QI: The ‘C’ Series

The popular panel show QI (Quite Interesting) arrives on DVD with its third run, having leapt from minor obscurity on BBC Four up to the highly ranked echelons of BBC Two programming and from next year's 'F' series onwards will be shown on BBC One.

A toothless, more friendly version of Have I Got News For You, host and compere Stephen Fry takes a group of four (usually male stand-up comedian) contestants through a meandering part-quiz show, part-topical round-table, as points are awarded for interesting responses as opposed to correct ones. Since many of the questions are ephemeral diatribes about nothing in particular from the apocrypha of modern encyclopedic knowledge, the chances of correct answers are slim. However, an obviously incorrect answer is penalised with a points deduction.

The show itself was devised by Blackadder comedy creator John Lloyd, himself the chairman of QI Limited which once had a residency in a London club. Whilst the show is undoubtedly entertaining to watch, there is something quite "Old Boys Network" about its smugness and choice of guests. Many of the stand-ups (Rich Hall, Bill Bailey) can joust and riposte with the best of them, but Fry and (only recurring guest) Alan Davies have an aloofness which can often derail the proceedings and would probably make the filming of the show interminable for some guests.

With little more rewatch value than Buzzcocks or the aforementioned Have I Got News For You, QI on DVD is an entertaining if albeit sleight experience.

Extras: Production crew ommentary, cut scenes, outtakes, buzzers, ‘Peter Cushing Lives in Whitstable’.

Released on DVD on 1st September 2008 by Warner Music Entertainment.

Written by Simon Cole.