TBS's "Sekai Fushigi Hakken," currently the longest-running quiz show on commercial TV, was also one of the first series to combine education and entertainment in a way that didn't compromise either. Whereas the previous record-holder, "Naruhodo the World," which went off the air several years ago, presented foreign lands as they are now, "Sekai" takes a historical perspective.
The format is simple: A "mystery hunter" goes to the country under investigation and digs up information about some historical figure or specific period in time. Every 10 minutes or so, the hunter comes up with a trivialike question that the celebrity panelists back in the studio have to answer.
Having been on the air now for more than 15 years, the show has had to return to certain countries a number of times (they seem to go to Egypt about three times a year), and recently there has been an increasing number of programs about Japanese history. On May 19 at 9 p.m., the program combines the two by profiling Mitsuko Coudenhove-Kalergi, who is referred to on the show as "the mother of the European Union."