QI

Channel: ABC1
Day & time: Tuesday, 9.30 p.m.

Stephen Fry has his critics, but most people, especially the Brits, regard him as something of a genius. Indeed, some have dubbed him a "national living treasure" no less. There's no disputing that he's a huge intellect; but his real talent lies in melding that genius into the mainstream without appearing smug or pretentious (OK, maybe just a little pretentious).

Despite Fry's many commitments, his "baby" is QI, a show appearing on ABC1 that I was recently put onto by a colleague. To say this is a quiz show is like saying William Shakespeare was a writer of plays. Yes, it's true in a sense, but the show (like the writer) is so far out of the realm of the everyday that it barely resembles many of its contemporaries.

The apparently enigmatic title QI (which might be seen as alluding to the Chinese concept of qi or 'chi' as it's sometimes known), is in fact a simple anagram for "quite interesting"; which when you think about it, is actually quite boring.

Anyhow, titles aside, QI presents something daringly different in game shows. It shares elements with shows like Good News Week in that the scoring is quite incidental and apparently quite arbitrary. In the early days of the show, Fry explained the scoring system as:

"Now, the rules are simple. Scoring is my business. Points are given and points are taken away. They are taken away for answers which 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."

Perhaps surprisingly the show has been around since 2003 and is still going strong. I don't recall seeing it on Australian TV schedules before last year, but maybe I'm just inattentive. Its longevity is a testament to both Fry's enduring appeal and - I suspect - to the fact that it caters very much to a niche (but loyal) audience.

In keeping with its "quite interesting" concept, the show encourages contestants to give answers to the questions posed to them that are interesting; even if they're not necessarily correct. On the other hand, contestants are penalised for answers that are "wrong, and pathetically obvious".

That is reflected in the title of the end-game segment, which is dubbed "General Ignorance" rather than the "General Knowledge" catgeory that's usually used. During this part of the show, Fry asks questions to which there is a widely-known - but wrong - answer. The person who gives that answer sets off sirens to herald their "ignorance".

The contestants (usually four of them) are generally British comedians or writers, whose names are barely recognisable (if at all) to Antipodean audiences. Apparently the guests have included the likes of Rich Hall, Jeremy Clarkson and Emma Thompson; but I've only seen the latter in the eps I've caught.

The one constant in the line-up is Alan Davies, best known here for the Jonathan Creek series. He often finishes on the bottom of the pack in the point-scoring department but his contributions are also often hilarious.

There's no doubting this is high-brow stuff; especially compared to some of what passes for entertainment on commercial television. It might perplex some viewers, especially when it comes to some of the more obscure topics.

But education is only one part of the QI package; and Fry ladles on the witty banter and comedy in huge dollops. I couldn't see this show working with anyone else in the host's chair, but that doesn't detract from its great entertainment value.

QI is a rare bird indeed - a game show with brains, not just gimmicks.

Phil James