Stephen Fry

[Psygnal]

I have been entranced by two TV programmes at the moment. One is Last Chance To See in which Stephen Fry tours the world with a naturalist looking for rare and very-endangered animals. The other is called QI which is a typically British comedy panel show, also starring Stephen Fry, both of which currently air one after the other on Prime on Sunday nights.

LCTS is a pretty sobering look at the destruction of the natural environment, and the vanishing of some very unique creatures, such as the Aye-Aye pictured above, from Madagascar.

What is appealing about this show, however, is the perspective Fry brings to the table. He's not a naturalist. He's been camping once since the age of 16, and detests the thought of being left somewhere without internet capability. In short, I identify with him somewhat.

He trekked to the top of a rather large range of hills with naturalists, film crew and guides to look for gorrillas, and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. While clutching his ample stomach, he said "Imagine how hard this would have been if I wasn't so fit."

What he does have, however, is the layman's appreciation of the environment, making him an ideal point of exposition, as those with the PhDs fill him in on the details.

LCTS is Stephen Fry totally out of his environment, walking on the edge of his comfort zone. Deep in the heart of his comfort zone, however, is QI, which stands for "Quite Interesting".

If you've ever wanted to learn about the pink spitfire that was actually used during World War 2 as a recon camera plane... or were curious about why female pubic hair is apparently quite popular among people who manufacture their own fishing flies, then this is the show for you.

It's a raucous, bawdy and irreverent panel of four interchangeable guests, ostensibly under the control of Fry, who discuss, argue, and blatantly lie about things in order to get quite arbitrary points.

In short, it's well worth a look, and is one of the few TV shows on at the moment which can make me laugh out loud. It can be found on YouTube, here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2RYiaM6WU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MrKxzqJhR8

Psyg'