QI: Laugh & Learn

The British may produce lavish Emmy-winning costume dramas and hilarious Golden Globe-winning sitcoms, but they are also obsessed with panel game shows. Their TV shows have such short seasons that they need something to fill up the airtime, and panel shows featuring celebrities and comics are their chosen way to go. Which led to the development of what is perhaps the best panel quiz show of all time, QI.

QI (Quite Interesting) is hosted by Stephen Fry, British treasure and Renaissance man. Each episode features four celebrity panelists: three of them vary from week to week, while Alan Davies is the constant fourth. Davies plays the Bertie Wooster to Fry's Jeeves - he will often give the obvious answer, setting off a loud klaxon, flashing lights, and garnering -10 points. And the only rule on QI is that you must never be obvious. The show has a simple set-up: Fry will ask a question and anyone can hit their buzzer and answer. However, the questions he asks are anything but simple. They cover a broad range of subjects and often set out to illuminate myths that have become accepted as fact. For example, when asked what the largest living thing on the Earth is, the obvious (and therefore wrong) answers include blue whales and giant redwoods. In fact, the right answer is the honey mushroom. And beware anyone who answers, "Blue!" when asked what color the Greeks thought the sky was. Turns out, they thought it was bronze because they had no word for "blue."

With questions like that, contestants generally can't be expected to win points by being right (although sometimes they can surprise Stephen and even themselves by coming up with the right answer). Instead, points are mostly awarded for being interesting. This leads to a lot of hilarity, because if you get a bunch of actors and comedians together, there will be a scramble to be the funniest person in the room if you can't be the smartest. But witty banter aside, the guests can have shockingly esoteric interests and skills that lead them to impart some genuinely engaging knowledge. Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) astonished everyone with his knowledge of magical history and other oddball subjects. On last week's episode, Bill Bailey was found to be an adept birder who could name various species by sight. And there are a surprising number of panelists who transitioned from some unlikely jobs - Jo Brand, a popular comedienne, used to be a psychiatric nurse, while actor Ben Miller attempted to get a PhD in quantum physics at Cambridge before leaving to pursue comedy. As a result, contestants often go off on tangents that might teach you more than the actual answer to the question.

Of course, if the panelists are flailing, Stephen Fry is at the helm to supply a steady stream of quips and facts. The behind-the-scenes QI elves constantly supply him with information via an earpiece, so he can address panelist's questions and come up with delightful tidbits that suit every turn in the conversation. As a viewer, I spend the entire half hour laughing at the absurd tangents and jokes that result from every question, but am subsequently shocked to discover that I have in fact managed to learn something. So head over to the BBC iPlayer or seek out episodes of QI wherever you can. The show started its tenth season last Friday, so there is enough quite interesting material available to keep you occupied for a long time.