The Game Show Thread

[DE88]

Seems hard to believe that there were only 19 months between Big Break ending and Strictly beginning...

It can't have happened very often that a snooker player played for the full time limit in Pocket Money (and the non-snooker player (s)he was partnered with therefore didn't have to answer any questions):

[tellyblues]

Why make new episodes?? There’s probably about 150 unshown editions on a Big Break stockpile somewhere….

Apparently, there's a Christmas special of Full Swing that was never aired.

[Hatton Cross]

... on Gladiators even though they emphasised it was a genuinely tough challenge, there was all the panto element to it, so there were jokes and loads of audience participation..

'Square Eyes' the then reviewer in Private Eye, when casting their eye over Gladiators, said "the whole show runs on deep irony. If someone was to just snigger at the over inflated bombast, the whole edifice would come crashing down around everyone"

But, that said - they did produce the best example of a production team totally taking the p... out of themselves for Comic Relief
https://youtu.be/mOd0mEBlvsg

[Neil Jones]

The "remote control" gag for the Travelator direction was later (or was it previously?) used by Brian Conley in an "Amazing Adventures of Dangerous Brian" sketch, which ultimately ended in Wolf receiving a trophy... in a place where the sun don't shine shall we say

Incredible to think how certain key programmes (and/or certain elements) appeared everywhere in the 90s. Gladiators for one, Mr Blobby for another (very prolific in his case)... these days that sort of programme crossover seems limited to charity shows.

[Rob]

There was no mention of Sean Lock on last night's 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (it was recorded in July, and he passed away in August), but there was an image of him with caption during the closing credits that read:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF COMEDY LEGEND SEAN LOCK
1963-2021

[Brekkie]

The Wheel hasn't got any better then. Numberwang had a less convoluted format.

EDIT: Really do make it up as they go along. Three wrong answers so far by my reckoning and on the second they locked out the "expert" on the subject in addition to the other one, even though it wasn't them answering, but not on the other two. The contestant wheel is ridiculous too.

[Johnr]

I am not quite sure what you are finding so hard to follow?

The expert gets locked out if they get a question wrong in their 'expert category' even if they were answering in the background rather than spun in to play with the contestant

The contestant wheel is just a 1 in 3

I've always considered it very similar to Strike It Lucky / Rich though in that nobody really cares that much about the actual game they jusy want to be entertained by McIntyre and the celebs for an hour :lol:

[XIII]

I am not quite sure what you are finding so hard to follow?

The expert gets locked out if they get a question wrong in their 'expert category' even if they were answering in the background rather than spun in to play with the contestant

The contestant wheel is just a 1 in 3

I've always considered it very similar to Strike It Lucky / Rich though in that nobody really cares that much about the actual game they jusy want to be entertained by McIntyre and the celebs for an hour :lol:

I get the feeling Brekkie doesn't like much on TV....

The Christmas special was a lot of fun, Jason Manford's quip about the woke generation (Danny Dyer's words, not mine) going for the left wing was very funny!

[Inspector Sands]

The Wheel hasn't got any better then. Numberwang had a less convoluted format.

EDIT: Really do make it up as they go along. Three wrong answers so far by my reckoning and on the second they locked out the "expert" on the subject in addition to the other one, even though it wasn't them answering, but not on the other two. The contestant wheel is ridiculous too.

All the celebs answer all the questions on little buttons on the chair, that's how they get the rankings at the end. If an expert in a subject gets one wrong they get locked out. It has always worked like that, but I think that because certain aspects don't happen every episode they don't always get mentioned.

I don't see how they could do it fairly without some sort of choice of contestants, a wheel is as good as any other selection process, even though that's obviously not really how they select them. I have always thought it's clever how the contestant wheel is made to look like it's under the big wheel,

[Brekkie]

Surely if celebs are locked out for wrong answers the contestant should be too rather than straight back up. Find it as frustrating as all the toing and froing on In It To Win It used to be.

Obviously it is a show where the format is secondary and agree Jason Manford especially lifted it yesterday, but arguably with the focus being more on the comedy the game creates the format should be a bit clearer, especially considering the amounts at stake. Think it is pretty much the BBC's highest paying gameshow at the moment - and indeed only Millionaire and maybe Beat the Chasers really gives away more in every episode.

[XIII]

Surely if celebs are locked out for wrong answers the contestant should be too rather than straight back up. Find it as frustrating as all the toing and froing on In It To Win It used to be.

Obviously it is a show where the format is secondary and agree Jason Manford especially lifted it yesterday, but arguably with the focus being more on the comedy the game creates the format should be a bit clearer, especially considering the amounts at stake. Think it is pretty much the BBC's highest paying gameshow at the moment - and indeed only Millionaire and maybe Beat the Chasers really gives away more in every episode.

I think you're the only person nitpicking at the format...

[gottago]

I find the format of The Wheel very straightforward to be honest. What does wind me up is having the three players chosen to play at random rather than the order being determined (at random) before the show - i.e. who comes first, second and third and then they repeat that order as necessary. I find it irritating when you see the same player come up twice in a row, or not come up at all as happened in last week's show.

[Jon]

Surely if celebs are locked out for wrong answers the contestant should be too rather than straight back up. Find it as frustrating as all the toing and froing on In It To Win It used to be.

That would only be an issue if the celebs were playing against the contestants.

[Jon]

I find the format of The Wheel very straightforward to be honest. What does wind me up is having the three players chosen to play at random rather than the order being determined (at random) before the show - i.e. who comes first, second and third and then they repeat that order as necessary. I find it irritating when you see the same player come up twice in a row, or not come up at all as happened in last week's show.

No that’s surely, part of the fun and also how part of the comedy comes about. Anyway, I suspect the order is decided beforehand, they just don’t eliminate anyone who’s been picked.

[XIII]

I imagine the contestants on The Wheel are briefed that there is a chance they may not come up at all, no different to anyone on Millionaire who doesn't get selected from FFF.