# Why are the Brits so in love with panel shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730 "2012-12-02T03:37:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/1 "2012-12-02T03:37:12Z")
Okay, while researching this I found that all was explained [here](http://splitsider.com/2011/07/a-guide-to-the-hilarious-world-of-british-panel-shows/), but why should having the answer kill a good topic? Anyway, I started out with primetime US shows like _What’s My Line?_ and daytime hits like _To Tell the Truth_ and _Match Game._ Later there was the US version of _Whose Line is it Anyway?_ (Thanks to YouTube I have learned from the British version the hard truth that Stephen Fry simply cannot do improv.) Nowadays all I get is _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,_ but a local classical radio station used to play episodes of _My Word_ and _My Music_ so I went searching for them online. What I found instead was an embarrassment of riches because panel shows are MASSIVE in Blighty! Fry can’t do improv, but he is an excellent panelmaster on _QI_, and watching that introduced me to [del]hundreds[/del] [del]dozens[/del] the same few comedians who linked me up to other shows. Most recently I discovered _Comedy World Cup_, which features David Tennant(!) as the snarky Scottish quizmaster. And some of these comedians stretch out from the quiz show/sitcom roundabout, sometimes in a manner that only proves that anybody can get a series on British TV. Bill Bailey, from _QI_ and _Spaced,_ hosted a reality program that featured celebrities (in the reality show meaning of celebrities, IE: I never heard of them) BIRDWATCHING FOR FREAKING POINTS! And his next is a miniseries documentary about explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace! Can you imagine a US networking greenlighting this, much less doing it at the request of a disheveled comedian? So, what have I missed? _Never Mind the Buzzcocks_ is too much about musicians I either don’t know or don’t like and Noel Fielding creeps me out. I know that’s his schtick and I want to shove Jimmy Carr through a plaster and lath wall because that’s his schtick, but at least he’s funny. Are there older shows that made it to YouTube? And radio; BBC Radio4 used to have some I could listen to but they only have the current _I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue_ to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/2 "2012-12-02T03:55:00Z")
When I lived in Ireland for a few months in 1990, there was a radio game show hosted by someone whose name was like Gabriel Byrne, but obviously it wasn’t him – it was someone older than he. I think it was called “Catch Phrase.” Apparently quite well loved at tge time among a certain set. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/3 "2012-12-02T04:01:44Z")
[Here you go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QUaHOAYo3k) No snarky comedians but bad 90s cgi and puzzles! I’m livin’ large! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/4 "2012-12-02T04:09:59Z")
ETA: After a bit of web research, I see that I was conflating two radio shows from my Ireland experience 22 years ago: Gay Byrne (no relation to the “In Treatment” actor, though they’re both Gabriels) is a beloved longtime Irish Republic radio and television host, now 78 years old. “Catch Phrase,” however, was a UK television game show (simulcast on Irish radio, apparently) that happened to be hosted for a long tome by some Northern Irish comedian. ETA again: Nice work, dropzone! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/5 "2012-12-02T04:39:06Z")
BBC Radio 4 offers a “Friday Night Comedy” podcast that alternates seasons of “The Now Show” (comedy and music sketches) with “The News Quiz” (like Wait Wait but without caller participation or guest stars). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/6 "2012-12-02T04:49:59Z")
Thanks. The sketches kept me from trying “The Now Show.” I prefer my quiz shows, especially if they have points that don’t matter, but I will give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/7 "2012-12-02T05:31:22Z")
Presumably you’ve heard _I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue_. If not, you have 40 years of episodes ahead of you. You mention your potential intolerance of Jimmy Carr (and his weird laugh), but I think you’d like _The Big Fat Quiz of the Year_. It’s an end-of-year quiz show that is just an excuse for a bunch of comedians to run riot. And there’s Dara O’Briain’s show _Mock the Week_. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/8 "2012-12-02T05:36:07Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Thanks. The sketches kept me from trying “The Now Show.” I prefer my quiz shows, especially if they have points that don’t matter, but I will give it a try. The News Quiz definitely has points that don’t matter. They’re running the Now Show currently, but since that isn’t your cup of tea, you could subscribe and just watch for the episode description to change over. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/9 "2012-12-02T06:05:20Z")
There’s another radio show you might like, [Says You!](http://www.saysyou.net/) It’s a bit like an American version of _My Word_. There’s a list on that site of the stations that carry it, and at what time. I’ve been listening for years, been to a couple tapings, and have a bit of a crush on one of the panelists. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/10 "2012-12-02T06:31:56Z")
There is a Facebook group for My Word! It doesn’t get much traffic, though. [My Word from the BBC - Frank Muir & Denis Norden | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/17894122667/) It does include a link where you download lots of the shows. Here are two links for current broadcast times of [My Word!](http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/program.pl?programid=934) and [My Music](http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/program.pl?programid=935). Note that you can listen to the web stream for Australia Radio National for the two shows (as well as other British shows at the same time on other days). [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/comedy/](http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/comedy/) Currently they come on at noon Chicago time on the previous day. Not a panel show, but _Saturday Night Fry_ was a six-episode comedy series with Stephen Fry (not to be confused with his later short-lived talk show of the same name). The first episode: [Saturday Night Fry No. 1 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbm-VgdzA8s) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/11 "2012-12-02T08:21:25Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Presumably you’ve heard _I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue_. If not, you have 40 years of episodes ahead of you. Similar to, but totally different from _I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue_ is _Just a Minute_, which the BBC has been airing since the late 1880s. Unfortunately, the original telegraph based broadcasts have been lost. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/12 "2012-12-02T09:10:34Z")
_The Unbelievable Truth_ is another Radio 4 offering, hosted by David Mitchell. The panellists have to lie on a given subject, whilst trying to smuggle a small number of true facts past their competitors. The other contestants have to spot the truths in amongst the lies. (I’ve just noticed that that may well be close to the explanation David Mitchell starts each show with, it feels like something I’ve memorised from somewhere!). I like it, but as with all these things, the humour level depends on the guests. I think the article **dropzone** links to sums up their popularity very nicely. Typically a panel will be a mix of familiar faces and the odd newbie, so it’s a good introduction to new comedians. The host has to work, of course - heresy, I know, but I cannot listen to _Just a Minute_ because the host, Nicholas Parsons, make me stabby. Humourless, pompous arsehole, hate him at an unreasonale level. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/13 "2012-12-02T11:44:51Z")
I think they are probably popular with UK broadcasters because they are relatively cheap to produce. They only need one simple set (if on TV), and they don’t need much scripting. For the comedians and other performers who participate regularly, they are probably also a very easy gig. They do not need to do much if any preparation: just turn up and engage in “witty” banter, something they generally have an innate talent for. I suspect that, for this reason, you probably do not have to pay someone, even quite a star, as much to appear on a panel game as you would for them doing a proper “act”. As for the less well known, less experienced performers who are sometimes on, they would probably pay the production company to get their face on TV, if that were an option. (I don’t suppose it actually is.) The article linked in the OP does answer the original question to some extent, but it raises another. It says, probably rightly, that Britain’s panel games fill much of the same sort of entertainment needs that in America are filled by late night chat shows. Why, then, are late-night (and often nightly) chat shows such a prominent part of American TV, and so much less significant in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/14 "2012-12-02T14:19:24Z")
there may be something with the difference in population size. the USA late night talk shows, and a good amount of daytime too, are used to promote performers nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/15 "2012-12-02T15:19:35Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > some Northern Irish comedian. That would be Roy Walker ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/16 "2012-12-02T15:42:14Z")
I have been at the tapings for two different American pilots for _Have I Got News For You_, to no apparent avail. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/17 "2012-12-02T16:10:29Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Presumably you’ve heard _I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue_. If not, you have 40 years of episodes ahead of you. > > You mention your potential intolerance of Jimmy Carr (and his weird laugh), but I think you’d like _The Big Fat Quiz of the Year_. It’s an end-of-year quiz show that is just an excuse for a bunch of comedians to run riot. > > And there’s Dara O’Briain’s show _Mock the Week_. _The Big Fat Quiz of the Year_: Noel Fielding alert, beware. He is rather more diluted on this though. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/18 "2012-12-02T16:14:56Z")
Would I Lie to You? is pretty funny, at least for the last two or three series. ISTR trying it out at the beginning and not being so impressed\*. Hosted by Rob Brydon, with David Mitchell and Lee Mack. \*Wikipedia tells me that Angus Deayton was the original host, that’s probably what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/19 "2012-12-02T17:21:49Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The article linked in the OP does answer the original question to some extent, but it raises another. It says, probably rightly, that Britain’s panel games fill much of the same sort of entertainment needs that in America are filled by late night chat shows. Why, then, are late-night (and often nightly) chat shows such a prominent part of American TV, and so much less significant in Britain? I’ve always assumed there were two, interlinked reasons for this. Until very recently US television comedy tended to be very sentimental, simplistic, with tiny pools of satire adrift in a tide of glurge. Something like _Have I Got News for You_ wouldn’t work in the US, where there isn’t a tradition of intellectual, informed satire; a US version would either be utterly toothless or basically two lots of people shouting Drudge Report headlines at each other. In general, Americans have a curious, puppy dog faith in their government and state, which defies satire. They also worship famous people in a way that we don’t in Britain. US chat shows are cosy affairs in which coddled celebrities are allowed to publicise their newest thing, whilst the sycophantic host massages their ego. This goes on to a certain extent in the UK, but the audience would quickly tire of it (the few attempts to emulate David Letterman et al - and indeed the brief attempt to show his programme over here - crashed and burned). We prefer gruffer, less respectful hosts. Which occasionally goes wrong, e.g. [this famous Parkinson interview with Meg Ryan](http://www.upstart.net.au/2011/10/06/50-interviews-just-wrap-it-up/), or Clive James with the Bee Gees. I’ll quote from the comment at the bottom of that article, which is absolutely true: _“Perhaps the reason Meg found the interview such a tough exercise is because celebrities such as her are to used to the empty, bland and shallow questions that American chat show hosts ask of their guests. Michael Parkinson asked intelligent questions and wasn’t only interested in the sell sell sell angle.”_ So, in summary, Britain and America have different television landscapes because the farmers and landscapers who shaped the land were bred from different stock, and grew up in different environments; the Americans were too busy taming the land to waste time making their media sophisticated, whereas Britain’s environment was tamed a very long time ago. We are in the “where shall we eat” phase, they are still in the “what shall we eat” phase. Perhaps in fifty years they will have caught up. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730/20 "2012-12-02T20:14:44Z")
IMHO, British comedians are actually clever and witty, able to produce spontaneous banter funny enough to make a show out of. Americans are not. YES THAT APPLIES TO EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF BOTH NATIONALITIES, OF COURSE!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-brits-so-in-love-with-panel-shows/642730.md?page=2)