the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, and absolutely nothing
Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...
. Lloyd and the curator then decide what form the exhibit could take and where in the museum it could be displayed. In series one, the programme ended either with Lloyd and Bailey reading audience suggestions for additional exhibits or asking the audience curious questions . Bailey ended the show by giving a humorous comment on a Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
quote. Both of these ideas were dropped in series two.
From series two onward, the show has maintained a standard format. It is presented in two-halves; in the first half, Lloyd and the curator introduce the three guests, provide an explanation of who they are, and the five engage in a general discussion. In the second half, the curator declares the Museum open for donations, and each guest explains what they wish to "donate" to the museum (again, as the museum is fictional, nothing is actually exchanged). Questioning of all three guests ensures that everyone says something about each donation.
Production
The programme's pilot episode was recorded on 16 April 2007 and was the entitled ''The Professor of Curiosity.'' The guests for this episode were Alastair Fothergill
Alastair David William Fothergill (born 10 April 1960) is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the series producer of the series ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), ''Planet Earth'' (2006) and the co-director of ...
, Victoria Finlay
Victoria Finlay is a British writer and journalist, known for her books on colour and jewels. Her most famous book is ''Colour: Travels Through The Paint Box''.
Career
Finlay studied social anthropology at St Andrew's University, Scotland, and th ...
and Simon Munnery
Simon Munnery, also known as his characters "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior" and "The League Against Tedium", is an English comedian.
He performs mainly to an alternative audience but has pierced the mainstream both with his BBC Radio 1 show in 19 ...
. This pilot, recorded at the Rutherford Room at the institute of Physics, has not been broadcast. The first series was recorded at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington and, since then, the show has been recorded at the
BBC Radio Theatre
The BBC Radio Theatre (originally named The Concert Hall) is a theatre situated within the BBC's Broadcasting House complex. It is used for live broadcast and audio recordings.
History
Originally named The Concert Hall, the theatre was desi ...
, with occasional recordings at other venues, such as the
Shaw Theatre and
RADA Studios
RADA Studios (formerly The Drill Hall) is a theatrical venue in Chenies Street in Bloomsbury, just to the east of Tottenham Court Road in the West End of London. Owned by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the building contains rehearsal ...
(formerly The Drill Hall), all in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
The series was created by Lloyd,
Richard Turner and
Dan Schreiber. The show is produced by Anne Miller. The show's researchers are Mike Turner, Lydia Mizon and Emily Jupitus of QI.
A live version of the show was staged at the
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
on 9 November 2012 for charity. The guests for this edition were
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first no ...
,
Dave Gorman,
Alan West, Baron West of Spithead
Alan William John West, Baron West of Spithead, (born 21 April 1948) is a retired admiral of the Royal Navy and formerly, from June 2007 to May 2010, a Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the British Home Office with responsibili ...
,
Helen Keen
Helen Keen is an English alternative comedian and writer born in Yorkshire, now living in London. She suffered with SM (Selective Mutism) as a child but overcame this before becoming a comedian.
Career
Keen was raised in Hull, East Riding of Yo ...
,
Richard Fortey
Richard Alan Fortey FRS FRSL (born 15 February 1946 in London) is a British palaeontologist, natural historian, writer and television presenter, who served as president of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007.
Ea ...
and
Erica McAlister. The show was hosted by
John Lloyd, with Producer
Dan Schreiber taking the role of curator.
Further live shows were staged at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe featuring a number of top comedians and other guests.
Series 15 and Series 16 were recorded remotely during 2020 and 2021 because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Episodes
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Series 4
Series 5
Series 6
Series 7
Coding Special
Series 8
Series 9
Series 10
Series 11
Series 12
Series 13
Annual Stock Take (2018 Christmas Special)
Series 14
2019 Christmas Special
Series 15
Series 16
Reception
Initial reaction to the series was mixed. Phil Daoust in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described the show as being "unusual" and "eclectic". Chris Campling, who wrote a preview of the first episode, highlighted it in his "Radio Choice" column for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''.
Gillian Reynolds highlighted the programme as one of her radio choices in the ''
Daily Telegraph''. Rosanna Chianta in ''
Scotland on Sunday
''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by JPIMedia and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate '' The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in 20 ...
'' compared the show positively to ''
QI'', also created by Lloyd, while Frances Lass from the ''
Radio Times'' said it was better, claiming it was, "''QI'' with even more jokes. Made me bark with laughter", that, "
Lord Reith
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
would be so proud" and the programme was, "Pornography for the brain!"
Miranda Sawyer
Miranda Caroline Sawyer (born January 1967) is an English author, journalist and broadcaster.
Education and early life
Sawyer was born in Bristol and grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire with her brother Toby, who is an actor. Sawyer was educated at ...
of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' criticised the show, saying that, "it's no ''QI'', because the joy of that programme rests almost entirely in the host,
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
, and his subversion of the prissy, clever character we're familiar with (in ''QI'', Fry is clever, but relaxed). ''The Museum of Curiosity'' is presented partly by Bill Bailey and mostly by John Lloyd, producer of ''QI'' (are you getting a theme?). Lloyd may well be a nice chap, but we haven't a clue who he is, and, on the evidence of this, he isn't a big or witty enough character for us to feel desperate to get to know him."
Nicholas Lezard Nicholas Andrew Selwyn LezardThe Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 December 1991, Cambridge University Press, p. 814 is an English journalist, author and literary critic.
Background and education
The Lezard family went from London to ...
in ''
The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published ...
'' was lukewarm about the show, saying that the combination of comedian and scientist guests "more or less worked", but he felt the show may not have been greenlit without Lloyd and Bailey's involvement.
Kate Chisholm in ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' found the show a welcome change from the "smutty jokes and banal innuendo" usually associated with the timeslot, and compared the series to
Paul Merton's ''
Room 101
The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell.
The use of contradictory ...
'', "but without the ego".
Elisabeth Mahoney in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' was critical of the second series. While praising the discussion between the guests as, "funny and flowing, and quite endearingly quirky", she found that the programme "fizzled away when it reached what ought to have been its crux: the donation of kooky items to the imaginary museum. Instead, we had a reminder of what they were, and then a sudden ending that was both limp and abrupt."
After appearing on the show in series 6,
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the lead ...
wrote on his blog: "What a delightful and fascinating programme this is (and one that I think might benefit from an extended podcast release – two hours of material is recorded for the 27-minute show and it's pretty much all gold!). At times I was so enjoying listening to the others talking that I almost forgot that I was meant to be taking part. It was a wide-ranging discussion taking in ants on stilts, pianists with crippling, mechanical little fingers, the changing meridian and okapi sex (can you guess what I contributed?). The show has a dedicated team of nerds behind it who have dug out amazing facts and I love the way it has a panel comprising comedians, scientists and experts and attempts to link each contribution to similar areas of the different disciplines. While most TV panel shows (including to some extent even ''QI'') gravitate to putting in the same well-known comedy faces, you get a lot more interesting stuff by mixing it up a bit. The zoologist, Dr Christofer Clemente, came up with the funniest lines of the show. But would they book him on Mock The Week? It's intelligent and stimulating programming that is increasingly being edged out of TV and even radio, leaving a gaping open goal for independent internet productions to score in. I discussed this with one of the razor-minded team after the show. The TV companies insist on getting big names into all shows, which takes up all the budget and seems to ignore the fact that the pool of possible contributors gets smaller and more boring. But glad that a few shows designed to expand the mind rather than crush the spirit still exist."
On 13 September 2016, ''The Museum of Curiosity'' won the
Rose d'Or
The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...
in the radio talk show category.
Footnotes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Museum of Curiosity, The
2008 radio programme debuts
BBC Radio 4 programmes
BBC Radio comedy programmes
British panel games
2000s British game shows
2010s British game shows
2020s British game shows
Fictional museums
QI