Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2020 December 2

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December 2

QI

Why are there two different lengths of QI episodes? I can find a lot of sites telling me that there are two lengths, 30 and 45 minutes, but I can't seem to find out why. Any help? Thanks, †dismas†|^(talk) 21:28, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

Did you look at the article you linked to? It suggests regular QI broadcasts are 30 minutes and extended QI XL repeats on BBC 2 in the UK are 45 minutes. And that there are two different compilation episode formats, QI VG being 30 minutes and QI XS being 14 minutes. Admittedly the VG thing is only mentioned in infobox and part of the other stuff is only in the very lead and not in the body. But still it's there. Nil Einne (talk) 23:28, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

Nil Einne, I did read the article. And as you say, it suggests various things but doesn't give a reason why. Am I supposed to know that BBC 2 doesn't broadcast shows that are less than 45 minutes? Is that what I'm supposed to get out of those statements? If someone is going to re-run an episode of anything, they normally just re-run the very same content. Not some longer content that requires additional editing. †dismas†|^(talk) 02:39, 4 December 2020 (UTC)

@Dismas: sorry I misunderstood your question as to not understanding why websites were giving 2 different runtimes rather than wanting to know why they made a longer extended repeat. Apologies Nil Einne (talk) 08:48, 4 December 2020 (UTC)

• I've always suspected the longer edit is for the export market, so ads can be added and it'll run to an hour. But I don't know if this is actually the case. (EDIT) It's just occurred to me this is exactly how they're used on Dave.(/EDIT) The XS seems to be used as a filler for gaps in the schedule. Fgf10 (talk) 01:20, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Several TV shows have XL editions. It's a gimmick to enable them to repeat basically the same show and attract the same or a larger audience for it. It's nothing to do with the export market.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 12:02, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I would imagine it's multiple factors. Fgf10 has a point that a large percentage of markets outside the BBC run programs with ads, and this includes both internal UK markets and international markets. And the modern standards there tend to be ~42 minutes + ads for a 1 hour broadcast arising in part I think from US broadcasts. Some older programs e.g. Cold Case season 1 and I believe Friends have even been recut because they were too long (45 minutes or so in the case of Cold Case I believe).

I suspect most of the XL editions mentioned are shows like QI that are also sold to overseas markets and maybe even internal UK markets. Therefore it's likely these XL editions are also useful in that form i.e. for other broadcasters who want something more suitable for their schedules. As the Cold Case example shows, 45 minutes (assuming it's really 45) is likely a little long, but it's relatively easy to cut down a few parts that seem unimportant, and these would likely be produced during the production of the XL episodes (which would likely be produced along with the regular episodes).

But Shantavira also has a point as well that these are useful for BBC rebroadcasts. But I wouldn't just say it's a gimmick. I mean sure some people would probably watch both. But even if no one did, some people may still prefer one or the other. The marginal cost for recutting is likely small especially since I assume these are being produced at the same time. I doubt that BBC Two never runs anything shorter than 45 minutes. But time slots on BBC One being the prime channel are likely in high demand and in additions there's likely greater need to keep things short to keep audiences engaged. It's likely to be easier to consistently produce 50% longer episodes without a fair amount of extra work required during filming & other production parts for a show like QI than it is for a fictional series.

If we take the example of extended cuts elsewhere, similar factors can be at play. While yes these may be partly a gimmick, they also reflect the realities that in certain markets e.g. cinematic releases, there is demand to keep the product shorter. While cinematic films may be where these most commonly occur, you do get the same thing with TV series albeit often just some episodes and generally for home media or video on demand purchasable episodes. But not always [1].

An interesting point is that the rise of streaming services means there's now a fair amount of content where the length of the episode can vary a reasonable degree between episode to episode without each episode needing to be a certain length. However even there, you get cases like The Haunting of Hill House (TV series) where there have been extended episodes on home media which may be partly a gimmick but probably also reflects reality that even without a specific length required, directors etc may still feel they need to keep things short to keep casual audiences engaged. Although perhaps sometimes the opposite can happen [2].

In other words, approaching this simply from an angle of 'why are the XL versions 45 minutes?' is likely a mistake. You also have to ask, 'why are normal episodes 30 minutes?'

Nil Einne (talk) 08:48, 4 December 2020 (UTC)