17 - University Challenge

This next show is more of a British Institution than a Game Show.  University Challenge pits the Universities of the UK against one another in a tournament that ultimately crowns one University the Champions.  The show has run since 1962 and was originally based on a similar American show.

To date there have been 41 series and the University with the most wins is Magdalen College, Oxford [sic] which has won the series 4 times.  Competition is fierce and Universities who take the show seriously prepare for months in advance and continue to study throughout the series in between shows.

There have been a number of criticisms of the show most notably accusations of bias towards Russell Group Universities, the British Equivalent of the United States Ivy League.  Beyond these criticisms one of the major points of contention that remains is the fact that the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge each enter their individual Colleges as entrants as opposed to one team representing the University as a whole.  Despite numerous objections to this movement, Oxford and Cambridge remain the only 2 Universities that have been allowed to do so, each entering up to 5 entrants.

The first video below is one of the finals from the actual show and the second is of a Comedy sketch that portrays the satirical interpretation of the series: