QI is a British comedy
panel gameA panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
television
quiz showQuiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
created and co-produced by
John LloydJohn Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
, hosted by
Stephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, and featuring permanent panellist
Alan DaviesAlan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given. To compensate, points are awarded not only for right answers, but also for
interesting ones, regardless of whether they are right or even relate to the original question. Conversely, points are deducted from a panellist who gives "answers which are not only wrong, but pathetically obvious", typically answers that are generally believed to be true but in fact are not. Points are also often deducted if an obvious joke answer is given. These answers are known as forfeits. In addition, bonus points are often awarded or deducted for various challenges or incorrect references to a certain thing or place, varying from show to show.
Until late 2008 it was first shown on
BBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
and repeated on
BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, with syndicated episodes of previous series shown on Dave.
QI has the highest viewing figures for any show on
BBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
and UKTV G2 (now Dave). From series "F" in late 2008 the show moved to
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, with extended-length repeats on BBC Two (entitled
QI XL). Series "G"—the longest series to date with 16 episodes—was broadcast on BBC One in 2009–10. In 2010, the regular show moved to a pre-watershed slot, with the extended edition still shown after the watershed. Series H began filming in May 2010 and started its run from 17 September 2010 on BBC One and BBC HD (with the
XL episode shown the next day on BBC Two). In March 2011, it was announced that for series I, its ninth series, the show would return to a post-watershed slot on BBC Two, with Fry and Davies remaining as host and regular panellist respectively. The "I" series began on 9 September 2011.
Format and conception
The panel consists of four participants: three rotating and one regular, Alan Davies, who has the seat to Stephen Fry's immediate right. Davies has appeared in every episode, except for one that was themed on "Divination": he was present at the beginning, but he "teleported" away during the buzzer demonstration; his buzzer that episode was the sound of the
TARDISThe TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
from
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. He was at a football match instead but was still able to play as communicated "from beyond". He has only won 13 times (including two tied victories) as he generally offers up most of the "obvious but wrong" answers. However, as of episode 16 of the 'H' series, this is the highest number of victories, ahead of
Rich HallRichard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
's ten (Hall and Davies tied for first place in the Series G episode "Gravity"). Davies has, by contrast, finished in last place 63 times and also holds the record for the lowest score on the show: −144, gained after losing 150 points for guessing that Gandhi's first name was Randy in the "Differences" episode. Had he not said this, he would have won with 6 points. The show's other panellists mainly come from a
stand-up comedyStand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
or comedy writing/performing background, although there have also been guests from other fields, including
Richard E. GrantRichard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
,
Jeremy ClarksonJeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
,
Gyles BrandrethGyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
,
Roger McGoughRoger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
,
David TennantDavid Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
,
Daniel RadcliffeDaniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
and
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
.
Questions are sometimes misleading or very difficult. Providing an "obvious but wrong" answer results in a sequence of klaxons and flashing lights, and a theatrical cry of despair from Stephen Fry. In the first and second series, Fry produced the given answer on a card to show the panellists, while it also flashed on the large screens behind them (except in the pilot episode and the first show of the first series, when only the cards were used). In the third series and onward, Fry's answer cards were dispensed with altogether, leaving only the screens as proof that such answers had been predicted.
Because of the show's expectation that hardly anyone would be able to give a correct answer without significant prompting, it instead encourages sheer interestingness, which is how points are mainly scored. As such, tangential discussions are encouraged, and panellists are apt to branch off into frivolous conversations, give voice to train of thought, and share humorous anecdotes from their own lives. The number of points given and taken away are normally decided by Fry or beforehand by the
QI's researchers known as "The
QI Elves", especially if the points given or taken are very large. For example, one episode asked, "What is the main ingredient of
airThe atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
?" The correct answer is "
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
". The incorrect answer "
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
", which none of the panellists offered, would have resulted in a deduction of 3,000 points (CO
2 is a trace gas being only 0.038% of the atmosphere). However, Davies was deducted 10 points for suggesting "
oxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
". Fry once said (in Episode ten of the first series):
Now, the rules are simple. Points are given and points are taken away. They are taken away for answers that are both obvious and wrong, and they're given not so much for being correct, as for being interesting. Their level of interestingness is impartially determined by a demographically-selected customer service focus consultancy, broken down by age and sex – i.e. me. Erm ... because there is no-one more broken down by age and sex than me.
The only point at which scores are given is at the conclusion of the show. Negative scores are common, and occasionally even the victor's score may be negative.
John Lloyd,
QIs creator, has admitted that not even he has any idea how the scoring system works, but there is someone who is paid to check on the scores. Guests are allowed the right of appeal if they believe their score is wrong, but none has so far exercised that right.
Buzzers
Each panellist has a
buzzerA buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or piezoelectric. Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke....
, with the sounds of all four often being based on a theme. They are demonstrated at the beginning of the programme, but are sometimes changed in some way for repeated use. Davies' buzzer usually subverts the theme established by the preceding three. Comical twists include in the ninth episode of series B (Bats), when all the first 3 buzzers were bells, then Alan's buzzer turned out to be a male voice (
Leslie PhillipsLeslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
) saying "Well hello! Ding dong!" It was revealed last in every episode except for the unbroadcast pilot, in which he went first and
Eddie IzzardEdward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
was fourth. In episode 5 of Series A, rather than a comical buzzer, Davies set off the forfeit alarm, (suggesting he sets one every time he presses an answer) meaning he started the show on -10 points before a question was asked (it was later changed to the sound of a duck quacking). This was done again in episode 1 of Series H. Davies' buzzer in the "Endings" episode was the longest buzzer ever used.
Apart from the pilot, where the panellists used various objects to draw attention to themselves, two episodes have not used a buzzer system: the series D episode "Denial & Deprivation", where as part of the theme the entire usual set had been dispensed with and the panellists instead used assorted objects, and the series G episode "Green", where the buzzers were switched off to "reduce the show's carbon footprint" and replaced with a set of whistles.
Sometimes questions are based on the buzzers themselves, usually Davies's. For example, one of his buzzer noises the Series D episode "Descendants" sounded like a
ClangerClangers is a popular British stop-motion animated children's television series of short stories about a family of mouse-like creatures who live on, and in, a small blue planet . They speak in whistles, and eat green soup supplied by the Soup Dragon...
and the panel had to try and guess what was being said (the answer being "Oh sod it, the bloody thing's stuck again.") In the Series F episode "Fakes and Frauds", all the buzzers sounded like ordinary household objects, but then turned out to be the sound of the
superb lyrebirdThe Superb Lyrebird is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 100cm long, with brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs...
mimicking the noises. Davies's however, was again an exception; his buzzer, which sounded like a
telephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, really was a telephone and not a lyrebird mimicking one.
General Ignorance
In a parody of ubiquitous
general knowledgeGeneral knowledge has been defined by differential psychologists as referring to 'culturally valued knowledge communicated by a range of non-specialist media' General knowledge therefore encompasses a wide range of knowledge domains...
quizzes, the final round is off-topic and called "General Ignorance", focusing upon seemingly easy questions which have
obvious but wrong answers. Whereas in the main rounds of the show, the panelists' use of buzzers is not usually enforced, the "General Ignorance" questions are introduced by Fry's reminder to keep "fingers on buzzers".
Due to the large number of "obvious but wrong" answers, panellists, especially Davies, usually incur the greatest point losses in this round. In the second series' Christmas episode, Davies stated his refusal to participate in General Ignorance, saying that he "will
not be humiliated at Christmas". In response, Fry offered to switch places with him, to the delight of the audience. Despite the seeming spontaneity of the swap, it was undoubtedly planned (at least on the part of Davies and the producers), as evidenced by the fact that Davies, in turn, produced his own set of questions on loose-leaf paper (most of which he directed at Fry), and also by the photographs and obvious-answer graphics which accompanied Davies' questions. At the end of the show, Fry announced that the game's loser was, in fact, Fry himself, as a result of his falling into many of Davies' traps.
In the 7th episode of series G, 'Greats', Fry asked the question "How many men have been President of the United States?" and showed a clip of US President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
declaring himself the 44th person to have taken the oath. This is incorrect since
Grover ClevelandStephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
was elected to two non-consecutive terms, meaning only 43 people have taken the oath. Obama was then said to have come in fourth place with -10 points.
Extra tasks
In some episodes, the panellists are given an extra task to complete during the course of the game. Those who do the best are often awarded extra points. Past tasks have included drawing contests (in which
John SessionsJohn Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
has shown a particular talent); or looking for a specific hidden thing over the course of the show, such as a
squirrelSquirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
or a
cuttlefishCuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
. In series "B" panellists were given a metal sheet covered with magnetic letters with which to create words over the course of the game.
Jimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
successfully used all of his letters to create, "Put Smarties tubes on cats legs, make them walk like a robot." In the fifth series, Series "E", all the episodes had the same extra task – "The Elephant in the Room". In each episode, at least one of the answers was related to
elephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, the panellists being required to wave an elephant on a stick when they believed it was the appropriate moment. Extra points may also be dependent upon the topic of the episode – for instance during the "France" episode of Series "F", panellists were informed that they would receive extra points for any answers given in French, though none did. Similarly, the panellists were provided with a card to hold up when they thought they were being duped for the "Hoaxes" episode of Series "H". All of the panellists duly played their card at some point, but the task itself turned out to be the hoax as all material was factual. In series "I", the "Nobody Knows" placard - a simple purple card on a stick, with a white question mark printed on it - was introduced. At least one question in every episode of Series "I" is one where nobody knows the answer. Points are added to a score if the panelist gets it right, and deducted if they are incorrect.
Production
Writer and former
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
producer
John LloydJohn Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
devised the format of the show, and it is produced by
Quite Interesting LimitedQuite Interesting Limited is a British research company, most notable for providing the research for the television panel game QI , as well as other QI related programmes and products...
, an organisation set up by Lloyd.
QI was originally seen as being an "Annotated
Encyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
... the world's first non-boring encyclopaedia." As a panel game, it was conceived as a radio show, with Lloyd as chairman. While developing the show with
Peter FinchamPeter Fincham is a British television producer and executive, currently the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following...
and
Alan YentobAlan Yentob is a British television executive and presenter who has worked throughout his career at the BBC.-Early life:...
, Lloyd decided that it would work better on television. The three pitched it to
Lorraine HeggesseyLorraine Heggessey is a British television producer and former Chief Executive of the production company Talkback Thames...
, at the time controller of BBC One. Heggessey passed on the format, opting to commission a similar panel game called
Class War (which was never made). When Fincham became controller of BBC One, Lloyd pitched it to him, only to be turned down by his former collaborator. Eventually he pitched it to
Jane RootJane Root is a creative executive in the media industry, who has run major television networks on both sides of the Atlantic...
, then controller of BBC Two, who agreed to develop it. When it was decided that the show would air on television,
Michael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
was offered the job of chairman with Fry and Davies as captains of "clever" and "stupid" teams respectively. However, when Palin decided not to take the job, the producers opted to change the format; Fry became the host, with Davies as the only regular panelist. Root commissioned a pilot and a further 16 episodes after that, although budget limitations reduced the first series to 12 episodes.
Unlike many similar comedy-quiz programmes, the makers of the show insist that the answers are not given to the panelists beforehand. The host is given a list of questions set to be asked about an hour before the show, for preparatory purposes, but the guests are forbidden to ask for preparatory materials or other help. They do however often run through a series of "warm up" questions before recording begins, but this is the only assistance the panelists receive. It is known that Davies never does any preparation at all. Series 1 to 10 used a warm-up comedian before recording began, frequently
Stephen GrantStephen Grant is a British comedian and radio presenter best known for hosting the Krater Comedy Club at Komedia in Brighton, England, which won the Chortle Award for Best Comedy Club in the South from 2001 to 2009. Chortle.com says it granted Grant Best Compère in the 2008 Chortle Awards.-External...
, credited as the
Audience Wrangler. Series 11 however dispensed with a warm up, instead giving time to Stephen Fry to record and tweet audience
AudioBooAudioBoo is a website which allows users to post and share sound files. AudioBoo was developed by UK-based and partially funded by Channel 4 and was launched in March 2009.-Technology:...
s and introduce the guests.
In an interview with the
Radio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
regarding the current state of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Stephen Fry revealed one of the regular panelists insists on seeing the questions before they appear in the show. He said in the interview:
"There's only one regular guest who always insists on seeing the questions beforehand and prepares for them. I won't tell you his or her name," he said.
"It really annoys me. In fact, one day, I'll make sure that person is given a list from another programme because they don't need them."
Following this comment people asked Fry to come out and say who it was, with several people posting their suggestions as to who it was. Fry later posted on his
TwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that it was neither Davies nor
Rob BrydonRob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
.
Research
The research for the show is mostly carried out by seven people called the "
QI Elves", a team which has included
Justin PollardJustin David Pollard is a British historian, television producer and writer.-Biography:Pollard is a popular historian and screenwriter working in the field of feature films, television and print...
,
Vitali VitalievVitali Vitaliev is a Ukrainian-born journalist and writer who has worked in Russia, England, Scotland, Australia and Ireland.-Biography:...
, and Molly Oldfield. The "elves" devise the questions, and are able to contact Fry during the show to provide and correct information. Other people involved in researching questions and compiling the scripts are
John MitchinsonFor the English tenor, see John Mitchinson .For the Bishop, see John Mitchinson .John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and is also the managing director of Quite Interesting Limited. He is co-writer of the QI series of books with the show's creator John...
and
Piers FletcherPiers Fletcher is a television producer and researcher, mainly working for the British panel game QI, broadcast on the BBC.Before working in television, Fletcher served in the British Army, where he was in charge of the northernmost Observation Post in Hong Kong, meaning that if China invaded, he...
, known (along with Justin Pollard, Molly Oldfield and James Harkin) as the
Question Wranglers, whose research includes both
Encyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
and
WikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. The
QI website also has a large forum with over 13,500 members as of 2009. The forum contains several sections including the "Quite Interestrings", for general topics, the "Series Talk" section which are dedicated to different series, indicated by a letter of the alphabet, and "The Forum of General Ignorance", dedicated to things that are often misunderstood by most people.
Theme tune
The theme tune was composed by
Howard Goodall210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, who has twice appeared as a panelist on the show. The music for the unbroadcast pilot was planned to be "Wonderful World" by
Herman's HermitsHerman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
. However, the producers were unable to gain clearance to use the song and the DVD edition of the pilot features Goodall's composition.
Different instrumentation occasionally reflects the topic of a particular programme. For example, the Christmas Specials include sleigh bells and the "France" episode uses accordion music.
Episodes
In
QI, every series is themed around a different letter of the alphabet, starting with the letter "A". Series are therefore referred to by letter rather than number. The first series started on 11 September 2003, and consisted of topics beginning with A, including a round on people called "Alan" (the episode which featured it was the first, and for three series the only, win for Davies). The second series consisted of topics beginning with "B" and also saw the first attempts to pay attention to a particular theme throughout one episode, e.g. "Birds" (the overriding theme did not necessarily begin with "B", although the questions always contained an element that did). The only exceptions to the alphabet system have been the Christmas specials, where the topics are often just of a Yuletide nature and do not necessarily correspond to that series' letter (although greater attempts have been made to do so since series D).
Series D was the first to see all the episodes focus upon a single topic or theme beginning with the series letter, and for each to be given an official title. This trend has continued with each subsequent series. A
video podcastVideo podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...
(featuring the best moments with some out-takes) was planned to accompany series E, but this was instead turned into a set of "Quickies" featured on the
QI homepage of the BBC's website. As this decision was not reached until after recording though, they are still referred to as "vodcasts" by whoever is introducing them (usually Fry but occasionally a panellist or even the audience).
Four episodes have the distinction of being won by the audience: "Death", the 5th episode in series D; "England", the 10th episode in series E; "Flora & Fauna", the 10th episode in series F; and "Greeks", the 14th episode in series G. The audience's win in "Greeks" was only announced during the XL broadcast as their contribution was cut out of the main broadcast. In contrast, the audience lost the 5th episode of series E, "Europe", receiving a forfeit of -100 when they incorrectly sang the first stanza of the German national anthem.
A special stand-alone episode was filmed between 1 and 2 AM (GMT) on 6 March 2011 as part of
Comic ReliefComic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
's special
24 Hour Panel People featuring
David WalliamsDavid Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
, who appeared in various old and new panel game shows throughout a 24 hour period. The various shows including
QI, were streamed live on the Red Nose Day website, and parts of each show will be shown during five half hour specials on Comic Relief. The
QI episode featured panellists
Sue PerkinsSue Perkins is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress, and writer.-Education:Perkins was educated at Croham Hurst School, an independent school for girls in Croydon in South London, at the same time as the BBC Breakfast News presenter Susanna Reid...
,
Jo BrandJosephine Grace "Jo" Brand is a BAFTA winning British comedian, writer, and actor.- Early life :Jo Brand was born 23 July 1957 in Wandsworth, London. Her mother was a social worker. Brand is the middle of three children, with two brothers...
,
Russell ToveyRussell George Tovey is an English actor with numerous television, film and stage credits. Tovey is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural drama Being Human which started in 2008...
and
David WalliamsDavid Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
. Although this episode is not part of the main series, this is the first
QI episode in which
Alan DaviesAlan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
did not appear at any time. Davies admitted through Twitter that he was asked to host the episode when it was not certain if Fry would be available, but Davies declined. Once Fry confirmed his participation, Davies did not hear back from the production team Unlike following the classic format of the show where most questions follow a subject, instead the episode was an hour long (including breaks) General Ignorance round. Many old QI facts from previous episodes were used.
Multiple guest appearances
The following have all appeared multiple times as one of the guest panelists on the show, including the as-yet unbroadcast episodes of the I series
(as of 15 June 2011). This list does not include the unbroadcast pilot or the special
Comic ReliefComic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
episode.
27 appearances
- Jo Brand
Josephine Grace "Jo" Brand is a BAFTA winning British comedian, writer, and actor.- Early life :Jo Brand was born 23 July 1957 in Wandsworth, London. Her mother was a social worker. Brand is the middle of three children, with two brothers...
- Sean Lock
Sean Lock is an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian. He won the British Comedy Award in 2000 in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He is also well known for his appearances on television and radio...
26 appearances
- Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
25 appearances
- Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
24 appearances
- Rich Hall
Richard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
20 appearances
- Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
17 appearances
- David Mitchell
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
15 appearances
- Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson is a British former barrister, best known for being a comedy writer as well as a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
13 appearances
- Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
- Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....
9 appearances
- Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
- John Sessions
John Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
8 appearances
- Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
7 appearances
- Andy Hamilton
Andrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
6 appearances
- Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
- Ross Noble
Ross Markham Noble is an English stand-up comedian, brought up in Cramlington, Northumberland, England.Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on celebrity quiz shows such as Have I Got News for You...
5 appearances
- Ronni Ancona
Ronni Ancona is a Scottish actress, impressionist and author. Ancona won the Best TV Comedy Actress award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards for her work in Big Impression.- Career :...
- Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
- Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
4 appearances
- Jeremy Hardy
Jeremy James Hardy is a British alternative comedian who is also known for his socialist politics.-Career:Hardy was born in Farnborough, Hampshire. He attended Farnham College and studied Modern History and Politics at the University of Southampton...
- Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
- Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress, and writer.-Education:Perkins was educated at Croham Hurst School, an independent school for girls in Croydon in South London, at the same time as the BBC Breakfast News presenter Susanna Reid...
- Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
3 appearances
- Arthur Smith
Brian Arthur John Smith is an English alternative comedian and writer. He was born in Bermondsey, South London, brother to Richard Smith...
- Linda Smith
Linda Helen Smith was a British stand-up comic and comedy writer. She appeared regularly on Radio 4 panel games, and was voted "Wittiest Living Person" by listeners in 2002...
- Mark Steel
Mark Steel is a British socialist columnist, author and comedian. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party from his late teens until 2007.-Early life:...
2 appearances
- Chris Addison
Chris Addison is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of which he later adapted for BBC Radio 4...
- Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
- Hugh Dennis
Peter Hugh Dennis is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week...
- Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
- Dave Gorman
David James Gorman is an English author, stand-up comedian and presenter. He has performed comedy shows on stage in which he tells stories of extreme adventures and presents the evidence to the audience in order to prove to them that they are true stories...
- Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
- Phil Kay
Phil Kay is a Scottish stand-up comedian.-Early career:Kay became known to the public when he won the newcomer's competition, 'So You Think You're Funny', at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1989. He then went on to be nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award in 1993. He also won the award for...
- Fred MacAulay
- Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...
- Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....
- Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
- Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck is an English actress and television and radio presenter, and daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.She trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA graduating in 1986 alongside Clive Owen, Rebecca Pidgeon and Serena Harragin.-Acting:...
Jo Brand, Jimmy Carr, Rich Hall, Phill Jupitus and Sean Lock are the only remaining guests to have appeared in every series to date. Rich Hall has the highest number of guest appearances in a single series – 6 times in series B (half of the episodes that year).
a. Also made an additional appearance in the live Comic Relief episode.
b. Also made an additional appearance in the unbroadcast pilot.
International versions and broadcasts
In 2008 the
QI format was sold to the
DutchThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
broadcaster
VARAThe Omroepvereniging VARA is a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system, founded in 1925 as the Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs...
. Also called
QI, the Dutch version of the show aired for the first time on 27 December and is hosted by the writer
Arthur JapinArthur Valentijn Japin is a renowned Dutch novelist.-Biography:His parents were Bert Japin, a teacher and writer of detective novels, and Annie Japin-van Arnhem. After a difficult childhood - his father killed himself when Arthur was twelve years old - Japin entered the Kleinkunstacademie in...
with the comedian Thomas van Luyn taking the role of regular panelist.
Japin also appeared (in the audience) in a British
QI episode, explaining how the name
Vincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
should be pronounced.
There have been several attempts to broadcast
QI in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. U.S. networks that have tried to broadcast the series include
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, PBS,
Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and
BBC AmericaBBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
. Lloyd said that one factor in the failure to get the show broadcast is due to the cost. As
QI features several images during each episode there are
copyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
issues. Lloyd said in an interview with TV Squad that: "No country in the world has bought the original show and this is partly a matter of cost. The pictures in the background of the show are only cleared for UK usage, so until the show is bought by a Stateside TV company and the rights cleared for World, the programme (is) unaffordable by smaller countries." Amongst the famous names also to express anger over
QI not being shown in the US include comedian
John HodgmanJohn Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
, who appeared as a "fifth guest" in the second episode of Series G.
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(as of October 2011) QI airs each Thursday at around 8:00pm on
ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. The programme was first broadcast on 20 October 2009 after the surprise ratings success of
Stephen Fry in AmericaStephen Fry in America is a six part BBC television series in which Stephen Fry travels across America to reveal a country in which he was almost born. Just before Fry was born, his father was offered a job at Princeton University, in New Jersey, but chose to turn it down in favour of Hampstead. In...
. The ABC aired QI Series F first, but subsequently screened the show from its very beginnings with series A. On the 6 April 2010, the programme rated 27th for the night and was the public broadcaster's top Tuesday entertainment programme. Series F has since also begun broadcasting on the pay tv channel, UKTV.
In March 2010,
QI began a run in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
on Prime. In July 2010,
ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
began broadcasting the A series. On 27 May 2011, Series A of
QI will be broadcast in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on
BBC EntertainmentBBC Entertainment is an international television channel showcasing comedy, drama, light entertainment and children's programming from the BBC and other UK production houses...
.
As of 2011, the series is distributed by
FremantleMediaFremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
.
Corrections, mistakes and retractions
Although most of the answers presented on the show are correct, some have been disputed and shown to be false. For example, in Series A, the show claimed that the longest animal in the world was the
lion's mane jellyfishThe lion's mane jellyfish is the largest known species of jellyfish. Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans, seldom found farther south than 42°N latitude. Similar jellyfish, which may be the same species, are known to inhabit...
, but this was later corrected in Series C, saying that the longest animal in the world is the
bootlace wormThe bootlace worm is one of the longest known animals, with specimens up to long and up to wide being reported. Its mucus is toxic.-Taxonomy:The bootlace worm is in the phylum Nemertea or ribbon worms...
.
Another episode in Series A, Astronomy, states that the
Earth's second moonClaims have existed for many centuries that the Earth might possess other natural satellites besides the Moon. Several candidates have been proposed, but all such claims have proven false...
was discovered in 1994 and its orbit was discovered in 1997. In fact,
Cruithne3753 Cruithne is an asteroid in orbit around the Sun in approximate 1:1 orbital resonance with the Earth. It is a periodic inclusion planetoid orbiting the Sun in an apparent horseshoe orbit. It has been incorrectly called "Earth's second moon", but it is only a quasi-satellite. Cruithne never...
was discovered in 1986 and is actually a
quasi-satelliteA quasi-satellite is an object in a 1:1 orbital resonance with its planet that stays close to the planet over many orbital periods.A quasi-satellite's orbit around the Sun takes exactly the same time as the planet's, but has a different eccentricity , as shown in the diagram on the right...
.
Members of the public and members of the
QI website contact the show to correct information. The error that has attracted the most complaints to date was made in Series B, when it was claimed that the
Welsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
has no word for
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
. In fact it is
glas. The error was explained on the "Banter" section of the series B DVD as a mistake on the part of John Lloyd himself.
Another episode in Series B claimed that the language spoken by children's TV characters
Bill and BenThe Flower Pot Men were a British pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit) in the autumn of 1967...
was called "Flobbadob" and was named after the
onomatopoeic phrase that creator Hilda Brabban's younger brothers (after whom the characters were named) gave to their bath
fartsFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
during their early childhood. However, in Series D, Fry read out a letter written by Silas Hawkins, the son of veteran voice-over talent
Peter HawkinsPeter John Hawkins was an English actor and voice artist.- Career :Born in London and a native of Brixton, Hawkins' long association with British children's television began in 1952 when he voiced both Bill and Ben, the Flower Pot Men. In 1955–1956, He voiced Big Ears & Mr. Plod from The...
, who provided the original voices of the characters:
The fart-in-the-bath story was trotted out last year in an episode of Stephen Fry's otherwise admirable quiz show QI. It (the story) first appeared some twenty years ago in a newspaper article, to which my father immediately wrote a rebuttal. This was obviously ferreted out by some BBC researcher. It may be quite interesting, but in this case, it simply isn't true.
Fry then apologised and corrected the error, saying, "Their language is called 'Oddle poddle'. 'Flobbadob' means 'Flowerpot' in Oddle poddle." He then convulsed in disbelief at the authoritativeness in which he had read that statement out.
At the end of the third series,
Dara Ó BriainDara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....
was deducted points for having stated, in the previous series, that the
triple pointIn thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which the three phases of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium...
of water is zero degrees
CelsiusCelsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
, an answer which earned him 2 points at the time. Viewers however, wrote in to say that the triple point of water is in fact 0.01 degrees, and so the 2 points awarded Dara in the previous series were revoked and he received a further deduction of 10 points for "saying a now
obvious answer". Dara retorted by mocking the extreme pedantry of some of
QIs viewers, including an exaggerated mime of someone angrily typing at a keyboard.
Various other retractions are made by the producers of the show on the special features of the DVD releases. The origin of the error – whether it was an ad lib by Fry or whether it was on one of his cards – is also usually explained (as above with glas). (Information contributed by a panellist during a discussion, but which has since been found to be false, is also corrected here.) One example of why this distinction is important to make would be Fry's misreading of the explanation as to why helium makes your voice higher, in the series B Christmas special. His claim was that the gas only affected the
frequencyAn audio frequency or audible frequency is characterized as a periodic vibration whose frequency is audible to the average human...
, but not the pitch, despite them being the same thing. The genuine explanation had been written down elsewhere, which is that it is the
timbreIn music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
which is affected. However, the initial answer of the change in pitch is still correct as
timbreIn music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
is a collection of pitch or
frequencyAn audio frequency or audible frequency is characterized as a periodic vibration whose frequency is audible to the average human...
and this is changed to an overall higher pitch because of the effect of the helium on the
voice boxThe larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
's resonance.
More recently, the online forum now includes a "QI Qibbles" blog, which aims to rectify further mistakes in the series.
Culture
QI has stated it follows its own
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, which is that everything in the world, even that which appears to be the most boring, is "quite interesting" if looked at in the right way. The website states that:
We live, they say, in The Information Age, yet almost none of the information we think we possess is true. EskimoEskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
s do not rub noses. The rickshawThe cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, becak, trisikad, or trishaw or, simply, rickshaw which also refers to auto rickshaws, and the, now uncommon, rickshaws pulled by a person on foot...
was invented by an American. Joan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
was not French. LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
was not Russian. The world is not solid, it is made of empty space and energy, and neither haggisHaggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
, whiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
, porridgePorridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
, clan tartansTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
or kiltThe kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
s are Scottish. So we stand, silent, on a peak in Darien Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told...
a vast, rolling, teeming, untrodden territory before us. QI country. Whatever is interesting we are interested in. Whatever is not interesting, we are even more interested in. Everything is interesting if looked at in the right way. At one extreme, QI is serious, intensely scientific, deeply mystical; at the other it is hilarious, silly and frothy enough to please the most indolent couch-potato.
On 28 December 2009, the
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
panel game
The Unbelievable TruthThe Unbelievable Truth is a BBC radio comedy panel game made by Random Entertainment, devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith. It is very similar to the occasional I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue game "Lies, All Lies", which was first played in 1985...
, hosted by frequent QI
guest panellist David MitchellDavid James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
, broadcast a New Year's SpecialNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
which paid tribute to QI
. The show featured Fry, Davies and Lloyd on the panel, as well as Rob BrydonRob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
, another regular QI
participant.
Reception
QI
was received very positively by its viewers. It was the most popular programme on BBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in 2005, and one of its books, The Book of General IgnoranceThe Book of General Ignorance is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson, to help spread the QI philosophy of curiosity to the reading public...
, reached Number 4 on Amazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's best-seller list.
QI
has been supported by nearly all critics. Peter Chapman said, "When the schedules seem so dumbed-down, it's a delight to encounter the brainy and articulate Stephen Fry. He excels in this format, being both scathing and generous."
Another critic, Laura Barton said, "QI
and its canny coupling of Stephen Fry and Alan Davies, which manages to condense tweedy goodness, cockney charm, pub trivia and class war into one half-hour." An American critic, Liesl Schillinger described QI
as, "Jeopardy
with Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
as host, with Steve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Ellen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
as guests, working off a game board loaded with unanswerable questions."
Not all of the show's critics have been positive. A reviewer in The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
described it as, "a teeth-clenching example of TV mistaking shallow cleverness for intelligence." Critics have questioned the way the show is edited, one saying, "At one point in tonight's show, Fry yells an obscenity at
Rich HallRichard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
, the result of, what appears to have been, a long interchange between the two but, as most of it appears to have been cut out, the outburst comes out of the blue, making Fry look as if he's flipped his lid."
Awards
In 2006, Fry won the
Rose d'OrThe Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
for "Best Game Show Host". Visitors to the
British Comedy GuideThe British Comedy Guide or BCG is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, the BCG has published guides to more than 1,200 individual British comedies - primarily TV and radio situation comedy, sketch shows, comedy dramas, satire, variety...
have named QI
the "Best British TV Panel Show/Satire" of 2006 and 2007 in The Comedy.co.uk Awards
. In 2008, the series won the Royal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
award for "Entertainment". It was also nominated in the "Entertainment Performance" category, but it lost. In 2008 and 2009, QI
won the Televisual Bulldog Awards in the "Best Panel, Quiz or Chat Show" category.
QI
has been nominated for four BAFTAThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awards. Fry has been nominated for "Best Entertainment Performance" three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007. John Lloyd and QI's
director Ian LorimerIan Lorimer is a television director, most noted for being the director for the British panel game QI. He is also a director of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and the forthcoming It's Only a Theory....
were nominated for the Lew Grade Award in 2005. In 2007, The Book of General Ignorance
was nominated by the British Book AwardsThe Galaxy National Book Awards are a series of British literary awards focused on the best UK writers and their works, as selected by an academy of members from the British book publishing industry...
in the TV and Film Book of the Year Category.
Media releases
QI
has entered a number of different media, and has seen an increasing number of tie-in DVDs, books and newspaper columns released since 2005.
UK
The first QI
book was 2006's The Book of General IgnoranceThe Book of General Ignorance is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson, to help spread the QI philosophy of curiosity to the reading public...
, published in hardback on 5 October by Faber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
. (ISBN 9780571233687) Written by producer and series-creator John LloydJohn Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
and QI's head of research,
John MitchinsonFor the English tenor, see John Mitchinson .For the Bishop, see John Mitchinson .John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and is also the managing director of Quite Interesting Limited. He is co-writer of the QI series of books with the show's creator John...
, it includes a
forewordA foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
by Stephen Fry and "Four words" by Alan Davies ("Will this do, Stephen?"). Most of the book's facts and clarifications have appeared on the programme, including its list of 200 popular misconceptions, many of which featured during the "General Ignorance" rounds. On 8 December 2006, the book "became a surprise bestseller over the Christmas period, becoming Amazon's number one Global bestseller for Christmas 2006." By the end of January, 2007, it had sold more than 300,000 copies (and subsequently over half a million), paving the way for subsequent (projected) annual book releases to capitalise on the UK Christmas book market. The Official QI
website notes that it will soon be published in 23 countries.
Pocket-sized and audio versions of General Ignorance
went on sale the following year. In 2008, a newly revised version was published under the title of The Book of General Ignorance: The Noticeably Stouter Edition
. This edition corrected and updated some of the information from the first print, while adding 50 new sections (and extra illustrations) to the original 230. It also included quotes from the series, new "Four Words" by Davies, added a complete episode listing from Series A–F, plus an index.
QIs second book,
The Book of Animal IgnoranceThe Book of Animal Ignorance is the second title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson...
, was released in the UK (in the same hardback format) by Faber & Faber almost exactly a year after the first
General Ignorance, on 4 October 2007. (ISBN 978-0-571-23370-0) It promised to be a "
bestiaryA bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...
for the 21st century," and contains almost completely new quite interesting facts. The book includes "400 diagrams and cartoons by the brilliant Ted Dewan", another Foreword by Stephen Fry and a "Forepaw" by Alan Davies. This publication has also been followed by a pocket-sized version.
On the Factoids feature of the Series A DVD, John Lloyd mentioned an idea he'd had for a
QI book of quotations, under the working title
Quote Interesting. This book was eventually published in 2008 as
Advanced BanterAdvanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations, known as If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People? in the United States, is the third title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson...
. Similarly, on the Banter feature of the series B DVD, Lloyd also previewed the title of
QIs fourth book, The QI Book of the DeadThe QI Book of the Dead is the fourth title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson...
, which went on sale on 15 October 2009.
7 October 2010 saw the publication of QIs fifth book - a sequel to the original
General Ignorance, simply titled
The Second Book of General IgnoranceThe Second Book of General Ignorance is the fifth in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is the second book to be based on the show's final round "General Ignorance", the...
. Written by the same authors, this book covers a whole new series of questions on a wide variety of topics, which again promise to prove that "everything you think you know is (still) wrong".
QIs first annualAn annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....
, The QI "E" Annual or
The QI Annual 2008 was published by Faber and Faber on 1 November 2007, to coincide with the initial airing of the TV show's E series (ISBN 978-0-571-23779-1). Succeeding years have seen the publication of
F,
G and
H annuals, concurrent with the BBC show's chronology, though retrospective annuals on the first four letters of the alphabet have yet to be published. The covers, which feature various cartoon scenes starring caricatures of Stephen Fry and regular QI
panellists, are produced by David StotenDavid Stoten is a short film maker and caricaturist on TV's Spitting Image. Stoten won the BAFTA award with longtime collaborator, Tim Watts in 1994 for The Big Story....
(one of Roger LawRoger Law is a caricaturist and one half of Fluck & Law , creators of the satirical TV puppet show Spitting Image.-Early life:...
's Spitting ImageSpitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
team), who also contributed to the annuals' contents. Many of said cover stars are also credited with contributing content to the annuals, which also provide a showcase for Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
's talents as a 'rubber-faced' comic, as well as the comic stylings of NewmanNick Newman is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter.The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on revues with Ian Hislop...
and Husband from Private EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
, Viz'sViz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
Chris DonaldChris Donald is the founder of, and one of the principal contributors to, the British comic magazine Viz...
, Geoff Dunbar, Ted DewanTed Dewan is an England-based American author/illustrator, born in 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts. He is married to fellow-illustrator Helen Cooper and has a daughter Pandora Dewan, and is the brother of musician/artist Brian Dewan.-Life:...
and The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
's
MattMatthew Pritchett MBE has been the pocket cartoonist on the Daily Telegraph newspaper since 1988.Pritchett studied graphics at St. Martins School of Art. Unable to get work as a film cameraman, he worked as a waiter in a pizza restaurant, drawing cartoons in his spare time...
.
France
A French edition entitled Les autruches ne mettent pas la tête dans le sable : 200 bonnes raisons de renoncer à nos certitudes ("Ostriches don't put their heads in the sand: 200 good reasons to give up our convictions") was published by Dunod on 3 October 2007. (ISBN 978-2-100-51732-9) It is released as part of Dunod's "Cult.Science"/"Oh, les Sciences !" series, which also includes titles by Robert L. Wolke,
Ian StewartIan Stewart may refer to:*Ian Stewart , British musician and early member of the Rolling Stones*Ian Stewart , Scottish Formula One driver...
and
Raymond SmullyanRaymond Merrill Smullyan is an American mathematician, concert pianist, logician, Taoist philosopher, and magician.Born in Far Rockaway, New York, his first career was stage magic. He then earned a BSc from the University of Chicago in 1955 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1959...
.
Italy
An Italian edition entitled Il libro dell'ignoranza
("The book of ignorance") was published by Einaudi in 2007 and in 2009 the same publisher published Il libro dell'ignoranza sugli animali
("The book of ignorance about animals").
US
On 7 August 2007, The Book of General Ignorance was published in America by Harmony BooksHarmony Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, itself part of publisher Random House. It focusses on topics such as religion, the occult, the paranormal and other pseudoscientific material...
. (ISBN 0-307-39491-3) It features a sparser cover necessarily downplaying its links to the TV series, which has yet to be broadcast in the US. The book received glowing reviews from both Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
and the New York Times, which recommended it in its "Books Holiday Gift Guide". (It subsequently entered the New York Times "Hardcover Advice" best-seller charts at #10 on 9 December, falling to #11 two weeks later where it stayed until mid-January, before falling out of the top 15 on 20 January.)
DVDs
A number of DVDs related to QI have also been released, including interactive quizzes, and complete series releases.
Interactive quizzes
On 14 November 2005 an interactive QI DVD game, called QI: A Quite Interesting Game, was released by Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
. A second interactive game, QI: Strictly Come Duncing followed on the 26 November 2007, from Warner's Music division. Both games feature Fry asking questions, and then explaining the answers in full QI-mode.
Complete series releases
A DVD release for the first series was the direct result of an internet petition signed by 1,821 people, which persuaded the BBC of the interest in such a move. Series "A", was therefore released by BBC WorldwideBBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
's DVD venture, 2 entertain Ltd. on 6 November 2006 (as "QI: The Complete First Series"). It contains a number of outtakes as well as the unbroadcast pilot, which features the only appearance to date of Kit Hesketh-HarveyChristopher John "Kit" Hesketh Harvey is a British musical comic performer, translator, composer and scriptwriter.Born in Nyasaland , he was educated as senior chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and then Tonbridge School in Kent before moving on as a choral scholar under John Rutter to Clare...
as a panellist. Sales over the ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
period, however (in stark contrast to The Book of General Ignorance, which topped the Amazon.co.uk best-seller list), were not as strong as hoped. A lack of adequate advertising is thought to be to blame (and subsequent episodes of QI have since trailed the DVD), and may have factored in the label change for Series "B". Series "B" was released on 17 March 2008, followed by Series "C" on 1 September. No DVDs of later series have been released since, despite a continuing campaign at PetitionOnline to rectify this.
| DVD Title |
No. of Discs |
Year |
No. of Episodes |
DVD release |
Region 2DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
|
Region 4DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
|
|
Complete Series A |
2 |
2003 This is a list of British television related events from 2003.-Events:*13 January – ITV soap Crossroads is relaunched under the stewardship of producer Yvon Grace, and with a decidedly camp feel...
|
13 |
6 November 2006 |
|
Complete Series B |
2 |
2004 This is a list of British television related events from 2004.-Events:*3 January - The BBC cancels the appearance of Coca Cola sponsorship credits in the music charts in its BBC One Top of the Pops show, after criticism from politicians and health campaigners that it would be promoting junk food...
|
12 |
17 March 2008 |
|
Complete Series C |
2 |
2005 This is a list of British television-related events in 2005.-Events:*5 January—Desperate Housewives makes its initial UK debut with an impressive 5 million viewers...
|
12 |
1 September 2008 |
|
The Complete Series 1-3 |
6 |
2003 This is a list of British television related events from 2003.-Events:*13 January – ITV soap Crossroads is relaunched under the stewardship of producer Yvon Grace, and with a decidedly camp feel...
– 2005This is a list of British television-related events in 2005.-Events:*5 January—Desperate Housewives makes its initial UK debut with an impressive 5 million viewers...
|
36 |
|
14 September 2011 |
Other media
Since 10 February 2007, a weekly QI column has run in The TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper. Fifty-two columns were planned, but the feature is ongoing and was recently re-launched in the newspaper's Saturday magazine and online. A QI feature has appeared in BBC MindGamesBBC MindGames was a British magazine devoted to puzzles, brainteasers and articles concerning the mind. It was published every four weeks. Its name was taken from the BBC Four show, Mind Games....
magazine since its fifth issue, and revolves around facts and questions in the General Ignorance-mould. There is also a weekly QI linked multiple choice question featured in the Radio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
, with the solution printed in the feedback section. QI also has an official website, QI.com, which features facts, forums and other information. It also links to QIs internet show QI NewsQI News is an internet television show produced by Quite Interesting Limited, the company which produces the British panel game QI. It is broadcast on ComedyBox.tv. It is a mock news programme, which instead of broadcasting news stories, broadcasts "quite interesting" stories...
, a parody news show which broadcasts "News" items about things which are "quite interesting". QI News stars Glenn Wrage and Katherine JakewaysKatherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer. Her television appearances include Extras, all 3 series of BBC1's The Armstrong and Miller Show and Miranda. She is also notable as one of the regular cast in the radio series Deep Trouble and Look Away Now and plays Mrs Pepys in Radio...
as the newsreaders, Bob Squire and Sophie Langton.
On 22 December 2010, Faber and Faber released a QI App. Amongst the features of the App are a library containing the complete contents of The Book of General Ignorance, The Book of Animal Ignorance and The QI Book of the Dead, arranged as 56 "themed book" on a customisable scrollable shelf. There is also a rolling selection of quotes from Advanced Banter. The App also allows users send interesting information to the QI elves in the form of "postcards" and can be rated on on the "Interestingometer". The top 10 most popular facts every week are listed on the QI website.
The QI Test
The QI Test was a planned spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
version of QI that was to be broadcast on BBC Two. Created by Lloyd, Talkback Thames' Dave Morely and former QI Commercial Director Justin Gayner, The QI Test differed from QI in that it would have featured members of the public as contestants instead of comedians and celebrities. It would have been broadcast during the daytime schedules. The pilot was not hosted by Stephen Fry and was recorded in November 2009, but a series has yet to materialise.
External links