The Museum Of Curiosity

That was the lunch that was: remembering David Frost

In his last ever recording on The Museum of Curiosity, he was on top form - funny, fascinating, full of insight - it's impossible to believe that someone so full of life is gone.

This deliciously funny series returns with chief curator John Lloyd (producer of Not the Nine O'Clock News, Spitting Image and QI), ably assisted by Jimmy Carr. The duo ask guests including Al Murray to donate objects of curiosity, with laugh-out-loud comedic effect guaranteed.

Professor of Ignorance and owner of The Museum of Curiosity John Lloyd (perhaps better known as the producer of Blackadder and QI) returns with a new curator, Dave Gorman, to help extract descriptions of bequests from prospective benefactors. This episode's objects are donated by atheist theologian Francesca Stavrakopoulou, mathematician Alex Bellos and comedian Jimmy Carr. These highly intelligent guests are happy to sink to unimaginable depths of taste in both their conversation and their choices, but it makes for truly wicked comedy - especially when one guest bequeaths God!

Lord Reith would be so proud. A show to entertain and inform in one ever-so-very clever package. John Lloyd cuts the ribbon to open the third level of the Museum, revealing yet more empty plinths. Filling them with their donations this week are cosmologist Marcus Chown who, frankly, made my brain bleed with his scientific proof of the afterlife, Terry Pratchett's brilliant idea of a time bank ("the minute in your pocket will never be devalued") and Shappi Khorsandi's great anti-dictator. The guests are gold dust but curator Jon Richardson is no slacker when it comes to the sliver-sharp retort. It will make you laugh as much as it will make you think. Pornography for the brain!

John Lloyd, once a BBC Light Entertainment producer (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, e.g.), now, after glittering adventures in TV and film, a don of the comedy world, returns with a new series of a recent invention. He and comedian Jon Richardson are pretend curators of an imaginary museum to which visiting celebrities tender possible new acquisitions. Tonight author Terry Pratchett brings a secret extra day of the week, cosmologist Marcus Chown has a plausible scientific theory of the afterlife and comedian Shappi Khorsandi offers Charlie Chaplin.

For the uninitiated, The Museum of Curiosity is presented by comedy producer/godlike genius John Lloyd, and he's joined by a different 'curator' each series; Bill Bailey, Sean Lock and now the brilliant Jon Richardson. Three contributors - comedians, scientists, authors, historians, generally fascinating people - donate something the museum each week, and that something can be absolutely anything, no matter how huge, tiny, fictional or dead. I won't give away what Shappi Khorsandi, Terry Pratchett and Marcus Chown ("cosmology consultant of New Scientist") gave to the museum in the episode I saw recorded, but I will say that all three spoke passionately about their donation, and that Chown's made my brain hurt for days. The series will air later in the Spring.

BBC Radio 4's comedy series The Museum of Curiosity announced its new co-host (or "curator") via Wikipedia on 26 February. Dan Schreiber, the co-creator and co-producer of the show, tweeted that the name could be found on the newcomer's Wikipedia page, and offered a prize to the discoverer. This edit was subsequently found to name Jon Richardson.

The Museum of Curiosity is also enjoyable, but very Room 101. John Lloyd is the professor of ignorance at the museum, which needs to fill a second, empty gallery. Sean Lock and three guests make up the "advisory panel". All are comedians and suggest some weird and surreal objects for the gallery. The result is pretty funny.

It just makes me wish the commercial sector would put more resources into this area of programming. But it doesn't have the safety cushion of the license fee, does it?

The Museum of Curiosity has the potential to be a great format. But with almost half of this episode was given over to introducing the guests, the actual idea of the programme (guests suggest curious ideas that get put into a museum) seemed to get lost. Hopefully this is just a quirk of this episode. The strength of the panel, comprising Brian Eno, Dave Gorman and Viz founder Chris Donald, means their introductory chats with host John Lloyd are funnier than their actual nominations for which they only had a very short time left over.

Sean Lock acts as the "curator" but this seemed to only further clutter the programme. Couldn't this and the host role have been combined into one, thereby allowing more time for the format to breathe?