QI

QI (short for Quite Interesting) is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, and features permanent panellist Alan Davies. Stephen Fry was host of the show from its initial pilot, before departing after the final episode of the M series in 2016, exactly halfway through the alphabet, with frequent "QI" panellist Sandi Toksvig replacing him at the beginning of the N series in 2016.
The format of the show focuses on Davies and three other guest panellists answering questions that are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given. To compensate, the panellists are awarded points not only for the correct answer, but also for interesting ones, regardless of whether they are correct or even relate to the original question, while points are deducted for "answers which are not only wrong, but pathetically obvious" – typically answers that are generally believed to be true but in fact are misconceptions. These answers, referred to as "forfeits", are usually indicated by a loud klaxon and alarm bell, flashing lights, and the incorrect answer being flashed on the video screens behind the panellists. Bonus points are sometimes awarded or deducted for challenges or incorrect references, varying from show to show. "QI" has a philosophy that "everything is interesting if looked at in the right way". Many factual errors in the show have been corrected in later episodes or on the show's blog.
For its first five series shown between 2003 and 2007, which corresponded to the first five letters of the alphabet, episodes premiered on BBC Four before receiving their first analogue airing on BBC Two a week later. From 2008 and 2011, the show was moved to BBC One, with an extended-length edition of each episode often broadcast on BBC Two a day or two after the regular show's broadcast under the title of "QI XL". Series G and H saw the regular show broadcast in a pre-watershed slot with the extended edition remaining within a post-watershed slot. Beginning with the I series, the regular show returned to a post-watershed slot on BBC Two. Syndicated episodes of previous series are regularly shown on Dave. In November 2020 a new compilation series titled "QI XS" started, with a run-time of 14 minutes per episode.
The show has received very positive ratings from critics and has been nominated for multiple awards; "QI" itself has the highest viewing figures for any show broadcast on BBC Two and Dave. Several books, DVDs and other tie-ins to the show have been released, and international versions of "QI" have been made in other countries.
Format and concept.
The panel consists of four participants: three rotating guests and one regular, Alan Davies, who has the seat to the immediate right of the host. Davies has appeared in every episode, although in "Divination" he was not able to appear at the studio but was still able to play "from beyond". Despite frequent wins, Davies often finishes last due to incurring forfeits.
Questions posed to the panellists are often misleading, obscure, or very difficult. Providing an "obvious but wrong" answer (referred to as a "forfeit") results in a sequence of klaxons, alarm bells, and flashing lights and a score penalty. Davies is often the panellist who gives these answers. In the first two 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 the show's creators expected that hardly anyone would be able to give a correct answer without significant prompting, they instead encourage 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 trains of thought, and share humorous anecdotes from their own lives. The number of points given and taken away are normally decided by the host or beforehand by "QI" researchers known as "The "QI" Elves". For example, in one episode Davies was docked 10 points for suggesting "oxygen" to the question "What is the main ingredient of air?"
Negative scores are common, and occasionally even the victor's score may be negative. Score totals are announced at the conclusion of the show. Fry has said, "I think we all agree that nobody in this universe understands QI's scoring system." John Lloyd, "QI"s creator, has, on one occasion, 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. According to the Series A DVD, guests are allowed the right of appeal if they believe their score is wrong, but none has so far exercised that right.
Buzzers.
Panelists are given buzzers to use in signalling a response, each of which produces a different sound when pressed. For the first three series, the sounds were seemingly random things or followed an arbitrary theme in each episode, such as commonly heard everyday sounds in the Series C episode "Common Knowledge." From Series D onward, all four sounds are based on the particular episode's theme, such as in the Series F episode "Films and Fame" (sound clips associated with well-known movies, with Davies receiving Porky Pig's stuttering "That's all, folks!"). The buzzers are always demonstrated at the beginning of the programme, but are usually given a shortened version for repeated use during the episode, mostly in General Ignorance. Davies "always gets the most demeaning sound" for his buzzer.
Sometimes, the buzzers have unique points to them, such as having questions based on them; in most cases they are usually about Davies' own. For example, one of his buzzer noises in the Series D episode "Descendants" sounded like a Clanger, and the panel had to try and guess what was being said, while in the Series F episode "Fakes and Frauds", all the buzzers sounded like ordinary household objects, but three turned out to be the sound of the superb lyrebird mimicking the noises. In other episodes, they were sometimes changed to suit the theme of an episode; for the Series D episode "Denial and Deprivation", the panelists had to use unique buzzers – two had bells, one flicked a ruler over the edge of a school desk, and Davies squeezed a toy chipmunk – while in the Series G episode "Green", the buzzers were replaced with whistles so the show could be seen to be eco-friendly. On one occasion, points were automatically deducted from Davies' score solely because the buzzer did not match the theme of the episode, or activated the Klaxon.
General Ignorance.
In a parody of ubiquitous general knowledge quizzes, the final round is off-topic and called "General Ignorance". It focuses on seemingly easy questions which have widely believed but wrong answers. Whereas in the main rounds of the show, the panellists' buzzer usage is not usually enforced, the "General Ignorance" questions are introduced by the host's reminder to keep "fingers on buzzers". "General Ignorance" was featured in every episode until the I (ninth) series, but featured only occasionally in the J (tenth) and K (eleventh) series before appearing regularly again in the L (twelfth) series. Due to the large number of "obvious but wrong" answers, panellists—especially Davies—usually incur the greatest point losses in this round.
Tasks and themes.
In a number of episodes, either the set, the panellists' clothing, the opening theme, or a mixture of all, are changed to match the episode's theme. For example, in "Denial and Deprivation", the set was replaced with an auctioneer stand for Fry and school desks or side tables for the panellists, and the lighting was stripped down; while in "Health and Safety", the panellists wore hard hats, safety glasses, and bright yellow work vests and Fry wore a doctor's white coat and stethoscope.
In some episodes, an extra task is given to the panellists to complete during the course of an episode, which can earn them extra points. Such tasks have included a drawing contest, or spotting an item on the video screens and waving a "joker" card (e.g. Cuttlefish.) Several series have had a recurring task spanning every episode, often involving the use of a joker card to respond to a question whose answer fit a specified theme. Examples include "The Elephant in the Room" (series E, elephants), "Nobody Knows" (Series I, for questions without a known answer) and "Spend a Penny" (Series L, lavatories).
In addition to assigning tasks, Fry performed scientific experiments or demonstrations during certain episodes. He often did so once an episode in the J, K and L series, where they were called "Jolly Japes", "Knick-Knakes" and "Lab Larks", respectively, and usually occurred towards the end of the episode. Such experiments either used simple objects, various chemical compounds, odd contraptions, or a mixture of all. If an experiment's outcome was too fast to be seen, a short "replay" of it was shown, (sometimes with multiple angles) to reveal precisely what happened.
Production.
Writer and former BBC producer John Lloyd devised the format of the show, and it is produced by Quite Interesting Limited, an organisation set up by Lloyd. "QI" was originally seen as being an "Annotated Encyclopædia Britannica ... 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 Fincham and Alan Yentob, Lloyd decided that it would work better on television. The three pitched it to Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC One at the time. 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 Root, then controller of BBC Two, who agreed to develop it. When it was decided that the show would air on television, Michael Palin was offered the job of chairman with Fry and Davies as captains of the "cleverclogs" and "dunderheads" 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 panellist. Root commissioned a pilot and a further 16 episodes after that, although budget limitations reduced the first series to 12 episodes.
In October 2015, it was announced that Fry would be stepping down as host after Series M and would be replaced by Sandi Toksvig. Fry described his position on "QI" as "one of the best jobs on television", but that "it was time to move on". According to Alan Davies, Fry quit because the BBC cut the budget, so that three shows had to be recorded on the same day. "For budget reasons, they ended up making him do three shows in 24 hours", Davies said. Toksvig said that ""QI" is my favourite television programme both to watch and to be on". Lloyd said that Toksvig will be "the first female host of a mainstream comedy panel show on British television", and that although she is very different from Fry, she "will bring to the show the same kind of wonderful thing that Stephen does, the mixture of real brains and a hinterland of knowledge, plus this naughty sense of humour." He also said it will give the show a chance to "do things in a slightly different way".
Recording.
Recordings usually take place over a few weeks in May or June; three episodes are typically filmed per week and sixteen are filmed for each series. Series A–P were filmed at The London Studios, with Series Q onwards being filmed at Television Centre.
In the morning on the day of recording, the studio has to be set up. Seven cameras are used to record "QI". To check that images, forfeits, buzzers and lighting are working, the first technical rehearsal is hosted by floor manager Guy Smart with stand-ins for panellists. Fry, who was given the list of questions roughly an hour beforehand, hosted the second technical rehearsal at 2:00 pm. Guests may have time to practise with a set of warm-up questions.
For earlier series, warm-up comedians were used before recording began, frequently Stephen Grant, credited as the "audience wrangler". However, there have been no warm-ups for recent series. Fry recorded and tweeted audience AudioBooms and introduced the guests before the show. Recordings start at either 4:30 pm or 7:30 pm and last up to two hours, although only 30 minutes of footage is used for normal episodes and 45 minutes for "XL" episodes. By 10:00 pm, recording has usually finished and the set has been disassembled. Roughly 16 questions are asked and about half of those make it into the show; about 20% of material researched is used in a "QI" episode, while other facts may appear in the XL versions, a "QI" book, on "QI"s Twitter feed or on their website.
In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two episodes of series R were filmed without an audience, due to social distancing requirements. Further series R episodes were recorded with a virtual audience via Zoom.
Questions seen beforehand.
The makers of the show insist that the answers are not given to the panellists beforehand. The host is given a list of questions about an hour before the show, for preparatory purposes, but the guests are forbidden to ask for preparatory materials or other help. Alan Davies never does any preparation.
In an interview with the "Radio Times" regarding the current state of the BBC, Fry revealed that one of the regular panellists insists on seeing the questions before they appear in the show.
"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 Twitter account that it was neither Davies nor Rob Brydon.
Research.
The research for the show is mostly carried out by seven people called the ""QI" Elves", a team which has included Justin Pollard, Vitali Vitaliev, and Molly Oldfield (daughter of Mike Oldfield). The "elves" devise the questions for the show, and one is on set during filming who is able to communicate with the host during the show to provide and correct information. Other people involved in researching questions and compiling the scripts are John Mitchinson and Piers Fletcher, known (along with Justin Pollard, Molly Oldfield, and James Harkin) as the "Question Wranglers", whose research uses both "Encyclopædia Britannica" and "Wikipedia". The "QI" website also has a forum.
A "QI" Elves podcast, "No Such Thing as a Fish", began on 8 March 2014. The title is taken from an entry into the "Oxford Dictionary of Underwater Life", which was used on the show. The audio from the first episode in which they discuss how they found this fact is used as an introduction. Regular elves are Anna Ptaszynski, James Harkin, Dan Schreiber, and Andrew Hunter Murray, with occasional appearances from Alex Bell and Anne Miller. Schreiber is the host of the show. The theme song is "Wasps" from the band Emperor Yes, which is based on a fact about bees which was used on "QI". The song is written as an exchange between the bees, as they defend their hive from attacking wasps by swarming the wasp, and using their body heat to kill the wasps by overheating. A TV show entitled "No Such Thing as the News" aired for two seasons in 2016, following a similar format based around news stories and current events. In 2018 an online behind the scenes series that followed the podcasters on their UK tour was released called 'Behind The Gills'.
Episodes.
In "QI", every series takes its theme from a different letter of the alphabet, starting with the letter "A". Series are referred to by letter rather than number. The first series started on 11 September 2003, and consisted of topics beginning with "A". 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 over-riding 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 Christmas-based 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 (e.g. Danger), and for each to be given an official title connected to the topic/theme. It also saw Fry modify his introduction of the panellists, by incorporating the theme/topic of the episode, with Davies often getting the "demeaning" introduction. This trend has continued with each subsequent series; episodes from previous series were retroactively given titles. A video podcast (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, the videos are still referred to as "vodcasts" by whoever is introducing them (usually Fry but occasionally a panellist or even the audience.) The series was ended by a special outtake compilation entitled "Elephants".
Points may be given to (or taken from) the studio audience, and five episodes have the distinction of being won by the audience: "Death", the fifth episode in Series D; "England", the 10th episode in Series E; "Flora & Fauna", the 10th episode in Series F; "Greeks", the 14th episode in Series G; "Next", the 15th episode in Series N; and "Quantity and Quality", the 15th episode in Series Q. 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 fifth episode of Series E, "Europe", receiving a forfeit of −100 when they incorrectly sang the first stanza of the German national anthem, and the fourth episode of Series Q, “Queasy Quacks”, when they received a forfeit for referring to the first patient in a disease outbreak as Patient Zero. Several others have scored points in certain episodes by making appearances on the set or screens; these have included ASIMO (a humanoid robot) and US President Barack Obama.
A special stand-alone episode was filmed between 1:00 and 2:00 am (GMT) on 6 March 2011 as part of Comic Relief's special "24 Hour Panel People" featuring David Walliams, who appeared in various old and new panel game shows throughout a 24-hour period. The shows were streamed live on the Red Nose Day website, and parts of each show were shown during five half-hour specials on Comic Relief. The "QI" episode featured panellists Sue Perkins, Jo Brand, Russell Tovey and David Walliams. 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 the classic format of the show where most questions follow a subject, this episode was instead an hour-long General Ignorance round.
Guest appearances.
As of 28 January 2021, the following have all appeared multiple times as one of the guest panellists on the show. This list only includes "canonical" episodes of the BBC show. It does not include the unbroadcast pilot, nor the special editions for the Comic Relief and Sport Relief telethons, nor any live stage editions.
46 appearances
45 appearances
39 appearances
38 appearances
31 appearances
27 appearances
25 appearances
18 appearances
16 appearances
15 appearances
14 appearances
13 appearances
12 appearances
11 appearances
10 appearances
9 appearances
8 appearances
7 appearances
6 appearances
5 appearances
4 appearances
3 appearances
Phill Jupitus is the only guest to have appeared in every series to date. Rich Hall has the highest number of guest appearances in a single series—six times in Series B (half of the episodes that year), while David Mitchell has won the most episodes of any guest panellist, with 11.

a. Also made an additional appearance in the unbroadcast pilot.
b. Also made an additional appearance in the live Comic Relief episode.
c. Also made an additional appearance in the live Sport Relief episode.
d. Excluding Series N onwards. Toksvig took over hosting duties from Fry from the start of Series N.
International broadcasts.
As of 2011, "QI" is distributed by Fremantle.
In Australia, "QI" is broadcast on the ABC. The programme was first broadcast on 20 October 2009 after the surprise ratings success of "Stephen Fry in America". The ABC aired "QI" Series F first, but subsequently, in July 2010, ABC1 began broadcasting "QI" from the very beginning with Series A. "QI" has also been broadcast on the pay TV channel UKTV.
In March 2010, "QI" began a run in New Zealand on Prime. On 27 May 2011, Series A of "QI" was broadcast in South Africa on BBC Entertainment. "QI" series A-Q has also aired on BBC Entertainment in the Nordic countries.
There have been several attempts to broadcast "QI" in the United States. US networks that have tried to broadcast the series include Comedy Central, PBS, Discovery Channel and BBC America. Show creator and producer John 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 copyright 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 Hodgman, who appeared as a "fifth guest" in the second episode of Series G. In 2013, "QI" was picked up in the US by the streaming video service Hulu.
On 30 January 2015 BBC America announced that they had acquired "QI" and planned on airing the show, beginning with Series J, on 19 February 2015.
Davies has criticised "QI" being repeated so often, saying ""QI" being in a soup of shows on one of these repeat channels ... completely devalues the brand". Davies thought the show would gain more viewers when a new series aired if channels made "an audience wait for a couple of months".
Versions and spin-offs.
International versions.
In 2008, the "QI" format was sold to the Dutch broadcaster VARA. Also called "QI", the Dutch version of the show aired for the first time on 27 December 2008 and was hosted by the writer Arthur Japin with the comedian Thomas van Luyn taking the role of regular panellist. Japin also appeared (in the audience) in a British "QI" episode, "Gothic", explaining how the name Vincent van Gogh should be pronounced. The Dutch series was discontinued after six episodes.
A Swedish version of "QI" started airing on SVT1 8 September 2012, and was called "Intresseklubben". Comedian Johan Wester hosted "Intresseklubben", and Anders Jansson was featured as the regular panellist. A second series covering the letter B started airing in September 2013; Series C was recorded in June 2014 and aired in late 2014, while season D was recorded in June 2015 and started airing in August 2015.
A Danish version of QI, called "Quiz i en hornlygte" aired on DR2 between 2012 and 2013. The show was hosted by Danish comedian Carsten Eskelund. While not directly branded as a Danish version of QI, it maintained some recognisable elements, such as the difficulty of some questions and awarding points for interesting answers as well as negative points for wrong, but widely believed, answers.
The Czech version of "QI" was first broadcast on TV Prima on 14 August 2013. The programme is hosted by Leoš Mareš, with Patrik Hezucký appearing as a guest in every episode.
"The QI Test".
The QI Test was a planned spinoff 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 Fry and was recorded in November 2009, but a series was never broadcast.
Mistakes and fact correction.
Some of the answers on the show have been disputed and shown to be incorrect. In Series A, the show claimed that the longest animal in the world was the lion's mane jellyfish, but this was later corrected in Series C, saying that the longest animal in the world is the bootlace worm.
Members of the public and members of the "QI" website contact the show to correct information. At the end of the third series, Dara Ó Briain was docked points for having stated, in the previous series, that the triple point of water is zero degrees Celsius, an answer which earned him 2 points at the time. Viewers had written in to say that the triple point of water is in fact 0.01 degrees, and so the 2 points awarded Ó Briain in the previous series were revoked and he received a further deduction of 10 points for "saying a now "obvious answer"".
Various other retractions are made by the producers of the show on the special features of the DVD releases. The origin of the error may also be explained. For instance, Fry made a mistake when explaining why helium makes your voice higher, in the Series B Christmas special. He claimed that the gas only affected the frequency, but not the pitch, despite them being the same thing; in actuality, the timbre is affected.
Information contributed by a panellist during a discussion, but which has since been found to be false, have also been corrected. In the "Knowledge" episode in Series K it was explained that many facts on the show are later shown to be incorrect. Points were refunded to three panellists who had appeared previously; The largest refund went to Davies, who received in excess of seven hundred wrongly deducted points. Fry gave some examples of incorrect facts told in previous episodes, such as ones relating to lobster ages, the evolution of giraffe's necks and millipede legs.
More recently, the online forum now includes a "QI Qibbles" blog, which aims to rectify further mistakes in the series.
Notable examples.
Welsh word for "blue".
The error that has attracted the most complaints to date was made in Series B, when it was claimed that the Welsh language has no word for "blue". 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 (the show's producer).
Flobbadob.
An episode in Series B claimed that the language spoken by children's TV characters Bill and Ben was called "Flobbadob" and was named after the onomatopoeic phrase that supposed creator Hilda Brabban's younger brothers (after whom the characters were named) gave to their bath farts during their early childhood. However, in Series D, Fry read out the following letter written by Silas Hawkins, the son of veteran voice-over talent Peter Hawkins, 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 just isn't true.
Fry then apologised and corrected the error, saying "Their language is called 'Oddle poddle'. 'Flobbadob' means 'Flowerpot' in Oddle poddle."
It has later been established that while Hilda Brabban did sell stories about characters named Bill and Ben to the BBC in the 1950s, these bear no resemblance to the Bill and Ben of the Flower Pot Men.
Culture.
"QI" has stated it follows a philosophy: 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. Eskimos do not rub noses. The rickshaw was invented by an American. Joan of Arc was not French. Lenin was not Russian. The world is not solid, it is made of empty space and energy, and neither haggis, whisky, porridge, clan tartans nor kilts are Scottish. So we stand, silent, on a peak in Darien 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 4 panel game "The Unbelievable Truth", hosted by frequent "QI" guest panellist David Mitchell, broadcast a New Year's Special which paid tribute to "QI". The show featured Fry, Davies and Lloyd on the panel, as well as Rob Brydon, another regular "QI" participant.
Controversies and criticism.
Content perceived as offensive.
In December 2010, panellists on "QI" made jokes during a discussion about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Yamaguchi had died only earlier that year. The Japanese embassy in London wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC about the content of its quiz show after being alerted to the content when viewers in Japan contacted diplomatic staff. Yamaguchi's daughter also made known how upset she was as a result of the comments broadcast on the BBC. She said that Britain, as a nuclear power, had no right to "look down" on her father. In January 2011, the BBC issued an apology for "any offence caused" to Japan by the incident, recognising "the sensitivity of the subject matter for Japanese viewers". In February 2011, the BBC blamed a "strength of feeling" in Japan following its atomic bomb joke broadcast for the cancellation of the filming of part of its "Planet Word" documentary in Japan, which was due to be presented by Fry.
In February 2011, the BBC received several complaints about jokes made in an episode of "QI" about Margaret Thatcher. Regular panellist Jo Brand commented that Lady Thatcher sounded like "a device for removing pubic hair". Later, panellist Phill Jupitus shouted "Burn the witch!" when a digitally altered picture of Thatcher, showcasing the Thatcher effect optical illusion, was shown on-screen. Several Conservative politicians condemned the remarks; and Lord Tebbit complained that "Lady Thatcher has been treated like this by the BBC for the past 30 years".
In 2011, an episode of "QI" featuring Jeremy Clarkson was withdrawn due to controversial comments Clarkson had recently made about people committing suicide by jumping in front of trains. The "QI" episode did not contain any such statements, but was postponed "to avoid putting Clarkson in the spotlight". The episode, on the subject of "idleness", was broadcast later.
On 11 January 2013, an episode of "QI" ending with Fry reading a limerick about paedophilia was criticised by viewers, especially as it was broadcast directly before a "Newsnight" report on Jimmy Savile. The BBC Trust described the incident as "unfortunate and regrettable" and the limerick as "capable of causing offence", but ruled it was not in breach of BBC guidelines.
Gender gap.
The BBC has received criticism regarding the lack of women on their comedy panel shows. As a result, the corporation decided to ban all-male panels on comedy shows in February 2014, with BBC's director of TV Danny Cohen stating in an interview with "The Observer" that "shows without women are unacceptable". In November 2014, "Mirror" reported stats revealing that 38% of all "QI" episodes at that time had featured only men, 55.9% featured only one woman, and only the remaining 6.1% had two or three women, out of a total of three guest panellists per episode (the fourth one being regular panellist Alan Davies). Clem Bastow of "The Sydney Morning Herald" was supportive of BBC's decision, saying that "left to their own devices, the producers of these shows are clearly failing massively when it comes to putting together line-ups that aren't just endless parades of the same old white men," and noted that this could motivate the producers to uncover some new talent. In 2017, creator of "QI" John Lloyd commented on BBC's decision, telling the "Cheltenham Literature Festival" that "arguing a BBC quota for women panellists risked being mere tokenism", while his wife Sarah Wallace—director of QI Limited—stated that female comedians are hesitant to appear on the show.
In April 2014, Sandi Toksvig, who was hosting "The News Quiz" on BBC Radio 4 at that time, had also criticised BBC's decision saying that "recruiting more female hosts would be a more desirable way of correcting the imbalance." She explained that women would feel more comfortable about participating with a female host, and described the fact that many quiz shows are presented by men as "slightly ridiculous". In 2015, when Toksvig took over from Fry as a host of "QI", she told the Guardian newspaper: "If I can show that by hosting a programme like this women neither destroy the social fabric of this country [nor] frighten the horses, it's a very good job." Nevertheless, Toksvig has acknowledged Fry's delicate treatment towards his female panellists, and she herself continues to encourage them to be smart and funny when they appear on the show. In 2018, Emma Cox of "Radio Times" highlighted a notable difference between "QI" and other "aggressively masculine" panel shows.
In September 2018, while responding to a question on equal pay at the Women's Equality Party's conference, Toksvig revealed that she receives 40% of what Stephen Fry was being paid as the host of "QI", and the same amount as panelist Alan Davies. Talent fees for "QI" are managed by Talkback.
Reception.
"QI" was received very positively by its viewers. It was the most popular programme on BBC Four in 2005, and one of its books, "The Book of General Ignorance", became a global best-seller for Christmas 2006.
"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."
Julia Raeside from "The Guardian" reviewed the show during its tenth series, calling it "still rather more than quite interesting" and complimenting it for being "one of the last truly popular programmes on mainstream television where comedians are allowed to be clever". Raeside noted ratings were still high, as four million viewers in total watched the first J series episode of "QI" and "QI XL". American critic Liesl Schillinger described "QI" as ""Jeopardy!" with Stephen Colbert as host, with Steve Martin and Ellen DeGeneres as guests, working off a game board loaded with unanswerable questions."
Matt Smith gave "QI Live" a positive review, calling it "funny, educational, and ... quite interesting"; Smith noted there was a "great deal of Fry worship" and that, due to high ticket prices, "only the most dedicated Fry fans ... would come to this show". He commented that "much like the television show, your enjoyment of the stage version will be affected by how you perceive the guests", but went on to say that he enjoyed the line-up in the show he saw.
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.
Books.
United Kingdom.
The first "QI" book was 2006's "The Book of General Ignorance", published in hardback on 5 October by Faber and Faber. () Written by producer and series-creator John Lloyd and "QI's" head of research, John Mitchinson, it includes a foreword by Fry and "Four words" by 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 and added a complete episode listing from Series A–F, along with an index.
"QI"s second book, "The Book of Animal Ignorance", was released in the UK (in the same hardback format) by Faber & Faber on 4 October 2007. () It promised to be a "bestiary 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 Banter". Similarly, on the Banter feature of the Series B DVD, Lloyd also previewed the title of "QI"s fourth book, "The QI Book of the Dead", which went on sale on 15 October 2009.
7 October 2010 saw the publication of "QI"s fifth book—"The Second Book of General Ignorance". Written by the same authors, this book covers a whole new series of questions on a wide variety of topics, which promises to prove that "everything you think you know is (still) wrong".
The sixth "QI" book, "1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off", a list of facts, was published on 1 November 2012. James Harkin, "QI"s chief researcher, co-wrote the book with Lloyd and Mitchinson.
"QI"s first annual, 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 (.) 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 Fry and regular "QI" panellists, are produced by David Stoten (one of Roger Law's "Spitting Image" 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's talents as a 'rubber-faced' comic, as well as the comic stylings of Newman and Husband from "Private Eye", "Viz's" Chris Donald, Geoff Dunbar, Ted Dewan and "The Daily Telegraph"s Matt Pritchett.
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. () It is released as part of Dunod's "Cult.Science"/"Oh, les Sciences !" series, which also includes titles by Robert L. Wolke, Ian Stewart and Raymond Smullyan.
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".)
United States.
On 7 August 2007, "The Book of General Ignorance" was published in America by Harmony Books. () It features a sparser cover downplaying its links to the TV series, which had yet to be broadcast in the US. The book received glowing reviews from both "Publishers Weekly" 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 No. 10 on 9 December, falling to No. 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 Video. A second interactive game, "QI: Strictly Come Duncing" followed on 26 November 2007, from Warner's Music division. Both games feature Fry asking questions, and then explaining the answers in full "QI"-mode.
Series releases.
United Kingdom.
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 Worldwide'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. Sales over the Christmas 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. In 2014, a message on the QI site read "Due to a number of copyright issues there are difficulties releasing further series of QI on DVD".
On 14 December 2015, the Network imprint announced on its website that it had made a deal with FremantleMedia so previously unreleased shows could be made available on DVD sometime in 2016; among the list was "QI". The DVD sets, released on 8 May 2017, were split into two initial volumes of series A-D and E-G, containing additional features including a 'Making of' feature, interviews and bloopers. Two additional sets, series H-J and K-M are scheduled for release on 23 October 2017.
Australia.
A box-set of series 1–3 (Series A-C) was released in September 2011. Additionally, a single DVD titled "The Best Bits" containing clips from Series G was released on 3 June 2010. Two years later a three DVD set labelled as "Series 9" was released in August 2012, containing the Series H episodes. The Series 9 DVD title was later changed to "The H Series" and The Series J was released also on 5 March 2014.
Online releases.
United Kingdom
United States
Multiple services have made QI available to stream in the United States, including Acorn TV (Series A through G) and Hulu (Series I, J and K). As of September 2020, only series J-R were available through BritBox.
Other media.
Since 10 February 2007, a weekly "QI" column has run in "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper. Fifty-two columns were planned, originally alphabetically themed like the TV series and running from A to Z twice, 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 MindGames" magazine since its fifth issue, and revolves around facts and questions in the "General Ignorance"-mould. A weekly "QI"-linked multiple-choice question is featured in "Radio Times", 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 "QI"s internet show "QI News", a parody news show which broadcasts "News" items about things which are "quite interesting". "QI News" stars Glenn Wrage and Katherine Jakeways as the newsreaders, Bob Squire and Sophie Langton.


Kita e

 is a Japanese game series, set in Hokkaidō. The series was developed by Red Entertainment and published by Hudson Soft. An anime version and a manga adaptation have also been released.
History.
The series began with , which was released on March 18, 1999 for the Dreamcast. A fan disc, , was released on August 5 that same year. On October 30, 2003, the series hit the PlayStation 2 platform as was released. A sequel to "Diamond Dust", "Kita e: Diamond Dust + Kiss is Beginning" came out October 28, 2004. An anime series entitled was adapted from the two "Diamond Dust" games. The anime was released in the United States by ADV Films under the title "Diamond Daydreams" in three volumes and later in a thinpack re-release.
"White Illumination".
Gameplay.
The game takes place in modern Japan and (unusually for a dating sim) uses actual photographs of Hokkaidō as background art, while the character sprites are illustrations. Game interaction is achieved through a menu of action options, such as sleeping, using your cell phone, waiting, saving, or going somewhere. When choosing to go somewhere, the player selects a location in Hokkaidō from the menu in order to travel there. Upon arrival in the chosen area, the game shows and describes the scene in visual novel format, with text layered on a graphical background. Visiting locations at different in-game times yields different results; for example, a shop may be closed or a character may not be there if the player visits at an inopportune time. When a character is encountered, a conversation is initiated and the player can occasionally select dialogue options. As in other dating sims, the protagonist's relationships with the other characters can be affected positively or negatively by the chosen options.
Story.
The player, a second-year high school student (17 years old), travels from Tokyo to Sapporo in Hokkaidō (hence the basic title of the game "Kita E" (To The North). There, he encounters eight different girls, including the lead character Kotori Haruno, whose family he stays with during his time up north. In the game, the player explores the island, plays video games, does karaoke, goes shopping—and most of all, tries to find that special someone to share his heart with. The main period of the game is set during summer vacation (August 1 to August 14), by which, at the end, the player returns to Tokyo. The conclusion of the game falls around December 28, when the player returns to Sapporo to witness the "White Illumination Countdown" on New Year's Eve (similar to the New Year's Eve Times Square celebrations). To win the game, the player must meet his chosen one at the Countdown on New Year's Eve, then kiss her at 12:00 midnight on New Year's Day.
Game information.
The game was released on March 13, 1999 by Hudson Soft, exclusively for the Dreamcast system. The average price for the game at time of release was 5800 yen.
"Diamond Dustdrops".
Story.
The story is about six different girls from different lifestyles living on Hokkaidō in Japan. They each live in a different city on the island. Each girl believes in a myth of snow turning into diamond dust, and if one makes a wish on the diamond dust, their wish is 100% guaranteed to come true. Another myth about diamond dust is that if a boy and girl meet under the dust, they're guaranteed happiness and marriage later in life. Each of the six girls have some stubborn moments and awkward stages in their lives, but looking into themselves and others will help them get back on their feet. When these six girls meet, their lives will change dramatically for the better as the snow begins to fall.
Staff and Development.
The games are illustrated by NOCCHI.
Reception.
"White Illumination" sold 25 thousand copies in its first week.
The anime adaptation received positive, albeit not spectacular, reviews. Anime News Network's Theron Martin said that "the series as a whole is very approachable even to those who aren't normally anime fans." and "It doesn't forge any new ground and isn't outstandingly creative in the stories it tells, but it doesn't need to be to deliver a quality product." Zac Bertschy, also with ANN, called the anime unremarkable and "fairly banal", but did say that "It's really refreshing to watch a show based on a dating sim that doesn't make you wish you could reach through the screen and slap the characters around a little bit." Zac and Theron also praised ADV Films' English dubbing, saying that the English dialogue track "adds a lot to an already enjoyable little show", and "ultimately enhances the story rather than being a detriment." Both ANN reviewers gave the show a B+ overall.
In a review for Mania.com, Mark Thomas wrote that the "stories are well played out, with believable actions and reactions from the characters, and despite only having two episodes each to work with, the characters are well rounded... What makes this show even nicer is that even the secondary characters are given enough to work with that makes them real."


Herbie Rescue Rally

Disney's Herbie: Rescue Rally is a video game, developed by British studio Climax Handheld Games. It was released in 2007. It is based on "The Love Bug" film series.
Reception.
"IGN" wrote "Yeah, it feels kind of weird to say that Herbie Rescue Rally is a good game. For a system that is seriously lacking in solid racing titles, it's refreshing to find one that is at least worth playing."


Philip Walsingham Sergeant

Philip Walsingham Sergeant (27 January 1872, Notting Hill, London – 20 October 1952) was a British professional writer on chess and popular historical subjects. He collaborated on the fifth (1933), sixth (1939), and seventh (1946) editions of "Modern Chess Openings", an important reference work on the chess openings. He also wrote biographical game collections of Paul Morphy ("Morphy's Games of Chess" (1916) and "Morphy Gleanings" (1932)), Rudolf Charousek ("Charousek's Games of Chess" (1919)), and Harry Nelson Pillsbury ("Pillsbury's Chess Career", with W. H. Watts, 1922), and other important books such as "A Century of British Chess" (1934) and "Championship Chess" (1938).
Harry Golombek writes that, "Without any pretensions to mastership, he represented Oxford University in the years 1892-5". Golombek considers "A Century of British Chess" probably Sergeant's best chess book, but opines that although Sergeant's chess books are lucidly written, they suffer from the defect that, as a non-master, he was not competent to deal with the annotational aspect of his work.
He was a second cousin of Edward Guthlac Sergeant.
Chess books.
Sergeant wrote or co-wrote the following chess books. The ISBN, where given, refers to that assigned to a later republication of the book by Dover Publications.
Other books.
Sergeant wrote or co-wrote the following books on subjects other than chess. As in the previous section, the date of earliest known publication is given. The ISBN, where available, refers to that assigned to a later republication of the book.


Vas o No Vas (Mexican game show)

Vas o No Vas () is the Mexican version of "Deal or No Deal", broadcast by Televisa. The original version was transmitted on Saturday nights, however episodes are now also broadcast on weekday evenings. While the weekend version shows a more solemn environment (with a top prize of 5,000,000 pesos, about US$262,500), the weekday version seems more informal and fun (with a top prize of 1,000,000 pesos, about US$53,000). Héctor Sandarti presents the show, and he has also done the Spanish-language American version (using the same title) for Telemundo.
Case values.
Daily version.

Saturday Night version.

"Yoo si vooy".
The second version, called "Yoo si vooy," was premiered in September 2009. It was hosted by Raúl Araiza Herrera. The top prize of the show is 2,500,000 pesos.
A contestant won only 1 peso after rejected the offer of 170,000 pesos. The other case had 350,000 pesos.


Goldfish scooping

 is a traditional Japanese game in which a player scoops goldfish with a paper scooper. It is also called, "Scooping Goldfish", "Dipping for Goldfish", or "Snatching Goldfish". ""Kingyo" means goldfish and "sukui" means scooping. Sometimes bouncy balls are used instead of goldfish. Japanese summer festivals or "ennichi" commonly have a stall for this activity.
Rules.
Each person plays individually. The basic rule is that the player scoops goldfish from a pool with a paper scooper called a "poi"" and puts them into a bowl with the "poi". This game requires care and speed as the "poi" can tear easily. The game is over when the "poi" is completely broken or incapable of scooping properly. Even if one part of the "poi" is torn, the player can continue the game with the remaining part.
At "ennichi" or summer festival stalls, the game is not a competition. Participation typically costs around 100 yen and players can take the scooped goldfish home in a plastic bag provided by the stall keeper. The game is unlimited, so players can scoop until their "pois" are completely broken. If they cannot scoop any goldfish, the stall keeper may be kind enough to give them one or two free goldfish. Each stall usually has its own rules. For example, there are some stalls where players can get a stronger "poi" if they pay more. Other stalls give players presents if they scoop a lot. In some variations, there are also medaka (Japanese killifish) that are faster and harder to catch than goldfish. Usually, for every four goldfish, there is one medaka, so in "ennichi", if you catch one, it counts as four goldfish.
At the National Goldfish Scooping Championship, players follow official rules that are different from the rules listed above.
Pool.
Usually, the goldfish are placed in a small plastic pool about and depth.
The "poi" consists of a round plastic frame with a hand grip, and paper on the frame. The "poi" paper can break easily when put into water, so players should not move the "poi" too quickly. There are different classes of "poi" paper. is weaker, and is stronger. In some stalls, staff have unbreakable "poi" which consist of a net to scoop goldfish instead of paper.
Bowl.
The bowl used to store the scooped goldfish is usually made of plastic in a semi-sphere shape with a capacity of about .
Bag.
If players get goldfish, they can take them home in bags provided by the stall keeper.
Goldfish.
The varieties of goldfish often used in goldfish scooping are "Koaka", "Demekin", and "Anekin".
History.
This game started in the late Edo period, around 1810. In those days, "pois" were made with nets, and it was a game played by children. "Pois" came to be made with paper and stalls were started in the Taishō period, around 1910.
The game became more and more popular, and the National Goldfish Scooping Championship began in 1995. Today it is so popular that stalls can be found at many "ennichi" 縁日 "summer festivals" in Japan.
Variants.
Various scooping game variants are found, including , , which features small jelly-like rubber balls, , which features bouncy balls, and , which features small plastic figurines in the shapes of various cartoon characters, particularly manga and anime.
National Goldfish Scooping Championship.
The is the biggest official competition managed by the National Goldfish Scooping Association and Yamatokōriyama city in Nara Prefecture (Yamatokōriyama is famous for producing goldfish). It is held on the third Saturday and Sunday in August every year. In 2007, the 13th championship was held and 1116 people participated in it. It consisted of three sections:
There are area trials and the first and second in every section can participate in National Championship. Extraordinarily in the Nara trials, 60 people in the child section, 80 people in the ordinary section and 40 groups in the group section can participate. The rules are detailed and include the size of goldfish, poi and pool, and the number of umpires. Contestants compete for the number of goldfish scooped in three minutes. If the paper of "poi" is completely broken, the game is over and the score is the number of goldfish scooped until then.
In the tenth championship (2004) a player scooped 61 goldfish in three minutes in the semifinal, a new high and averaging one goldfish per three seconds.
In 2011, 2,400 players competed. The team title went to 3 players who scooped 173 goldfish.


John Cooper (serial killer)

John William Cooper (born 3 September 1944) is a Welsh serial killer.
On 26 May 2011, Cooper was given a whole life order, for the 1985 double murder of siblings Richard and Helen Thomas, and the 1989 double murder of Peter and Gwenda Dixon. The murders were known in the media as the "Pembrokeshire Murders" or the "Coastal Murders". Cooper was also sentenced for the rape of a 16-year-old girl and a sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl, both carried out at gunpoint in March 1996, in a wooded area behind the Mount Estate, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.
Cooper had a history of crime, including 30 robberies and violent assault. Footage from the television game show "Bullseye" in May 1989, in which he appeared as a contestant, was later used as evidence against him, comparing his image with a sketch of a suspect in the Dixons' murder.
Cooper was sentenced to 14 years in 1998 for robbery and burglary. Because of subsequent developments in DNA and forensic science, the police carried out a cold case review in April 2009 and were able to identify Cooper's shotgun as being the murder weapon. Further DNA evidence was provided by forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop. He was released from prison in January 2009. The police collected further evidence against him and Cooper was arrested again in May of that year. He was convicted, in May 2011, for the double murders and sexual assaults and sentenced to a whole life order.
History of crimes.
Between the ages of 17 and 21, Cooper was charged with theft of a vehicle, assaulting a police officer, being drunk and disorderly, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
In 1978, Cooper, then a farm labourer, won £90,000 (worth over £500,000 today) and also a £4,000 car in a newspaper Spot the Ball competition. A friend said: "John developed a huge drink and gambling habit after his winnings went to his head... It was a life-changing amount of money and I saw a real change in him. He spent most of it in pubs and bookies... People were scared of him and he got into a lot of fights. As his money dried up he started the robberies."
On 22 December 1985, Cooper targeted a three-storey farmhouse at Scoveston Park, killing brother and sister Richard and Helen Thomas, and then burning down the house.
On 28 May 1989, Cooper was a contestant in the ITV gameshow "Bullseye". Footage from the show was later used to match him to a sketch made from witness descriptions.
On 29 June 1989, Peter and Gwenda Dixon were on holiday in Pembrokeshire and were due to take their last walk along the coastal path when they failed to return. Their dead bodies were later found along the path. Cooper had tied the couple up, demanded they hand out their bank card and then forced them to disclose their personal identification number (PIN). Cooper, carrying a sawn-off shotgun, robbed Peter Dixon of £300 and shot the couple in the face at point blank range. In 1996 he attacked five youngsters, threatening them with a gun, sexually assaulting one girl and raping another. By 1998, Cooper had committed 30 burglaries and an armed robbery.
In 2011, Cooper was jailed for life for the crimes. In September 2011, he launched an appeal against his convictions. His appeal was rejected in November 2012.
Cooper was diagnosed as a psychopath.
Documentaries and television.
The UK television series "Real Crime" broadcast a documentary about Cooper in November 2011. On 24 May 2016, the Welsh language television channel S4C broadcast a documentary in the series "Y Ditectif" (The Detective) about the way in which evidence against Cooper was gathered using the latest forensic techniques available at the time, the strategy used by Dyfed-Powys Police in interviewing him and his eventual conviction. On 27 September 2016, the ITV Cymru Wales television channel broadcast a documentary in the series "Crime Files" which examined how police solved the two double murder cases in Pembrokeshire including an interview with the detective who was tasked with interviewing Cooper. On 12 July 2018, a documentary about Cooper, named "The Gameshow Serial Killer: Police Tapes", was aired by ITV as part of the channel's 'Crime and Punishment' season. On 29 January 2019, the UK version of digital channel CBS Reality premiered a further documentary about Cooper's crimes in an episode of its "Murder by the Sea" true crime series.
In January 2021, ITV broadcast a three-part TV series entitled "The Pembrokeshire Murders", most exterior scenes of which were filmed on location in Pembrokeshire. This was followed by an hour-long documentary, "The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching The Game Show Killer", featuring interviews with Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, the man who reopened the investigation, forensic scientists involved in the case, and footage of Cooper as he was interviewed by police. Cooper was speculatively linked with the unexplained death of 77-year-old Flo Evans, a widow who died in 1989, who knew Cooper and who was found fully-clothed in a cold bath in her cottage.


Newfooty

The Newfooty Limited Company was established in Liverpool by Mr. William Lane Keeling (Born Sept. 1893, died 1976) in 1929,the year when the patent was officially registered at the patent office in Liverpool. The initial Newfooty Patent ran from 1929–1934, followed by a further five year period of 1934–1939.
Newfooty came up with the idea of flicking the figures with the fingers towards the ball and was the initial table football (soccer) game long before Subbuteo Table Soccer (Football). Newfooty can lay claim to being the original finger flicking table soccer game which many players enjoy today. First manufactured in 1929 by Mr William (Will) Lane Keeling in Liverpool, the original game has reached more fame than in the past, due to the internet years and information sharing. In 2029 it will then be the 100 Years anniversary of this table football (soccer) game. The first manufactured figures where flat from card (cardboard, paper) and later the plastic (celluloid) version followed.
After the Second World War, when the English economy started to recover, Newfooty had a rival on the market by 1947, when Peter Adolph started his Subbuteo Sports Games Ltd company. The Newfooty set contained 22 playing figures on a plastic base with lead at the bottom, goalkeepers, balls, wire made goals, fixture card and rule book. Corner kick flags came later. All fitted into very nicely designed cardboard boxes to attract the football fan.
Newfooty advertised itself as 'the Original Game' in printed media and was a bitter market rival to Subbuteo in the 1950s. Both companies manufactured sets (in Cardboard boxes) of games which looked rather similar with regards to the size of the figures and the methods of play.
In 1953 Newfooty brought the first 3D plastic figurine into the market.
The manufactured products are not used in the modern game, but it is loved by many hobby players and collectors.
The 'Newfooty Players Association' (NPA) was founded in 1934 in England and people could become members to participate in Leagues and Cup competitions. It was the world's first "players association" and organised by Newfooty Ltd. There was also a Newfooty player of the Year Trophy. The Newfooty handbook "Libro Oficial" was also available in the Spanish language with "Instrucciones y Reglamentos" for "Futbol de Mesa".
Newfooty Limited company was taken over by its rival Subbuteo Sports Games Ltd from Tunbridge Wells in 1957.
The world governing body FISTF issues the modern Sports table football rules, based on the classic Subbuteo playing rules. Newfooty rules and regulations are not well known, except the way to flick the figure towards the ball by flicking the finger.
References.
Genealogy: geni.com William Lane Keeling (Born around Sept. 1893, died 1976)


Tears to Tiara

 is a Japanese adult tactical role-playing game developed by Leaf. It was first released for Windows on April 28, 2005 in Japan. Then it was followed by a 12-years-old and up version called released for the PlayStation 3 platform on July 17, 2008 in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in which the adult content was removed. This port also contained several enhancements and additional scenarios including new character designs and changed the original 2D gameplay to 3D.
A side story for the PlayStation 3 port titled was released on September 17, 2009 and a sequel titled was released on October 31, 2013.
Plot.
The game draws heavily from Welsh, Celt, Christian and Roman mythology, with characters named Arawn, Arthur, Epona, Llŷr, Morgan, Pwyll, Rhiannon, and Taliesin. Set in a Late Antiquity-inspired fantasy setting, story starts on an island Erin (or Hibernia, as shown on an in-game map) on the west border of the Holy Empire.
Prologue is centered around the precognition-gifted priestess of the Gael tribe, Rhiannon. She is kidnapped by a rogue priest of the Holy Empire, Drwc, to be used as a sacrifice in a ritual meant to resurrect the Demon King Arawn and put Drwc in his favor. As a response the Gael people burn their village and swear to bring Rhiannon back or exact revenge on the Empire. In the middle of the ritual, as the Gael people attack Drwc's soldiers, Arawn is resurrected and offered Rhiannon. At this point, he kills Drwc, frees Rhiannon, and proclaims no intention in wreaking havoc which the legends attributed to him. Instead, he shows interest in Rhinannon's brother Arthur, the First Warrior of his tribe. Rhiannon, on the other hand, falls in love with Arawn, and by declaring her decision to marry him, makes him the chieftain of the Gael tribe (hers and Arthur's father was the previous chieftain, but Arthur could not assume the title due to being the First Warrior).
As the prologue ends, point of view is switched from Rhiannon to Arawn, revealing him to be the protagonist of the game, and the story continues with the exodus of Gael tribe to the neighboring island of Albion (or Insula Britannica, as shown on an in-game map) in hope of eluding the Empire.
Media.
Games.
"Tears to Tiara" was first released as an adult game on April 28, 2005 by Aquaplus’ adult game division Leaf for the Windows platform. Its opening theme is "Tears to Tiara" by Arisa Nakayama, insert song by D-Terada while the ending theme is "Until", also by Arisa Nakayama.
The title was later remade and released as a B rated game, titled for the PlayStation 3 on July 17, 2008 with two different editions, a limited edition and a regular edition. It has additional scenarios, 3D gameplay and the change of character designs if compared to the Windows version. The limited edition of the release contains a booklet titled as "Tears to Tiara - Visual Works" that features the character designs and storyboards as well as the game's original soundtrack. There was also a pre-order campaign that also includes special extras for the game such as a sticker poster set and a character voice CD that contains system voice and that features Tōru Ōkawa, Yūko Gotō and Makoto Ishii. The game also has a new character, Lidia, voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. The titles of the opening and ending theme are "haunting melody" and "memory", both sung by Suara. An insert titled "Until" sung by Rena Uehara was also used.
Furthermore, it was first announced in the staff blog that there will also be a side story game for the PlayStation 3 port, titled . "The Secret of Avalon" also has a new character called Decimus, voiced by Wataru Hatano. "Tears to Tiara Anecdotes" was released on September 17, 2009 and like the enhanced port, it is for the PlayStation 3 platform. The release is in two editions, a limited edition and a regular edition. Both the enhanced port and "Anecdotes" were also ported for PlayStation Portable.
Characters from "Tears to Tiara" are also playable in "", a fighting game developed by Aquaplus with characters from various Leaf games.
Gameplay.
The gameplay between the two versions are very different. The Windows game has the combat segments occurring in real-time while the PlayStation 3 version has been altered it to be turn based combat. In any of its version, the player and enemy AI control multiple characters of different classes such as magic user, archer, and soldier. Outside of battle the story is told through 2-D cutscenes, with gameplay proceeding much like a typical visual novel.
Manga.
A manga adaptation of the PlayStation 3 port was serialized in Media Factory's monthly seinen manga magazine, "Monthly Comic Alive" in 2009 and 2010. This adaptation was done by Shirometsukusa, who had previously done a part in Fate/stay night's manga anthology. It has started its serialization in the magazine's 2nd issue in 2009. The first volume has been released on June 23, 2009 under Media Factory's "MF Comics Alive Series" label as well as bearing the number .
Anime.
An anime adaptation aired based also on the PlayStation 3 port. The anime is directed by Tomoki Kobayashi and its series composition done by Tōko Machida. The animation is done by White Fox and T3Works is the series' production committee.
The series began airing on April 6, 2009, incorporating the additional scenario and characters in the PlayStation 3 release. In addition to its Japanese premiere, the anime has been simulcast and received its English language premiere on Animax Asia on the same day at 12:35 am across its networks on Southeast Asia, the same time the series will receive its Japanese premiere at 01:35 am Japanese Standard Time. This would be the fastest premiere of an anime outside Japan. On March 20, 2009, it was further confirmed that the series would indeed be simulcast with Japanese audio and English subtitles with Malay subtitles for Malaysia; being the first of its kind.
The anime uses the same voice actors from the PlayStation 3 game, with Tōru Ōkawa, Yūko Gotō and Makoto Ishii voicing Arawn, Riannon and Arthur respectively. The series' opening and ending theme are "Free and Dream" and "True Sky, Blue Sky" which are sung by Suara and Aira Yūki respectively. Both singles were released on April 22, 2009 by King Records and Bandai Visual respectively. While there was also an insert song titled "Until", used in episode 17. It was sung by Rena Uehara. An original soundtrack for the series done by Takayuki Hattori was released on June 24, 2009. It mainly contains background music along with the TV size ending theme. The CD bears the catalog number LACA-5925.
The first volume of both DVD and Blu-ray went on sale on June 17, 2009 and subsequent volumes will be released every month by Pony Canyon. The first volume's cover features Arawn and Riannon<ref name="DVD/Blu-ray cover 1"></ref> while the second features Arthur and Morgan.<ref name="DVD/Blu-ray cover 2"></ref> Both first and second volumes of the limited edition includes a 20-page full-color booklet as well as having a sticker poster and a one piece type casing.<ref name="DVD/Blu-ray release"></ref> The first volume also feature separate interviews with Tomoki Kobayashi, Tōru Ōkawa and Tōko Machida.<ref name="DVD/Blu-ray vol.1 interview"></ref>
The anime has been picked up for release in North America by Sentai Filmworks, distributed by the new company, Section23 Films. Part 1 of the series was released on November 24, 2009. Part 2 was then, released on January 26, 2010. Sentai Filmworks re-released Tears to Tiara with an English dub in 2010. Sentai Filmworks and Section23 Films release Tears to Tiara on DVD and Blu-ray with the English dub on October 19.
Internet radio.
There was an Internet radio broadcast before the start of the current radio and the title for the radio changes for every episode. There were a total of 8 episodes before it was renewed to the current title, . There were no guests for all the 8 episodes except for a public recording on February 14, 2009 at One Hobby 9. Before "Shin Tears to Tiaradio" began, the untitled internet radio started broadcasting on November 29, 2008 at the official site and later started broadcasting with a fixed title on April 13, 2009. New episodes will be broadcast on every Friday at Nico Nico Anime Channel. It has also started broadcasting in Onsen every Monday.
The personalities for the show are Riannon and Arthur's voice actors, Yūko Gotō and Makoto Ishii. Guests for "Shin Tears to Tiaradio" are Tōru Ōkawa for episode 3 and 4, Ami Koshimizu and Ai Shimizu for episode 5 and 6, Kaori Nazuka for episode 7 and 8, Suara for episode 9, Ryōko Ono and Ema Kogure from the "To Heart" series for episode 10 while Kiyomi Asai for episode 11 and 12.
Here are the following episode titles for the previous radio broadcast before "Shin Tears to Tiaradio":
Merchandise.
There were PVC figures of Riannon, Octavia and Ermin made by Kotobukiya for "Tears to Tiara: Garland of the Earth". Furthermore, it was first announced at the official site that there was a Nendoroid figure for Riannon and Arawn being made by Good Smile Company. The Riannon figure is to be released in August 2009, while Arawn is released one month after. It was announced in the staff blog that they are now available for pre-orders. Both are priced at 3,500 yen each. Kazuyoshi Udono sculpted Riannon's figure. While Arawn's figure is sculpted by Reiichi Itō, both with sculpting assistance provided by Nendoron.
There is also a trading card game of the anime in the works. The title of the card game has yet to be announced.
Sequel.
A sequel, titled , was announced by Aquaplus in January 2011 for the PlayStation 3. It is set in the same world as its predecessor, but features new main characters designed by dōjinshi artist Tatami Honjō. It was released on October 31, 2013. Atlus USA announced that "Tears to Tiara II" would be making its first appearance in western countries on October 14, 2014.
Source code release.
"Tears to Tiara" was one of four games (Aruruu to Asobo!!, Tears to Tiara, Kusari and ToHeart2 XRATED) Leaf was forced to release its source code to the public due to having used the Xvid video codec in the game. XVid is licensed under the GNU Public License, which requires that programs using the codec to make their source code available to program users.
A source code repository is hosted on GitHub.