Charades
Charades

Charades or charade is a word game guessing game. In the form most played today, it is an acting game in which one player acts out a word or phrase, often by pantomime similar-sounding words, and the other players guess the word or phrase....
, and Call My Bluff
Call My Bluff

Call My Bluff was a long-running British game show between two teams of three celebrity contestants. The point of the game is for the teams to take it in turn to provide three definitions of an obscure word, only one of which is correct....
, in which players try to guess the correct meanings of obscure words. Others have become parlour games, or at least new variants, themselves. Another The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth

The Unbelievable Truth is a BBC radio comedy panel game devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith. The game is chaired by David Mitchell and is described in the programme's introduction as, "The panel game built on truth and Lie." The object of the game is to lie on a subject, whilst also trying to include the truth without being detecte...
 features players giving a mostly erroneous lecture while trying to smuggle past true information past the other competitors.

Many panel games are recorded, either in full or in part (such as Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole

Through the Keyhole is a light-hearted panel game, hosted by David Frost where panelists are given a video tour of a mystery guests property and attempt to identify them....
), in front of a studio audience. Others, (such as Puzzle Panel
Puzzle Panel

Puzzle Panel was a light-hearted, though cerebral BBC Radio 4 panel game that was broadcast between 1998 and 2005. It was written and presented by puzzle columnist for The Guardian, Chris Maslanka....
), are recorded without one.

The same personalities often appear on multiple panel games.

Examples

  • 8 out of 10 Cats
    8 Out of 10 Cats

    8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organisations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by company Harris Interactive....
  • 29 Minutes of Fame
    29 Minutes of Fame

    29 Minutes of Fame was a British satirical celebrity quiz series which aired on BBC One on Fridays in early 2005. The show was presented by comedian Bob Mortimer....
  • Eggheads
    Eggheads

    Eggheads is a BBC quiz show, first broadcast in 2003, presented by Dermot Murnaghan. For the 2008 series, Jeremy Vine was brought in to present on nights when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series, Are You an Egghead?....
  • And Then You Die
    And Then You Die (TV series)

    And Then You Die was a comedy panel show broadcast on the United Kingdom channel Dave .It was hosted by a puppet called Barrie Stardust who is puppeteered by Dave Chapman....
  • Best of the Worst
    Best of the Worst (UK)

    Best of the Worst was a United Kingdom panel game, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in 2006. The show was invented by Giles Pilbrow and Colin Swash....
  • The Big Fat Quiz of the Year
    The Big Fat Quiz of the Year

    The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is an annual United Kingdom television programme broadcast on the last Sunday of the year on Channel 4. The show takes the form of a game show, with three teams of celebrities asked questions relating to the events of the current year....
  • Call My Bluff
    Call My Bluff

    Call My Bluff was a long-running British game show between two teams of three celebrity contestants. The point of the game is for the teams to take it in turn to provide three definitions of an obscure word, only one of which is correct....
  • Give Us A Clue
    Give Us A Clue

    Give Us a Clue is a televised game show version of charades that was first broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. It was first hosted by Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983 then Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992, with two teams: one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una Stubbs....
  • Have I Got News for You
    Have I Got News for You

    Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990....
  • I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
    I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

    I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or simply Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game which has run since 11 April 1972....
  • Just a Minute
    Just a Minute

    Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game which has been broadcast since 22 December 1967 and is Master of Ceremonies by Nicholas Parsons....
  • Mock the Week
    Mock the Week

    Mock the Week is a United Kingdom topical panel game, hosted by Dara ? Briain. It is made by independent production company Angst Productions and made its debut on BBC Two on 5 June 2005....
  • Never Mind the Buzzcocks
    Never Mind the Buzzcocks

    Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a popular music and rock music theme, currently presented by Simon Amstell, starring Phill Jupitus and a weekly guest team captain, and produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC....
  • Never Mind the Full Stops
    Never Mind the Full Stops

    Never Mind the Full Stops is a United Kingdom television panel game based on the English language, its idiosyncrasies, and its misuse. It is hosted by the British actor, author and Academy Awards screenwriter, Julian Fellowes....
  • The News Quiz
    The News Quiz

    The News Quiz is a topical comedy quiz broadcast on United Kingdom radio BBC Radio 4....
  • QI
    Qi

    In traditional Chinese culture, qi is an active principle forming part of any living thing.It is frequently translated as "energy flow," and is often compared to Western notions of energeia or ?lan vital as well as the Yoga Pranayama of prana....
  • Quote Unquote
  • A Question of Sport
    A Question of Sport

    A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 5 January 1970 and continues to this day.It involves two teams of sports stars answering questions on their own and other sports....
  • Shooting Stars
    Shooting Stars

    Shooting Stars is a United Kingdom television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two from 27 December 1993 to 22 December 1997 and then on BBC Choice from 13 January 2002 to 22 December 2002....
  • They Think It's All Over
    They Think It's All Over (TV series)

    They Think It's All Over was a British comedy panel game with a sporting theme produced by Talkback Thames and shown on BBC One. The show's name is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous 1966 FIFA World Cup commentary quotation, "They Think It's All Over...it is now!" and the show has heightened the popularity of the phrase ....
  • The Unbelievable Truth
    The Unbelievable Truth

    The Unbelievable Truth is a BBC radio comedy panel game devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith. The game is chaired by David Mitchell and is described in the programme's introduction as, "The panel game built on truth and Lie." The object of the game is to lie on a subject, whilst also trying to include the truth without being detecte...
  • Whose Line is it Anyway?
    Whose Line Is It Anyway?

    Whose Line Is It Anyway? was a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a United Kingdom radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for Britain's Channel 4....
  • Would I Lie To You?
    Would I Lie To You? (TV series)

    Would I Lie To You? is a comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for BBC One. It was first broadcast on 16 June 2007....
  • The Write Stuff


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