#ukgameshows

[weaversweek]

Only Connect 2025 final

Episode 504 of Only Connect was the 20th series final.

In the blue corner, Four Opinions, three nice lads who have not yet lost a game.

In the pink corner, Tea Totallers, three experiences quizzers who took the scenic route and clearly know their onions.

Who wins, who loses, and where did they get that picture of the flag of the Earth?

Plus! Yet more stats on University Challenge, joy from Claudia Winkleman, a spectacularly bad idea for BBC2, and Race Across the World takes on its most difficult challenge yet: the North Circular during evening rush hour.

[ewanspence]

UKGameshows revies 3x3 as a real quiz show, not as an Inside Number 9 script. And you know what, there's been worse made it to air in the UK... "But though it may have been a fictional show, the fact that we can give you a genuine synopsis of the format goes to show how well thought-out it was. We've seen a great many spoofs over the years (we even have a page listing them) but rarely anything that could plausibly exist as a game show in the real world. Yes, there are possible holes in the format, which we've pointed out in the synopsis, but overall it's a remarkably good attempt - and the actual question writing isn't bad either (many a writer of fiction comes a cropper when inventing questions for fake quizzes, so to see something good enough to pass for a real show is astonishingly rare.)"

[weaversweek]

Boosted!

A mystery I've been wanting to solve for ages

In the final episode of Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow, the big grand prize (which, spoiler alert, everyone won) had one very peculiar prize to me, saying that the winner (again, which was everyone), among other things, would have their face put into a computer game. Now of course, because this is the BBC we're talking about, they shan't mention what computer game they would be planted in. And me being the nerd I am, I would love to figure this out.

My original theory was they were put in Wii Sports, which would have likely been in development when this episode was transmitted, but I searched the CPU Mii's from the Wii series games during the Wii era, but I couldn't find none of the Bungalowheads names. So that's debunked.

If anyone wants to help solve this mystery, or better yet, if you have contacts with any of the Bungalowheads on this episode (so I can know more about the filming of the episode), feel free to contact me on Discord. My username is loublu08.

[mootasticmooface]

At this point I like to pretend I’m a Blankety Blank host. #1970s #1980s #UKGameshow #BlanketyBlank #ChupaChups #Inverness (at Inverness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgUPvPTodza/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[megstoysandmore]

I had so much fun being part of the audience for @ninjawarrioruk It was fun seing myself on TV. 😁#youtubers #youtubekids #backtoschool #underwraps #ninjawarrior #ninja #ninjawarriortraining #ninjawarriors #ninjawarriorspain #ninjawarrioruk #ninjaworrior #ninjaworrioruk #megstoysandmore #ninjawarrior #ninjawarrioruk #ninjawarriorusa #gameshow #ukgameshow #ninjawarriors #sports #tv #itv #itvgameshow #throwback

[weaversweek]

Six songs, for and against Europe

My annual preview of the Eurovision Song Contest.

This year, it's the anglophone broadcasters (RTÉ, SBS, BBC, PBS), and the reigning Senior and Junior champs (SRG SSR and GPB).

It's a mixed bag of songs: at least two will fall flat on their faces, two will get to the final and stiff, and one I have absolutely no clue about.

Plus some digressions into Mary Whitehouse, geopolitics, My Camp Rock, and why Radio 2 need their ears syringed.

And a look at why ITV might have cancelled Dancing on Ice, and if people are right to think that there are a lot of right-wingers on reality shows these days.

[weaversweek]

Beat the Pack

In the cold spring of 2013, BBC1 put out Beat the Pack. It was a bit of a mess, nobody liked it. Nobody really understood it, least of all the producers, who are the one group we'd expect would understand their own programme. Game show fans hated it, host Jake Humphrey went on to do other things, and nobody ever thought about it again.

Until last autumn, when BBC2 dug the tapes out of the broom closet, blew off layers of dust, and put them on screen again.

How does this quiz look with the benefit of hindsight? Was it as confused and boring as legend would have it? Was Beat the Pack a pioneer of elements we've seen again, or was it a vestigial appendix that influenced nobody?

Time to find out.

And if that won't interest you, perhaps some brief thoughts on ITV's second series of Jeopardy! just might.

[weaversweek]

The Traitors series 3

Well, that happened.

There was a selection.

A lot of challenges, which seemed designed to create rancour and bad feeling, and that is not why we watch The Traitors.

The players tended to vote out clever people, literally doing the Traitors' work for them. Perhaps they might want to vote for people who will be poor at the missions - although that didn't work out terribly well for Survivor.

We're annoyed that the producers didn't show flexibility, and insisted that two Traitors were in the final six; that is wide open for metagaming.

The idea of not revealing allegiance on the final day was worth trying, but left a bad taste in the mouth, and completely didn't work in this series. Further evidence is required.

All things considered, I reckon it's the worst BBC series - but still better than any of the anglophone versions I've seen (with the possible exception of CTV series 2).

[weaversweek]

You Bet!; obituary for The Vivienne

This week's Week looks at ITV's revival of You Bet!.

Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby introduce lots of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Get up a car park by climbing the outside!

Balance a giant see-saw!

Er, find an edible burger.

Um, er, tongue a cactus?!

We're not here for the hosts. We're not really here for the Forfeit Finale, which is hyped up like kids' shows would hype up gunge. We're certainly not here for the audience choosing between the contenders.

We're here for the stunts, and You Bet! almost lost sight of its unique selling point.

Plus! An obituary for The Vivienne, cheers for Kate Butch's late entry in Game Show Costume of the Year, and jeers for ITV refusing to employ an art department.

[weaversweek]

Gladiators on BBC1

Awooga!

Gladiators is back, and it's hit all the right notes.

The theme! The nostalgia! The warm and inclusive feeling!

The complete doofus who thinks he owns the world!

Gladiators never ever forgot that it was entertainment built from a core of sport. The challenges are difficult, they're filmed and presented to make us care. And they've kept entertainment and sport in a great balance, and that makes for inclusive telly.

A few notes for next series. Gauntlet needs to be narrower and/or longer. You need at least one more challenge for variety.

And can you please make sure contender's trainers fit better, because having the Gladiator strip the shoe away is now a format point.

[weaversweek]

The Only Connect final for 2024

In the blue corner, the Thrifters, three charity-shop fans.

In the red corner, the Also Rans, three Mastermind finalists seeking redemption a little later.

Both teams were tremendous. But which will win this nip-and-tuck match? And what is the appeal of Only Connect, a show with many viewers and next-to-no prize?

[weaversweek]

Because Have I Got Breaking News Quizzes for You!

This week, I look at five topical news quizzes.

From Scotland, Breaking the News, a mildly Scottish quiz.

From London, The News Quiz, with a shit introduction and the show gets no better.

From Toronto, Because News, where the jokes keep on coming.

From London, Have I Got News for You, a 25 minute show crammed into a 45 minute slot.

From Atlanta, Has CNN Got News for You, a 40 minute show based on the original.

Some of them are funny. Some of them are deeply, deeply boring.

Plus plenty of snark at ITV for their sudden conversion to autocomplete bots, a brief tribute to 12 Yard, and the curious case of Big Brother producers not realising they are the anti-heroes of their own work.

[weaversweek]

Which game shows have had the most episodes 12 (MAS-NAM)

In this latest, scintillating, episode:

All that's left of The Million Pound Drop.

Name That Tune with not enough Sophie Ellis Bextor.

Mr and Mrs, which is so complex that I cannot get a sufficiently accurate episode count.

And an obituary for Phil Swern, the Popmaster co-creator.

[weaversweek]

Which game shows have had the most episodes, part 9: HAV-ITV

The summer-long task is running out of summer: this week's installment goes from Have I Got News for You to ITV Play.

So, it's plenty of brown suits.

Lots of branded prizes.

Mornington Crescent - let me just explain the rules to you.

And It's a Knockout, it was good clean fun once upon a time.

Plus!

The million dollar question.

[weaversweek]

Josh Must Win

To the competitors, a contest of who your favourite is amongst the other contestants.

To the celebrities manipulating events, a challenge of psychology and intuition.

To the astute viewer, a lesson in some of the techniques producers use to manipulate reality telly.

How real is reality television? When you see something, how has it been manipulated? Grimmy and his gang did it in a light-hearted way; do other shows have their own agenda?

Plus, a look at the claim that The 1% Club is television's biggest game show (it's not, unless you're using a particularly arbitrary definition of "game show". But The 1% Club is very good telly - and sometimes proper drama.)

[weaversweek]

Which game shows have the most episodes? Part 3, BOC-CAN

The latest part of my project to count all of the game shows.

This time, a Robert Robinson double bill, Brain of Britain and Call My Bluff.

A deep dive into The Brains Trust, the only game show to have episodes specially made for the cinema. (Unless they showed Eurovision The Movie in the picturehouse somewhere...)

And, on a slightly less intellectual level, Bullseye.